Ashtead War Memorials - WWI
Stoker 1st Class Wilfred Charles David, Royal Navy
HMS Good Hope

Charles David [born ca 1850 at Cliddesden, Hants], farm labourer, married Mary Ann Curtis [born ca 1853, also in Cliddesden] for their union to be registered at Basingstoke, 9/1874. The registration of the birth of a son, Wilfred Charlie David, in Lower Froyle, was registered Alton 6/1888.

The family seem to have arrived in the Ashtead area before 1901 because Wilfred C. David appears in the Census for that year, aged 13, described as a House Boy/Domestic. 'Charlie' joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker before WWI and had the misfortune to find himself serving on HMS Good Hope when it was caught up in the Battle of Coronel.

The naval Battle of Coronel took place on 1 November 1914 off the coast of central Chile. German Kaiserliche Marine forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maxmilian von Spee met and defeated a Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Craddock. The engagement probably took place as a result of a series of misunderstandings. Neither admiral expected to meet the other in full force. Once the two met, Craddock understood his orders were to fight to the end, despite the odds heavily against him. Although Spee had an easy victory, destroying two enemy armoured cruisers for just three men injured, the engagement also cost him half his supply of ammunition, which it was impossible to replace.

The third salvo from Scharnhorst hit Good Hope, causing a sheet of flame forward and knocking out her forward 9.2 inch gun. At 19.50 hrs. HMS Good Hope suffered a magazine explosion, the crippled ship then drifting out of sight and sinking soon afterwards. There were no survivors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Good_Hope_(1901)i/HMS_Good_Hope_(1901)

However the Scharnhorst had not long to live. The Royal Navy had its revenge on 8th December 1914 off the Falklands:
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_SMS_Scharnhorst.html

The CWGC record, probably based on information gathered after the war when IWGC headstones and memorials were being set up, shows that the bereaved parents, Charlie and Mary David, lived at  10 Alma Villas, Hatfield Road, Ashstead (now 18 Hatfield Road). Although Charlie, junr., is also reported to have left a widow, Lucy Eliza David, it has not proved possible to find the marriage registration to confirm her maiden name. [Some connection appears to have existed between the relict and Rosa nee Bastin, widow of Charles Henry Reygate, whose name appears on the Banstead War Memorial, because both give an address at 22 Belmont Road, Belmont, Sutton, Surrey.]

The loss of Stoker WC David is also commemorated on Belmont’s War Memorial and the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

Charles and his wife Mary A David lived on until 1930 when both their deaths, aged respectively 82 & 73, were registered at Epsom in the March Quarter.

text: Brian Bouchard: if you can add to this page please contact the editor
page added 16 Mar 09: updated 17 Mar 2009: updated with input from Geoff Ballinger 27 May 15: updated 26 Nov 17