Charles served in the Second World War as a blacksmith in the Royal Air Force working on aircraft repairs. He started at Pembroke in Wales working on flying boats and witnessed a very heavy bombing raid from the Germans causing mass casualties. He was then posted to RAF Kenley and Biggin Hill to work on Hurricanes and Spitfires. Due to the escalation of the battle of Britain he also was witness to friends and colleagues being killed in the German raids. Understandably He did not talk too much about his wartime experience with his family. At the funeral the RAF standard was paraded and the cadets of the Air Training Corps from 97 Squadron formed a guard of honour.

This is a letter from the family – Words cannot express what you organised for dad’s funeral meant to me, family and friends yesterday. You certainly did him proud, I could almost hear him saying “what did you go to all this trouble for?” but secretly loving every moment of it.