CHARLES PHILLIPS PROBERT
24th August 1895 – 9th July 1917
Charles Phillips Probert was born in Burghill, Herefordshire on 24th August 1895 but lived for
most of his short life in Penarth.
He was the son of Thomas and Emma (nee Lewis) Probert. Thomas was a coachman and Emma a
Cook at Tillington Court in Burghill and they were married in 1885. Charles has two older brother:s
William, born in 1887, Thomas James, born in 1889 and a twin sister, Ethel Leonora. Sometime
between 1895 and 1901 the family moved to Penarth, living in Coast Guard Lane, and in 1911 the
whole family were living together in Oakland Cottage, 56 Plymouth Road, Penarth. Charles was
working as an apprentice florist and Ethel a milliner’s apprentice.
Charles reached his 19th birthday on 24th August 1914 and Britain had declared war on Germany
on 4th August 1914, and was actively seeking volunteers to join the armed forces. Charles did not
wait for conscription but joined up fairly soon, as we know that he disembarked in France to join
his regiment on 28th August 1915. Charles served with the Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner, his
Service Number 13853. He was with LXXIV Brigade , which was made up of 232, 233 and 234
Batteries and 74 Brigade Ammunition Column served with 16th (Irish Division).
In 1915 they were in action in The Battle of Loos. In 1916 they fought on the Somme, in the Battle
of Flers-Courclette and the Battle of Morval, capturing Lesboeufs. In 1917 Charles would have
certainly seen action in The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the Third Battle of Ypres and
the Battle of Cambrai. Much has been written by historians about the continuing conflict at Ypres
throughout 1914-1918. The town was strategically important to the British and Germans as it was
the gateway to the French channel ports. Fighting was intense and continuous artillery
bombardment by Germany resulted in the complete destruction of the town.
The Western Front Association has extensive accounts of the battles; this is an extract which details
the situation around the time of Charles’s death.