Charles was born in Fernilee, Derbyshire and lived at Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire. He was the son of Richard and Hannah Depledge. He was the husband of Dinah and together they had 4 children named Richard, Doris, Nellie and Hannah.  

At 20 years of age, Charles enlisted into the 2nd Volunteer Battalion on the 6th January 1897 and was posted to ‘H’ Company with the new number 4608. His employment was at the Chilworth Gunpowder Company at Whaley Bridge in the High Peak. Charles was selected to serve in the Boer War of 1899-1902 in the 1st Battalion (Volunteer Company) with the new number 7574. Unfortunately, Charles was given 14 days imprisonment on the 21st May 1900 for neglecting to obey an order. On the 1st March 1903, he was promoted to Corporal, on the 7th August 1903 he was awarded the Proficiency Certificate and on the 30th December 1905, he received a Certificate for Good Service.  

With the outbreak of the Great War, he enlisted at Chesterfield into the 1/6th Battalion on the 14th September 1914. He was then aged 34 years 2 months and joined ‘H’ Company (Whaley Bridge). After training near Braintree, the Battalion moved to Southampton on the 25th and boarded the SS King Edward disembarking at Havre in France on the 27th February 1915. Charles was sadly shot and killed by a sniper when on cookhouse duties near Warlincourt, France on the 5th July 1916.