Rank: Warrant Officer Class 111 (Platoon Sergeant Major)
Service Number: 5100144
Regiment: Royal Warwickshire Regiment 2nd Battalion.
Died: 27th May 1940
Age: 39 years old
Born on the 19th September 1900 in Hunningham, Warwickshire and baptised on the 28th October, Charles was the son of John Joseph Agutter and Elizabeth Hannah Agutter (née Pearson). His father was a Baker and a grocer. He had three older brothers, Herbert, Frederic and Thomas.
After leaving school Charles worked as a farm labourer before enlisting as a Private in the Royal Marines on the 7th November 1917. He was classed as 'under age' until his 18th birthday. Initially based at Deal in Kent he served mainly in the Plymouth Division for the next 3 years before being discharged on the 1st April 1920. His character was described as 'Very Good'. Charles then re-enlisted, for a normal period of service, in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the 12th April 1922.
In early 1934 (Q1) Charles married Irene Barton in Guildford, Surrey. They had a son and a daughter. Born on the 17th September 1934, they named their son John Joseph after Charles's father. Their daughter Gillian was born in 1939.
On the 27th May 1940 Charles was at Wormhoudt, an area of France just south of Dunkirk which was being held by the British Expeditionary Force as a part of the safe corridor for retreat to Dunkirk's beaches and harbour. Several different battalions of British soldiers were in charge of defending the town by delaying the German advance, including the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. They were greatly outnumbered and outgunned.
German aircraft were flying over Wormhoudt on their way to Dunkirk and therefore it came as no surprise when they bombed Wormhoudt's town centre. Enemy tanks soon approached. Having held their position for some time and allowed the safe evacuation of thousands of British troops, the Commander of the 2nd Battalion gave orders for his men to make their way to Dunkirk to try and evacuate themselves.
At some point on the retreat to or at Dunkirk, Charles was killed. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the Dunkirk Memorial.
In WW1, Charles's older brother Frederic George Agutter served in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman on H.M Brig No 1. This was a 'Q' Ship. These were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. On the 14th December 1917 the ship was in action with German Submarine UC.53 in the Straits of Sicily. Frederic and two other crew members died in that action. He was buried on the Island of Pantelleria in the local cemetery there but his grave was subsequently destroyed in the battles of the 1939-1945 war. He is now commemorated by a 'Special Memorial' in Capuccini Naval Cemetery on the Island of Malta.
(Sources: CWGC, Ancestry, Find My Past, Wikipedia)
(Bio: Woose)
Service Number: 5100144
Regiment: Royal Warwickshire Regiment 2nd Battalion.
Died: 27th May 1940
Age: 39 years old
Born on the 19th September 1900 in Hunningham, Warwickshire and baptised on the 28th October, Charles was the son of John Joseph Agutter and Elizabeth Hannah Agutter (née Pearson). His father was a Baker and a grocer. He had three older brothers, Herbert, Frederic and Thomas.
After leaving school Charles worked as a farm labourer before enlisting as a Private in the Royal Marines on the 7th November 1917. He was classed as 'under age' until his 18th birthday. Initially based at Deal in Kent he served mainly in the Plymouth Division for the next 3 years before being discharged on the 1st April 1920. His character was described as 'Very Good'. Charles then re-enlisted, for a normal period of service, in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the 12th April 1922.
In early 1934 (Q1) Charles married Irene Barton in Guildford, Surrey. They had a son and a daughter. Born on the 17th September 1934, they named their son John Joseph after Charles's father. Their daughter Gillian was born in 1939.
On the 27th May 1940 Charles was at Wormhoudt, an area of France just south of Dunkirk which was being held by the British Expeditionary Force as a part of the safe corridor for retreat to Dunkirk's beaches and harbour. Several different battalions of British soldiers were in charge of defending the town by delaying the German advance, including the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. They were greatly outnumbered and outgunned.
German aircraft were flying over Wormhoudt on their way to Dunkirk and therefore it came as no surprise when they bombed Wormhoudt's town centre. Enemy tanks soon approached. Having held their position for some time and allowed the safe evacuation of thousands of British troops, the Commander of the 2nd Battalion gave orders for his men to make their way to Dunkirk to try and evacuate themselves.
At some point on the retreat to or at Dunkirk, Charles was killed. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the Dunkirk Memorial.
In WW1, Charles's older brother Frederic George Agutter served in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman on H.M Brig No 1. This was a 'Q' Ship. These were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. On the 14th December 1917 the ship was in action with German Submarine UC.53 in the Straits of Sicily. Frederic and two other crew members died in that action. He was buried on the Island of Pantelleria in the local cemetery there but his grave was subsequently destroyed in the battles of the 1939-1945 war. He is now commemorated by a 'Special Memorial' in Capuccini Naval Cemetery on the Island of Malta.
(Sources: CWGC, Ancestry, Find My Past, Wikipedia)
(Bio: Woose)
Rank: Warrant Officer Class 111 (Platoon Sergeant Major)
Service Number: 5100144
Regiment: Royal Warwickshire Regiment 2nd Battalion.
Died: 27th May 1940
Age: 39 years old
Born on the 19th September 1900 in Hunningham, Warwickshire and baptised on the 28th October, Charles was the son of John Joseph Agutter and Elizabeth Hannah Agutter (née Pearson). His father was a Baker and a grocer. He had three older brothers, Herbert, Frederic and Thomas.
After leaving school Charles worked as a farm labourer before enlisting as a Private in the Royal Marines on the 7th November 1917. He was classed as 'under age' until his 18th birthday. Initially based at Deal in Kent he served mainly in the Plymouth Division for the next 3 years before being discharged on the 1st April 1920. His character was described as 'Very Good'. Charles then re-enlisted, for a normal period of service, in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the 12th April 1922.
In early 1934 (Q1) Charles married Irene Barton in Guildford, Surrey. They had a son and a daughter. Born on the 17th September 1934, they named their son John Joseph after Charles's father. Their daughter Gillian was born in 1939.
On the 27th May 1940 Charles was at Wormhoudt, an area of France just south of Dunkirk which was being held by the British Expeditionary Force as a part of the safe corridor for retreat to Dunkirk's beaches and harbour. Several different battalions of British soldiers were in charge of defending the town by delaying the German advance, including the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. They were greatly outnumbered and outgunned.
German aircraft were flying over Wormhoudt on their way to Dunkirk and therefore it came as no surprise when they bombed Wormhoudt's town centre. Enemy tanks soon approached. Having held their position for some time and allowed the safe evacuation of thousands of British troops, the Commander of the 2nd Battalion gave orders for his men to make their way to Dunkirk to try and evacuate themselves.
At some point on the retreat to or at Dunkirk, Charles was killed. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the Dunkirk Memorial.
In WW1, Charles's older brother Frederic George Agutter served in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman on H.M Brig No 1. This was a 'Q' Ship. These were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. On the 14th December 1917 the ship was in action with German Submarine UC.53 in the Straits of Sicily. Frederic and two other crew members died in that action. He was buried on the Island of Pantelleria in the local cemetery there but his grave was subsequently destroyed in the battles of the 1939-1945 war. He is now commemorated by a 'Special Memorial' in Capuccini Naval Cemetery on the Island of Malta.
(Sources: CWGC, Ancestry, Find My Past, Wikipedia)
(Bio: Woose)
Service Number: 5100144
Regiment: Royal Warwickshire Regiment 2nd Battalion.
Died: 27th May 1940
Age: 39 years old
Born on the 19th September 1900 in Hunningham, Warwickshire and baptised on the 28th October, Charles was the son of John Joseph Agutter and Elizabeth Hannah Agutter (née Pearson). His father was a Baker and a grocer. He had three older brothers, Herbert, Frederic and Thomas.
After leaving school Charles worked as a farm labourer before enlisting as a Private in the Royal Marines on the 7th November 1917. He was classed as 'under age' until his 18th birthday. Initially based at Deal in Kent he served mainly in the Plymouth Division for the next 3 years before being discharged on the 1st April 1920. His character was described as 'Very Good'. Charles then re-enlisted, for a normal period of service, in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the 12th April 1922.
In early 1934 (Q1) Charles married Irene Barton in Guildford, Surrey. They had a son and a daughter. Born on the 17th September 1934, they named their son John Joseph after Charles's father. Their daughter Gillian was born in 1939.
On the 27th May 1940 Charles was at Wormhoudt, an area of France just south of Dunkirk which was being held by the British Expeditionary Force as a part of the safe corridor for retreat to Dunkirk's beaches and harbour. Several different battalions of British soldiers were in charge of defending the town by delaying the German advance, including the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. They were greatly outnumbered and outgunned.
German aircraft were flying over Wormhoudt on their way to Dunkirk and therefore it came as no surprise when they bombed Wormhoudt's town centre. Enemy tanks soon approached. Having held their position for some time and allowed the safe evacuation of thousands of British troops, the Commander of the 2nd Battalion gave orders for his men to make their way to Dunkirk to try and evacuate themselves.
At some point on the retreat to or at Dunkirk, Charles was killed. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the Dunkirk Memorial.
In WW1, Charles's older brother Frederic George Agutter served in the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman on H.M Brig No 1. This was a 'Q' Ship. These were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. On the 14th December 1917 the ship was in action with German Submarine UC.53 in the Straits of Sicily. Frederic and two other crew members died in that action. He was buried on the Island of Pantelleria in the local cemetery there but his grave was subsequently destroyed in the battles of the 1939-1945 war. He is now commemorated by a 'Special Memorial' in Capuccini Naval Cemetery on the Island of Malta.
(Sources: CWGC, Ancestry, Find My Past, Wikipedia)
(Bio: Woose)
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