Lieutenant Charles Emil Gunther was an English officer of the British Army who died during the First World War.
He was born in 1890, at Camberwell, the eldest son of Anglo-German Charles Eugene and his German-born wife Leonie Gunther (née Korte). His father was director (later chairman) of the Liebig Extract of Meat Company and would be credited with the development of Oxo, a product of beef extract.[1] Gunther enrolled at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1910 and later went to Argentina, where his father's company maintained ranches.[2]
It has been claimed that after the outbreak of war in 1914 that there was a serious question amongst the Gunther family as to which side to fight for. Nevertheless, Charles's two eldest sons enlisted in the British Army.[1] After returning from Argentina, Gunther obtained a commission in the 2nd Life Guards of the Household Cavalry, dated to 11 June 1915 in the London Gazette.[3][1]
Aged 28, Gunther died on 24 September 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive on the Western Front, while serving with the 2nd Guards Machine Gun Regiment (formerly the 2nd Life Guards). His unit had been providing support to the 6th Division in the area around Holnon.[4] His younger brother, Norman, a lieutenant in the Buffs, had died in July 1917.
He is buried in Chapelle British Cemetery, Holnon. In 1921, Gunther's father gifted a fire station and fire engine to the village of Hawkhurst, Kent in the name of his two sons.[5] Further commemoration came in 2012, when the village unveiled the artwork "A Memorial to a Memorial" in their memory.[6]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Oxo Story, saintronans.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ↑ Carey, G. v., War List of the University of Cambridge 1914-1918, p. 492.
- ↑ The London Gazette (29201), p. 6021, 20 October 1915. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ↑ Marden, Thomas Owen, A Short History of the 6th Division Aug. 1914-March 1919.
- ↑ Hawkhurst Conservation Appraisal, pp. 10-27, tunbridgewells.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ↑ Brothers killed in WWI inspire Hawkhurst artwork, 10 August 2012, bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
References[]
- Gunther, Charles Emil, cwgc.org. Retrieved 31 March 2014.