Charles D. Burch CH/13982
| Initial lead courtesy of Osborn World War One. | ||||||||
| Charles Drayson Burch was born on 15th May 1888 at Woodnesborough, Kent, to Robert and Emily. He was a few days shy of his sixteenth birthday when he enlisted with the Royal Marines at Deal on 18th April 1904. His trade is recorded as Page Boy. He was enlisted into the Chatham Division with the service number 13982. | ||||||||
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Charles initially held the rank of Bugler and would serve on the Monmouth-class armoured cruiser HMS Kent from August 1905 until December 1907, HMS Thetis between August and December 1909 and, following straight on from this, HMS Iphigenia for a year. Having returned to the Division, Charles was promoted to the rank of Private on 25th August 1910. For a month from the middle of June 1911 he was stationed on HMS Hogue and from the following December until May 1915 on HMS Dominion which served in the Grand Fleet's 3rd Battle Squadron early in the war. After disembarking Dominion he was promoted to Corporal on 26th May. Charles was then stationed on HMS M3 for one week in June. M3 was of the monitor class designed for shore bombardment and was deployed to the Dardanelles at this time. On 25th September Charles was transferred to the Royal Marine Brigade and entered the land battle on the Gallipoli peninsula. After being deployed to France, Charles was promoted to Acting Sergeant on 19th April 1916 and then Acting Lance Sergeant on 29th September. He was killed in action during the 1st Royal Marines’ attack on the Ancre. His body was not recovered and his name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. |
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