Charles James Hibbs was born in the summer of 1895 the fifth of nine children to James and Emily Hibbs. James was a groom from Dorchester, Dorset, but the family were first raised in Bere Regis, where Charles was born, before moving to Amesbury, Wiltshire, by 1900.

When he finished his schooling Charles found work as an under boot for a local hotel. When war came, however, he stood up to play his part. Unfortunately, full details of his service are lost to time, but he had joined the Somerset Light Infantry by January 1917. Assigned to the 11th Battalion, Private Hibbs soon found himself barracked in Tankerton, Kent.

While there, Charles seemed to keep himself to himself, rarely mixing with any of his colleagues. His seniors did not appear to think a great deal of him. Towards the end of May, things had come to a head for Private Hibbs:

Charles James Hibbs… was found at a quarter past three on Wednesday afternoon lying dead by the downstairs front door of his billet at Buena Vista, Tankerton Road, with his right hand under the breech of the rifle and the muzzle pointing to his right shoulder.

Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald: Saturday 2nd June 1917

The subsequent inquest shone a harsh light on the Edwardian attitude towards mental health. In the week leading up to Charles’ suicide, he was pulled off patrol a couple of times for absentmindedness.

Deceased’s manner was very strange and his companions complained of him and said he was very strange the whole time…

He would lean about over the bannisters and one could not get any sense of reason out of him. He would not associate with his comrades in any way. If I [Sergeant Edward Risden] asked him whether there was anything the matter he would pull himself together and say “I’m all right, sergeant.” He would then be all right for a few minutes and then wander away from his comrades.

The Coroner – Did you think he was not quite right in his mind? – That was my opinion.

Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald: Saturday 9th June 1917

Private Hibbs was sent to see the Medical Officer, but was sent back to his unit and advised to stick to light duties.

One of Charles’ colleagues, Private Harold Prosser, was billeted him the night before he killed himself:

At 1:30am… [Prosser] heard deceased moving about in the next bed to him and the he got up in bed. Witness got a match and lit the gas. Deceased put on his trousers, boots, and hat and told [Prosser] to get back to bed and put the gas out. [Prosser] left the gas on and deceased sat on the bed for about half an hour smoking and kept saying “Yes, sir.” The deceased mentioned by name his father and mother and all his relations an then got up and said “Yes, this time I am going to do it.” Deceased went to the rifle rack and [Prosser’s colleague, Private Middleton] awoke then and told him to let the rifles alone or he would report him. Deceased then took his hand off the rifle rack and said “All right” and went back and sat on the bed again. He was still smoking. He had his eye fixed on the same rifle for about half an hour after that and then he undressed and went to bed.

Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald: Saturday 9th June 1917

Private Prosser then went to sleep in another room because, as he told the Coroner, he did not feel safe being in the same one. A report was made to Private Hibbs’ corporal the next morning and, when asked by the Coroner if he thought Hibbs “was a little off his head”, Harold replied “Yes, the previous day he sat in bed talking to himself all day. I asked him what was the matter and he said ‘I am all to pieces.'”

In summing up, the Coroner did show some sympathy towards Charles’ actions:

…while no military regulation might have been infringed he did think people should understand that it was most important to tell the doctor the symptoms of a patient. It not only applied to military patients, but to civilian patients. If the medical officer on [the morning of 30th May] had had the facts reported to him of the strange behaviour of the deceased during the night he would most probably have placed him in hospital and the man might have received such treatment there or elsewhere that would have got him back into a sane condition.

Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald: Saturday 9th June 1917

At the inquest, the jury recorded a verdict of suicide during temporary insanity. Private Hibbs died on 30th May 1917: he was just 21 years of age.

Charles James Hibbs’ body was taken back to Wiltshire for burial. He was laid to rest in Amesbury Cemetery, not far from where his grieving family lived.

---