Pte 51579 Charles Roberts

• Age: 26
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Thursday 12th October 1916
• Commemorated at: Warlencourt Brit Cem
  Panel Ref: VI.C.25

Charles Roberts was born in 1890 in Liverpool, the youngest son of George Thomas Roberts and his wife Elizabeth Alice(nee Smyth) who were married in 1880. 

The 1891 census shows the family living at 18 St Arnaud Street, Liverpool. George was a labourer aged 39 and had been born in Birkenhead. Alice was 40 and had been born in Bow in London. The couple had four sons – Thomas aged 8, George aged 15, Henry aged 3 as well as baby Charles who was just a few months old.

By 1901 the family are living at 73 Maypole Street. His father, George, is aged 48, working as a window cleaner born in Liscard, mother Alice is aged 48, Thomas aged 18, is a window cleaner, George is 15, Harry is 13, and Charles is aged 10.  

The 1911 census shows that George aged 60 and Alice E. aged 62 had been married for 30 years and Alice had borne six children with the four boys surviving infancy. The family are living at 22 Janet Street in Wavertree. The eldest son Thomas had left home. George S. aged 25 is working as a mat maker in a blind institution, Henry Kossuth aged 23, is a window cleaner like his father and Charles, aged 20, is a merchants clerk.

Charles enlisted in Liverpool as Rifleman 4286 joining the 6th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment (Liverpool Rifles). He embarked from Folkestone-Boulogne on 15th July 1916 and reached the 24th Infantry Base Depot on 16th July. He proceeded to 11th Entrenching Battalion on 02nd August, then proceeded to 17th Battalion K.L.R. on 05th August, and was posted to the 17th Battalion from 05th September 1916 as Private No 51579.

He was killed in action on the 12th October 1916 aged 26 during the Battle of the Transloy Ridges which was part of the ongoing Somme Offensive.

17th Battalion War Diary: Battle of Transloy Ridge –

11-10-16 - Gird Trench/Gird Support – Battalion in front line and support trenches. British bombardment of enemy front line system commenced about midday. Hostile shelling was intermittent throughout the day.

12-10-16 - Our bombardment continued. Enemy reply weak. 2.5 p.m. Zero hour. Attack on German front line system commenced. Enemy wire was found to be uncut and attack was unsuccessful. Hostile machine gun fire was very heavy and caused many casualties. Battalion H.Q. and Support Trench were heavily shelled throughout afternoon and evening. […] During this action all communication had to be carried out by runners and carrier pigeons as all wires were being continually cut by enemy shelling.

Casualties: 5 officers killed, 5 officers wounded, 38 OR killed, about 225 OR wounded/missing etc.

Graham Maddocks, in “Liverpool Pals” p.140, adds:

“As the whistle blew, the 17th Battalion left its trenches to move forward. […] As soon as the attacking waves left their trenches the enemy artillery began to register on them, and at the same time, the defending infantry commenced a murderous rain of fire. […] Although their numbers had been depleted by the British bombardment, they were trained and experienced soldiers, well dug in on high ground, and for the most part, looking out on uncut wire. As such, it was virtually impossible for them to miss the City Battalion men struggling to advance in the mud towards them. The 17th Battalion, on the left, was particularly badly hit, as its portion of No Man’s Land contained a slight rise in the ground, and as the troops emerged onto it they were silhouetted against the sky and became easy targets. Those on the left of the attack, who managed to avoid the hail of bullets and make it to the German wire, then found that it was totally uncut, and thus trapped, they too became easy targets, to be picked off almost at the enemy’s will. It was hardly surprising that, seeing the first waves being wiped out, some of the following waves turned back and made for their start lines. These lines were now packed with other waves of troops, however, and the fleeing men added to the congestion already there, and became easy prey for the German gunners. There is some evidence also, to suggest that at this stage, the British trenches were also being hit by their own heavy artillery shells which were falling short.”

Charles now rests at Warlencourt British Cemetery, France.

Warlencourt Cemetery is entirely a concentration cemetery, begun late in 1919 when graves were brought in from small cemeteries and the battlefields of Warlencourt and Le Sars.  The Graves Registration form shows graves from “Le Sars 6/1, 6/2, Hexham Road, Seven Elms”.

Graves were brought in from the original cemeteries at Hexham Road (Le Sars), and Seven Elms (Flers), as well as over 3,000 British graves due to the fighting which took place around the Butte de Warlencourt from the autumn of 1916 to the spring of 1917, and again in the German advance and retreat of 1918.   The cemetery now contains 3,505 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War, 1,823 of which are unidentified.

Soldiers Effects to father George and mother Elizabeth A., Pension to mother Elizabeth A., 14 Thorburn St, Wavertree 

Charles is commemorated in the Hall of Remembrance inside Liverpool Town Hall at Panel 45.

His mother died, aged 76, on the 11th March 1924.

His father died, aged 82, in the December quarter of 1932.

Grateful thanks are extended to Kevin Shannon the author of the book The Liverpool Rifles for providing details of Charles' service with the 6th Rifles.    

We currently have no further information on Charles Roberts, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.