Robert Charlton
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Robert was the eldest son of James Shepperd Charlton and his wife Elizabeth (née Hall). His father James Shepperd was born in 1865 in Kirkham, Lancashire, the son of Robert and Maria Mary Charlton (née Shepperd). His mother Elizabeth was born in Marton, Lancashire, in June 1867, the daughter of Robert Hall, a farmer, and his wife Jenny. James and Elizabeth were married at Weeton parish church, Lancashire, in September 1894 and had two sons, Robert b. 1896 and Richard Hall b. 1898. Both boys were born in Aldbrough, Yorkshire North Riding, and were baptised at Stanwick St John, Robert on 4 April 1896 and Richard in January 1899. James, a land surveyor and estate clerk, his wife and their two sons together with a domestic servant were living at the Stanwick Arms Inn, Aldbrough, Richmond, in 1901. However, by 1911 the family had moved to Burley on the Hill, Oakham, Rutland, where James was an estate clerk. The CWGC record gives James and Elizabeth's address as 'The Chestnuts', Burley, and they were still living in Burley when James died in May 1927. He was buried in Burley Holy Cross churchyard. Elizabeth returned to Lancashire after her husband's death and in 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled she was living in Poulton-le-Fylde with her unmarried sisters, Jane (b. 1857) and Ann (b. 1865). Elizabeth probably died in 1942 (reg. Blackpool Lancashire). Robert's brother Richard may have served in the Royal Garrison Artillery (214006 Gunner) during the war.
2nd Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) Robert Charlton enlisted in September 1914 and was posted to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion Sherwood Foresters which was based in Derby but later moved to Plymouth. He later transferred to the 2nd Battalion which landed at St Nazaire on 11 September 1914 and served on the Western Front for the duration of the war. Robert served with the BEF France from 26 January 1915 and was killed in action at Hooge on the Ypres Salient on 9 August the same year. The village of Hooge had been taken by the Germans at the end of July and an attack was made by the British on 9 August to recover the position. A report of Robert's death in a Nottingham newspaper described how he was killed by a bomb explosion 'while driving the Germans out of a communication trench.' Robert has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium (Panel 39 and 41). He qualified for the 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. CWGC - History of the Memorial (extract): 'The Menin Gate is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war. The Salient was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge. The Second Battle of Ypres began in April 1915.' (www.cwgc.org)
WMR 93079. Burley on the Hill War Memorial, Holy Cross Church (Churches Conservation Trust), Church Road, Burley on the Hill, Rutland LE15 7SU. Brass tablet, dedication: 'To the Glory of God and in grateful memory of those from this parish who fell in the Great War 1914-1918 (names) Erected by parishioners and friends.' Six names including: 'R Charlton 3rd (sic) Batt Notts & Derby.' Oakham School Chapel and War Memorial. The chapel was built as a memorial for the 70 Old Oakhamians who died in the Great War and their names are listed in the entrance to the chapel. CWGC: 'Son of James S. and Elizabeth Charlton, of The Chestnuts, Burley, Oakham, Rutland.' Charlton's connection with Nottingham might be rather tenuous although as he was articled in Nottingham it is likely he lived in Nottingham since Oakham would not be an easy commute. Report published 16 August 1915 in the Nottingham Evening Post :- “KILLED BY BOMB EXPLOSION. “Private Robert Charlton, who was an articled clerk to Mr. Geo. M. Moore, chartered accountant, of Nottingham, was killed in France a few days ago by the explosion of a bomb whilst driving the Germans out of a communication trench. “Private Charlton (No. 17584), who was in his 20th year, was the elder son of Mr. James S. Charlton, of Burley-on-the-Hill, near Oakham. He enlisted in the Nottingham City Battalion in September [1914], and was immediately drafted to the 3rd Sherwood Foresters, and trained at Crown Hill Barracks, Plymouth. He was one of thirty volunteers who were sent out to France as a reinforcement to the 2nd Sherwood Foresters at the beginning of February, and has been at the front ever since. Private Charlton is the first member of the Nottingham Chartered Accountants Students’ Society to be killed in action.” Above courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918 Nottingham Evening Post, 10 September 1915. Photograph with caption: ‘Private W (sic) Charlton, 3rd (sic) Sherwood Foresters, Burley-on-the-Hill, Oakham, and articled to GM Moore, Nottingham, killed by a bomb while driving the Germans out of a trench. Aged 19½’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his father James was his sole legatee.
