Charles Albert Parr was born in Hemel Hempstead early in 1893 the fourth child of Walter Parr and his second wife Mary Ann who had five children together. Charles had two half-brothers from his father’s first marriage, Herbert Henry and Walter. His full siblings were: Mary Jane Susan who was older and Ernest William, Emily Margaret and Lilian who were younger. His younger brother Ernest served with the 4th Northamptonshire Regiment and was a POW in Suez, Egypt. He survived the war.

Charles’ father Walter died in 1898 and left his mother Mary Ann with five children under the age of nine. As a result Mary Ann went out to work and found a job as a ‘Charwoman’ and on the meagre wages from her work she raised her family. Charles left school in 1906 and immediately went to work as a ‘Brush Maker’, with G. B. Kent & Sons Ltd. in Apsley. He was still there on his eighteenth birthday in 1911 but by 1915 he had left and moved to Stanmore, Middlesex where his address was given as 3 Chart Cottages, Green Lane and he worked as a ‘Gardener’.

He attested at Watford under the ‘Derby’ (Group) Scheme on 17th November 1915 where he was deemed fit for general service and assigned to ‘Group 5’ based on his year of birth. He was assigned to the Army Reserve and given a call up date of the 22nd January 1916, when he returned to report for active service.

He enlisted at Mill Hill with 11th Battalion, Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) and later transferred to the 4th Battalion. His service records give the following details about Charles: At 5 feet 5½ inches he was taller than average, had a 37 inch chest and weighed 129 lbs (9 st 3 lbs). His medical records state that Charles had lost his teeth and wore a false set. Ths was not unusual for the time and would have been seen as an advantage by the forces. Dental problems and tooth decay affected almost 90% of all enlisted soldiers during the war and often took them out of the line due to painful complications.

Charles was initially posted to Chatham to train and on the 19th May 1916 he was sent to France. The 4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment were under the orders of the 63rd Brigade in the 21st Division and fought at the Battle of Albert during the bloody opening of the Somme Offensive on the 1st July. Between the 1st and 3rd July Charles experienced the horrors of war for the first time and was fortunate to come through unscathed, although many of his comrades did not. The Battalion War Diary records the casualties as follows: "Officers Killed – 15; Officers Wounded – 4; O.R. Killed – 131; Wounded – 337; Missing believed killed - 15; Missing – 38". This represented just over half Battalion strength and five days later on the 8th July, the 4th Middlesex was transferred to the 37th Division and Charles and his comrades did not see serious action again until the last Battle of the Somme at Ancre in November 1916.

Charles, now acting Lance Corporal received a leg injury in January 1917, which may have been as the result of an accident as no casualites are recorded in December or January. Nevertheless, Charles was evacuated back to England on the 4th January 1917 and spent thirty-six days in Hayton House hospital in Carlisle being treated and recovering. He left hospital on the 9th February and came back to Hemel Hempstead and his mother to convalese, before finally returning to France on the 30th March and re-joining his unit twenty days later. His return coincided with his promotion to Lance Corporal confirmed.

Charles was in action immediately fighting through the Arras Offensive in May and by July he had moved with his comrades to a position north of Ypres when the Battalion prepared for an attack at Pilckem Ridge. This battle was the opening engagment in what became known as the Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele. Pilckem was again a costly action for the allies and the 4th Middlesex was no exception. The Battalion War Diary records 210 casualties which included Charles who was posted missing on the 31st July 1917.

It was not until September 1917 that Charles’ fate was confirmed, when the Geneva Red Cross wrote to his mother confirming that he had died from wounds whilst in hospital as a German Prioner of War. The contents of the letter were published in the Hemel Gazette. It was later communicated that he died as a result of grenade splinters in his thigh at Wevelgem in Belgium.

Charles died on Friday, 3rd August 1917.

Charles is remembered with Honour in Harlebeke New British Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, where he is interred in Grave XIV. D. 16.

He was 24 years old when he died.

Charles was eligible for the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.