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 Born
to Soldier
The
Life and Adventures of Charles John Fairley
Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant
Royal Engineers
A
152-page autobiography originally drafted as handwritten
notes by Charles John Fairley and subsequently added
to by his grandson, Michael Fairley, so as to publish
this fascinating book. It sets out the life - from earliest
recollections to shortly before his death - of Charles
John Fairley who was born in 1871 into a family in which
his father, grandfather and great grandfather had all
had distinguished army careers, between them totaling
some 85 years of military service, with the earliest
enlistment commencing in 1794.
His
father served in the Royal Field Artillery in the Crimean
and Maori Wars, while his grandfather had almost 40
years of army service, initially joining as a boy drummer
at the age of nine and then, from the age of 18, service
as a gunner in Gibraltar and Alderney. The great grandfather
served for 40 years during the period of the Napoleonic
Wars. It was therefore not unsurprising that Charles
John enlisted in the army at the age of 17, joining
the Royal Engineers in 1888 and undergoing initial training
at the Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton
Barracks, Gillingham, Kent.
He
was subsequently stationed with the Royal Engineers
in Singapore and Gibraltar between 1890 and 1898 before
seeing active service and harsh conditions in the South
African War between 1899 and 1902. Back in civvy street,
it was not long before he re-enlisted at the beginning
of the First World War, only to find himself involved
in supporting the fighting around Amiens and the Somme
in France and then in building roads and gun-pits in
Salonika, Greece. He completed his army service in 1919
with the rank of Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant.
He subsequently worked until his retirement for Rochester
Corporation in Kent. In World War II he helped to train
the local Home Guard.
This book details his life and adventures, often in
a humorous way, until shortly before he died in Kent
in 1956.
Published
by Mifair Publishing the book cost £11.95 (US$18.65)
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