Medal Index Card
Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Charles Sadler, one of 7 known children, was born at Kirkby Fleetham, Yorks, the youngest of 2 sons and had 1 elder and 4 younger sisters. His father John Sadler native of Gatheley Moor and mother Elizabeth Horner of Thornton Watlass, both in Yorkshire, were born in 1852 and 1851 respectively, they married at Bedale, Yorkshire in 1873. John Sadler supported his wife and children, Mary Ann born 1875, John William 1876, Charles 1878, Emily 1880, Florence 1882, Elizabeth 1884 and Hannah 1888, employed as a labourer.
By the age of 23 years Charles had left his family home and was employed as a ploughman, one of 4 servants 3 male, 1 female, working at Coldstream Farm, Tudhoe, County Durham, for farmer Christopher Nesbitt and his wife Isabel. In 1905 Charles was married at Durham to Eva Haigh born 1877 at Esh Winning, County Durham and with whom he had 2 children, only 1 survived, John, born 1909 at Cornsay. In 1911 they were living at 3a, Commercial Street, Cornsay Colliery where Charles was employed by the coal company as a labourer/plate layer.
When war broke out with Germany, Charles enlisted at Cornsay in November 1914. He was assigned to the newly raised 23rd (4th Tyneside Scottish) Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers as Private 932 joining his regiment at their barracks at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland. The battalion trained at Newcastle before moving to Alnwick camp in the grounds of Alnwick castle, January 29th 1915. Transferred to Ripon, Yorkshire, in June 1915 it joined the 102nd Brigade, 34th Division. The regiment moved for final training in late August to Salisbury Plain, and departed to France in January 1916, concentrating at La Crosse near St. Omer.
In the absence of his military record it is impossible to track his exact movements. Private Sadler was transferred to the 703rd Area Employment Coy with a change of service number to 407900. The 703rd was part of the 4th Labour Battalion Royal Engineers consisting primarily of men in their 30s and 40s with labouring experience who were mainly deployed in road building and repairs.
The circumstances as regards his demise are also unclear. He is listed in the Register of Soldiers Effects as having died at the 8th General Hospital, Rouen, France, between the 22-24th May 1918, other records simply state, “dead”. The CWGC have adopted May 24th 1918 as the official date of his demise.
Private 932 Charles Sadler Northumberland Fusiliers, aged 41 years, is at rest within Bois-Guillaume Communal Cemetery Extension, Seine-Maritime, France, grave D. 11A. The cemetery was begun in March 1917 and most burials come from the 8th General Hospital which had taken over a large house and grounds at Bois-Guillaume, north east of Rouen.
His widow received all monies due to him, a pension for herself and their son and his awards of the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Eva Sadler nee Haigh died in 1952 aged 75 years, registered Durham Central. John Sadler married in the district of Lanchester to Elizabeth Rippon in 1935. Charles’s parents remained at Kirkby Fleetham, Yorkshire, his father John died in 1933 aged 81 years, his mother Elizabeth Sadler nee Horner aged 90 years, January 24th 1941.
In God’s safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Charles Sadler is remembered at Cornsay on C116.01 and at Quebec on Q2.06
