Charles was a member of the 10th Battalion Kings own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and died on 15th July 1916 aged 21.

He is buried in Dartmoor Cemetery, Bercordel-Becourt.

Born in Croydon on May 9th 1895, son of the Rev. William and Mrs. Charlotte Wait and living in the Rectory, Hasketon.

He died during the Battle of the Somme in Bazentin-le-Petit.

Before the war he attended Kings School Canterbury

Personal details

Charles’s parents were Rev. Frederick William Wait (B. Gloucester 1858) and Charlotte A Wait Nee Wells [B. Yorkshire c1864-d.1941]. They had three children Charles Frederick Wells (Born May 1895) Percy Arthur Wells [B. Croydon 1897] Kathleen Mary (B. April 1904.)

In 1891 Frederick was Curate at St. Michaels, Croydon he became Rector at Hasketon in 1907, and died in 1927.  In the 1911 Census Charles can be found with his parents in Hasketon and younger sister Kathleen where he is listed as at school, he attended Kings School Canterbury and is also on their War Memorial.

Charles’ brother Percy Arthur Wells Wait was also killed in 1916 during the Battle of Jutland – see separate page.

Charles is also remembered on plaque in St Andrew’s Church.

War service.

No records have been found to cover his enlistment, training and initial service career, but his school Roll of Honour indicates he applied for a commission in the Suffolk Regiment on 28th August 1914 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 10th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry on the 19th of September 1914.

The 10th Battalion, KOYLI landed in France in September 12th 1915, and took part in an attack on German trenches near Fricourt on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1st 1916.  They suffered almost 400 casualties and moved out of the front line to reorganise. Two weeks later on 15th July they moved to Bazentin-le-Petit where Charles was mortally wounded by shrapnel during very heavy shelling.  Battalion casualties on this day numbered over 100 killed, wounded or missing.  Charles died later that day.

The battalion again moved out of the front line on July 18th and were replaced by the 4th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment who suffered heavy casualties in an attack near High Wood 2 days later.

The following is an extract from the Kings School Canterbury Roll of Honour.

Lieutenant Charles Frederick Wells WAIT, A Company, 10th (Service) Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

He was born at 27 Clapton Common on the 9th of May 1895 the only son of the Reverend Frederick William Wait MA, Rector of Hasketon, and Charlotte Augusta later of Hasketon Rectory, Woodbridge in Suffolk. He was christened on the 15th of June 1895 at St Thomas’ Church, Clapton Common, Hackney.

He was educated at the King’s School Canterbury from September 1910 to July 1914 where he was a member of the Officer Training Corps in which he was a signaller and a bugler, achieving Certificate A on the 25th of November 1913 and reaching the rank of Sergeant in 1914. He attended the annual summer camp at Tidworth in 1914.

He had won a place at Selwyn College Cambridge but instead he applied for a commission in the Suffolk Regiment on the 28th of August 1914 in an application which was supported by Mr McDowall, Headmaster of the King’s School Canterbury. He attended a medical examination at Woodbridge where it was recorded that he was five feet nine and a half inches tall, that he weighed 126lbs and that he needed glasses.

He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 10th (Service) Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry on the 19th of September 1914. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 5th of May 1915 and embarked for France with his battalion from Southampton at 8.30pm on the 11th of September 1915 on board the SS “Empress Queen”, arriving at Le Havre at 9.30am the following day.

On the 1st of July 1916 the 10th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry attacked the German lines to the north of the village of Fricourt on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. They crawled into no man’s land at just before 7.30am and moved forward towards their first objective, which was a sunken road about 1,000 yards from the British front line position. They were met with machine gun fire from both Fricourt and from German positions to the south of the village of La Boiselle. At 8am the sunken road was reached and some parties managed to get as far as Crucifix trench some 400 yards beyond. After driving back a German counter attack, at 2.30pm they tried to take Shelter Wood but were forced back by German fire and at 4.35pm they received orders to consolidate their positions. Their casualties were five hundred and two officers and men, killed wounded and missing. Charles Wait was given command of A Company on the 2nd of July.

At 3.45am on the 14th of July the survivors were in action again in support of an attack by 110th Brigade during the Battle for Bazentin Ridge. On the 15th they attacked the enemy held position of “Gird” Trench near the village of Bazentin le Petit. Charles Wait was wounded in this action and was evacuated to 63rd Field Ambulance where he died of his wounds later in the day.

KOYLI 10th Battalion diary extract.