Charles was underage, 17, when he volunteered at the Guildhall, Swansea. He joined the Welsh Regiment as a private, Swansea battalion ('The Pals'). Went to France in 1916 and saw action at Mametz wood and was wounded during a bombardment. He escaped death by leaning over to pet a dog in their trench and has he leaned over the shell missed him, unfortunately his comrades were killed. Charles was invalided out of the Welsh regiment and spent the duration of the war in a Swansea hospital. In later life Charles developed the lung condition pleurisy and later died from it. He had been gassed during the war and it is supposed that was the cause of him developing pleurisy.