223225 Pte. Charles Hindley British Army 2nd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment from:100 Bayswater Road, Leeds (d.5th Feb 1915) Today 5th Feb 2014 is the centenary 'anniversary' death of Charles Hindley my Great Great Uncle. It is strange to think of him as being a great great uncle when images of an elderly man would come to mind. Charles Hindley didn't get 'old' and he has no direct descendants to remember him for when he died he was 24 years old and single.
Charles Hindley was born in Leeds, Yorkshire to Tom Hindley and Rebecca Pinkney on the 27 Apr 1890. He was the 8th child from 12 and the second of 3 sons, all of whom served for King & Country. Tom Hindley, his father was a bricklayer who died in a tragic accident while working 'up North' in Sunderland in 1905. Life would not have been easy for his mother, Rebecca, who had also suffered the loss of 4 of her children.
Both Charles and his brother, Henry Thomas Hindley (my Great Grandfather), appear to have 'joined' up relatively early both opting for the West Yorkshire Battalion, Charles to the 2nd Btn. and Henry initially to the 1st Btn. Military records (service and pension) for both brothers are 'missing', most likely destroyed after a fire during WW2 bombings.
However, from photographs and regiment records along with medals I can assume that when war broke out Charles was serving in Malta. On the 14 September 1914 his regiment embarked for the UK landing at Southampton on the 25 September 1914 where they joined with the 23rd Bde. 8th Div at Hursley Park, Winchester. Charles and the 2nd West Yks were posted to France and arrived in Le Havre on the 5 Nov 1914.
Charles Hindley was shot through the head and died instantly in France on February 5th 1915 near Lille and is buried in Rue-Du-Bacquerot No.1 Military Cemetery, Laventie. This is a small cemetery at the back of a farm, well cared for by the C.W.G.C. I was fortunate enough to have visited a couple of years ago and wish that I could have been there today.
Charles death was recorded in the local newspaper and from it came some 'comforting' news. Corp. Henry Thomas Hindley wrote home to his family that Charles had died painlessly and that on the 23rd Dec 1914 the two brothers had met accidentally in the trenches. They hadn't seen each other for 5 years! I wonder if they took part in one of the Christmas truce football matches?
Henry Thomas Hindley survived the war as did his younger brother Harold Hindley.
To Charles Hindley, today I remember you and so long as there is breath in me I shall not forget.
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