TOPIC:

Charles Edward Winch

Private, 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment – Anglo Boer War
Private, 32nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
Private, 338 Protection Company, Royal Defence Corps – (Home Service) - WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal (TALANA/DoL) to 3621 PTE C. WINCH. I: LEIC: REGT.
- Kings South Africa Medal (South Africa 1901/1902) to PTE C. WINCH. LEICESTER: REGT.

Charles Winch was born on 23 September 1870 in Finsbury, London to William George Winch, a Silversmith by trade, and his wife Caroline, born Milner. At the time of the 1871 England census the family lived at 25 Lever Street in the London suburb of Finsbury. Of Charles (1) there was no sign. There were, however, signs of Victorian prosperity with a servant girl, 11 year old Maria Loggett on hand to minister to the family’s needs.

On 9 September 1878 he was admitted to the White Lion St. School in Islington. His mother was recorded as his guardian and the family address was given as 30 Albert Terrace. He left the school on 7 December 1878.

Of Charles and his family there is no sign in the 1881 England census. There was, however, quite a bit of family strife in the 80’s. Charles lost his mother at the age of 44 in December 1882 when he was 12 years old and things got out of hand with some of the family after her death – the Islington Gazette of 5 June 1883 reporting on a spat between siblings which ended up in court. Under the heading “A Singular Family Dispute in Clerkenwell” the article read as follows: -

“On Wednesday at the Clerkenwell County Court, Judge Eddie heard a case in which Alfred Winch, 7 Gee Street, Clerkenwell sued W. Winch, 30 Lloyd’s Road, Clerkenwell for a sum of 10 shillings sixpence, value of a ring pledged by the defendant, with interest. Caroline Winch, sister of the above parties, brought a separate action against the same defendant for the recovery of 12 shillings, value of a watch pledged by the latter, with interest.

Both cases were connected and Mr Popham, solicitor, appeared for the defendant. The evidence of the male plaintiff was that his mother died leaved certain money and property. There were three gold rings, a silver watch and £3.10s. in money in addition to clothing of the deceased. He (plaintiff) assisted in paying the funeral expenses and had taken one of the rings left. Subsequently defendant said that he wished to raise some money for business purposes and asked witness to lend him the ring he had in order to assist him. This he did and the ring was pledged, and on witness making an application for a return of the ring a pawn-slip was given him.

The female plaintiff was next called and deposed that the watch was given her by her mother before she died. The brother had got the watch from her under similar circumstances to those of the ring. Defendant said he was in his mother’s room a few days prior to her death, and she said he was to take the rings, watch and clothing to pay for her funeral expenses. There was only £2.10 in money left, and witness had paid the bill of Mr Lenard, undertaker, which amounted to £6.10s.

Mrs Clark was called on behalf of the defendant to corroborate his statement as to the dying request of his mother, and in the result, the Judge deferred judgement.”

By the time the 1891 England census came round Charles was 21 years old and living with his 30 year old brother Alfred (the aforementioned plaintiff in the case above) and his wife and family in Battersea, London. He was a Coach Painter by trade and the family, after his father had passed away in September 1889, seems to have gone their separate ways.

It wasn’t long before Winch tired of his trade and decided to swap it for a life in uniform instead. On 22 November 1892, at Loughboro, he completed the attestation papers for Short Service with the Colours. Physically 5 feet 8 inches in height he weighed 140 lbs and had a fresh complexion, grey eyes and dark brown hair. As his next of kin he provided his brother Alfred, of 1 Dalby Road, Wandsworth, London and brothers William and Henry of Mount View, Southampton. Having been found fit by the Doctor, he was assigned no. 3621 and commenced service with the Leicestershire Regiment. Initially posted to the 2nd battalion, he was transferred to the 1st on 15 May 1895 after having spent 1 year 340 days with the regiment in the West Indies.

His next posting was to be a far more interesting one although, having arrived in the country on 23 December 1895, he had a few years to go before the turn of the century and the events that accompanied it. War-clouds, which had been gathering over the south of Africa for some time, finally erupted into full scale conflict between the Orange Free State and Transvaal Boer Republics and the might of the British Empire on 11 October 1899. Britain already had a military presence on the ground in South Africa but this was limited and insufficient to combat the Boer forces. The Leicester’s were already on the spot so to speak and were part of Sir George White’s forces stationed around Ladysmith when the Boer invasion of Natal came early in October and were in Dundee, with Penn-Symons’ small garrison, when the first real battle of the war took place – that of Talana – named after the hill on Smith’s farm just outside the coal mining town of Dundee.


Map of Talana battle

Early in the morning of the 12th October Boers began to cross the border into Natal. On the 18th October General Erasmus and his men were only seven miles from Dundee. Sir George White, the British commander in Natal, felt anxious about the garrison forty miles away from Ladysmith at Dundee, and telegraphed General Symons to fall back at once. General Symons elected to remain there with 4,000 men while 14,000 Boers slowly closed in upon him.

On the 19th October all communication between Dundee and Ladysmith was cut and in the evening the Boers prepared to advance during the night to be in position to occupy the high hills east of Dundee. At 2.30 A.M. the Boers stumbled upon a picket which they drove in, and occupied Talana hill. The morning of the 20th dawned dull and cloudy by all accounts. Men were seen on the skyline of Talana and very soon an artillery shell burst on the outskirts of Dundee, the first shot of the war in Natal. British artillery quickly replied and soon silenced the Boer artillery on the top of the hill. General Symons then prepared his men for an infantry attack to drive the Boers from Talana hill.

Winch’s 1st Leicestershire regiment together with the 67th field battery were ordered to protect the camp at Dundee and to prevent any incursion from the North. The remainder of the advancing infantry soon encountered heavy Boer rifle fire and consolidated. At 11.30 the artillery ceased firing to allow the infantry to storm the hill. As the infantry moved forward, the Boers retired over the crest of Talana and the action looked won. Just then British artillery opened up again and cleared the summit of both Boers and British. It was nearly 1.30 P.M. before the hill was finally reoccupied against light opposition.

General Symons had been mortally wounded during the attack and he was replaced by Brigadier General Yule. On the 21st General Yule moved his camp to a better position to avoid long range Boer Artillery fire, during which the 1st Leicestershire regiment had lost Lieutenant William Hannah killed and Lieutenant B. De. A. Weldon, together with one man, wounded.

On the 22nd General Yule resolved to retreat back to Ladysmith. It was estimated that the march would take three days. Thirty three wagons, escorted by two companies of the 1st Leicester's returned to the original camp and loaded up with as many stores as they could. As darkness fell, candles were lit in the tents to give the impression that the men were still present. At 9 P.M. the force marched out on the Helpmekaar road in silence. They had left behind them their wounded and a great mass of stores were abandoned to the enemy. The Boers did little to impede the retreat but occupied Dundee soon after the troops had left. Torrential rain did much to slow the General's retreat.

The roads were knee deep in mud and many fast flowing streams had to be crossed. The troops became exhausted and rested on the afternoon of the 23rd October, having reached Van Tonders pass. The column set off again the following morning still without the Boers posing an active threat to them, although they could not have been far behind. Twelve more miles were covered and camp was ordered to be set up when General Yule received orders from Sir George White to press onto Ladysmith without any further delay. The men set off again in total darkness and pouring rain and it was not until dawn the next day that the men saw Ladysmith across a short expanse of plain. The shattered column of exhausted men finally staggered into Ladysmith on the morning of the 26th October.

The Boers were not far behind and were soon observed on the hills around Ladysmith, which was a most unsuitable town to defend. Supplies of water to the town were cut and Sir George White resolved to attack the encircling Boers before they could complete a complete siege. He proposed to send two infantry brigades to storm Pepworth hill, where it could be seen that the Boers were building a gun platform. One of these brigades, commanded by Colonel Grimwood, included the 1st Leicestershire Regiment. Just after midnight on the 30th October, Grimwood's brigade consisting of six miles of men, guns and horses began to move off.

As dawn broke they were in position for their artillery to open fire but their flank had been turned. The Boer Artillery fired back and for four hours the troops were subjected to a heavy and sustained shelling and were soon in disarray. At midday the men were withdrawn before they suffered defeat. The men who had been on the retreat from Dundee seemed to suffer the most; the Leicester's were wandering back into town in groups and seeking water and sleep, having suffered 24 casualties. It was not surprising that the day became known as "Mournful Monday".

Two days later the Boers cut the telegraph line and the railway line to the South, and on the 3rd November they completed the siege of Ladysmith with its garrison of 13,500 troops.


Map detailing where the Leicesters were based in Ladysmith

Ladysmith was divided up into four sections. The Northern salient was section B and was commanded by Major-General F. Howard. It extended from Gordon Hill to Observation Hill and then continued to King's post, Ration Post and Rifleman's post. Within this area was the inner position of Leicester Post with its garrison of the 1st Leicester's.

During the night of the 7/8th December the Leicestershire regiment carried out a raid towards Hyde's farm but failed to discover any of the enemy and returned to Ladysmith without a shot being fired. The siege continued throughout December and into January, with food shortages and health issues increasingly becoming a problem. Dysentery and Typhoid broke out due to the dirty river water being used for drinking, although efforts were made to sterilise it. Towards the end, horses were being slaughtered to sustain the men.

The siege was finally lifted on the 28th February 1900 and the original garrison was given time to recover from their ordeal of disease, short rations and a constant artillery bombardment. They were first of all left by the banks of the Tugela River, where they were joined by reinforcements from England. On March 10th the 1st Leicester's were re-organised and placed in the 8th Brigade 4th Division of General Buller's army of Natal. The men were route marched in order to regain their fitness and many suffered from Jaundice due to over-eating after a long enforced abstinence. It was nearly two months before they were considered ready for active service again.

Having been invalided back to England, Winch was transferred to the Depot on 31 March 1900. He was included in the 1901 England census, having taken up residence with his brother, Alfred, at 1 Dalby Road, once more. Aged 31 and still single, he was described as a Private Soldier.

Having recovered from his malaise, Winch was sent back to South Africa 1 year and 156 days later, taking to the field on 4 September 1901. His regiment was involved in drives against the Boer Commandos during the first half of 1901 when the war devolved into a guerrilla campaign. They then began building a line of block-Houses between the towns of Ermelo and Standerton. The lines would prevent the Boers from crossing from one region to the next and give them no shelter.

Progress was rapid, with two pre-fabricated corrugated iron block-houses being built and one mile of barbed wire being laid each day by the men of the Leicester regiment. The Block-Houses on this line were exceptionally close together, being just 700 yards apart. Once built the 1st Battalion Leicestershire regiment provided the garrison for them. The Leicester's could justifiably claim that they were one of only a few regiments that had been present at the outbreak of the war and were still serving at the end. Winch, for his efforts, was awarded the Queens medal with the relevant clasps. The Kings Medal also came his way by virtue of having served for longer than 18 months in the cause of the war.

After the peace agreement was signed in May 1902 the British regiments prepared to leave South Africa. The 1st Battalion Leicestershire regiment was due to be deployed to Madras, India but Winch, who had attested for seven years with the colours and another five in reserve, returned to England on 13 September 1902 where, on 13 March 1903, he was transferred to the Reserve.

On 8 May 1904, at St. Matthew’s in Fulham, he wed 26 year old Caroline Alice Bull of 19 Kilkie Road. He was a mature 32 years old and a Porter by occupation, resident at 28 Hugon Road. He was discharged from his military obligations, Time Expired, on 21 November 1908 after serving a total of 16 years. His son, Charles Alfred, was born in the same year, on 2 February whilst the family lives at 30 Albert Terrace – the same address as that provided all those years ago when he went was enrolled for school in 1878.

The 1911 England census revealed that Winch, his wife and three children, lived at 35 Dempster Road, Wandsworth. He was 40 years old and still employed as a Hall Porter.

After a period of global tranquillity the world woke up to a war of epic proportions on 4 August 1914. The might of Imperial Germany was pitted against that of Great Britain and her Allies. Winch was a late bloomer, enlisting for service on 22 July 1918. He was to see all of his 272 days service on home soil with the 32nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment with no. 94707 – later transferring to 339 Protection Company, part of the Royal Defence Corps – a type of Home Guard. 45 years old and not deemed fit enough for overseas service, he was discharged on 19 April 1919 to his home address – 75 Bolingbroke Road, Hammersmith. He did not earn any medals.

The West London Observer of Friday, 25th August 1933 carried his obituary. Under the heading “The Late Mr Charles E. Winch” it read: -

“The funeral of the late Mr Charles Edward Winch, of Bolingbroke Road, West Kensington, took place on Saturday last at Hammersmith Cemetery, Sheen. Mr Winch who was 62 years of age, had resided in the borough for 22 years and leave a widow two sons and a daughter. The many beautiful floral tributes, eloquent testimony of the esteem and regard he was held by his many friends.” These included from The Porters Staff at Oakwood Court (doubtless where he had spent many years as a Hall Porter); The Girls of the Fruit and Almond Room (Lyons) and The Employees of Kensington Builders Ltd.

Acknowledgements:
- Article on William Bonnett, Leicester Regiment (self)
- Ancestry. com for census, school, service papers and medal roll data
- Maurice for Map of Leicesters (Ladysmith)
- British Battles for Map of Talana