Henry Charge, known as Harry, was born at Hoblett’s Orchard on High Street Green, Hertfordshire in 1878, and baptised on 10th October 1879 at St Paul’s Church, Hemel Hempstead, along with his older brother Charles. Their mother was Fanny Charge and the family lived at Hoblett’s Cottages with Fanny’s father John, a "Shepherd" from nearby Leverstock Green. Two years after the baptism, Fanny married Joseph Edward Lee, an uncle of Harry’s future wife Jenny. The 1891 census recorded twelve-year-old Harry living with the Pugh family in Chapel Street, Hemel Hempstead and already working as an ‘Agricultural Labourer’. Not long afterwards he got a job as a ‘Labourer’ in the Brickfields at Maylands, just across the road from where he was born and he lived not far away at Adeyfield.

In April 1894, Harry enlisted with the Militia and joined the 4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. He gave his age as “18 years and 4 months” but his army medical, assessed his apparent physical age as “17 years and 6 months”. In fact, he was still only sixteen years old. Nevertheless, he was deemed fit for military service and joined the Militia. In his attestation papers, Harry is described as “5 feet 4¾ inches”, weighing “124 lbs” (8st 12lbs), with a fresh complexion, grey eyes, brown hair and with a tattoo on each forearm. He served for two and a half years before he paid a forfeit of £1 to buy himself out and left the army in April 1897.

He met his wife Jenny (Jeanette) through his step-father Joseph, who was her uncle. Harry and Jenny married on Christmas Day 1897 at St Pauls Church on Queen Street, Hemel Hempstead in what records show was a double celebration. On the same day in the church and just before Harry and Jenny tied the knot, her brother Frederick married Jane Mitchell, with James and Annie Lovett acting as witnesses for both couples. The address listed for all four newly weds at the time was “Hardy Field”, which appears to have been misheard, as in fact all four lived in the area of "Adeyfield", only a mile from the Church. Harry and Jenny remained in Adeyfield where he now worked as a ‘Bricklayer’. They had five children together starting with Minnie in 1898; Harry (Henry) two years later in 1900; then came Charley (Charles) in 1904; Sidney in 1905 and finally; after a five year gap, Ivy in 1910. After Harry’s death, Jenny never remarried and raised their family alone. In 1939 she was living at Bury Lodge with her son Sidney, who was ‘Head Gardner’ at the ‘Bury’ in Hemel Hempstead. She died in 1941 aged sixty-four.

At some time after 1911, Harry went to work for John Dickinson & Co. Limited in Apsley Mills and he remained there until he joined the Colours. Harry was called up under the Military Service Act and he attested at Hemel Hempstead in July 1916 and was posted to the Suffolk Regiment. He was sent to Felixstowe to train with the 3rd (Reserve Battalion) and then posted for overseas service to the 12th (East Anglian) Battalion Suffolk Regiment in early 1917. He arrived with his unit in May when it was at Gouzeaucourt, twelve miles south of Cambrai in France.

The 12th Battalion was originally raised as a ‘Bantam’ battalion at Bury St Edmunds in July 1915. The ‘Bantams’ were the brainchild of Alfred Bigland, MP for Birkenhead, who had heard of the frustration of perfectly fit men rejected by the army because they did not meet the minimum physical requirements namely; 5ft 3 inches tall, with a chest measurement of at least 34 inches. He gained permission from the War Office to form up a battalion of smaller men, which he funded himself, and the first ‘Bantam’ unit came into being in Birkenhead. The recruits were all between 4 ft 10 ins and 5 ft 3 ins, and whilst many underage volunteers took advantage of these entry criteria, the creation of these battalions proved to be highly popular and soon units spread across the country and gained their own unique identity. Many developed a fearsome fighting reputation and as a result, adopted the emblem of the Bantam, a small but aggressive fowl. By the time conscription arrived in 1916, and because of the heavy casualty rates in the war, the units began to lose their identity. By 1917 they were indistinguishable from other Battalions of the British Army.

Following his arrival at the Front, Harry spent the summer and early autumn in the trenches, in support with the Battalion or training. All this changed however, on the 20th November 1917 when the allied offensive began around Cambrai. The town of Cambrai, was an important supply point for the German "Siegfriedstellung" (Hindenburg Line) and capture of the town, and nearby Bourlon Ridge, would threaten the rear of the German line to the north. The British plan was to use tanks en masse and on the first day of the attack, this proved a successful strategy with early gains by the allies. However, owing to stiff German resistance and mechanical unreliability of the new technology, progress slowed on the second day.

The 12th Suffolks took up positions in reserve on the third day of the battle and received orders to prepare for a probable counter-attack. On the following day, this order was changed and instead, the Suffolks prepared to attack Bourlon Village. The assault was launched at 3pm, but soon encountered heavy machine gun fire from the German positions and the attack stalled. For the next four hours the attackers worked to gain the upper hand, but ultimately had to withdraw to their original positions due to stiff enemy resistance. Inevitably the action came at the cost of casualties and the Battalion War Diary recorded the toll at the end of the month. In all 141 men were killed, missing or wounded and unfortunately Harry was amongst this number.

He died on Saturday, 24th November 1917.

He was commemorated on the John Dickinson & Co. Limited War Memorial in Apsley.

Harry was also commemorated on the original War Memorial plaque in St Paul’s Church were he and Jenny married and worshipped. Unfortunately this plaque was lost during the move and subsequent demolition of the church in 1961, but the new church has recorded the names of all the men from its congregation who fell, and Harry is on this new scroll.

Harry is Remembered with Honour on the Cambrai Memorial, Louverval, Nord, France, Panel 4.

He was 39 years old when he died.

Harry was eligible for the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal