Childress, Charles Albert

Charles Childress was born on December 17, 1920 in Medicine Hat, Alberta to parents William and Mary Childress. In 1926, the family moved to the Iron Springs area, where Charles attended the Huntsville and Battersea Schools with siblings, Howard, Robert, Dorothy, Helen, Wilbur, Allen and Carol. In 1938, the Childress family moved to the High River area. At time of enlistment, Charles was working as a truck driver at a sawmill in Rocky Mountain House. On March 6, 1941, Charles Childress enlisted with the 14th Canadian (Calgary) Armoured Tank Regiment in Nanton. He trained with the unit in Canada, and on July 1, 1941, he arrived in the United Kingdom. The 14th C.A.T.R. continued to train in the United Kingdom until their first deployment to Dieppe on August 19, 1942. Fortunately for Trooper Childress, his group, A Company, was held in reserve and managed to return to the United Kingdom following the ill fated raid. The 14th C.A.T.R. was redeployed to the Italian Theatre, landing in Italy on July 12, 1943. Trooper Childress continued to serve with the Calgary Tanks in the Italian Campaign for the next five months. On December 9, 1943, Trooper Childress was killed in action and laid to rest near Lanciano, Italy. He was later reinterred at Moro River Canadian War Cemetery. For his wartime service, Charles was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Dieppe Bar and Clasp. His mother, Mary received the Memorial Cross in honour of her son