BORN – Burnley
HOMEFRONT – Place / Occupation / Burnley Roll of Honour(WM)
JOB – Tarpaulin Maker, Cambria Railway
UNIT – 1 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry
RANK – Private 16926
THEATRE – Somme / Le Transloy. 1 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, 9-12 October 1916.
DIED – KIA 9 October 1916. Aged 37.
BURIED – Thiepval Memorial (grave unknown). (CWGC)
BROTHER TO – Private 6154 Albert E Loose, 2 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. KIA 26 April 1915, Menin Gate, Ypres (unknown).
Charles Henry Loose was the elder brother of Albert Edward Loose. Their parents were Henry and Sarah. Henry worked in an iron foundry but he would later change jobs and become an electrician. The family moved around a fair bit living at various places in the North West. Charles was born at Burnley in 1879; he was the second child with elder sister Amelia, who was a year older. There was also another brother, Walter, born in 1881. Albert was born in 1883 at Liverpool where a second sister, Constance, was also born in 1886. The family also lived in Blackpool and Widnes. By 1901 they had moved to Oswestry where they lived at Greens Cottages, Castle Street. On the same census their father is at Pembroke Road, Ilford – probably there for his work as an electrical engineer.
By 1901 Charles was living as a boarder at 65 North Castle Street in Oswestry and working as a tarpaulin maker for the Cambrian Railway. His mother was living with his other siblings at Green Cottages, Castle Street and would later move to 10 Chapel Place, Chapel Street. In 1901 too Charles married Alice Owen – she was his landlord’s daughter. They moved into 2 Porkington Cottages on Willow Street where brother Albert shared house with them as a lodger. Charles and Alice would have six children, two would die in infancy. Olive (1902-1902), Joseph (1903-1903), Elsie b 1905, Eva b 1908, Florence b 1912 and Hilda b 1915.
There are few details of Charles’ military service. According to his obituary he enlisted in 1914 at Oswestry. However, he was not awarded the 1915 Star, meaning he did not arrive in France until 1916. It is most likely that he had remained in the UK, possibly in 3 Bn King’s Shropshire Light Infantry training and reserve battalion, and was posted to 1 BN KSLI and went over to France in 1916 as a draft. George was KIA on 9 October 1916. At that time the battalion were at Gueudecourt and Transloy during the Somme Offensive. His body was not recovered and he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial. He is also commemorated on Burnley War Memorial and on Cambrian Railways Memorial in Cae Glas Park, Oswestry. He is believed to be incorrectly recorded as Thomas H Loose on St Oswald’s Church.
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