POOLE, Charles

Charles Poole lived at 86 Enville Street, Stourbridge, and attended Enville Street Council School. He was married with six children and soon after the outbreak of the war he volunteered for the Worcesters. He had served in the Boer War for three years and joined the 3rd Battalion in the 25th Division on the Western Front. He was a well known Stourbridge rat-catcher and, as the County Express put it, 'he turned his talent to good account against the larger and stronger rats in the trenches.' He was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps in the same Division some time during 1916. After a period of training the Division moved to Vimy Ridge in April 1916. The next month was a contest among the craters on the ridge. Broadmarsh crater was occupied by both sides in succession and then lost. A strong counter attack was launched on the 17th May and this was successful in keeping the crater. Shelling and sniping continued and on the 23rd May Private Charles Poole was killed in action. He was 36 years of age and is buried at Ecoivres Military Cemetery (II C 16) and commemorated on the Stourbridge, St. Thomas's church and former Enville Street school Memorials.