| Surname: |
Evans |
| Initials/Name: |
Charles Geoffrey |
| Country of Service: |
UK |
| Rank: |
Serjeant |
| Regiment: |
Royal Garrison Artillery |
| Unit: |
326th Siege Battery |
| Service No: |
30886 |
| Age: |
28 |
| Date of Death |
08/02/1917 |
| How died: |
Died of Influenza |
| Awards: |
|
| Cemetery: |
Christ Church Churchyard Tilstock |
| Country: |
UK |
| Grave Reference: |
B.4.18 |
| Local Memorials: |
Stock |
| Address: |
Son of Henry and Ann Dean Evans, of Stock |
| CWGC Page: |
Charles Evans |
| |
(should this link fail, search the
CWGC site) |
|
|
---------------------------------------
Below from John Westwood |
|
|
|
| In March of
1901 the enumerators recorded the presence of the Evans family, all eight of
them. They lived in the School House just above Lilystone Hall, and opposite
All Saints Church. The Evans’ had arrived in the village prior to the
census to take charge of the village school. Henry and Ann along with eldest
son Frank were the teachers, the latter only being 15! Kate, Charles, Harry,
Jessie and Hubert made up the remainder of the family. None had been born in
the village and indeed you could trace the family’s travels across the
country by where the children had been born, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and
Cornwall. |
| Charles Evans
was born in 1889 and was the third child of six, and had been born at Stamford
Bridge in Yorkshire. They all lived in the school house next to the school,
both buildings still exist, but are privately owned. Life at the school was
hard as his father Henry appears to have been an exceptionally strict
headmaster, which filtered into his family life. He was a good sportsman and at
one time played for Essex County Cricket club's youth team. He also at one
point worked in the grocer's shop in the High Street at the corner of Swan
Lane, |
| When war was
declared, Charles already 25 was comparatively old when he enlisted at Warley
and entered the war with the 326th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery,
service number 30886. |
| It was this
unit of the army that provided the heavy calibre guns and howitzers placed some
way behind the front line, and provided the sustained support before an attack.
The battery was armed with four 6" Howitzers (26 cwt) which were developed in
1915 to replace the earlier 25 cwt and 30 cwt models, each had a maximum range
of 11,400 yds and fired shrapnel & high explosive shells weighing 86 lb.
|
| In late 1916
Charles who by this time he was a sergeant, and the battery were sent to the
Eastern Mediterranean. When they returned, they went back to their depot near
Tilstock, Shropshire. It was not long before the damp weather in contrast to
the heat of the Mediterranean took its toll on the soldiers, and an outbreak of
influenza was recorded. It had a devastating effect and on 8th Feb 1917 Charles
died from its effects, he was 28 years old. |
| As was common
to war dead, he and his comrades were given full military honours and buried in
Tilstock Churchyard, and are cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves. |
| Charles was
unlucky as he died at home away from the fighting, but at the same time he was
away from his family, but he is remembered on the Stock War Memorial. |
| Hubert his
youngest brother is buried in All Saints Churchyard, and was actively involved
in many aspects of the village, such as the cricket team. |
| I was contacted by Charles’s great niece and nephew, who had accessed
Charles’s information via the Stock website and subsequently been enticed
to Shropshire to pay their respects on the strength of it. They presented me
with a photograph of his headstone which can been seen on the virtual memorial
on the internet. (John Westwood) |
| Updated 22.09.2024 |
