His grandson, Bill Mitchell, adds these further details about Charles Albert Mitchell
After the outbreak of World War 1 his unit, the 5th West Riding Field Battery, Royal Field Artillery was mobilised and was sent to France [April 1915].
He served on the Western Front until the end of the war, being promoted from Gunner (= Private) to Bombardier (= Corporal) and twice won the Military Medal with oak leaves (indicating mentions in dispatches) for bravery under fire.
He was demoblised in 1919 and returned to work for the family firm, which subsequently became J. W. Mitchell & Sons Limited.
After his father's death in 1934 and the early death of his brother William ('Billy') from cancer, he became managing director of the company.
In later years he would join the boards of several other companies, including
In 1939, he moved to the Trimmingham address, a newly built house set in the former grounds of Trimmingham Hall mansion, where he lived for most of the rest of his life
In 1940 he joined the Local Defence Volunteers (Home Guard) and was made Captain of a unit based at Southowram, which later became an experimental anti-aircraft rocket battery.
After the war he was awarded the honorary army rank of Captain (retired)
He undertook the construction of air-raid shelters for various Halifax schools and later, with his partner Edgar Gadie of Bradford, was involved in the building of army camps and RAF airfields
He travelled widely (before the days of mass air transport), visiting Majorca, Ireland, Madeira, Gibraltar, Norway and Sweden.
In their 70s, he and his wife took a world cruise, stopping off for six months in New Zealand to visit their married daughter and to meet some his old Maori rugby players
Of the many hundreds of contracts which he undertook, several structures still survive and will be familiar to and used by many local people.
Examples are:
This & associated entries use material contributed by Roger Beasley / Bill Mitchell
Page Ref: X390
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