Biography of Private Charles Henry Randall (64200)
16th Battalion Cheshire Regiment
Formerly M2/180962, R.A.S.C
Died 4th April 1918

• Name: Lydia Mary Knipe
• DOB: 1869
• Place Of Birth: Thurlby, Lincolnshire, England
• Marriage: 1887 Bourne District

• Charles’s brother William Leonard also fought and were killed in WW1. William can be found on our page dedicated to the Thurlby War Memorial.

• No marriage for Charles has been found and because of his age we can assume that he never had the opportunity to marry.

Newspaper Mentions

• Grantham Journal Saturday 11th May 1918
  THURLBY
  WAR Notes.- Mr. and Mrs. Day have received a letter from the Sister-in charge of a Casualty Clearing Station, dated May 3rd, informing them that
  their son Robert, R.F.A., has been admitted suffering from a very severe wound in the knee, and little hopes are held out that the leg will be saved.  Their son has served 17 years with the colours, and was called up on Aug. 4th, 1914.  He has been in many great battles since.  He was home last year, looking fit and weil, and had every confidence that he would pull through.  Mr. and Mrs. Randall have had official news that their second son (Royal Engineers) is posted as missing since April 6th.  They lost thrie other son about a year ago, and great sympathy is expressed towards them.  He was to have come home in May, having been recommended for a commission.

Military Records

Medals

• The British Medal
• The Victory Medal

Memorials

• UK:
• Thurlby, Roll of Honour in St Firmin’s Church

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
• In memory of Private Charles Henry Randall, 64200, 16th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment who died on 4 April 1918
• Remembered with honour, Pozieres Memorial.
• Panel 35 and 36.

© Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

Military Service Timeline

• Today we remember Thurlby man, Charles Henry Randall who died on this day 4 April 1918 aged 27 whilst serving with the 16th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment.

   

  Born in Sheffield in 1890, between the months of July and September, Charles was the son of Charles Randall, a carpenter from Freiston, Lincolnshire, and Lydia Mary (nee Knipe) from Thurlby. Charles and Lydia were married in 1887 in Bourne.

   

  They went on to have nine children in total, three sadly did not make it past infancy:

   

  Charles Henry (born 1890, Darnall, Sheffield)

  Ethel L (1893, Freiston, died 1909)

  Maud Eveline (1894, Freiston)

  William Leonard (1895, Freiston)

  James (1896, Freiston, died 1897)

  Anthony (1899, Freiston, died 1899)

  Lizzie Mary (1902, Thurlby)

  Lucy May (1905, Thurlby)

  Plus one more whose name is unknown taken from the 1911 census.

   

  In 1891, Charles was recorded to be living in Freiston at his Grandparents’ house. By 1901, the family had moved to Northorpe, Thurlby where his father established his own carpentry business. In 1911, aged 20, Charles began to assist his father with his business.

   

  At the age of 25, Charles Henry enlisted on February 21st 1916 in Bourne. After being mobilised on the 15th May 1916, his first posting was to the Mechanical Transport Department of the Army Service Corps. On his attestation papers, he listed his occupation as a wheelwright, no doubt changing his posting to Motor Transport.

   

  On the 19th May 1916, Charles joined the Army Service Corps, Reserve Depot at Grove Park, Lewisham.

   

  From Charles’ military records, we can piece together his time in the military:

   

  3.2.17- transferred to Infantry (61st Res Battalion), Abergele.

  4.2.17- compulsory transferred as above, retains form rate of pay.

  9.3.17- posted Pte to 58th Training Res Bn

  11.7.17- transferred to 3rd Bn Cheshire Regt

  18.10.17- embarked for France.

  19.10.17- posted to British Expeditionary Force

  19.10.17- posted 9th Battalion- Rouen

  25.10.17- posted & proceeded 16th Battalion- Field

  In early 1918 the 16th Battalion had been in Belgium around the Poelcapelle area and in and out of training.

  8.2.18- 16th Battalion Chesire Regiment was disbanded and the men moved into Surplus Wing to be reassigned into other Battalions and Regiments.

  22.2.18- Attd 12th (Duty?) Bn

  4.4.18- Reported missing

   

  On Charles’ records, the note ‘’posted 1/5th’’ was made after he was reported missing.

   

  In another document, with regards to the British Army Daily Reports (missing, dead, wounded, POWs) it lists his tertiary unit as attached 7th Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment.

   

  The 7th West Kents were certainly in the correct area of the Somme and also were part of a defence near Villers-Bretonneux on the 4th April, after an intense artillery bombardment, followed by an attack on 2 divisions of assault troops that broke through the lines.

   

  Although records cannot confirm this, it is likely that Charles was killed in the ‘’Battle of Avre’’ whilst assigned to the 7th Battalion West Kents.

   

  On the 24.5.19, an additional note was added to his files claiming ‘’’death accepted for official purposes.’’ In total, Charles had served in the army for 2 years and 43 days.

   

  On 18th February 1920, his father Charles Randall acknowledged that he had received his son’s British War and Victory medals.

   

  Charles’ younger brother, William Leonard, also served and died in the First World War. Having served with the Royal Engineers, William was killed on the 28th September 1917. He is buried in Monchy British Cemetery, Monchy-Le-Preux.

   

  Charles is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial on the Somme.Situated on the Bapaume- Albert road, the Memorial encloses Pozieres Cemetery. The Pozieres Memorial commemorates over 14,000 men from the United Kingdom and 300 South Africans with no known grave who fought in the Somme region from 21 March to 7 August 1918. Pozieres Cemetery contains both battlefield and concentration burials brough to the site after the end of the war. The original plots include dates from 1916 onwards, with the majority being of those who died in the Autumn of 1916. There are 2,758 Commonwealth servicemen buried or commemorated in this cemetery- 1,380 of which are unidentified. There are ‘’special memorials’’ as referred to by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, to 23 casualties known or who are believed to be buried in this cemetery. There is also 1 German burial.

   

  The cemetery and memorial were designed by W. H. Cowlishaw, with sculpture by Laurence A. Turner. The memorial was unveiled by Sir Horace Smith- Dorrien on 4 August 1930.

   

  Charles is commemorated on Panel 36.

Sources

• WW1 Soldier’s Records (www.ancestry.co.uk)
• British Newspaper Archive.
• Fold 3
• Find My Past
• Genealogist
• Forces War Records
• British Army Service Numbers
• War Gratuity Calculator
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• National Archives – Battalion War Diaries
• General Registry Office