Charles Love
Sergeant 3435
2nd/4th Royal Berkshire Regiment
Division 59
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Charles Love was the youngest son of Mr George William and Ethel Ann Love of 223. London Rd. In addition to being commemorated on the Alfred Sutton Memorial he is also remembered on his parents grave in Division 59 of The Reading Cemetery. He came from a large family with his mother giving birth to twelve children, three of whom had died. The family were involved in the trades of decorating and plumbing and George Love ran his own business. Charles was stated in the 1911 census as a house furniture assistant.
The formation of the 2nd/4ths and their time in France until July 1916 can be found in the section relating to Leslie Beard. Charles Love joined the battalion in 1914 and would have been involved in the actions previously recorded. It is known that he was an instructor and lecturer although there is no specific information about this role. In the weeks leading up to his death Charles Love would have experienced the following events.
Immediately after the unsuccessful trench raid in which Leslie Beard was killed the battalion had to make ready for an attack which was due to take place on July 16th. The attack was delayed for several days due to poor weather, several men were lost in the intervening period as they were shelled getting into and out of the trenches. On the morning of the 19th July the British artillery began shelling the German lines to soften them up in readiness for the assault in the evening at 6p.m. However, the Germans replied with shells of their own which did a great deal of damage in the crowded front line trenches and many men were lost. Further difficulties were experienced when the men tried to leave the trenches at zero hour via two sally ports and found that the Germans already had machine guns trained on the openings and many men were wounded or killed. Those who did get through eventually had to fall back because of lack of support and because the German wire was uncut and prevented any forward movement. Other units which had been involved in the attack, including the Australians, were also unsuccessful. After this action the battalion was relieved and was not in the front line again until the end of August. Although all of September and the first half of October was spent in and out of the trenches the battalion history records that there was “little to note.” On the night of the 14th – 15th October a successful raid was carried out on German trenches by five offices and sixty men. The men had moved out under the protection of a barrage and two Bangalore torpedoes effectively cut the enemy wire. They were able to collect a great deal of information and cause a number of casualties among the Germans with only four men injured and one missing. The battalion then went into training for a month and on their return to the trenches found themselves in the Somme sector at Bouzincourt near Albert from the 19th November. It was here on the 26th November that they experienced a particularly heavy day of shelling and Charles Love was killed. Information as to his death comes from various sources including a report in the Reading Chronicle. He was recorded as “killed in action whilst on patrol” and “killed instantaneously by a shell”, in these circumstances it would be difficult to retrieve a body and would account for the fact that he has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing on Pier and Face 11D. He was aged 21 at the time of his death