VOCE, Charles

Charles Voce was the son of Robert and Mary Voce of Farlands Road, Oldswinford. He attended Stourbridge Grammar School from 1909 to 1913. He enlisted in the artillery and joined the 35th Brigade Royal Field Artillery and saw service with the 7th Division at Ypres. In Autumn 1917 the 7th Division was ordered to the Italian front. They endured a hard winter on the Asiago plateau and in October 1918 they advanced to the wide and fast-flowing river Piave to help in the final allied attack on the Austrians. At 6.25 a.m. on 27th October 1918 the attack began with a creeping barrage while the infantry crossed the last stretch of the Piave. It was a complete success. Gunner Charles Voce, however, had been seriously wounded at some point of the action. He was sent back to the Field Hospital at Genoa, where he died on the 28th October and is buried in the nearby Staglieno Cemetery. He was 21 years of age and he is name is commemorated on the Stourbridge, Oldswinford church and King Edward VI College Memorials.