"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them".
Charles Harry Chamberlain was born on 16th October 1923 in Maidenhead to Charles Richard Chamberlain, a carpenter, and his wife Lilian Charlotte Lock.
Charles can be found on the 1939 Register living with his parents and siblings at Weston Forlease Road, Maidenhead.
Sometime after the outbreak of World War II, Charles Harry (known as Harry) enlisted with the Royal Navy and began his training as an Ordinary Telegraphist at the H.M.S Collingwood Training Camp. Unfortunately, Harry was to die that the tragically young age of 18 on 24th August 1942 from acute intestinal obstruction.
On 26th August 1942 the Maidenhead Advertiser carried the following announcement:
"Deaths
Chamberlain- On Monday August 24th, 1942, suddenly, at Naval Hospital in England, Charles Harry, the dearly loved younger son of Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Chamberlain, "Weston" Forlease-road, Maidenhead,; in his 19th year. Funeral, Maidenhead Cemetery, Thursday 3 p.m."
In that same issue the Maidenhead Advertiser reported:
"Death of A/B Harry Chamberlain
Former Member of Town Hall Staff.
Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Chamberlain, of "Weston," Forlease-road, Maidenhead, have been informed that their son, Able Seaman, Charles Harry Chamberlain, died in a Naval hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Aged eighteen, he was a telegraphist in the Navy, and had been in service since May. A native of Kings Lynn, Norfolk, he came to Maidenhead with his parents early in life. He was educated at Gordon-road School, and Maidenhead County Boys' School. After leaving school he entered the Borough Treasurer's office at the Town Hall and he was later transferred to the Borough Engineer's Department. On attaining military age he volunteered for the Navy. He was a member of the York-road Working Men's Conservative Club, and was a keen billiards player. Before joining the Navy he was a corporal in the Maidenhead Home Guard.
Mr Chamberlain was a very popular young man, and news of his death has been received with profound regret by his many friends and former colleagues at the Town Hall."
On 2nd September 1942 the Maidenhead Advertiser reported:
"Funeral of Mr. Harry Chamberlain
Tributes to a Popular Young Man
The funeral of Mr. Charles Harry Chamberlain, telegraphist in the Royal Navy, whose death in a Naval hospital after a brief illness was reported last week, took place at Maidenhead Cemetery on Thursday. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Chamberlain, of "Weston," Forlease-road, Maidenhead. There were about two hundred present at the funeral, and the large gathering testified to the popularity and esteem in which he was held.
The Rev. R. B. Lunt conducted the service, and the Rev. G. Barrington-Baker, who was Mr. Chamberlain's old schoolmaster at the Maidenhead County Boys' School, read the committal lines. The coffin was draped with the Union Jack, and the following member of No. 10 Platoon, "B" Company, 2nd Battalion, Berks Home Guard, of which Mr. Chamberlain was formerly a member, acted as bearers: Sergt. W. White, Corpl. H. A. Fowell, Ptes. J. C. Burge, C. L. Boyd, and T. A. Dawson."
This is touching ---- thanks for sharing it!
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