Charles Herbert INWOOD (1875-1944)

Lieutenant and Quartermaster Charles Herbert Inwood, MC, OBE (1875-1944), was a colleague of Cyril Sladden in the 9th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.

Charles Inwood was born at Cradley, Worcestershire, the only child of George Inwood, a dairyman, and his wife, Ann. At the time of the 1881 census, Charles was living with his parents at Little Angel Street, All Saints, Worcester. His father died in 1885 when Charles was ten years old.

Inwood joined the Special Reserve of the Worcestershire Regiment, 5th Battalion in about 1894, as an Army List of 1912 reveals that he had been with the regiment for 17 years 135 days up until 23rd June 1911.

Charles Inwood married Sophia Evans on 9th February 1903 at the Parish Church, Edgbaston. They had three children, but their first child died as a baby, leaving a son and a daughter, Ralph Preston Inwood and Joan Lilian Inwood, born in 1910 and 1912 respectively. At the time of the 1911 census he was based at Norton Barracks.

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, Inwood was gazetted as an honorary Lieutenant from 25th August 1914; he was by now Quartermaster. He first went to Gallipoli on 13th July 1915, on the same ship as Cyril Sladden, as a letter written by Cyril on 1st February 1916 reveals: “Recently also I went on board the transport I came out in with our quartermaster, Inwood, the only one who has been right through the whole time.”

Lieutenant Inwood was awarded the Military Cross on 25th August 1917 for his conduct at Kut earlier in the year. As Cyril Sladden said in a letter to his fiancée, Mela Brown Constable, on 2nd September 1917: “Inwood has long been overdue for special mention, as he has always done us splendidly and is at his best in difficult circumstances. He gets a share of risk too.” He was gazetted as Captain from 25th August 1917.

On 3rd June 1919, Inwood was awarded the OBE as a reward for loyal service during the war. He remained in the army after the war and went with the 1st Battalion to Nasirabad, India.

On retirement, Charles and Sophia moved to 25 Albert Road, Caversham, Reading. During the Second World War, Charles served as an ARP Air Raid Warden. He died on 6th June 1944 at Caversham and was cremated two days later at Henley Road Crematorium, Caversham. Sophia died in 1969.