Gunner Charles Richard Thornton
| Date of Birth | c.1899 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 21 |
| Date of Death | 22nd October 1917 |
| Service Number | 123993 |
| Military Service | Royal Horse Artillery & Royal Field Artillery D Battery 315th Brigade |
| Merton Address | 45 Bath Road, Mitcham |
| Local Memorial | Mitcham War Memorial |
Additional Information
Charles Richard Thornton was born in the spring of 1896 to parents Charles (snr) and Annie (nee Smith). His parents had married on 16 July 1893 at St. John in Croydon and Charles was their second child.
The couple’s first child named Annie was Baptized on 1st April 1894. At this time the couple were living at Rock Terrace in Mitcham and Charles (snr) was working as a Dustman.
Charles and a younger sister called Lily were both Baptized on 3rd Dec 1899 at St. Peter & St. Paul in Mitcham. The family had now moved to 42 Queens Road in Mitcham.
The census of 1901 shows the family still at 42 Queens Road and Charles (snr) aged 29 Working as a Dustman. They now had five children: Annie, Charles, John, Lily and George 2 Weeks old.
Lily sadly died in September 1901 aged one. George and John were both Baptized the following month. The following year another child named Primrose was born, followed by Daisy a few years later.
By 1911 Charles’s parents had been married 18 years. 7 Children born to them with one child (Lily) that had died. They were now living at 45 Bath Road, Mitcham. Charles (snr) working as a carman/Dust refuse collector, and young Charles aged 14 was working as a factory labourer. Staying with the family were visitors: William Lawrence, Richard Washington, and Frederick Wowing. Annie later married Richard Washington on 7th September 1913.
At the outbreak of war Charles enlisted in Wimbledon joining the Royal Field Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery, D Battery 315th Brigaded.as a Gunner and given the service number 123993.
Charles’s regiment most likely saw action at Passchendaele on the Western Front and action at the 3rd Battle of Ypres including the 2nd battle of Passchendaele
Charles died of wounds on 22nd October 1917 aged just 21. He is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen in Belgium and his name is commemorated on the Mitcham War Memorial.