Charles was living in Stanford le Hope at the beginning of the war and working at Shell Haven. His street was bombed, possibly during the bombing of 8th Apr 1941, and he then moved to Rochford. There he was close to his brother's daughter, his niece, Elsie Maryan Green, known to the family as Laura, who with her husband Ken operated the Hockley outstation. He appears on a list of men in the nominal roll of the Operational Patrols who appear to be part of Special Duties. They are listed under the name of Captain Childe, the Special Duties Intelligence Officer for Essex. Also listed is Robert Hugh Playle, the brother of Charles's wife Nellie.
Charles was born in Leyton. He attended Brentwood School.
After the war he moved to Pyrford Lock in Surrey to live with his sister Edith and her husband, Jimmy Offer who ran the pub. He died in northwest Surrey at the end of 1951 and is buried alongside his wife, who died suddenly 22 Oct 1942, at St Andrew's Church, Rochford.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockley Outstation | Observer | Unknown | 20 Jul 1944 |
Brentwood School
In 1939 he was a stores clerk at Shell Haven Refinery.
During the First World War he joined the Surrey Yeomanry and gained the rank of Corporal, before being put forward for a commission. He was commissioned as Second Lieutenant on 31 Oct 1917 in the Royal West Surrey Regiment. He won the Military Cross for manning a trench mortar in France under heavy fire, until ordered to withdraw. He subsequently helped capture a position which aided his unit and was described as being optimistic and resourceful in the citation.
In 1939 he was working at Shell Haven Refinery on the Thames, and a member of the Territorial Army 50th Anti Aircraft Battery, based at Shell Haven. He served as Gunner 1467626. It was part of 17th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment which had been raised in August 1938. He was discharged on 14th May 1940 under Para 204 (6a) of the Territorial Army Regulations, as his services were no longer required following a reorganisation which eventually resulted in the Battery being sent to North Africa.
The name CF Olley appears in the nominal roll for the Essex Auxiliary Units Patrols. However, it is part of a list that includes known Special Duties men under the name of the Special Duties Intelligence Officer Captain Childe. It is thought this is a rare documentary confirmation of involvement in Special Duties. The organisation's nominal roll is thought to have been lost after the war, the Home Guard Patrols nominal roll surviving as it was being used to award the Defence Medal, which the Special Duties personnel were not eligible to receive.
WO 199/3389
Nick Olley
https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/3331358
https://www.geni.com/people/Charles-Olley/6000000013608681133
1939 Register
Ancestry.co.uk