Charles William Compton
(1869-1933), Army officerSitter in 1 portrait
by Lafayette
half-plate nitrate negative, 22 March 1932
NPG x70698
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Julian McSweeney (Great Grand-Nephew of Charles Compton)
20 February 2020, 07:26
Charles Compton was commissioned into Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry) Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant on 14 January 1891, and within a short period was sent with the Regiment to India. There he undertook a number of postings until by August 1899 he was at Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, in his capacity as Captain of Oudh Rifles, Lucknow. On the outbreak of the Great War he was promoted to Liet.-Colonel.
Following its first engagement in France and Belgium in December 1915, at the Battle of Loos, when the 37th Division had lost at least three major-generals on the front line, senior officers were ordered not to lead their men into battle, as it was considered they could exercise better control from behind the lines. It is therefore most likely that from 1916 onwards, Charles Compton was normally to be found at Brigade HQ.
As very little progress was made during the first days of the Allied offensive on the Somme that opened on 1 July, 1916, the 111th Brigade was brought up from the reserves to support the 34th Division at La Boiselle. Between 6 July and 22 August the Brigade fought at the Battle of Albert and for the Bazentin and Pozieres Ridges along the second German line, and it is interesting to reflect that Charles and his brother Harold Compton were probably no more than three or four miles apart when commanding their respective untis in these operations; the latter at Delville Wood and Guillemont. The enormity of these battles and their casualties is well documented.
During the Ancre operations (13-18 Nov 1916) the Brigade was attached to 63rd (Royal Naval) Division of Gallipoli fame which captured the fortified location of Beaucourt.
The 37th Div. was in action during April 1917 along the River Scarpe, east of Arras, and was given the important task of capturing the strongpoint of Monchy Le Preux, which had a commanding view over the battlefield. It was the first occasion on which tanks, infantry and cavalry were used together.
Later in 1917 the 37th Division was placed under IX Corps in preparion for the Third Battle of Ypres. The move was significant because it brought Brig.-Gen. Charles Compton into the same field of action as his brother, Lieut.-Col. Harold Compton, (CO 12th Battalion Royal Fusiliers) in the 24th Division, but only briefly as Harold was killed during the initial onslaught at Messines. The 37th subsequently fought at Pickelm Ridge (31 July -2 August), also at Polygon Wood (27 September - 3 October), Broodsiende (4 October), Poelcappelle (9 October), and Passchendaele (12 October, 26 October - 10 November).
In April 1918 the 37th Div. fought around the Ancre River and in May at Bucquoy. The Division fought again in the German offensive on the Somme in August 1918, and later on the Hindenburg Line at Havringcourt, the Canal du Nord and Cambrai. It was relieved after its actions on the Sambre River on 4 November. The Division suffered 29,969 killed, wounded, or missing in the Great War.
Bryan Pready
01 April 2018, 18:14
Brigadier General Charles William Compton, CB CMG
Date of Birth: 4/09/1869 (London) – Date of Death: 1933 (Devon)
British Army, GOC 14th Infantry Brigade, previously Lt-Col commanding 1st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry
https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/914447
Mary Monro
03 February 2021, 09:17
CW Compton, DOB 04/09/1869, died 23/11/1933, oldest of 11 children. Married Lalla Mary Lys on 26 Oct 1895 in Bombay, India. They had 2 children - Phyllis Mary (1896-1946, my grandmother) and William Lys (1900-1926, died of dysentery in Egypt).