Charles enlisted in the army in 1900 as he had become fed up of his mother sending him to collect the furniture on a handcart she had bought at auction. She was a licensed broker living at 73 St James Street Liverpool from at least 1901 until she sold the business in 1924.

Whilst he was still in the army, he met his wife Florence and they ran away together to get married - by special licence at Bangor Cathedral. The couple settled in Llanrwst, North Wales. Here in 1911 he is listed as working as a hotel porter, but was at this time still in the army, not being discharged until 1912.

When Charles was recalled to the army on the outbreak of the First World War, Florence moved with the children, Sydney and Frank, to Orrell, near Liverpool, as she had family living in the area. The family remained here when Charles returned from the army, and he became a clerk for the Toxteth Board of Guardians.

In the late 1920s Charles was approached by a group of ex-servicemen with an aim to form a veterans association. At first they met in one of the member's houses, before Charles took it upon himself to secure the funds for larger premises. In 1932 two army huts were purchased, and these were turned into the Orrell District Veterans Association (ODVA) Hall.