On the Tower Hill Memorial is the name Assistant Steward Charles Balls, serving on S.S. Blairatholl (Glasgow) with the Merchant Marine Reserve, who died 27/11/1942.

Charles Balls was born on the 20th November 1903, at 297 Alice Street, South Shields the son of Sidney Arthur Balls and his wife Elizabeth Elliott nee Dupear. Sidney was born in 1864 in Mutford, Gorleston, Suffolk, and his wife Elizabeth ‘Lily’ was born in October 1875 at South Shields. They were married on the 31st July 1893 in South Shields and before their marriage in 1891 Elizabeth (known to friends and family as ‘Lily’) was a dressmaker, residing at 8 Stoddart Street, South Shields and Sidney was a Mariner.

The other children were: –

• Lily Lander Balls was born in 1902 baptised on the 17th August 1902, died June 1906.and sadly died in 1906.
• Sydney Arthur Balls, born 5th April 1894, died 1960, in 1921, he was a Watchman employed by Mr A. Mitchell, at Prudhoe Street, North Shields, for the Bosnia, ship number 144619, at Bill Quay Buoys, Pelaw on Tyne, he married Maud Victoria Brown, born 17th June 1897, died in 1991 in Jarrow. in 1919, in South Shields, in 1939, Sidney and Maud were residing with their three children and one redacted record, at 108, Talbot Road, South Shields. Sidney was a Chipper and Painter, and an A.R.P. Warden during WW2. Sidney’s brother Charles, was also at the home and was a Ship’s Assistant and Cook, Maud Victoria Balls re-married David Small Cunningham, born 15th September 1902, in 1963, in South Shields; David Small Cunningham died, aged 72, in 1975, in South Shields; Maud Victoria Cunningham died, aged 94, in 1991, in Jarrow, Co Durham.
• Frederick Saville Balls, was born on the 11th April 1905, died 26th April 1942.

Charles’ mother Lily died in July in 1909 when he was only young and his father brought up his two youngest sons on his own until he married in 1912, Francis Ellen Blakelock. Francis died in 1926 and his father Sidney died in March 1936 at 7 Collingwood Street, South Shields.

In the 1939 Register Charles is found living with his brother Sidney and sister-in-law Maud and their family at 108 Talbot Road, South Shields. Charles’ occupation is down as a Ship’s Assistant Cook. Charles remained a bachelor and never married.

His father and his aunts and uncles family came from Mutford, Gorleston, Suffolk where his paternal grandfather also named Charles Balls, was born in 1835 and died in 1899. He married Isabella King on the 31st August 1856 in Yarmouth. Isabella King, born 1836 also came from Gorleston, Suffolk and died in Cookham, Berkshire at the home of one of her daughters in 1894.

Isabella and Charles had the following children all born in Gorleston, Suffolk: Minnie Ellen Francis, born July 1857, Margaret Annie, born 1859; Charles Frederick, born 1861; Ella Richmond, born 1863; Rosa May, born 1867; Maud Isabella, born 1869; and Sidney Arthur, (his father) born 1864.

Charles’ mother’s parents and family were from the North East coast, his maternal grandfather John Dupear was born in 1837 in South. He married Lucy Lambert on the 23rd June 1873 in St Mary’s Church, Tyne Dock, South Shields. Lucy Lambert was born in 1841 in Sunderland and died in South Shields in April 1908.

Lucy Lambert and John Dupear had the following children: Elizabeth Elliott, born 1875; Kate Kearney, born 1881 and died 1924 in South Shields. John, born 1882 in Alnwick and died 1940 in Sunderland; Henry Lambert, also born 1882 in Alnwick, died in March 1957 in County Durham; and Mary Ann E born 1878.

Sidney Balls in 1939 was an ARP Warden number 47 and was residing at 108 Talbot Road, South Shields. Charles is a Ship’s Assistant Cook at the same address. Charles was not married.

Some of his Naval Record details:
He served on the Bedeburn, re named as the Chiswick ship number 105896, from the 9th June 1923, then the Alton renamed, Alseburg, ship number106103, from the 10th January 1927, then the Harpagus, renamed Oakmore, from the 2nd September 1927, ship number 149920, Pentor, from the 14th September 1928, Maidenhead, renamed Newquay, ship number 133550, from the 17th May 1929, Kirkpool, ship number 139258, from the 23rd June 1931, Blairberg, renamed Clifftower and Wynburn, ship number 139197, from the 30th December 1936, and the Empress of Russia, ship number 135197, from the 16th November 1937.

He was drowned in the S.S. Blairatholl, ship number 148875, when it struck the John Bakke on the 26th November 1942, in extremely bad weather, the ship turned back but it began to founder, and since the boats had been carried away, the crew had to take to the rafts. It immediately capsized.
Source: Warsailors.com.

Some details about the S. S. Blairatholl Code letters: GLNX Official Number: 148875. Rigging: steel single screw steamer; 1 deck; 6 cemented bulkheads; fitted with direction finder & echo sounding device; cellular double bottom 297 feet, 954 tons; Forward Peak Tank 86 tons; Aft Peak Tank 195 tons. Tonnage: 3,319 tons gross, 3,026 under deck and 2,005 net Dimensions: 340.1 feet long, 48.7 foot beam and holds 22.5 feet deep; Poop 29 feet; Bridge 104 feet; Forecastle 34 feet Construction: 1925, Napier & Miller Ltd. in Glasgow Propulsion: triple expansion engine with 3 cylinders of 22, 35 1/2 & 60 inches diameter respectively; stroke 39 inches; 298 nominal horsepower; 2 single ended boilers; 6 corrugated furnaces; grate surface 123 sq. ft.; heating surface 5,126 sq. ft.; engine by D. Rowan & Co. Ltd. in Glasgow. Owners: Nisbet Shipping Co. Ltd. (G. Nisbet & Co., managers). Port of registry: Glasgow.

Charles Ball’s body was never recovered.

Research: British Newspaper Archive; Cynthia Kent/James Pasby; National Archives; The Kent Family;  Western Front Association; Warsailors.com; Joanne Clark

Charles Ball is remembered at Westoe in W101.08, page 8 and in our List of Ships’ Crews.