Claude Fraser Charlton

Rank:

Corporal

Regimental number:

10585

Unit at enlistment:

4th Battalion

Force:

C.E.F.

Volunteered or conscripted:

Volunteered

Survived the war:

Date of death:

April 27th, 1915

Cemetery:

Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery - Ypres, Belgium - II.A.5.

Commemorated at:

I.O.O.F. Obelisk Mohawk Lodge

Birth country:

Canada

Birth county:

Manitoulin District

Birth city:

Assiginack Township, Manitoulin Island, Ontario

Address at enlistment:

154 Nelson Street, Brantford, Ontario

Next of kin address:

Walsh, Ontario

Trade or calling:

Machinist

Employer:

Goold, Shapley and Muir Co.

Religious denominations:

Wesleyan

Marital status:

Single

Age at enlistment:

Image gallery:

Letters and documents

Circumstances of Casualty: Died of Wounds. Wounded in the head and evacuated to No. 2 Canadian Field Ambulance where he succumbed to his wounds the same day.

BX May 11, 1915

Another Brant County Man Dies of Wounds – Corporal Charlton Has Succumbed – One More Former Brantford Man, Pte. James Kelly, of St. Thomas, Also Gave His Life for His Country – Two New Names on Wounded List

Corporal Claude F. Charlton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Charlton, who reside on the Burford Road about five miles from this city, is the latest Brant County man to be reported as having died for his country. The official word that he had succumbed to the effect of his wounds was received Sunday by his parents, who late yesterday notified local relatives of this fact. The official list gives Corp. Charlton’s home as Walsh, this town being the place of residence of his parents at the time of his enlistment, they having just recently removed to Mt. Vernon.

Corporal Charlton was a crack rifle shot and while he had no previous military experience, he had excellent naval training, in the United States navy, in which he had served for some years.

Corp. Charlton was a nephew of Mrs. C. Slaght, Victoria St. and Mrs. J. Armitage, West Brantford and was a resident of this city when the call came for men to offer their services to their country. He was employed by the Goold, Shapley and Muir Company as an engine expert. He made many friends, being a very affable young man. He boarded at 154 Nelson Street.

Corp. Charlton joined the first contingent from this city and was transferred to the Maxim gun section and promoted to corporal for his efficiency, which came out in bold relief in his military duties as it had in his civilian vocation.

As one of the charter members of the Mohawk Lodge I.O.O.F., Corp. Charlton was initiated into the order in June, 1914, about two months before enlisting with the first contingent. A letter addressed to his fraternity brothers has been received, having been written by him just before the battle at Ypres, in which he laid down his life fighting for his country.

BX May 12, 1915

Harmony Men Wounded

Three of Harmony Lodge’s I.O.O.F., representatives at the front has been mentioned in the casualty list as far as known, these being Lange Corporal James Dockray, Private Edward Easton Hooper and Private Joseph Robinson. Private Henry Albert Houlding, of Gore Lodge, was also wounded. The death of Corp. Claude Fraser Charlton, of Mohawk Lodge, is keenly felt in local Oddfellowship circles, the late brother having proved himself a decided credit to the organization.

BX June 7, 1915

Is Corporal Charlton Now Dead or Alive – Some Doubt Still Exists – Was Officially Reported to Have died of His Wounds Last Month – Now Word Comes That He is Alive and Suffering from Shock.

Claude Fraser Charlton, whose parents formerly resided at Walsh, Ont., and who since the first of the war have removed to the Burford Road, near Mount Vernon, five weeks ago was officially reported as having died of wounds received in the battle at Langemarck. On Saturday it was learned that he had been recommended by his commanding officer for promotion for his cool bearing and general behavior under fire. The recommendation having been made immediately after the terrible fighting in which so many Canadians lost their lives, but saved the day, and now it is learned that Corp. Charlton is not dead, but is suffering from shock.

On April 21, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Charlton received a very stirring pen picture from their son, Corporal Charlton in which he described the sad plight of Belgian refugees, as seen trundling past the troops billeted in a warehouse on one of the main roads in Belgium. The letter was written a few days previous to the great battle in which the Canadians lost so heavily, and in which Corp. Charlton was later reported to have been fatally wounded, The Expositor having exclusively published the official announcement of his death on May 11.

Praise From Officer

On Saturday last, a copy of a letter from the commanding officer of the machine gun section, in which Corporal Charlton served, was printed in The Expositor. According to this note, this was received last week by his parents, it having been forwarded to them by H.H. Washington, lieutenant of the 4th Canadian Battalion. Corp Charlton was deserving of promotion “for his brave action and cool bearing during the attack on April 23, 1915.” Lieut. Washington expressed his regret in having to announce the death of Corp. Charlton, adding that his body had been tenderly laid at rest with military honours in the cemetery at Vlamertinghe, Belgium.

Received Sad News

The latest news has brought joy to the Charlton home. One of the weekend casualty lists published at Ottawa includes the name of Claude Fraser Charlton, and reports him as having previously been reported “died of wounds,” but now “suffering from shock.” The family has been officially notified to that effect, but, while hoping that the good news is true, the father at least is doubtful. Inasmuch as Lieut. Washington not only wrote about Corp. Charlton’s bravery and death, but also about his funeral, which the officer intimated he had attended. Mr. Charlton fears that the latest news is almost too good to be true, and he is eagerly awaiting confirmation.

Corporal Charlton was employed as a machinist at the Goold, Shapley and Muir factory at the time of his enlistment. He had considerable military experience, having served for four years with the United States navy and four years with the N.Y.N. Guards. He is unmarried. He has many friends and acquaintances in Brantford, who will eagerly await further word, hoping that the previous reports of Corp. Charlton’s death turn out to have been inaccurate.

BX June 8, 1915

Word About Corporal Charlton – Comrade Thought Him Killed, But He Was Probably Only Stunned

Further light on the mystery as to the condition of Corp. Charlton, local man first officially reported killed, yesterday reported to be suffering from shock, has been thrown by a letter received this morning by Mayor Spence from Pte. Ralph Whitehead, late of 4 Charlotte Street, but now at the front.

Whitehead states that in the recent big battle, he was with Charlton and Thomas Henry Podd, both of whom were killed. “I can say they died like heroes,” however, says Pte. Whitehead, “Charlton came out of the charge, but he was killed by a bursting shell while in the reserve trenches. I was with him at the time, and escaped with only a piece of skin knocked off my finger. Lucky, wasn’t it?”

It is thought by this that Charlton was stunned by the explosion of the shell, and was taken away to be later revived, and reported “suffering from shock.”

The letter from Whitehead states that on May 24 they had but then received the boxes of chocolates sent by the children of Brantford to the Brantford men at the front. “They were evidently meant for Christmas, but we have just received them now,” he said. “Unfortunately some of the boys will never get theirs now.”

In concluding his letter Private Whitehead asks to be remembered to the employees of Bucks, and expresses the hope that some of the men there would write to him.

BX May 14, 1915

Received Last Message From Her Hero Son – Corporal Charlton’s Final Letter – Mrs. Ralph Charlton Got Newsy Letter Just Prior to Receipt of News That Her Boy Had Died from Wounds Received in Action – Lived and Died for Others

A stirring pen picture of the sad plight of Belgian refugees as seen trudging past the troops billeted in a warehouse along one of the main roads in Belgium was given in a letter received by Mr. And Mrs. Ralph Charlton from their son who has since died of his wounds. The letter was written a few days previous to the great battle in which the Canadians lost so heavily, and in which Corp. Charlton was mortally wounded and it conveys a splendid idea of the conditions reigning in Belgium at the present time.

April 21, 1915
Temporary billet

Dear Parents,

Just arrived here last night at 5:30 pm. from a nine mile hike and we move forward again sometime today. We are standing to, now – in fact, we are only some four miles from the firing line, and there is a constant stream of refugees, commissary wagons, autos and auto ambulances full of wounded going by the door of our billet, which is some kind of a warehouse – a big place of four stories.

The only trouble I found with the billet was the exceptionally hard boards they used in the floors. I had one blanket and my overcoat to make my bed with and I debated quite a while to find out whether the blanket would be better folded under me, or over me. Finally I decided to have it over for its pretty cold here, and draughty.

I’ve been out watching “The Passing Show” where you see old men and women carrying big bundles of clothes – just what they could throw into a pillow slip or bag. You see perhaps a family, father, mother and two or three tots. Perhaps next come three girls and a boy ranging in years down, respectively 18, 16, 12, and 8 years of age. God knows where their parents are. Next comes an old man leading a horse with the harness on it. He has had to leave his cart. He has two babes, probably four and six years, on the horse’s back, and another boy of about eight years trudges alongside with the halter wrapped about him.

I see an auto ambulance pass by filled with wounded. On the side of the auto is painted “Friends in Boston, U.S.A.,” in large letters. A great many of them have the names of private donors and towns or cities, which have donated them. Some of the refugees as well as the soldiers are wounded. I counted 12 women yesterday who were slightly wounded. By that I mean they were physically able to be moved from the firing line. Then you see a woman go by with a couple of great bundles in a perambulator, and the baby sitting on top. Her husband is probably fighting.

If I could show these things to the people of Canada, especially to the young men of military age who hang back they could not but enlist immediately. You my father and mother should be glad to contribute even so little to such a cause. There is a God, and I am convinced that we are right. We ask no more.

I am as well as ever, even aggressively so, and in the best of spirits. Write as often as possible, to your loving son.

Claude.
Corp. C.F. Charlton