Charles was born in Wolverhampton in 1895, the son of Richard Littlehales. In 1901, Charles and his brother John R., were living with their father at 27 Albion Street, Wolverhampton. On 22 July 1909, Charles was indentured to the Merchant Navy at Grimsby, at the age of 14. He was bound for 6 years to the Grimsby & North Sea Steam Trawling Company.
He served as an Apprentice on the Mercury and as a Deck Hand on the Cassiopeia. He was on board the Steam Trawler “Equinox”, when it was mined and sunk on 25 August 1916, leaving no survivors. Charles is commemorated on the Tower Hill memorial.
Wolverhampton's War 