Born Warter, Pocklington, Yorkshire, 1881. Eldest son of Charles Rawlings and Mary Ann Ford (1861-1935). He had five brothers. He came from a family of general labourers and agricultural workers.
He married at Hull, in October 1907. Husband of Rose Ellen Kirkwood (1886-1944), at 8, Ivy dene, Parrott Street, Hull (war pension address). They had three sons, Charles, and twins, Herbert and Harold. He was a Labourer, for the North Eastern Railways.
He enlisted in Hull. Served as a Lance Corporal in the 2nd King’s Royal Rifle Corps. The 2nd Battalion landed at Le Havre, as part of the 2nd Brigade in the 1st Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front and saw action at the Battle of Aubers Ridge in May 1915. He was killed in action, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, on, 01/07/1916, aged 35. Buried at Maroc British Cemetery, Grenay, France.
His army effects were left to his widow Rose Ellen. She was awarded a weekly war pension of 20 shillings and sixpence, for herself and three sons.
He is commemorated on the ww1 Memorial at St Matthews Church, Hull.
