Introduction
Charles Alfred Delamont Slade was born into a military family and served in the Royal Navy for twenty-two years, during which time he participated in the Battle of Jutland. Although he never lived at Hardington Mandeville, he is included on the Hardington Roll of Honour of January 1915, alongside his father, John, and his brother, Wilfred Frank. Their connection to Hardington stems from John’s brief residence there in his youth and his marriage to Elizabeth Delamont, who was born and brought up in the village.
Early Years
Charles was born on 19 October 1893 in Jhansi, India, where his father, John Slade, served with the Wiltshire Regiment.[1] His mother, Elizabeth Susan (née Delamont), originally came from Hardington Mandeville.
By July 1895, the family had returned to England and settled at Devizes, where John was stationed at Le Marchant barracks.[2] By September 1899, they had moved to Westbury and lived in the Drill Hall, where John served as a Colour Sergeant Drill Instructor.
At the age of seventeen, Charles was working as a fitter in an ironworks at Westbury.
Early Naval Career
On 29 August 1911, he enlisted in the Royal Navy for twelve years and continued to serve after that term ended. His service record noted that he was five feet seven and a quarter inches tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He also bore several burns on his body, possibly from his work in the ironworks.[3]
During the First World War, Charles served on HMS Collingwood, starting as part of the Armourer’s Crew and later as an Armourer’s Mate. In January 1915, he was included in Hardington’s Roll of Honour despite never having lived there.[4] Charles was serving aboard Collingwood during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. He progressed through the specialist armourer branch, achieving the rank of Ordnance Artificer 3rd Class in September 1916 and 2nd Class on 1 March 1923. He was appointed Acting Chief Ordnance Artificer 2nd Class on 1 February 1924, confirmed in that rating a year later, and promoted to Chief Ordnance Artificer 1st Class on 1 February 1930.[5]
Marriage
On 20 August 1921, Charles married his first cousin, Lilian Delamont Hibbart, at Saint James Church in Trowbridge. Lilian was the daughter of his mother’s sister, Mary, and was born on 29 April 1895 in the St Pancras area, where her father worked as a carpenter.[6] For many years, the family resided in Raydon Street, near Highgate Cemetery. The 1921 census recorded Lilian as a clerk for a brush manufacturer.
After their marriage, Lilian remained in the St Pancras area and gave birth to a daughter, Joan Delamont Slade, on 26 March 1923.[7] On 3 June 1923, the child was baptised at Saint James Church, Trowbridge, the parish church of Charles’s parents; the register described him as a Chief Petty Officer.[8]
When Charles’s original twelve-year engagement expired in September 1923, he re-engaged and remained in the Navy for another ten years. From about 1928, the family home was at 66 Chester Road, Highgate.[9] A second daughter, Betty Lilian, was born in 1929.
Return to civilian life
After leaving the Navy on 28 August 1933, Charles eventually followed his father into the licensed trade.[10] On 6 February 1936, he succeeded him as licensee of the Kitchener’s Arms, Trowbridge, where John had been the landlord for twenty-two years. Charles was already suffering from heart trouble when, in April 1936, he developed a cold and was confined to bed. He died on 18 April at the age of forty-two and was buried in Trowbridge Cemetery. The family mourners at his funeral included Lilian, their two children, his father John, his brothers Cecil and Frank, and his sisters Eileen, Kathleen and Ethel.[11] He left an estate valued at £292 7s 5d, which was administered by Lilian.[12]
Lilian’s later life
Lilian stayed on at the Kitchener’s Arms for several years.[13] She married William Leonard George Hannabuss at Bath Registry Office on 1 April 1937.[14] William was eighteen years younger than Lilian. In about 1939, they left the pub and moved to 62 Rutland Crescent, Trowbridge. During the Second World War, William served in the Pioneer Corps, rising to the rank of Company Quarter Master Sergeant.[15] Lilian died on 4 September 1969 at the age of seventy-four.[16] William outlived her by nearly twenty-five years, dying on 23 May 1994 at the age of eighty-one.[17]
Conclusion
Charles spent almost his entire adult life in the Royal Navy, serving through the First World War and rising through the specialist armourer branch. His return to civilian life was brief: less than three years after leaving the service, and only two months after succeeding his father at the Kitchener’s Arms, he died at the age of forty-two.
References
[1] India, Select Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947; Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939.
[2] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 26 October 1935, p.3.
[3] Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939.
[4] Western Chronicle, 5 February 1915, p.6.
[5] Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939.
[6] Civil registration birth index; 1939 Register.
[7] Civil registration birth index; 1939 Register.
[8] Baptism register of Saint James Church, Trowbridge.
[9] Voters’ lists.
[10] Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1848-1939.
[11] Wiltshire News, 24 April 1936, p.9; Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 25 April 1936, p.3.
[12] National probate calendar.
[13] Wiltshire News, 30 December 1938, p.9.
[14] Selected Smaller Units Service Records, 1921-1959.
[15] Selected Smaller Units Service Records, 1921-1959.
[16] Burial and Cremation Index, 1576-2024.
[17] National probate calendar.
