Name
Charles Furr (MM)
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
19157
Bedfordshire Regiment
2nd Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Military Medal
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Pirton School Memorial
Biography
Charles appears on the School War Memorial, confirming that he attended the school. Parish records suggest only one man of this name who could have served, and he was baptised on September 7th 1884, the son of Charles and Eliza Sarah Furr (née French), who seems to have commonly been known as Sarah. In all it would appear that four brothers or half-brothers served and survived - refer to George French and Albert Furr for more family details.
It seems that George and his brothers (or half-brothers), Charles, Albert and Fred, all served and, remarkably, all survived the war.
Charles is recorded in the Parish Magazine of September 1915 as enlisting sometime during 1914, but after July, and serving in the 2nd Bedfordshire Regiment. He would have been about thirty. He lived with his wife, Clara (née Males), and the three children they had before the war, in one of the Holwell Cottages, - they are the twelve terraced cottages in Holwell Road also known as the ‘Twelve Apostles’. His wife’s brother, Harry Males, also served and survived.
He had been a navvy, working in Letchworth, but, prior to enlisting, he was employed in the building of a new house in Hitchin for a Mr Lance Wright. He is first recorded in the Hertfordshire Express of January 8th 1917, when he wrote a sad letter, conveying news of the death of Charles Burton to his wife. Charles was also known as Edward Charles and is listed on the Village War Memorial. The letter was written after December 21st 1916, and the article reports Charles as being a stretcher-bearer. He was wounded several times, possibly while performing this work. He certainly went on to be decorated for doing it.
It is complicated to piece together the chronological order of events and the number of times he was wounded but, from a mixture of Parish Magazine and newspaper reports, the following is believed to be correct:
Charles went to France in June 1915 and was recorded as being in hospital in September 1915. He managed to get home on leave around November 16th 1916. On May 12th 1917, the Regiment’s War Diary records a Brigade ceremonial parade in Buire-au-Bois, during which Charles, and others were awarded their medal ribbons by G.O.C. (General Officer Commanding) XIX Corps, Lt. General H.E.Watts, C.B., C.M.G. The London Gazette confirmed this on June 18th 1917: ‘His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to award the Military Medal for bravery in the field to 19157 Private Charles Furr of the Bedfordshire Regiment.’ The newspapers were more specific ‘courageous stretcher-bearing under shell fire’ - it was common for stretcher bearers to go into no man’s land, unarmed to recover the wounded. He must have been a very brave man. By April 1918, he had been wounded for the second time (Parish Magazine report), this time in the hand which resulted in him being hospitalized to Stoke-on-Trent. The Hertfordshire Express confirmed this as occurring about March 20th. The Hertfordshire Express of September 28th 1918 reports Charles as being wounded again, for the third time. This time it was a severe bullet wound to the left shoulder and he went to Trouville Hospital in France.
By 1918, he was recorded as Private 19157 (the war diary transcription suggests 19167, but is probably an error) 2nd Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment and his home address confirmed as 5 Holwell Road.
After the war, Charles and Clara went on to have another seven children, bringing the total to ten: Frederick C Males (b 1910), Clarence, Betty, Dan, Molly, Charlotte, Lilian, John, Sheila and Laura. Charles died on April 19th 1952, aged sixty-seven and Clara died on January 5th 1980, aged ninety.
Note: Four men with a Pirton connection were awarded a medal. Military Medals were awarded to Charles Furr (born in Pirton), Sidney Cox (baptised in Pirton) and Lieutenant Arthur Robert Walker (born in Pirton, but who had been living in Canada before the war) and a Distinguished Conduct Medal to Henry George Chamberlain (born in Pirton and who was killed in the war).
Additional Information
Text from the book ‘The Pride of Pirton’ by Jonty Wild, Tony French & Chris Ryan used with author's permission
Acknowledgments
Text from the book ‘The Pride of Pirton’ by Jonty Wild, Tony French & Chris Ryan used with author's permission
