Name
Charles Whittaker
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Lance Corporal
Army Service Corps
Motor Transport
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Not Yet Researched
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Biography
Charles Whittaker was born on 30th April 1892 at Abbots Langley. He was one of seven children (three sons and four daughters) born to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Whittaker. Charles’ brother, Arthur, also served in the Great War. The family lived at Yew Tree Cottage, Abbots Road, Abbots Langley. Nathaniel had previously been employed as a Plumber and Lead Worker, but by 1911 had retired.
On 12th December 1914 Charles attested to the Army Service Corps (ASC) and was attached to No 6 Motor Ambulance Convoy. He gave the name George Charles Whittaker when he attested, his occupation as Motor Driver, and noted that he had served for two years in with the 1st Battalion of the Hertfordshire Territorials. He joined up with the ASC at their depot at Grove Park on 13th December and embarked at Avonmouth on the SS “Twickenham” on 5th February 1915, and arrived at Rouen in France on 10th February. Charles was first recorded in the Abbots Langley Parish Magazine Roll of Honour in January 1915 serving with the Army Service Corps (ASC). On 18th April he was transferred to No 4 Motor Ambulance Convoy, and returned to No 6 on 10th May 1915.
Charles was admitted to 21 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) on 27th October 1915 suffering from tonsillitis. He was discharged on 2nd November 1915. On 28th February 1916 he was posted to 2nd ASC Repair Shops, and on 11th March was posted to the 16th Auxiliary Bus Company at GHQ.
He was granted leave between 29th April and 4th May 1916, and during this time he married Florence Lacey at Stratford on Avon on 2nd May. Throughout 1916 and 1917 he continued to serve with the 16th Auxiliary Bus Company. In January 1917 the Abbots Langley Parish Roll of Honour noted that he had transferred to the Motor Transport Section of the Army Service Corps (MTASC). Charles was granted leave between 1st to 13th September 1917 and he received a third period of leave from 6th to 20th October 1918. When he returned from leave he was appointed Acting Corporal on 26th October 1918 to cover a man who had been hospitalised. He was subsequently appointed Lance Corporal on 26th December 1918.
Between 14th April and 3rd May 1919 he was transferred to serve with the Motor Transport Company 2nd Echelon and on 7th May 1919 Charles was transferred to the UK for release. He arrived on 8th May and was demobilised from Woolwich Dockyard on 6th June 1919. He was assessed as Medical Category “A”, and when demobilised was described as sober, reliable and intelligent and his Service Record noted that whilst serving he had gained a Specialist Military Qualification as a Mechanic. Arthur’s Medal Roll indicated that he had gained the rank of Acting Corporal before demobilisation.
Charles survived the War, as did his brother Arthur and cousins Stephen and William. His cousin Jesse Whittaker was killed in action on the Somme on 27th September 1916, and his brother in law Haseley George, who had married his sister May, was also killed in action on 22nd October 1918.
Acknowledgments
Roger Yapp - www.backtothefront.org
