SOLDIERS OF THE SOUTH SIMILKAMEEN
Researchers:
Jennifer Douglass &
Andy English
Charles Allen Christiana
Service No. 63249
Born: November 16, 1882, Falmouth, Cornwall, England
Died: September 26, 1916, France
Son of William H. & Matilda (Jenking) Christiana
of St. Mawes, Cornwall, England
Lance Corporal - Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario)
15th Battalion
Resting Place:
Vimy Memorial, Pas de Calais, France
You must excuse this scribble as I am writing this on top of a bully beef box. Say, old boy, please don’t ask me where I am, because I don’t know whether I’m in France, Belgium or Germany; I’m still in the ring anyhow, and I have to be thankful for that. Now I must close, with regards to all the boys, hoping you are all in the best of health. … Chas. Christiana
PS - How are the changes to bum a cigarette? This is a Highland regiment and you ought to see me in kilts, ha! ha! Au revoir.
Lance Corporal Charles “Charlie” Allen Christiana (1882-1916)
Charlie Christiana was one of four children born to William & Matilda Christiana. Born in Cornwall, England, he travelled to the United States with his family in 1887. His sister Janie was born in the US but the family returned to England before 1891 because of the ill health of his father William Henry Lewis who passed that same year. The family lived with Matilda’s parents at their home in St. Just, Roseland, Cornwall where Charlie is listed on the 1901 census as a “printer/ compositor”, training that would later lead him to help out at Hedley Gazette as a type setter.
Charlie came back to the Americas in about 1906 crossing the border from Montana into Manitoba to join his friend Philip J. Lanyon. We don’t know what brought him west but by 1912 he is an active member of the Hedley community. Working at the stamp mill he is a member of the Modern Woodsmen of America - Nickel Plate Camp and a member of the Loyal Orange Lodge.
Charlie joined the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in January of 1915 and by May of that year was fighting on the front lines in France. He was killed in action during the Battle of Thiepval Ridge at the Somme, January 1916.
Read More about Charlie Christiana and the Somme…