Charles Stanley Kiddy was born in Risbridge, Suffolk in 1918, the eldest son of Charles and Ethel Kiddy (nee Crissall). When the family moved to Thame, they lived in Thame Lodge, Thame Park, where his father was a gamekeeper.

Charles went to Thame Church of England School, then under the headmastership of Mr F Mitchell. He was very popular with his school fellows and was a valuable member of the first football XI. After leaving Thame, he went to Surrey as under-keeper, until 26th November 1936 when he joined the Grenadier Guards.

The Grenadier Guards formed part of the 1st Infantry Brigade which went to France in 1939 as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Charles was killed during the retreat of the BEF from Belgium towards Dunkirk in 1940.

He was with the GHQ Company of the Grenadier Guards, serving as an officer’s valet, and died between 31st May and 1st June 1940, in or around the village of De Panne, where two battalions of the regiment were helping cover the retreat. He was 22 years old, and had been with the regiment for 3 years and 7 months.

2615082 Guardsman Charles Stanley Kiddy, Grenadier Guards, is buried in De Panne Communal Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. He is also commemorated on memorials at Brook and Mottistone on the Isle of Wight where his parents had moved to before the war. His name is to be added to Thame war memorial.