Born in 1893 at Clerkenwell, son of James (Cutter for Litho Printer) and Alice Bryant. 1901: A Scholar with his family at 93 Albany Cottages, near Essex Road, Islington. 1911: A Bakers Assistant with the Co-Operative Society, living with his family at 153 Winchester Road, Lower Edmonton. His father died in 1916, and on 11th June 1916 while serving in the Forces he married Dorothy Hope Green at St Peter’s Church Edmonton.
Having enlisted in London he initially served with the Royal Flying Corps, but was transferred to the Infantry and 7th Battalion the Royal West Kent Regiment. This Battalion had been all but wiped out during the German Spring Offensive on 21st March 1918, and so had to be rebuilt.
The Battle of the Selle followed the breaching of the Hindenburg Line, and Charles Bryant was Killed in Action during an attack to the east of Le Cateau. The war may have been in its final stages, but the fighting was no less deadly.
The record notes that Charles was recovered to the Le Cateau Cemetery after the war, identified by his uniform, boots and shoulder titles. He rests in one large grave with other members of his Battalion.
It is not clear how his name came to be added to this memorial in South Woodford.
Research by Adrian Lee, Local Historian
Sources:
Ancestry.com