The Happiness He Knew... 

Signaller Charles Nevil Worton Fox   Royal Corps of Signals

Picture1939-45 Star. Pacific Star. War Medal 1939-45.
The Man   Charles Nevil Worton Fox was born on 5th April 1916 in Richmond, London, son of Charles and Marguerite Fox, nee Mold.  By 1939 he was living with his Mother, who may have re-married as her surname was given as Fox-Otto, at 39 Westbourne Park Villa, Paddington.  He was now aged 23 and working as a Stationery Salesman in the city.  Following the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted into No 135 (The Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, Signals Section as a Private with service number 2591054 later becoming a Signaller in the Royal Signals. The 135th Field Regiment was formed in September 1939 and consisted of three batteries: 344 (Hitchin) Battery, 336 (Northampton) Battery and 499 Battery.  It is possible that Charles served under Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey, the commander of 135th (East Anglian) (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, serving in the United Kingdom until October 1941 when they were shipped to India, joining the 18th (East Anglian) Infantry Division and deployed to Fortress Singapore, where they were still serving when Singapore was captured by the Japanese.  Charles was taken as a Prisoner of War and sent to Tha Maa Kham (known as Tamarkan) in Thailand and would have been used building the Bridge on the River Kwai.  He died a PoW of beri beri on 16th March 1943 aged 27, and buried in grave 8.C.68, Kanchanburi Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery.
The Story   The medals awarded posthumously to Charles Nevil Worton Fox were acquired from E-bay in May 2019, and paid for from Thailand!  A visit to the Commonwealth War Graves at Kanchanaburi had been planned for June 2019, and when Charles’ medals appeared for sale, and he was buried in the same cemetery, the temptation was too much.  A basic biography was pieced together from Ancestry.UK and CWG records and Charles grave visited on Saturday 15th June 2019, most likely the first specific visit since his death 76 years before.  Another forgotten hero now remembered for posterity. 
Kanchanaburi War Cemetery  Saturday 15th June 2019
Charles Fox's World War II Medal entitlement certificate
Picture
March 2022
Click here to see Charles Fox's Commonwealth War Grave Certificate 
Click here to see details of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission 
Click here to read about Kanchanaburi, Chungkai and Thanbyuzayat Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries
Click here to read about Brigadier Sir Philip John Denton  Toosey CBE DSO TD JP
Charles Nevil Worton FOX is one of 26 soldiers in this collection who perished whilst working on the Burma Railaway and whose final resting place is Kanchanaburi or Chungkai Commonwealth War Cemeteries in Thailand or Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar.  May their souls rest in eternal peace.  Click on each name to read about:
Medal Details:
  • 1939-45 Star:  Unnamed as awarded. 
  • Pacific Star:  Unnamed as awarded.
  • War Medal 1939-45:  Unnamed as awarded.  
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This page last updated   17 Jun 19