CAPTAIN CHARLES FREMOULT PRESTON BATTERSBY
ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY
4TH NOVEMBER 1914 AGE 27
BURIED: YPRES TOWN CEMETERY, BELGIUM
Captain Charles Battersby, son of Major General and Mrs Thomas Battersby, was his parents only child. The epitaph they chose for their son quotes the words of a baptismal prayer that was later modified into a soldiers' prayer:
Grant, O Lord, that I may not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under His banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto my life's end. Amen
Born in Ireland, educated at The King's School, Canterbury and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Charles Battersby crossed to France with the British Expeditionary Force on 18 August 1914. He took part in the retreat from Mons, the battles of the Marne and the Aisne and was killed on 4 November 1914 when a shell hit the farm in which he was billeted.
The King's School website contains more biographical details and extracts from his letters.