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Pte. Charles George Adams
British Army 2nd Btn. Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
from:West Ham
(d.1st July 1915)
The DCLI records show that Charles Adams joined up at Stratford on the 31st of August 1914, only a few weeks after the outbreak of war. He was just a few days short of his 20th birthday, though the record shows him as being 20 years old.
Charles arrived in France on 30th of April 1915, which was also the day he wrote his will. After arrival in France, he was soon in the trenches near Sanctuary Wood in the Ypres Salient as part of A Coy 2 DCLI. Later the battalion moved to Houplines further South of Ypres.
He was one of three soldiers killed in trench 80 near Houplines on the 1st of July 1915 by a German trench mortar. The other two soldiers killed were Pte Drew and Pte Andrews. The Battalion War Diary describes how the three died even down to the time, it says: "Between 2 & 3 am No. 80 Trench was again bombarded by a trench mortar, 15 bombs were fired 2 of which landed in the trenches killing 3 and wounding 2 men. At 11:30 am enemy working parties were observed in the neighbourhood of LES 4 HALLOTS FARM and further South. They appeared to be employed on making communication trenches behind their first line but work was stopped by our fire. Our snipers accounted for 3 enemy snipers in front of trenches 80 & 81 behind the enemy's second line. In the evening a trench howitzer was brought up to 80 trench to deal with the enemy's trench mortar should it again become active. The artillery were also pointed out the position of the enemy's trench mortar & and were kept in readiness to cooperate with the trench howitzer if required. Casualties 3 other ranks killed and 2 wounded." The War Diary records that the trench mortar had been firing for some days and usually at about the same time.
Pte. Charles George Adams No.11937 2 DCLI, was posthumously awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He was 20 years old at the time of his death and had been on active service for just two months and two days.
Charles's uncle, my grandfather Albert Alexander Adams, also served in 2 DCLI and though he was reported, on 28th of May, as being wounded, we believe he was with Charles on that fateful 1st July. Grandfather survived the War though wounded and gassed. The family say he was a broken man on his return home, he died aged 46 from various lung problems, no doubt caused by the gassing.
