Charles Favell

 

 

Charles Favell – Gunner 23776 “C” Battery, 111th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. According to CWG records, Charles died on Sunday 14th March 1915 aged 30. Charles was the son of Charles and Rebecca Favell of 47 the Avenue, Ramsey, Huntingdonshire. ‘Soldiers Died’ gives his place of enlistment as Hammersmith in London. He is buried in Upton (St Margaret) Churchyard, Huntingdonshire.

Gunner Charles Favell RA

The circumstances surrounding Charles’ death were reported  on Saturday 20th March 1915 in the Bristol Times & Mirror.  The verdict of suicide was reached  following evidence that suggested Charles had cut his own throat during a period of temporary insanity.  The report relates to the deaths of two soldiers, the other having been killed in an accident.  Charles’ death is dealt with quickly and briefly, with none of the details of his funeral, unlike the other who was buried with military honours.  Suicide by the method described cannot have been easy to achieve and there is no mention of any investigation into the possibility of foul play.  The impression is that the matter was dealt with swiftly and at a time when so many were dying on a daily basis, not too much time would be spent on ensuring that this was not a murder.  Perhaps there is more to find in other records.

The local news was reported differently in his home town, with The Hunts County News on the 19th March 1915 carrying the following obituary: – 

FAVELL:  In the Red Cross Hospital at Frome, Somerset, on March 14th, Gunner Charles Favell, Royal Field Artillery, son of Mr Charles Favell of Alconbury Weston, from influenza and pneumonia, aged 28 years.