Charles Edward (Eddie) BOLTON |
My father, C E Bolton, No 267471 (known as Eddie Bolton) joined the 1/25th on April 16th 1915 and on June 24th he joined the 1st Battalion at Lowestoft. He sailed for India from Devonport on February 6th 1916 and arrived in Bombay on 26th February. From that point he kept a movements diary,
partly in code until his eventual return to England and demob. I discovered the code, and deciphered it and found that he was with the Battalion until October 16th 1917 when he was detailed for draft to the 1/9th Middlesex. On November 19th they sailed on SS Egra for Mesapotamia. He went through the campaign there until 22nd September when he
left the Battalion for Baqubah refugee camp and on arrival was attached to 16 Section B Area. In March 1919 he left there for return home but in Karachi on April 18th demob was cancelled due to Punjab riot. He went to Rawalpindi With No 4 Battalion then via Khber Pass to Landri Kotal and Dakka. Joined 1st Yorks on 4th July and was at Battle
of Girdi on 23rd July. He noted 5 killed 14 wounded. He left Dakka July 30th for Bombay and left there on SS Kasgar on August 11th, arriving in Plymouth for demob on Sept 1st. Eddie Bolton was born 23rd March 1886, his parents being
Charles Thomas Bolton, a stone mason, and Ellen Marion (nee Smith). His
full name was Charles Edward but he was known to everyone as Eddie
throughout his life. He was the oldest of five children and his father
sadly died when Eddie was aged 12. The 1901 Census shows his mother as
head of the household and a shopkeeper and he is shown as aged 15 and an
apprentice mason. Whether or not he continued in the trade is at present
unclear. He became a keen cyclist and joined the University Cycling Club
(unconnected to any university) and was a lifelong member, in his later
years being President of the Club. He married Mary Elizabeth Edwards on
the 10 October 1911 at the East London Tabernacle, Mile End Old Town.
They had two sons before he joined
the Army and a third after his return. In 1915, along with many other club
cyclists he joined the ranks of the 25th London Cyclist Battallion at
Fulham. His war service took him to India, Pakistan and
Mesopotamia. His diary of his movements is shown elsewhere. At some point
whilst in Mesopotamia he was awarded a Mention in Despatches, but I have
been unable to find out what this was about. Following his
return home in September 1919 I believe he worked as a foreman of a road
works gang for a while but later joined the Civil Service as a clerk in
the Home Office. His wife Mary died in 1926 leaving him with 3 boys
to bring up, but in the following year he married my mother, Amy Lovatt,
and subsequently they had two children, myself and my sister. He
remained at the Home Office until he retired, remaining in London
throughout the Second World War, retiring in 1952. He retained his
interest in cycling, being involved in various clubs and particularly the
Eastern Counties Cycling Association, for which he was Secretary for 25
years. He died aged 79 in1965. More photos of Eddie's, includes some named soldiers. There is also a mention of Eddie in the Battalion magazine
"The Londoner" V3-1 [Aug-Sep 1918] pg.17 :- |
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