The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-01-10 00:00:00

" 8. F. P." also wlttes to The Tithes :

Having known Alfred Charteris from his boyhood,
I ask you to allow me to supplement your kind ox•
pression of sympathy with his family by a few words.
In his boyhood he was indisposed alike to very active
work and play; it was not until he was at Trinity
College, Cambridge, that his mind became resolutely
fixed upon being a soldier. Too late for the (boards,
he was gazetted to the ilst Highlanders ;he served
with his regiment at Gibraltar, where, as at Cambridge,
he became a general favourite ; liked by all who knew
him, he was liked most by those who knew him beet.
Shortly after exchanging into the Coldstreams came
the crisis of his ; the sudden death of his dearly
loved brother change all his prospect!, and left him
the chief prop of his parents. His charactsi matured
pith amazing rapidit) ; right nobly did he suetain the
courage and r use the hopes of his family. For him-
self he asked only that he might be allowed to remain
In the Army. Henceforth he lived at home, lie
worked hard at his pr !feesion ; so well did he pees
the recently established Regimental Examinati in that
some of his papers were read by the Garrison
Instructor to the succeeding class as models of whit
such papers ahould be. More than once did he tell
we that in his opinion there was no career so noble
and so grand as that of a soldier; and it is no
exaggeration to say that he yearned for an opportunity
of eerving in the field. It was pleasant to see the
father Bari WAI living together in ever-growing happy
confidence, and the mother and eon in everincreas-
ing affectionate love. His heart was stirred to its
depths at the chance of service under such a commander
as Sir gornet Wolseley an I with such comrades as
Wool. Brackenbury, and Maurice. Medically ex-
runint d, and pronounced sound and fit, he started In
buoyant hope, tinged only with sadness by the know!
ledge of the anxiety which those who loved him best
must undergo during his absence.
Surely this short recital contains a lesson for us all
When we Pee men of one class regarding "beer and
skittles" as the sumnium bottom of life, and others
thinking only of ease, luxury, and enervating idleness,
the example which this young offerr and others have
set will not bs altogether lost. The heir to a peerage,
with all the 1,-retinal, social, and professional advan-
tages which his high position brought hmu ; Bur-
rounded by all that art and refinement can create !
to make life enjoyable; a happy home, loving
parents, fond brothers and sisters, relatives and friends
—all these did Alfred Charteris give up for what he ,
felt to be " duty." Nit for a moment did he hesitate. ,
He was as good as he was gentle; handsome and
-manly, a general favourite, he will be mourned by
all wh i knew him. I conclude with an extract from
• letter which I have received from a non•commis-
tdoned cflicer who knew him well;—" lie was a son
that his parents might be well proud of, with eplem
did abilities liked by every one, lie would, had he
been spareci, have made a splendid p ,sition in the
Army or Parliament, or any other duty he may have
wished to discharge." In sore and certain hope were
his remains placed in the sea ; and there in peace and
confidence may we leave him, certain that for him" all
is well," and sure that for many a day we may stimu-
late many a boy to like self denial at the call of duty
by pointing to the noble example of Alfred Charterer.