Mike Royden's
Royden Family History Pages
Charles Royden (1881-1918)
A Biography
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Mike Royden'sRoyden Family History Pages
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They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old, Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn them. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them. |
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When I first began reseaching the history of my family as a school project in the
early 1970s, I could only get a far as my Great Grandfather, Charles Royden. He had died in the Great War many years earlier and all family memories of him seemed to have died with him.
It took me several years to learn the methods of family research and to make an effective approach into Charles family and ancestry. What follows is a biography of Charles and his immediate family gleaned from numerous, but limiting sources. The research of any family is never complete, and a visit to the battlefields of Arras and the grave of Charles took place in August 2002.
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Charles in LiverpoolCharles was born on 1 April 1881 in Upper Mann Street in the heart of Liverpool's South Dockland. His father, John Royden, was a dock labourer bringing up a large family in the densely packed court housing near Parliament Street. At the time of Charles' birth the national census had taken place and he was recorded as being 1 day old.As well as three brothers and a sister, also in the house that night was his aunt Elizabeth, John Royden's older sister. A forty year old unmarried charwoman, she may have lived nearby and stopped overnight to help with the birth of Charles. Charles' mother, also called Elizabeth, was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Wesley. John Wesley was a local tailor (my own father, a methodist, was most proud to find out his great-great-grandfather had such a significant name. He always wanted me to put aside the Royden research and see if he was related to the great founder of the movement). |
 Click census for full image
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Liverpool c1855 (large file 1.5mb)
At the time of the marriage of John Royden and Elizabeth Wesley in 1872, they were living in Leeds Street, near the terminus wharves of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, just to the north of where the Pier Head now lies. John was a boiler maker who could read and write, but Elizabeth could only mark her name with a cross, as she did on their marriage certificate. This was very common - the Education Act had only just been placed on the statute book. It is likely that Leeds Street was the address of John Wesley, as within a short time the couple were struggling to make ends meet in the court housing of Upper Mann Street. The south docks area was a warren of back to back courts, with poor conditions and little sanitation. |
(above) Upper Mann Street |
Times became increasingly hard into the late 1890's when John Royden was admitted to Toxteth
Workhouse. It is fairly certain that he was ill and was actually in the infirmary as there is no record of his family entering the workhouse. By 1899 John had died aged 55 and was buried in the adjoining Smithdown Road Cemetery in an unmarked grave. In the 1901 census, his sister Ann is also recorded in the Workhouse Infirmary. A former charwoman, by then she was a infirm pauper, and unlikely to have seen the family home again. The fate of Elizabeth, John's wife and Charles' mother, is unknown and research continues. However, she was living at 36 Denton Street according to the 1901 census and only Charles was still at home. Yet even he had left two years later when Charles married Emma Hughes in 1903. Emma was the daughter of Griffith Hughes, a sailmaker, and Emma Knox, both born in Liverpool. She was six months younger than Charles, born in the family home in Palmerston Street, on 24 September 1881.
Click image to enlarge extract from 1901 census for Elizabeth Royden and son Charles Royden of 36 Denton Street, Dingle, Toxteth Park.
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(left)Toxteth Park Workhouse (coincidentaly the birthplace of the author, although by then it was known as Sefton General Hospital).
(right: Liverpool in 1906 - extract shows Toxteth Park, near Herculaneum shore - Denton Street is in the centre, parallel to Wellington Road |
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A year after the young couple married, Charles junior was born in 1904, followed by William in 1905 (my grandfather). They went on to have four daughters. By now they were living at 160 Wellington Road, a street of newly laid out terraces a couple of hundred yards south of Upper Mann Street. Charles was now a painter and paper hanger, a trade that stayed with various members of the family down successive generations to the present day.
In the first decade of the 18th century when the first Royden family came to Liverpool from their farmland in Caldy and West Kirby, their descendants stayed in the same area of the south docks for a century. In fact, that link has continued to the present day. Even the shipyard owned by Thomas Royden and Sons was also situated nearby in this dockland area and that branch of the family continued to have townhouses there even while they enjoyed the fruits of their labours on the mansions at Frankby. By the time war broke out in 1914 Charles was aged 33 and supporting a large family. He signed up for the army at Seaforth in north Liverpool and was assigned to the Royal Field Artillery (date unknown at present). Charles may have joined up with his brothers - Joseph was now 41, John Henry 38, and William 35. William was posted to the 10th Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment - Scots Guards) (of which more later). (John Henry was known to be in New York by the end of the decade. How he came to be there is unclear - he may have served in the navy, merchant or Royal and decided to leave the ship there. This has only come to light recently after being contacted by his grandson Shawn whose existence was unknown until then. The release of the 1901 census sheds little light. He is not recorded at all, nor on vessel lists - he may have reached America before then).
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 Emma Hughes, wife of Charles |
The 18th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, which was in India at the outbreak of war, transferred to France during September/October 1914 as part of divisional artillery for the Lahore Division, Indian Corps. In turn, this was part of what was later named the First Army, following the expansion of the British Expeditionary Force. By 29th October, the 18th had moved into the Ypres sector joining the First Battle of Ypres which was then in progress.
At Festubert, the artillery plan was for the 18th Brigade (with the 5th and the 10th Brigades) to support the attack by laying down a barrage behind the German front line. (This plan gives all 18 pounder guns as the weaponry). In addition, there is a reference to an action (with 9th Division) in July 1915.
After suffering heavy casualties, the Indian Corps was dispersed, mainly back to the Middle East in late 1915.
The Canadian Corps was reorganised and the 18th Brigade was transferred to the 4th Canadian Division from 13 July 1916 to July 1917. The Division was involved in:
The 18th Brigade was allocated to the First Army, although this did not occur until August 1917. D Battery is identified as being equipped with 4.5" Howitzers. They saw notable action in support of the Arras battles of 9 April 1917 attack on Vimy Ridge. The Official History (1917 Vol 1) notes the Brigade as attached to the Canadians in the fight for "The Pimple" Hill 145.
Vimy Ridge was a vital part of the German defence system and its taking by the Allies in 1917 was a major turning point in the war. Attempts to take it over the previous three years had failed, but in April 1917 the Canadian Army supported by other allied forces (including the Royal Field Artillery and Charles' Battery) took the hill and held the advantage.
Over 66,000 Canadians alone were killed and are commemmorated at the Vimy Ridge Memorial Park with its stunning marble memorial. On this land of 100 hectares given to the Canadians by the French Government there is a small information centre, preserved trenches and tunnels. The site was visited by the author and his family in August 2002.
Soldiers Died in the Great War just gives the basic details, but lists 115 further RHA/RFA casualties on 22 March 1918; there is no information on which Brigades these casualties were serving in. However, this was the second day of the German Spring Offensive, mainly on the Fifth Army front and to a lesser extent, the Third Army, so most of the casualties would be from that. It is possible that he was killed in action as part of routine German counter battery fire, or even as a result of accident, e.g. faulty ammunition or misfire of own guns. Hopefully the War Diary will shed light on this.
British and Commonwealth servicemen and servicewomen were awarded a wide variety of orders, medals and decorations for their service in the First World War. These included medals for gallantry, distinguished service and those bestowed by Allied governments. General service during the First World War was recognised by the issue of the 1914 Star (or the 1914-15 Star), the British War Medal 1914-1920 and the Victory Medal 1914-1919.
The usual trio of awards, the 1914 Star (or the 1914-15 Star if appropriate) together with the two service medals became popularly known as ‘Pip, Squeak and Wilfred’ after characters in a Daily Mail cartoon of the period.
In the meantime, I have obtained all the genuine medals below for display with his photograph, cap badge and plaque, although the medals are not Charles' originals.
If you are a member of the family and you can let me know if they exist, I would be very pleased to hear from you! Please email me. The R.F.A. Cap Badge
There was a fund set up by Princess Mary in 1914 to provide a gift for a all serving personnel for Christmas 1914. Her original intention had been to pay, out of her private allowance, for a personal gift to each soldier and sailor. This was deemed impracticable and a proposal was made that she lend her name to a public fund, which would raise the necessary monies to provide the gift. Eventually, it was decided to send an embossed brass box, one ounce of pipe tobacco, twenty cigarettes, a pipe, a tinder lighter, Christmas card and photograph. Non smokers would receive the brass box, a packet of acid tablets, a khaki writing case containing pencil, paper and envelopes together with the Christmas card and photograph of the Princess.
Research continues into whether or not Charles would have received a box - his actual call date is still to be discovered. Click the photograph to visit the Imperial War Museum pages, where the full story of the Gift Fund is told.
This Star, sanctioned by the King in 1918, is similar in design to the 1914 Star. However, there are differences in detail. The dates 1914-15 appear on the central scroll, while the smaller scrolls bearing the words 'Aug' and 'Nov' are omitted. The ribbon is identical to that of the 1914 Star. Individuals in possession of the '1914 Star' were not eligible for the award of the 1914-15 Star.
Those eligible for the 1914-15 Star were as follows:
All officers, warrant officers, Non Commissoned Officers and men of the Army including the Territorial Force; the Royal Flying Corps; Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and the Territorial Force Nursing Service who actually served in a theatre of operations.
This medal was approved by King George V in 1919 to commemorate the services rendered by His Majesty's Forces and to record the bringing of the war to a successful conclusion. Eligibility for the award was later extended to cover the years 1919-1920, while post-war mine clearance at sea continued, as did service in North and South Russia, the Eastern Baltic, Siberia, Black Sea and Caspian Sea.
The medal, which is silver, hangs from its ribbon by a straight suspender bar without swivel. The obverse bears the coinage effigy of His Majesty the King with the legend GEORGIVS V:BRITT: OMN:REX ET IND:IMP:. The reverse depicts a male figure mounted on horseback, trampling underfoot the eagle shield of the Central Powers and the emblems of death, a skull and cross-bones. Above is the risen sun of victory. The male figure was chosen because men had borne the brunt of the fighting.
The design symbolised the mechanical and scientific advances which helped to win the war. The silk ribbon has a central vertical stripe of gold with stripes of white and black at each side and borders of royal blue. It is not thought that the colours have any particular significance. The medal was designed was W McMillan, and struck by the Royal Mint. The recipient's name, rank, service number and unit are stamped on the bottom edge of the medal. Those awarded to Army officers, with the exception of the Royal Artillery, omit the name of the regiment or corps.
Eligibility : THE ARMY -
The medal was issued to those who either entered a theatre of war on duty, or who left places of residence and rendered approved service overseas, other than the waters dividing the different parts of the United Kingdom, between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 inclusive. The next-of-kin of those killed on active service received the medal whether or not the casualty completed the requisite period of service.
The medal is laquered bronze and bears on the obverse the classical figure of Athene Nike, the goddess of Victory. On the reverse is an inscription, THE GREAT WAR FOR CIVILISATION. The silk ribbon is red in the centre, with green and violet on either side shaded to form the colours of two rainbows. The medal is suspended from a plain ring.
Anybody who received a Mention in Despatches was authorised to wear, sewn on to the ribbon, a single emblem of oak leaves in bronze. When the ribbon alone was worn, a smaller version of the emblem was fixed to it.
The medal, designed by W McMillan, was authorised to obviate the exchange of Allied Commemorative War Medals. It was struck by the Royal Mint.
Eligibility: THE ARMY -
The Victory Medal was granted to all officers, warrant officers, NCO's and men of the British, Dominion, Colonial and Indian Forces, members of women's formations who had been enrolled under a direct contract of service with His Majesty's Imperial Forces, civil medical practitioners, nursing sisters, nurses and other employed with military hospitals who actually served on the establishment of a unit in a theatre of war and within certain specified periods.
All those who received the Victory Medal 1914-19 received the British War Medal 1914-20; recipients of the 1914 Star (or the 1914-15 Star) received both the Victory Medal and the War Medal. However, those who received the War Medal were not automatically entitled to the Victory Medal.
It was not until August 1917, in the midst of the Third Battle of Ypres, that the memorial 'plate' project resurfaced in the General Committee's decision that the commemoration should now take the form of bronze plaque. The announcement was reported in The Times for Monday 13 August 1917 and the public competition for appropriate designs described in extravagant detail.
The first prize of £250, for two model designs, was awarded to 'Pyramus' - Edward Carter Preston of the Sandon Studios Society, Liverpool
Production of the plaques began in December 1918 and around 1,150,000 were made. The plaques issued commemorated those men and women who died between 4 August 1914 and 10 January 1920 who had been killed on active service.
Memorial Scrolls were also sent to the next of kin and were sent out in seven and a quarter inch long cardboard tubes.
The plaques themselves were dispatched under separate cover in stiff card wrapping enclosed within white envelopes bearing the Royal Arms. Both memorials were accompanied by a letter from King George V which bore his facsimile signature and read as follows:
The full story of the Next of Kin Plaque and how it came to be issued is told here on the Imperial War Museum pages;
After an overnight stay in St. Omer we headed south towards Arras. The weather was glorious and soon we could see glimpses of the breathtaking Vimy Ridge memorial from the motorway. We doubled back and passed a grim looking German cemetery as we headed towards Vimy. The road wound through fenced off woodlands where the remains of trenches and craters could be clearly seen. The road climbed and opened out on the top of the ridge where the 250' memorial rose before us.
The Vimy Ridge The Vimy Ridge The Vimy Ridge Lewis & Liam, both in the cubs & scouts take a look at a wreath jointly lain by English and Canadian Scouts The Vimy Ridge Trenches at Vimy Looking across to the close proximity of the German front line Allied trench complete with concrete 'duckboard' Front line Allied trench The Grange crater The Grange crater German front line listening post Modern track leading across German lines to the Vimy forest Remains of original trenches German Front Line
The original letter to Agnes gave the plot number as Plot II, Row D number 22. It was an emotional moment having waited 25 years to make the trip. It was special too, to have our sons Lewis (10) and Liam (7) able to see where their Great Great Grandfather had come to rest.
The cemetery was beautifully maintained and the visit also put into place the
complete custodial care carried out by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, from the comprehensive web site and the provision of maps, videos, teaching packs to the primary role of the maintainence of so many cemeteries from so many different theatres of war. Nevertheless, the weather over time had made Charles' name rather faint on the headstone, but a dash of water soon brought out the detail for a photograph.
In the low entrance wall a small brass door was set which provided a pleasant surprise in the form of a visitors book and register. We all signed in our own entries after finding Charles' details in the register. Even the pen was still in the register file. It all added to a most pleasurable experience despite the circumstances, to finally visit the site and to discover that in such a beautiful foreign place it will be forever England.
Bucquoy Road Cemetery Bucquoy Road Cemetery Bucquoy Road Cemetery Mike, Lewis & Liam, behind Charles' headstone Charles Royden Lewis & Charles' plot Their Name Liveth for Evermore Register door and contents Charles Royden's register entry Margo and the boys sign the visitors book Cemetery Plan A 25 year wait to visit this site
Bombardier CHARLES ROYDEN - D Battery, 18th BRIGADE R.F.A
Charles' War Record
It is likely that on joining up he went for the regulation three weeks training at
Pitt Hill and Magdalen Hill Camp near Winchester. The 18th Brigade RFA was assigned to the 3rd (Lahore) Division, and Indian Army division. When war broke out on August 4th 1914, this division was in Ferozepore, India. On 21 September 1914 the division moved to France, landing at Marseilles around 26 September 1914. By 29 October the division had moved into the Ypres sector where the First Battle of Ypres was in progress.
(NB. The dates when Charles actually joined up, completed training and arrived with his unit in France are yet to be discovered. Research is ongoing and the war diary is yet to be consulted at the Public Record Office in Kew together with the Medal Cards. It is also difficult to acertain exactly where the Field Artillery batteries were moved to. They tended to be less mobile, given the fact that it was impractical to keep moving them around and that battalions and other units were often organised around them. Consequently, the artillery was frequently assigned to different units, furthermore, the sheer rate of casualties meant that units were regularly grouped together and renamed. This makes the tracking of an individual in a unit very difficult and may only be clarified on consulting the war diary, if it still exists.)
1915
During 1915 the Indian Corps was involved in several actions;
Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10-13 March 1915)
Battle of Aubers Ridge (Attack at Rue de Bois - 9 May 1915),
Battle of Festubert (15-25 May 1915) and the
Battle of Loos (29 Sept - 8 Oct 1915).
1916
The Order of Battle for the Indian Divisions then states that 18th Brigade were attached to the 3rd Canadian Division from 20 March 1916 to 13 July 1916. The only significant action for this Division during the period was;
2-13 June 1916 Battle of Mount Sorrel
Battle of Le Transloy (1-18 October 1916)
Battle of Ancre Heights (21 October - 11 November 1916)
Battle of Ancre (13-18 November 1916)
1917 and the Battle of Vimy Ridge
Following the Battle of the Somme, artillery was re-organised due to operational difficulties. Frequent moves of infantry divisions meant that their artillery stayed in place to fight with replacement divisions rather than their own. Also, there was a need to create a reserve artillery force to provide reinforcement for either attack or defence.
This led to the creation of Army Field Artillery Brigades which could be used to support any action across the particular Army's section of front above the resources available at Divisional level.
The First Army was involved in the following actions during this period;
Battle of Vimy Ridge (9-14 April 1917)
South of the Souchez River (3-25 June 1917)
Capture of Avion (26-29 June 1917)
1918
There were no further major actions until 28 March 1918 but Charles did not live to see it.
The day before he was killed in action, the Germans had begun their Spring Offensive - the 'Kaiserschlacht' - the Battles of the Somme which took place from 21st March to 5th April 1918. The German Artillery rained down shells on the British and Allied positions, purposely targeting the British artillery and rear lines of troops, ready for what they hoped would be a lighting attack to split the British and French Lines, hoping to push the British forces back to the channel. Casualties on both sides were horrendous. On the day Charles lost his life (22nd March 1918), the Royal Field Artillery alone had fatal casualties on the Western Front of 113 men from the rank and file and 9 officers.
(During the whole of the German spring offensive (21st March - 5th April 1918), the Royal Field Artillery had fatal casualties on the Western Front of 1,471 from the rank and file and 152 officers. During the Great War 1914-1919 overall, the Royal Field Artillery had fatal casualties in all theatres of 30,446 men from the rank and file and 2,513 officers).
Appendix File
See this page for:
War Medals and Plaque
The likely dates of Charles' record would give him the medal entitlement the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, for his services in the Great War.
War Medals - Where are they now?
Until the records at the PRO in London are checked it will not be known if the medals were awarded to Charles. If he was entitled to them, he never received them as he was killed before the award. They would have been awarded to Emma, his wife. It seems strange that the plaque, which was received, was passed down to me with photographs and his battered crucifix, but no mention of the medals. Of course, they could have been passed down through other grand children, nephews or neices over the last 80 years, but after visiting Charles' children, all of whom are now passed away, no mention has ever been made.
Princess Mary's Gift Fund and Gift Box 1914
The 1914/15 Star
The British War Medal
The Victory Medal
The Next of Kin Memorial Plaque
I join with my grateful people in sending you this memorial of a brave life given for others in the Great War. George R.I.
The memorial scroll (far left) and the package which was originally sent out with the plaque. Charles Royden's plaque was given to me by my grandmother, together with a battered crucifix said to have been in Charles' hand when he died. I have no knowledge of where the scroll and packaging may be if they still exist.
France - August 2002
In 1966, Charles' daughter Agnes received a reply to her letter to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Their letter detailed the location of her father's grave and she was able to visit the cemetery later that year. On a visit to Agnes' home during the late 1970s she gave me the letter. It has been a long wait, but I was a last able to visit the area en route to a family holiday in France in August 2002.
We were due to stay in a farmhouse gite in Brittany on the Sunday, but left for France on the Friday to visit the sites where Charles fought on the Saturday, continuing our journey to Bayeux to see the Tapestry and the nearby Normandy landing beaches on the Sunday.
Vimy Ridge Memorial and Trenches
Canadian Memorial
Canadian Memorial
Canadian Memorial
Canadian Memorial
preserved by war veterans
The Royal Canadian Artillery at Vimy Ridge
A detailed account of the Royal Canadian Artillery advance at Vimy Ridge and the memorial is given on their web site - click the flag.
Ficheux
On leaving Vimy we headed off to Arras and with the aid of a special edition Michelin map sent to us by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (marked with cemeteries under its care) we soon found the Bucquoy Road.
Approximately 5km south of Arras we arrived at cemetery 100 near the village of Ficheux. The rural location was peaceful and compleletely surrounded on all sides by golden cornfields. The cemetery was immaculate and looked like it had been laid out only days previously, instead of over 80 years ago.
Margo and the boys sign the register
(red dot marks Charles' grave)
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