Charles Frederick Noel Prince Sealy

Charles Frederick Noel Prince Sealy was born on 2nd April 1892 at Southsea, the only son of Lieutenant Colonel Charles William Henry Sealy and Helena Louisa Sealy. His family background was firmly rooted in the professional and military class. His father had served in the Royal Artillery and held an administrative appointment in India, while his grandfather had also been a general officer. The family lived at Hambledon House, one of the principal residences in the village, and his upbringing differed greatly from that of most of the men later commemorated beside him.

From an early age his education took him away from Hambledon. He attended preparatory school at Yardley Court, Tonbridge, followed by Wellington College where he became a prefect and head of his dormitory. A talented sportsman, he played rugby for the school’s senior teams. He later went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he again distinguished himself in rugby and was a member of the Officers’ Training Corps. He was a strong athlete and linguist, and his path seemed likely to lead to a professional or military career. Although he hoped to enter the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, he was rejected on medical grounds due to poor eyesight. After leaving university he joined a commercial law firm in London in early 1914.

When war broke out in August 1914 he immediately offered his services. He first enlisted in the 13th (Princess Louise’s Kensington) Battalion of the London Regiment and was commissioned later that year, being transferred to the 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers. After training he joined the British Expeditionary Force in France during the early stages of the war.

In May 1915 the battalion was holding the Ypres Salient during the Second Battle of Ypres, when German forces introduced poison gas on a large scale. In the early morning of 24th May his platoon was caught in a gas attack. Later that day he was wounded in the shoulder but remained with his men. During the night fighting that followed he was shot through the head and killed instantly. He was twenty three years old.

He was buried near the battlefield and is commemorated by a plaque in Hambledon Church, with a replica later placed in a church near Liverpool after the family moved away. His death represents the loss not only of a young officer of promise but also illustrates how the war reached into every level of village life, from labourers’ cottages to the principal house in the parish.