Died on This Day

Story

Charles Percy Lionel Balcombe was born in Waltham 1888-03-11, Essex, son of Stephen and Kate Balcombe. The 1891 census finds him aged 3 in Wallington, near Croydon, with one elder brother Stephen. He came to Felsted from Wellesley House, Broadstairs, leaving in July 1905. After a trip to British Columbia he returned to England in 1906 to study at the Camborne School of Mines, becoming an Associate of the Institute of Mining Metallurgy. He left Camborne in 1909 to take up a mining appointment abroad, and in 1914 he was on the staff of the Mexico Mines of El Oro. He returned to England and married Anne Davey Whitworth in Camborne on 2 September 1914. He was commissioned as a temporary Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 30th January 1915, serving in France and Flanders from 19th May 1915, and was wounded in the first Somme advance in July 1916. He was twice mentioned in despatches, and was awarded the MC on September 16th 1917, gazetted on January 1st 1918, when he was recorded as 'T/Lt (A/Capt'). The citation read "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while commanding his company. Under heavy machine-gun fire he selected sites for and constructed strong points. He also personally went out in front of the lines to bring in a small detachment who were isolated. Owing to his fine example of coolness his company, besides carrying on their own duties, made a counter-attack and captured several prisoners". On September 18th 1918 was awarded a bar to the Cross. On October 25th, when in command of the 11th Field Company, he was severely wounded and died at a casualty clearing station on October 29th, aged 30. 'We are all much distressed at losing him, as he was so universally popular and such an extremely capable officer' wrote his Divisional Commander. He is buried at Awoingt British Cemetery, France, Grave I.F.11, and is remembered at the Camborne Mining School. His next of kin was his wife, Mrs Annie Balcombe, living at the Grey House, Camborne, Cornwall.