Charles was born on 29th April 1887 in Dalston, East London. He was the eldest son of Chadwell Heath Grocers, Charles and Amelia Powell. His father was twenty years older than his mother and had three children from a previous marriage. His mother was recorded on the 1911 census as ‘assistant in (husband’s) business.’
Charles joined Ilford County High School in 1901 along with his younger brother James Gilbert and sister, Winifred. Prior to this, all three siblings had attended Chadwell Mixed School.
Charles left the school after it had been renamed the Ilford County High School on 24th August 1903 to begin a career in business. In the 1911 census, he was 24 years old, single and still living with his parents in London Terrace, Chadwell. His occupation was recorded as ‘commercial traveller.’
During the war he joined the Lincolnshire Regiment (service number 43536). He died on 29th January 1917, aged 29. He was buried in Ilford’s Buckingham Road Cemetery.
Research by Andrew Emeny, History Teacher at ICHS
Sources:
Ancestry.com
ICHS school records and magazines
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Note
Ilford County High School started life as the Park Higher Grade School in 1901 in Balfour Road, Ilford. It was renamed Ilford County High School (or initially County High School, Ilford) in the years after the school’s management was transferred from Ilford School Board to Essex Education Committee in 1904.