Charles Alfred Jarvis VC (29 March 1881 – 19 November 1948) was a Scottish recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. Jarvis was born in the Admiralty Buildings, Saltoun Place,

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; sco, The Broch or ; gd, A' Bhruaich) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2011 Census at 13,100. It lies at the far northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, about north of Aberdeen, and north of ...

, Aberdeenshire on 29 March 1881. His father was a coastguard and also called Charles Alfred Jarvis. He lived most of his early life in Carnoustie, Angus, where there is now a memorial to him. He was also honoured by Fraserburgh in 2014. He joined the Royal Engineers in 1899 and travelled with his unit to Singapore. He was transferred to the reserve in 1907. In civilian life, Jarvis was a metalworker and a member of the Walthamstow Branch of the

Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and M ...

. At the outbreak of World War I he was recalled to service. He was 33 years old, and a

lance-corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

in the 57th Field Company, Royal Engineers,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. Only three weeks into the war on 23 August 1914 at Jemappes,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, Lance-Corporal Jarvis worked for 1½ hours under heavy fire, in full view of the enemy and finally succeeded in firing charges for the demolition of a bridge. He was wounded in the process. Private Samuel Heron of the first battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers was also awarded a DCM for his part in this action. In 1915 he returned to Britain and was presented with his medal at Buckingham Palace. He was later promoted to second corporal and

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

before being discharged from the Army in 1917. He went on to work at the Naval Dockyard at Portsmouth. He returned to Dundee in 1941.

Early life

Soon after he was born, his father was transferred to Rattray Head Coastguard Station where the family stayed for eight years while Charles went to

Crimond Crimond is a village in Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland, located northwest of the port of Peterhead and just over from the coast. Geography The main A90 road runs through Crimond and is lined by Crimond Church with a village ...

School. The family then moved to North Berwick where his father received the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

medal for bravery for rescuing two boys. His father was then transferred to Carnoustie where Charles completed his education in Carnoustie School.

Working life

After leaving school he was an apprentice plumber but was unable to complete due to the death of his mother and sister within a month and two years later his father died.

References

Bibliography

* *

Scotland's Forgotten Valour ''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' is a 1995 book by Graham Ross, published by MacLean Press under . (The typography of the title on the book uses capitalisation to contrast emphasis ("SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR"), to communicate additional meanin ...

(Graham Ross, 1995) *

External links

Royal Engineers Museum
Sappers VCs

''(Fife)'' *

''(biography)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarvis, Charles British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Engineers soldiers British Army personnel of World War I 1881 births 1948 deaths Black Watch soldiers People from Fraserburgh British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross People associated with Angus, Scotland People associated with Dundee Military personnel from Aberdeenshire