He was born at 5 Salisbury Terrace, Stockton-on-Tees, but the family moved shortly afterwards to Lancashire (91 Clare Road, Bootle) and were there at the time of the 1901 Census. His father died when Charles was only 14, and his mother six years later..
Charles served in the Royal Navy in WW1. His service records (#J62578) show that he was "Formerly R.N.V.R. Y23560" and a "Clerk (Shipping & Forwarding)" when engaged on 23rd November 1916. He served at Portsmouth on "Victory I" [probably referring to the training school/barracks rather than Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar] as an Ordinary Seaman until 17/3/1917. He is then shown - initially as an O.S. then an A.B.S. from Dec.1917 - as serving on the "Tamar (Virago)" [HMS Tamar was a former troopship used as the Royal Navy's base and training ship in Hong Kong] until 28/2/1919. After serving on the "Suffolk" for 6 weeks he returned to the Tamar until being demobilised on 9/2/1919.
The destroyer HMS Virago was taken to China (presumably with Charles aboard) and subsequently sold to Hong Kong in 1919. The final entry on his service records show that he "Reported to British Naval Agent, Shanghai, 3/3/20" to collect his war gratuity. Charles remained in China where he met and married Winnie Compton. He worked as a sales manager at the Robinson Piano Co. (Shanghai or Tientsin), then as a Customs Officer (drug section) in Shanghai.
He returned to England at the end of 1922, followed a month later by his wife and baby son. They lived initially with his sister Beatrice and her family in Birkdale, Southport (Lancs.). He was employed as a salesman at Rushworth & Draper, piano manufacturers in Liverpool (Islington Street, near the Mersey tunnel?), moving initially to nearby Allerton (57 Stamfordham Drive) and then to Mossley Hill ("Winholme", 148 Pitville Avenue). When Liverpool started to suffer from heavy bombing during WW2 he moved to the "Fox Inn", Ysceifiog, Denbyshire (now Flint) where he was tenant/landlord from around 1940 to 1942. He then returned to the family home ( which had been rented out during his absence. Due to bad health he then moved to "Sunny Cottage", Curland (near Taunton, Somerset) in 1947, where he worked in the National Insurance office until he retired.
Charles and Nellie were laid to rest at Burlescombe Cemetery, Devon in 1977 and 1978 respectively.
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(a) Charles is pictured on the left with his father, circa 1902; (b) The passport photograph in the centre was taken c1922, prior to his return from China to England; (c) The gravestone of Charles and Nellie at Burlescombe.
Page last updated: June 2008
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