Charles James Neville

When Britain declared war on Germany on the 5th of August 1914 and appeals for volunteers to expand the army were issued a mere two days later, Neville was among the first men that volunteered to defend his country. He promptly left university after one academic year and joined the Officer Training Corps. At 18, he was not among the men that were asked to volunteer (the preferred age was between 19 and 35) and only just old enough to join the regular army which would not have sent Neville overseas until he turned 19. However during war time, officials became more lax about age requirements, the general rule of thumb was if a man wanted to fight for his country and was physically capable of doing so then he could enlist. Neville met both of those requirements and served in the ‘B’ Company 6th Cameron Highlanders.

Sadly, he never returned to University; as one of the earliest volunteers, he might have been led to believe like so many others that the war would only last till Christmas of 1914. This was the assumption made popular by the British government (Lord Kitchener not included) which was effectively used to encourage volunteers. Despite the war lasting well past 1914, Neville was one of the 35,000 brave Scots that persevered and fought in the Battle of Loos in 1915, more than a year after volunteering. Neville gave his life on the 26th of September, 1915 at the Battle of Loos at the very young age of 19. He is remembered by the Loos Memorial.