Charles Henry Houghton

A Guardsman with the 2nd Battalion, Charles died on 9th of December 1944 aged 20. 

Charles was born at Lowestoft on 30 October 1924, a son of Harry and Ethel May Houghton. In 1939 his family lived at 5 Turner Cottages, Saint John's Road.

Charles was a labourer when he attested for the Army at Norwich on 23 February 1943. He joined the Coldstream Guards to serve four years with the Colours and eight with the Reserve. He served in Italy with the 2nd Battalion. 
By 5 December 1944 the 2nd Battalion were holding positions in the vicinity of Casa Uccellaia with elements at Budriola and Point 411.

The battalion war diary for 9 December records that ‘an unlucky mortar bomb’ killed Guardsman Houghton on the reverse slope of Point 411 and Guardsman Swales was wounded by the same bomb.