| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information
Charles came from the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area, he was born in 1895, one of four children born to Daniel Dennis McCarthy and his wife Emma. Charles followed his father into the Merchant Navy and is recorded in the 1911 census as being an “assistant steward on a steamship”. By the time war broke out he was working as a “shop manager” in Hull. It seems his parents were living apart, Daniel in Bermondsey, London whilst Emma moved to Hull and was working as the manageress of a cake and bread shop. Emma moved to Beverley by the time war broke out, living variously on Ladygate, at 19 Walkergate and Woodbine, New Walk.
Charles enlisted for the army at Hull Central Recruiting Office on 11 Nov 1914. He joined the 13th Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment, the 4th Hull Pals Battalion and trained in Ripon. He was promoted to lance-corporal in Feb 1915, to corporal in Sep 1915, lance-sergeant in Jul 1916 and the acting-sergeant on 1 Oct 1916. The 13th was sent to Egypt in Dec 1915 to undertake protection duties along the Suez Canal, threatened by Ottoman Turk forces in Palestine. In Mar 1916 they returned to France via Marseilles and reached the Western Front to take part in the Battle of the Somme. On 13 Nov 1916 they took part in the Battle of Serre, on the western part of the battlefield and the last major action of the battle, the 13th suffered very heavy casualties. Charles was reported missing and his mother in Beverley was only informed of his burial on 23 Mar 1918. He is buried in Queen’s Cemetery, Puisieux.
Charles was awarded the War and Victory Medal as well as the 1914-15 Star. He is commemorated on the Hengate Memorial and the East Riding Memorial in Beverley Minster.
After the war his mother moved back to Hull. Charles’ father served in the Royal Naval Reserve as a captain. He was mentioned in Dispatches for bravery. He died in South Africa in 1930. |