Thomas William Charlton, 11074 Cpl.

Remembered with Honour
A soldier of the Border Regiment
Name	Thomas William Charlton
Rank	Corporal
Number	11074
Battalion	6th Border Regiment
Company
Att'd/Trans
Former unit
Enlisted	Keswick, Cumberland 18 August 1914
Resident	Lowther, Cumberland
Where born	Lowther, 4 June, 1895
Ctry of service	United Kingdom
Burial / Commemoration
Where died	F & F
How died	Killed in action
Age	21
Date of death	26 September 1916
Casualty type	Commonwealth War Dead
Grave ref.	Pier and Face 6A and 7C
Resting place	Thiepval Memorial

Additional information

Source
Soldiers Died in the Great War (1921) / Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Notes

Family background

Thomas William Charlton was born in Lowther, Cumberland on the 4 June, 1895. He was the son of William and Kate Charlton (nee Chapelhow). William worked as a railway platelayer and later a stone wall mason. They had nine children:

• Richard Charlton (b. 1889)
• Fred Charlton (b. 1890)
• Mary Charlton (b. 1893)
• Thomas William Charlton (b. 1895)
• Edward Charlton (b. 1898)
• Beatrice Charlton (b. 1900)
• Anthony Charlton (b. 1902)
• Maggie Charlton (b. 1905)
• Albert Charlton (b.1907)

Thomas William Charlton was educated at Lowther Endowed School, was a resident of Lowther and was employed as a wood cutter, having previously worked for Mr. Sparks at Scaws Farm, Penrith. He enlisted at Keswick on 18 August 1914 and just after a year in service was promoted to Lance Corporal on 17 November 1915, and again to Corporal on 7 September 1916. He served in the Dardanelles, suffered a gunshot wound to the face on 18 August 1915 and spend convalescing time on the hospital ship Tunisian. He rejoined his unit at Suvla Bay on 24 October 1915.

He served in the Mediterranean from 1 July 1915 to 27 June 1916, leaving for France the following day.

He was killed during an attack on Joseph and Schwaben Trenches near Thiepval.

Local newspaper

The local newspaper included the following:

Local War Notes and Incidents - The Roll of Honour

“Mr W. Charlton, Lowther Village, on Tuesday received news that his eldest surviving son Thomas, had been killed in action. He enlisted in the Border Regiment in August 1914, and went through the Dardanelles fighting, when he was wounded. After leaving the hospital he went to France. His section Sergeant writes:

We were waiting for the word to attack. The Germans were shelling our positions very heavily. One of the shells fell where Tom and some of his comrades were, killing him and about seven others instantly. I can tell you it was a terrible shock to all the boys, as I know it will be to you. Your son was not only respected by the Lewis gun section, but by the whole company. Everyone was very sorry, and I send the sympathy of the section.

Private Charlton's death makes the fourth victim among the boys who attended Lowther Endowed School during the whole of their school career.”

---

“Charlton, killed in action, on 26 September, Thomas William the dearly beloved son of Kate & William Charlton, Lowther Village, aged 21 years. His toil is past his work is done, and he is fully blest. He fought the fight, the victory won, and entered into rest. Sleep on, dear son, in a soldiers grave. Your life for your country you nobly gave. No one stood near you to say goodbye, but safe in Gods keeping now you lie.”

Abbreviations and notes for soldier's remembrance infobox
d. = died (see point 7 below)	d.o.w. = died of wounds	k.i.a. = killed in action	F & F = France and Flanders (inc. Italy)
Places where soldiers were born, enlisted and died (or buried) have been listed as it was originally published in Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19, Volume 39, The Border Regiment. As a result you may notice some variations in spelling due to a combination of factors including the changes made in the Governmental reform of 1965 and 1974. Some place names changed slightly and some county borders were moved, which either enlarged or reduced these counties in overall size. It might be possible that a town belonging to one county could now belong to another when the borders of those counties moved. Many military abbreviations have also been included here as it was published at the time, for example, the rank Sergeant is sometimes spelt Serjeant depending on the source material. Various ranks have also in many cases been abbreviated, for example, Private is abbreviated to Pte., Lance Corporal to L/Cpl. and Company Sergeant Major CSM Resident signifies where the soldier was living at the time he enlisted. The residences of the enlistees, in many cases, were different to places they enlisted in. Att'd/trans. signifies a soldier was attached or transferred to another unit whilst serving in the Border Regiment. Former unit signifies a soldier served in another unit prior to be transferred to the Border Regiment. Awards are included if a soldier was awarded, for instance, the Distinguished Conduct Medal. This field is usually left blank although many casualties of the Border Regiment were awarded for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. This terminology was usually used in awards such as DCM citations. A full list of Distinguished Conduct Medal Citations has been transcribed. How died can be somewhat ambiguous, for instance d. simply signifies that the soldier died but does not elaborate any further. This could mean he died as a result of sickness such as dysentry, colitis, pneumonia or malaria etc., or possibly an accidental death. Where died usually signifies the theatre of war such as France and Flanders, Macedonia, Gallipoli, Balkans and/or a country such as Egypt etc. Grave ref. list a variety of different references. Most will provide alpha-numeric references and some will show, for instance, Panel 6, Rear of churchyard or in other cases will simply remain blank as no reference has been provided.