Robert was the son of Charles and Florence Bondy, and the husband of Ivy of Billingshurst, Sussex.

He had enlisted in the Army Service Corps during the Second World War and then volunteered to join the airborne forces. Instead of parachuting into action, Charles was one of many aboard a glider, a wooden aircraft towed behind an aeroplane and then released to glide gently to the ground.

On 17 September 1944, Robert was on board a glider taking part in Operation Market Garden en route to Arnhem. He was a jeep driver tasked with keeping supplies flowing to the front line on landing.

Robert was killed when his glider crashed, one of only a handful which did not land safely. He was buried by his comrades near the crash site and in July 1946 he was laid to rest in Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, Plot 8. Row B. Grave 7.