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Charles Wylde was born in London in 1890 when his parents were living near Kennington Park. His father worked for Lloyds Bank and when he became manager of their branch in Deal the family moved to live in Ramsgate. When Charles was 10 he went as a boarder to the nearby Chatham House School.
After leaving school Charles followed in his father’s footsteps joining Lloyds Bank as a trainee manager
Chatham House School Ramsgate 1895
Royal Marines General, Edward Andrée Wylde, Charles' grandfather
Charles came from a family with strong military traditions. His grandfather Edward Andrée Wylde and his uncle, also Edward Andree Wylde were both Generals in the Royal Marines, and his uncle by marriage Frank Aikenhead, was a colonel in the Royal Horse Artillery. In 1909 aged 18 Charles joined the Territorial Army becoming a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment). He resigned his commission at the end of 1913 when he moved to work at Lloyds Bank in Worcester.
Immediately upon the outbreak of WW1 in August 1914 Charles then aged 24 told the bank he would be leaving to join the Army as a volunteer. He decided against resuming his commission with the East Kent Regiment as they had not been assigned to the front line.
Instead he signed up as a private with the 1st/8th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment, a Territorial unit being formed in Worcester, made up of men volunteering for front line duty
Charles was soon promoted to Lance Sergeant and after six months training the Battalion with 27 officers 912 men and 78 horses was shipped to France landing in Boulogne on 1st April 1915. On 21 April they took over a section of the frontline trenches at the village of Ploegsteert, which the soldiers nicknamed Plug Street, just south of Ypres. For the next few weeks, they alternated between reserve and frontline positions on one occasion suffering an intense German machine gun attack combined with rifle grenades and shrapnel followed by a mine explosion. Several men were killed and many wounded.
On 21st May the Battalion was preparing to move back to the front line at Pont de Nieppe near Armentieres when Charles, possibly as part of an advance party sent to reconnoitre the battalion’s new positions, was spotted by a German sniper and shot and killed
soldiers of the Worcestershire Regiment in 1914
Charles is buried at Calvaire (Essex) Military Cemetery, Comines-Warneton, Belgium. This cemetery was established beside a building known as Essex House on the Ypres battlefield on the N365 16 kms from Ypres.
Lance Sergeant Charles Gilbert Andre Wylde (2220)
'A' Coy, 1/8th Bn, The Worcestershire Regiment, 144th Brigade, 48th Division, T.F., B.E.F.
On the 25th May 1915 the Worcester Daily Times reported: “The first Worcester Territorial to be killed Sgt C G A Wylde a member of the Worcesters, the only son of Mr C A Wylde, manager of Lloyd’s Bank at Malvern. He was one of the first men to join the Worcesters at the outbreak of war. At only 24 years of age he was engaged for some years at Lloyds Bank in Worcester under Mr H E Tovey. News was conveyed to Mr Tovey on the 21st May by Sgt Sidney P Maylett another clerk at the bank, and a friend of Wylde’s:
‘You and all the staff will be deeply sorry to hear of the death of Wylde. He was shot through the head at 3.45 this morning. Death was instantaneous. He was looking over the parapet with his glasses, scanning the German line when a bullet caught him on the head and killed him instantly. He has all along proved at fine soldier; never grumbled at work or hardship, and he had his military duties at mind. He was simply worshipped by the men of his platoon. He will be greatly missed by the men of the Battalion and by no more than myself. We enlisted together.’
A memorial service was held after Evensong for Charles Wylde was held in Great Malvern Priory on Sunday 20th May 1915. A large congregation attended the service, which was officiated by Rev A Linzee Giles, Vicar of Malvern, Rev H M Faber and Rev G Neville Bennet. Worcester Daily Times 25/5/15. Malvern News 5/6/15
Malvern Commemoration: The Priory Church of St Mary and St Michael. Killed in action France 21/5/1915. Only son of Mr and Mrs C A Wylde of Lloyds Bank House and grandson of the late Major General Wylde RMLI
In memoriam - Charles Gilbert Andrée Wylde 8th Batt Worcestershire Regiment Killed in action on May 25th 1915 (Malvern Priory)
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