1900s-1945
Charles George Henry Nixon was born in Leigh on 10 October 1910, the eldest son of Charles and Elsie Nixon, whose family also included five daughters and a younger son. The Nixons made their home at 11 Powder Mills, and before the war Charles earned his living as a gardener in Hildenborough.
When war came he first joined the 3rd Battalion, The London Scottish, but rheumatic fever cut short his time in initial training, which had taken him to Rhyl in North Wales. He later transferred to the Royal Artillery, serving as a Gunner, number 1754305, with the 97th H.A.A. Regiment. The 97th moved to Clapham Common in London, where Nixon contracted pneumonia. Taken to the Royal Free Hospital, he died there on 10 October 1941, his thirty-first birthday.
His funeral was held on the Wednesday at Leigh church, and he was laid to rest in St. Mary's Graveyard. Grief struck the family again when his brother Gilbert was killed six months later. The Courier carried an in memoriam notice on 1 October 1941, and Charles is commemorated on the Leigh War Memorial.