Private 7884 Charles Bond


 Bond Charles 96 400x600


Died of Wounds on Sunday, 17th November 1918, age 28.
Buried in Grave S. III. J. 2. at St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France.

2nd Bn., South Staffordshire Regiment. 6th Brigade of 2nd Division.

Born: Walsall, Enlisted: Unknown, Resident: Unknown.

First landed France & Flanders, 13th August 1914.
Medal entitlement: 1914 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives did not survive.

Commemorated on the Horseley Heath Post Office Memorial.
Commemorated here because he appears on a Tipton memorial.

Link to Commonwealth War Graves Site: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/516098/


Genealogical Data

Birth of Charles Henry Bond registered December quarter 1889 at Walsall.

1901 Census
1 House 12 Court, Green Lane, Walsall, Staffs.
Charles Bond (39, Horse Collar Maker, born Walsall), his wife Maria (37, Horse Collar Stitcher, born Walsall), and their 5 children: Charles (11, born Walsall), Ernest (9, born Walsall), James (7, born Walsall), Arthur (3, born Walsall), and Emily (6 months, born Walsall).

1911 Census
2nd Bn., South Staffords, Whittington Barracks, Whittington, Lichfield.
Charles Bond (22, Private Soldier, born Walsall).


Personal Data

Charles Bond was a Walsall man. He appears on this Tipton web site because he is commemorated on the Horseley Heath Post Office Memorial. He had served 7 years with the South Staffs Regiment, after completing his service he was employed as a postman at the Horseley Heath Post Office. As a Reservist, Charles was re-called immediately to the South Staffs on the outbreak of war.

We know that Charles was allocated to the Transport section as Thomas Sergeant's diary has an entry "7884 C H Bond, HQ Transport Regiment, 2nd South Staffs". Thomas was a work colleague at the Post Office, and sadly also commemorated on the Horseley Heath Post Office Memorial.

The Walsall Observer mentions that Charles had 2 brothers serving in France (they would have been Ernest and James), and that another brother had already killed (this would have been Arthur Bond who died of wounds on August 28th 1917 whilst serving with the 7th South Staffords).

After Charles’s death, his outstanding army pay and allowances amounted to £5/1/9d (5 pounds, 1 shilling and 9 pence); this was paid to his father and administrator, Charles H., in September 1919. His War Gratuity was £25/0/0d (25 pounds exactly), this was also paid to his father in September 1919. The value of the War Gratuity suggests that Charles had enlisted in approximately August 1914.

His mother, Mrs Maria Bond, was awarded a Dependant's Pension of 5/0d (5 shillings) per week, effective from 3rd June 1919.


Action resulting in his death

Charles Bond landed in France with the 2nd South Staffs on 13th August 1914, one of the very first landings of the British Expeditionary Force; he was therefore one of the 'Old Contemptibles'. He was a Reservist having already served 7 years with the South Staffords, and immediately recalled to the South Staffs on the outbreak of war.

The 2nd South Staffs were part of Haig's I Corps and were immediately involved in the Battle of Mons. They remained on the Western Front in France and Belgium for the entire war. Bond's Soldier's Papers have not survived so we do not know of any periods where Bond was missing from actions, but he had the potential to be involved in all of the major battles of the Great War. Charles would have been 'in theatre' from the first battle of the 2nd South Staffs - the Battle of Mons, through to their final action - the Battle of the Selle (17-25 October 1918).

On the day of the Armistice, 11th November 1918, Charles was admitted to No. 34 Casualty Clearing Station at Solesmes, about 11 miles east of Cambrai. He was suffering from influenza as were most of the men admitted on that day. After 2 days, he was evacuated on No. 19 Ambulance Train to Rouen. Rouen was a major hospital centre with eight general, five stationary and one British Red Cross hospital, and also a Convalescent Depot.

Having survived for the entirety of the war, Charles died at the Australian Hospital in Rouen on 17th November 1918, 6 days after the Armistice. Charles died from pneumonia resulting from influenza which was claiming huge numbers of lives at this time. Charles is buried in St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen.


Newspaper Cuttings

Walsall Observer 30th November 1918
DIED.
Pte. Charles H. Bond died in an Australian Hospital at Rouen, on November 17 from pneumonia, contracted while serving in France with the South Staffords. A single man, aged 28, his parents live at 134, Stafford Street, and when mobilised at the outbreak of war he was employed as a postman at Tipton. He had completed seven years service with the Colours prior to the outbreak of war. Two brothers are serving in France, and another has been killed in action.