Charles Walter Leonard Loines was the eldest child of Leonard Frank and Amy (nee Brunning) Loines. Charles was born in Greenwich, south east London, on 15th November 1917 and followed his father into the trade of sign writing, which is shown on his entry in the 1939 register. His younger siblings were Margaret Joan (b. 1920), Edward Frank (b. 1921) and John Baxter (b. 1924).
The 1939 register also shows that he was part of the auxiliary fire service in Woolwich.
Charles enlisted as an Ordinary Seaman in the Royal Navy, presumably in late 1939 or 1940. He was killed while serving on HM Submarine Swordfish. According to official records, he died on 16th November 1940, the day after his 23rd birthday.
However, it is not clear exactly what happened to HM Submarine Swordfish and there is a theory, following the discovery of the wreckage in 1983, that it hit a mine shortly after setting sail on 7th November 1940.
Charles’s sister, Margaret, named her only son John Edward Charles after her three brothers. Sadly John died at the age of 10 of polio.
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