b July 1869 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England to
William WORSLEY and Eliza Jane WEBB
Thanks to Google indexing old documents, I've discovered a supplement to the London Gazette from 18 July 1918 which notes that Charles was awarded the "Croix de Guerre", conferred upon him by His Majesty the King of Belgium (Albert I of Belgium).
The World War I Croix de Guerre was an award for bravery or other military virtue on the battlefield and was only awarded to individuals. It was modelled on the French Croix de Guerre, the ribbon is red with three vertical green stripes in the center and one vertical green stripe nearer the edges.
The Croix de Guerre was not only awarded for bravery but also for three years or more of service on the front line, or for good conduct on the battlefield. It was also awarded to volunteers older than 40 (like Charles William WORSLEY) or younger than 16 after a minimum of 18 months of service, to escaped prisoners of war rejoining the armed forces, and to military personnel who were placed on inactive duty because of injury.Pretty amazing that I'm related to both Charles William Worsley (4th cousin, 4 times removed) and Albert I (29th cousin, 6 times removed), though it would have been even more amazing had the been related to one another!
Bravo Charles. What a good egg.
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