Born in 1877 at Lawston Cambridgeshire, son of William (Gardener) and Mary Pink. 1891: A Grocers Apprentice with his family at 5 Mawson Road, Cambridge. 1901: A Cheesemongers Assistant boarding with Police Constable Henry Hewes at 89 Palmerston Road, Wimbledon. 1911: He had become a Cheesemonger, living at 146 Cambridge Street, Warwick Square in Pimlico. Although married, he was separated from his wife.
When he attested with the KRRC on 24th March 1915 he was a Book Keeper, living at 26 Pelham Road, Wanstead. The family home remained in Cambridgeshire, but in 1916 his brother Percy was living at 24 Pelham Road Wanstead, which suggests a source for the entry on this memorial. For Next of Kin he nominated a friend, Dora Macaulay in Lancashire.
The Battalion, with others of the KRRC had been deployed to the Somme, and having come through the Battle of Delville Wood, 8 KRRC was then involved with The Battle of Flers-Courcelette. This was a subsidiary attack utilising tanks. The advance began on 15th September 1916, and was initially successful, High Wood being among the ground which was captured. By 17th September however a combination of bad weather and German consolidation had checked the momentum and the attack, which was called off on 22th September 1916.
Charles Pink had been Killed in Action during the first days fighting, and he was not subsequently recovered from the battlefield.
Research by Adrian Lee, Local Historian
Sources:
Ancestry.com