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Captain (Quartermaster)
CHARLES FRESHWATER
 (Formerly 19410, 344052 and 1855539 Superintending Clerk)
Royal Engineers  

by

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, MSCE, PE, MInstRE
(December 2021)  

1.  INTRODUCTION  

            The principal references used in the preparation of this narrative were from a number of sources.  They include census records, official registries in the United Kingdom, a number of family trees, Army Lists, books, military service papers and the London Gazette.  All sources are contained in the REFERENCE section at the end of the narrative and are cited throughout in the ENDNOTES.  Every effort has been made to accurately portray the life and military service of Major Freshwater.          

2.  FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

a. Family Information

            Charles Freshwater was the son of Alfred C. Freshwater (1859-1928), a Police Constable in London and Eleanor J. Freshwater, née Bass (1866-1936) of Greenwich, Kent.  Charles was the fourth child of Alfred and Eleanor.  Prior to Charles’ birth the couple had a son and two daughters; Alfred John (1885-1952), Eleanor (1887-?) and Isabella Annie (1889-1893).  After the birth of Charles, Alfred and Eleanor had five additional children; Arthur (1893-?), Florence (1895-?), Walter (1895-1971), Edward (1898-1972) and Stanley (1904-1941).            

b. Early Life

            Charles Freshwater was born on 4 April 1891 in Southwark, Surrey.  On the day of his birth the family was residing at 14 East Block in the Peabody Building, St. Saviour, London.  The 1891 Census of England was taken on 5 April 1891; therefore, Charles shows up as an infant only one day old in the census.       

1891 Census of England (RG 12/343)

NOTES:

1. Young Isabella died in March of 1893.
2. Ann Elizabeth Bass (1857-?) was the sister of Eleanor Freshwater. 

Figure 1.  The Peabody Buildings, Dufferin Street, London.
(Image courtesy of Google Earth)

            On 21 March 1898 at the age of seven, Charles Freshwater was admitted to the Lower Chapman Street School in Tower Hamlets, London.  On 31 March 1901, when the next census was taken, the Freshwater family was living at 47 Cotton Street in the Poplar area of London, as shown in the census return below.

1901 Census of England (RG 13/354)  

             The Freshwaters had one more child after the 1901 census, Stanley Freshwater (1904-1941), born in Poplar in December 1904.  Stanley was killed during World War 2.  More will be told about his service and death in Section 10 of this narrative.  

3.  ENLISTMENT AND TRAINING

a.      Enlistment

      Charles Freshwater attested for service in the Royal Engineers on 4 October 1909 at the age of 18 years and 6 months.  He was determined to be medically fit for service in the Army and in the Corps of Royal Engineers and upon the approval of his attestation he was issued Regimental Number 19410 with the rank of Sapper.

b.      Training  

            Following the administrative actions involved with his enlistment and attestation, Freshwater was sent off for his recruit training.  With the exception of Drivers, every recruit enlisted for the Royal Engineers had to have a trade.  Pioneers and Sappers were sent to Chatham where they were trained for a year in infantry drill and pioneer duties.  During the summer every training company in turn went into a tent-camp at Wouldham near Chatham, where the recruits were taught camp duties, pontooning and other field engineering tasks.  The engineer recruits also received musketry training.  When the course of training was completed the recruits had to pass an examination and were then transferred to engineer formations, where they received higher pay and could earn extra allowances by working at their special trades.  The 1911 Census of England and Wales shows Sapper Charles Freshwater, aged 20, as a Clerk in the Royal Engineers Barracks at Chatham, Kent.

4.  POSTINGS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

Home Service (1912-1914)

            Following his training at Chatham Sapper Freshwater appears to have spent the years from 1912 to 1914 in a unit at Aldershot, Hampshire.  His specific unit at Aldershot is not indicated on his Royal Engineers Tracer Card.  To obtain this information would require access to his military service papers.  Based on notations found in military documents pertaining to his service during the Great War, it appears that he might have served in the Establishment for Engineer Services (E.E.S.).

            The term Establishment for Engineer Services had been used for a number of years in the 20^th century to describe the duties of the Royal Engineers in connection with building construction and the use of materials.  This establishment dealt with the construction of fortifications, but by and large its greatest responsibility was in the area of the construction and maintenance of barracks.  Other works undertaken by the Establishment included hospitals and Army Ordnance buildings.  With regard to the latter, the work included not only the buildings themselves, but also the provision and maintenance of fixed machinery and the construction and maintenance of magazines and buildings for the storage of explosives, with special attention to precautions against fire and protection against lightning.

            The E.E.S. was also involved with other buildings in support of the Army Service Corps, to include bakeries, stores, transport sheds and workshops.  Special facilities such as refrigeration plants were also provided at Gibraltar and Malta and at other tropical locations.  Many other buildings, such as churches, schools, offices, quarters for Commanding Officers and certain Staff Officers, were also provided by the E.E.S.  Other essential services of the Establishment included the charge of military cemeteries and burial grounds, the preparation of graves and the appointment and supervision of caretakers.

            In connection with all of the above works, there was an organization within the E.E.S. responsible for the control of “Military Lands.”  This term included the land on which the barracks and fortifications were constructed, along with roads, parades and recreation grounds.  Closely allied to the control of “Military Lands” was the provision of rifle and artillery ranges.

            One of the special branches within the E.E.S. included the Electrical Branch which consisted of Defence Electric Lights, Telegraphs, Telephones, and Miscellaneous Electrical Services.  The largest sub-element of the Electrical Branch was the Submarine Mining Service, which was responsible for the mine defences and also for the defence electric lights and electrical communications in the defended ports throughout the British Empire.  Other miscellaneous electrical services included barracks lighting and protection of building against lightning.

            A second special branch of the E.E.S. was the Mechanical Branch, with its responsibility for installation and maintenance of engines, boilers and machinery used with pumping and heating plant, and machinery used in Royal Engineer and Ordnance workshops.  Other special branches of the Establishment were the Mechanical Transport Branch and the Railway Branch.[1]

France and Flanders (1914-1918)

            While his specific unit of assignment is not known it is known that he disembarked in France on 15 August 1914, very shortly after the Great War of 1914-1918 started.  It is likely that he had been posted to a unit in the Army Group Engineers that was controlled by the General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force.  By 14 January 1915, Freshwater, then a 2^nd Corporal, was mentioned in the despatches of Field Marshal Sir John French for his gallant and distinguished conduct in the field during the battles of Ypres and Armentieres.[2]^,[3]  His Mention in Despatches (M.I.D) card for this award has a notation at the bottom with the following note:

206^th ARMY FIELD REG. SIGS
91^st

            This is a confusing notation as there does not appear to have been any units designated either 206^th of 91^st Army Field Reg. Sigs.  Furthermore, the Royal Engineers had no units designated as “Regiments” (Reg.) although they did have “Signals” (Sigs.) units if that is what these abbreviations are meant to designate.  This notation will remain a mystery as it related to Freshwater’s unit.  One thing is certain however.  Freshwater’s performance of duty during the war had been outstanding.  On 1 January 1917 he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal[4]   By this time he already was an (Acting) Engineer Clerk Sergeant.[5]  On 23 December 1918 he was again mentioned in despatches with his rank being shown as [Acting] Sergeant (Acting Superintending Clerk)[6] attached to Headquarters Lines of Communication Area, France.[7]  As an Acting Superintending Clerk he would have been responsible to oversee the work of other non-commissioned officers and men of the E.E.S.  To receive these mentions and acting ranks he must have performed his duties in an extraordinary manner and was probably close to General Headquarters where his action could be observed by high ranking officers. 

Discharge and Re-Enlistment (1919)

            Charles Freshwater was discharged from the Army on 13 January 1919.  At the war’s end he had reverted to his permanent rank of 2^nd Corporal.[8]  On 14 January 1919 he re-enlisted in the Corps of Royal Engineers for four years and was given the rank of Engineer Clerk Staff Sergeant with a new regimental number, 344052.[9]  It is obvious that his war service had much to do with his immediate promotion to Engineer Clerk Staff Sergeant, a rank again associated with the Establishment for Engineer Services.  On 16 March 1919 he was mentioned in despatches of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, again with the rank of Superintending Clerk [Acting][10].

Chatham (1919)

            On 4 August 1919 Freshwater was posted to “G” Company of the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion at Chatham, Kent.[11]  As an E.C. Staff Sergeant he probably was responsible for maintaining the physical facilities of the battalion’s barracks and other structures.

London (1920-1938)

            On 17 September 1920, while still assigned to the Depot Battalion at Chatham, Freshwater was posted for duty to the Office of the Chief Engineer, London District as a Clerk.  At this time he had 11 years and 263 days service and he extended his service to complete 21 years.[12]  In accordance with the new rules regarding service numbers Freshwater was issued Army Number 1855539 at this time in place of his Royal Engineers’ regimental numbers.[13]

            Freshwater was promoted to the rank of Engineer Clerk Quartermaster Sergeant (Warrant Officer Class II) on 15 January 1922 while working for the Chief Engineer, London.  On 12 July 1923 he was posted to the Office of the Commander Royal Engineers (CRE), London District.  The CRE London District was subordinate to the Chief Engineer, London District.  It may be assumed that a Warrant Officer Class I had been posted to fill the Engineer Clerk position in the Chief Engineer’s office, thereby necessitating Freshwater’s movement to the Office of the CRE.  His actual place of employment was in the War Office.  While in this employment Freshwater remained on the roles of “G” Company of the Depot Battalion for administrative purposes.[14]  In October of 1927 Freshwater completed 18 years of service and was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (GVR) shortly thereafter.

            On 18 December 1928 Freshwater was promoted to Superintending Clerk (Warrant Officer Class I) and was posted to the General Staff Directorate at the War Office.[15]  In September of 1930 he was permitted to continue his service beyond 21 years[16] and in June of 1935, while still serving at the War Office, Freshwater was awarded the King’s Silver Jubilee Medal.[17]

5. COMMISSIONED SERVICE (1936-1945)  

            Charles Freshwater was discharge from the ranks on 31 March 1936 and was commissioned a Lieutenant (Quartermaster) in the Royal Engineers on the following day, Army Number P.67556.[18]  In the Corps of Royal Engineers it was not unusual for a Warrant Officer in the Establishment for Engineer Services to be commissioned directly as a Lieutenant (Quartermaster) and to continue serving with the E.E.S.  This action probably was a move by the War Office to reward exceptional NCOs and to retain these men in the Corps to take advantage of their outstanding performance and their knowledge and experience.

            After commissioning, Lieutenant Freshwater was posted to Blackdown in Hampshire.[19]  Blackdown was the home of the 1^st Anti-Aircraft Searchlight Battalion, Royal Engineers.  Freshwater probably was assigned to the garrison headquarters to supervise E.E.S. services for the installation. 

            Just prior to the start of World War 2 it appears that Freshwater may have been posted to Egypt.  The manifest of S.S. Strathallan contains his name, showing him as a 48-year old Officer, R.E. bound from London to Port Said.  However, his name was struck off the manifest, so it appears that he did not make this journey on Strathallan.  He may have sailed on another vessel at a later time.  His home address is shown on the manifest as 4 Calvin Road, London E.6.[20]  The manifest is dated 9 June 1939.  No specific information was uncovered to indicate that Freshwater was, in fact, posted to Egypt. 

            Freshwater was a Captain (Quartermaster) by 1941 and on 1 April 1942 he was appointed a Temporary Major (Quartermaster).[21]  He may have been in Egypt or he may have been in the U.K. at this time.  No records were available to determine his location.  In 1944 he was Extra-Regimentally employed and was still serving as a Captain (Quartermaster) in 1945.[22]  To be Extra-Regimentally employed meant that he was not performing duties within the Royal Engineers, but was assigned temporarily to another corps or regiment.  Presumably he retired from the Army following World War 2.

            From 1945 to 1952 Charles Freshwater’s son, Charles John Freshwater, also was serving as a Quartermaster in the Royal Engineers.[23]

 6.  PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS

a.  Promotions:  Freshwater received the following promotions during his time in service:

 NOTES: 1.      The exact dates of promotion are not known. 
                 2.      In 1918 he was an Acting Sergeant with a substantive rank of 2^nd Corporal.

 b.      Appointments:  Freshwater received the following appointments during his time in service:

NOTE: The exact dates of appointments in 1915 and 1918 are not known.

7. MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

            Charles Freshwater was awarded the following medals during his time in service, shown from left to right in the Figure below:

NOTES:

1. His Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was issued without a [REGULAR ARMY] bar.  This seems to be unusual.
2. It is known that he served during the period of the Second World War yet his medal group does not contain any medals for this period.  Even if he did not deploy to an overseas area during the war he should have been entitled to the War Medal or the Defence Medal for his service.  Perhaps he had been issued medals for his service during WW2 but never thought to mount them with the rest of his medals.  Figure 2 below shows his medal group with the original ribbons as worn by Major Freshwater.
3. As indicated above, Freshwater’s medal index card for the Great War states that he was awarded the 1914 Star with the “Mons” clasp and the silver rosette device.  Apparently he never mounted the silver rosette on his ribbon.

Figure 2.  The Medals of Charles Freshwater, R.E., as worn.
(Photograph from the author’s collection)  

Figure 3.  Charles Freshwater’s Great War Medal Index Card.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Figure 4.  Freshwater’s Medal Card for the Meritorious Service Medal.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)  

8.  RELEASE FROM SERVICE  

            Freshwater’s total service is reckoned as shown in the tables below:

NOTE: The dates in italics above are estimated dates

9.  POST SERVICE LIFE  

            No information regarding Charles Freshwater’s post service life or date of death was uncovered during this research.

10.  MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND PERSONAL INFORMATION

a. Spouse and Children

            Charles Freshwater married Kathleen Lilian Hayden in Farnham, Surrey in October 1912.  When they married, Freshwater was probably serving at Aldershot.  Charles and Kathleen had a son and a daughter.  Their son, Charles John (aka Boyce) was born in Farnham on 23 February 1913.  He was baptized at St. Michael the Archangel parish in Aldershot on 20 April 1913.  Their daughter, Kathleen Edith (aka Betts) also was born in Farnham in January 1914.[24]

            As previously indicated, Charles John Freshwater also served in the Royal Engineers as a Quartermaster from at least 1945 to 1952. 

b.      Parents

            Alfred Charles Freshwater (1859-1928) was born in Greenwich, Kent.  He married Eleanor J. Bass on 22 March 1884 at St. Alphege Church in Greenwich.  Alfred was a Police Constable in 1891 and by 1901 he was a Metropolitan Police Inspector.  By 1911 he was a Police Pensioner living in East Ham, Essex.  He died in December 1928 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire at the age of 69.

            Eleanor Freshwater (1866-1936) also was born in Greenwich, Kent.  She died on 27 September 1936 at Grimsby, Humberside.

c.       Siblings

            The following information regarding Charles Freshwater’s brothers and sisters was obtained from the London Mahoneys family tree on Ancestry.com:

• Alfred John Freshwater (1885-1952) was born on 28 August 1885 in Epping, Essex. He died in Epping in December 1952.
• Eleanor Freshwater (1887-?) was born in Deptford, Kent in June 1887.  No information regarding a marriage was found and her date of death is unknown.
• Isabella Annie Freshwater (1889-1893) was born in Deptford, Kent in December 1889.  She died as an infant in St. Saviour, Kent in March 1893 at the age of 3.
• Arthur Freshwater (1893-?) was born in St. Saviour, Kent in September 1893.  His date of death is not known.
• Florence Freshwater (1895-?) was born in Wapping, Sussex in September 1895.   No information regarding a marriage was found and her date of death is unknown.
• Walter Freshwater (1895-1971) was born in Wapping, Sussex on 15 November 1895.  Walter enlisted in the Army Service Corps Forage Department in February 1916 as a Private.  He was discharged on 26 July 1916.  Walter married Jesse Lilian Savage (1889-1977) in 1916 and they had one child, Sydney Walter Freshwater (1919-2012).  Walter Freshwater died in Newham, London in September 1971, aged 75.
• Edward Freshwater (1898-1972) was born in Wapping, Sussex on 1 September 1898.  Edward served in the Royal Navy from 11 May 1914 to 29 July 1920 on 12 different ships.  He married Lilian F. Ould in West Ham, Essex in June 1923.  They did not have any children.  Edward died in Newham, Greater London in June 1972 at the  age of 73.
• Stanley Freshwater (1904-1941) was born in Poplar, London in December 1904.  Stanley married Florence E. Whiteley (1900-1966).  They had a daughter, Christine Freshwater (?-2004).  Stanley served in the Merchant Navy during World War 2 and was killed when his ship S.S. Petrel was sunk by U-124 on 26 September 1941.  He was the Chief Engineer Officer and was one of 23 men killed of the 32 crew members on board.

Figure 5.  S.S. Petrel.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

REFERENCES:  

Army Lists  

1. The Monthly Army List, October 1935.  HMSO, London, p. 904b.
2. The Monthly Army List, April 1938.  HMSO, London, p. 333b

Books  

1. BAKER BROWN, W.  The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers.  Volume IV.  The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952, pp. 245-262.
2. McINNES, I.  The Meritorious Service Medal: The Immediate Awards, 1916-1928.  The Naval and Military Press and Liverpool Medal Co. Ltd., 1992, p. 38
3. HONOURS AND AWARDS OF THE OLD CONTEMPTIBLES. p. 21.
4. NAVAL AND MILITARY DESPATCHES, NOVEMBER 1914-JUNE 1915, Part II, HMSO, London, 1915. p. 227.

Census  

1. 1891 Census of England.
2. 1901 Census of England.
3. 1911 Census of England, Royal Engineers Barracks, Chatham, Kent.

Documents (Miscellaneous)  

1. Baptism Record: Charles John Freshwater.
2. School Register, Lower Chapman Street School, Tower Hamlets, 1898.
3. England and Wales Death Index, 1916-2007.

Family Trees  

1. Charles Freshwater
2. Alfred Charles Freshwater (father)

Internet Web Sites  

1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/

2. UK, British Army Records and Lists, 1882-1962 (via Fold 3)

https://www.fold3.com/

3. Uboat.net (Petrel)

https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/person/37739.html  

London Gazette  

1. The London Gazette, 17 February 1915
2. Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 January 1917, pp. 52 and 53.
3. Supplement to the London Gazette, 12 January 1920, p. 496.
4. The London Gazette, 3 April 1936, p. 2158.

.Medal Index Cards  

1. MID card, London Gazette, 17 February 1915, p. 1657
2. MID card, London Gazette, 23 December 1918, p. 15041.
3. MIC, Meritorious Service Medal, 1 January 1917.

Medal Rolls  

1. Royal Engineers 1914 Star Medal Roll.
2. Royal Engineers British War Medal and Victory Medal Roll.

Passenger Lists  

SS Strathallan, Brisbane, 9 June 1939.  

Periodicals

1. The Royal Engineers List, 1943, p. xiv.
2. The Sapper, March 1929, p. 227.
3. The Sapper, September 1930, p. 56
4. The Sapper, February 1931, p. 199.
5. The Sapper, February 1933, p. 202.
6. The Sapper, September 1934, p. 392.
7. The Sapper, December 1934, p. 476.
8. The Sapper, July 1935, p. 392 and 667.
9. FRENCH, J.  Sir John French’s Despatches.  The Graphic, London, 1914.

Service Papers  

1. Royal Engineers Tracer Cards (1 and 2).
2. Attestation Papers of Walter Freshwater, A.S.C.

ENDNOTES: