WAKEMAN, Charles

Charles Wakeman was born in Stourbridge and lived at 27 Angel Street, Stourbridge. Before 1914 he was employed at the nearby Old Wharf Saw Mills. He volunteered in 1914 and joined the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Worcesters. After training they went out to Gallipoli in July 1915 and then moved on to Mesopotamia in February 1916. He endured the long campaign against the Turks in the heat and dust of the east and was twice wounded. After success in Mesopotamia, the Worcesters advanced northwards into Persia and reached Baku on the Caspian Sea in the Summer of 1918. The town was in the hands of the Russians and local tribesmen. The Turks, however, arrived with superior forces and attacked the small British force. On the 14th September the Worcesters were forced to evacuate the town and retire to safer shores. Only two men were killed in the engagement, but one was Private Charles Wakeman. He was 35 years of age and is commemorated on the Baku Memorial. His name is not on the Stourbridge Memorial.