Colonel Charles Waring Darwin, CB, DL, JP (28 August 1855 – 1 August 1928) was a British soldier and landowner. Darwin was the son of

Francis Darwin Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born in Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was the ...

JP DL (né Rhodes) of

Elston Hall Elston Hall, formerly the Hotel Van Curler, is located on Washington Street in the city of Schenectady, New York, United States. It is a tall brick building constructed in 1925 in the Classical Revival architectural style. Its construction was pa ...

, Nottinghamshire; his mother Charlotte Maria Cooper Darwin (1827–1885) was the daughter of William Brown Darwin of Elston (1774–1841). He was a second cousin once removed of the naturalist

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

, their shared ancestors (CWD's great-great-grandparents, CRD's great-grandparents), being

Robert Darwin of Elston Robert Darwin of Elston (12 August 1682 — 20 November 1754) was an English lawyer, scientist and physician. He was the father of English physician Erasmus Darwin, and a great-grandfather of the famous English naturalist and geologist Charles ...

and his wife Elizabeth (née Hill). His father had changed the family name from Rhodes (of

Creskeld Hall Creskeld Hall is a grade II listed Country House located in Arthington, near Otley, West Yorkshire, England. Etymology The place-name is first attested in the twelfth century, as ''Creskeld'' and ''Creskelde''. The name comes from the Old Engli ...

) to Darwin (of Elston Hall) in 1850 in order to inherit the latter property from his brother-in-law Robert Alvey Darwin (1826–1847).Burke's Landed Gentry He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

. In 1894 he married Mary Dorothea Wharton, daughter of

John Lloyd Wharton John Lloyd Wharton (18 April 1837 – 11 July 1912) was a Barrister and a Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Durham then MP for Ripon. Early life Wharton was born at Aberford in the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

MP. They had three sons, each of whom pursued military careers: * Charles John Wharton Darwin, DSO,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(1894–1941) * Francis Wharton Darwin,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

(1896–1972) * Gilbert William Lloyd Darwin, Royal Air Force (1899–1979) Darwin entered the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1873,‘DARWIN, Col Charles Waring’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 26 Dec 2013
/ref> achieving the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the Durham Light Infantry in 1894, before his retirement in 1895. Despite official retirement, he was appointed a major in the 4th (

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

) battalion of his regiment on 15 February 1900, and again saw active service with this battalion in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, where he was awarded the service medal with 3 clasps. Following the end of the war, he returned to the United Kingdom with his battalion on the SS ''Roslin Castle'' in September 1902, and the battalion was disembodied. From 1905 to 1912 Darwin was

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Durham on 18 January 1908. From 1908 to 1912 he was chairman of the

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

Territorial Force Association The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

. He was also a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Durham. In 1911 he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB). He died in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1928, where forces were stationed as part of the British Army of the Rhine, and his funeral was held there.The Times, Wednesday, Aug 08, 1928; pg. 15; Issue 44966; col B Deaths Deaths His estate was valued at £55,983.RECENT WILLS: Uncle of Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Kipling

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

17 November 1928 page 8

References

Obituaries, The Times, Friday, Aug 03, 1928; pg. 14; Issue 44962; col E {{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Charles Waring 1855 births 1928 deaths British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Companions of the Order of the Bath Deputy Lieutenants of Durham Durham Light Infantry officers British Militia officers British Army colonels