Charles Robert Snelling

A Private with the 5th Battalion, Charles died on 14th of October 1943 aged 26.

Charles was born at Lowestoft on 13 February 1917, a son of George Valentine and Ethel Honor Snelling. In 1921 his family lived at 310 Raglan Street. By 1939 their home was at 74 Milton Road and Charles was a bricklayer’s labourer.  

Charles served with the 5th Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment. In May 1940 the battalion took over coastal defences at Weybourne, Norfolk. Later that year they moved to Holt and then King’s Lynn. In January 1941 they were sent to Scotland for advanced training and in April to Liverpool. In October 1941 they went to Glasgow and on 9 December they embarked the Duchess of Atholl, part of a convoy of ships carrying the 18th Division to Halifax. In Canada they changed ship to the U.S.S. Mount Vernon and then sailed for South Africa. They were due to sail to Bombay on 13 December 1941, but instead were taken to Mombasa. On 28 December they sailed for Singapore, arriving there on 13 January 1942.

The battalion underwent some jungle training before moving to reserve positions at Ayer Hitam. The battalion’s first contact with the Japanese took place on 21 January. For the next few days they tried to hold positions, but, on 26 January, they were ordered to engage in a fighting retreat to Singapore. For the next two weeks they were involved in the defence of Singapore but Charles, like many of his battalion was captured when Singapore fell on 15 February 1942. 

Charles was among a party of men taken overland, on 29 October 1942, to Thailand to work on the Burma Railway. By August 1943 he was at Chungkai where he died from indigestion. 

Charles' brother-in-law, Jack Kerrison, served with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and died in 1941.