Charles Leslie (Charlie) Hudgell

12th May 1922 -1st January 2005

Bishop Stortford Hertfordshire

Taken at Normans Court Stansted

Charles aged 81

EULOGY PREPARED BY CHARLIE’S CHILDREN & KINDLY DELIVERED BY MR DAVID BIRD

Charles Leslie Hudgell was born in Stansted on the 12th May 1922 and was the youngest of nine children to Charles & Constance Hudgell. As with most families of their generation, life was not easy & comforts were few, but Charlie was fortunate to have hard working parents who would do anything to keep the family well fed & cared for.  His father was a well known local character who worked at Rochford Nurseries and was later a shop keeper and chimney sweep. Charlie had a basic education in the local school & began his working life in the village bakery with his brother Bob. He delivered bread on a classic old fashioned delivery bicycle with a small front wheel and basket.

When the Second World War was declared in 1939, Charlie joined the Royal Engineers & was posted over seas, spending most of his time in North Africa & Greece. For a young village man who had ventured no further than the nearby surrounding villages, it must have been a real eye opener. He freely admitted that although the war was tragic for numerous people, his time spent with his mates in the Army, was amongst the most enjoyable times of his life. His time in Greece was actually spent in relative safety. He became friendly with the locals. His primary undercover mission was to conduct surveillance, & track down the exact location of a café capable of recreating, as near as possible, a proper English fried breakfast. While at home on leave, he met his wife to be, Ena Andrews in the Dog & Duck pub in Stansted.

They married on 23^rd March 1948 at Quendon church. On the day of the wedding, Charlie was given a bit of grief as he insisted on wearing a pullover under his suit jacket, which stands out prominently on their wedding photographs. As a young married couple, they first lived with Charlie’s parents above the sweet shop in Water Lane.

Charlie & Ena both worked in a local factory producing such exotic & useful products as light bulbs. You could say that together, they brought a little bit of light into the world.     

After their first child Douglas was born in April 1949, they moved to Maitland Road where in March 1950 Linda was born followed by Joanne in November 1952. After a short time at Maitland Road, they moved with their three children to 57, Mountfitchet Road, where Ian was born, in April 1959. This house had a decent sized garden where Charlie grew wonderful fresh vegetables. So the Hudgell family was complete, Charlie, Ena & four kids to feed & clothe. The world would never be the same!

Charlie found employment at Stansted Airport, as a Cleaner & general labourer, one of his main jobs was towing large aircraft in & out of the hanger, something he became very skilful at. Anyone who has tried to reverse a trailer would understand how difficult this would be. He loved his job & to support his family, he worked as many hours as he could. He often worked seven days a week. This came with later regrets. He would comment that he felt he had missed out on seeing his children grow up, but Doug, Linda Joanne & Ian, appreciated the sacrifices their Dad made for their Mum & themselves. With their children, Charlie & Ena were able to have enjoyable summer holidays on the East coast.

After being made redundant, he was offered a job as a Porter, again at Stansted Airport.

Charlie often visited his brothers & sisters in the village & enjoyed spending time with them & his nieces & nephews.The community spirit in Mountfitchet Road was typical of that era. Life long friendships were formed with neighbours Pam & John Blake, the Whalls, the Searle’s and the Ball family, to name but a few. There are many others that made up the fabric of this community & who were very important to Charlie, Ena & their family.

Charlie & Ena had a long & comfortable retirement together & enjoyed many holiday’s with Ena’s sister Betty & husband Arthur, who were very special people in their lives. They travelled to many European destinations & also to Australia to visit Ian.

In May 2002, Ena passed away leaving a huge hole in Charlie’s life, but he coped admirably. The family would like to thank Pam & John Blake, Wendy Stannard & Wally for their kind support at this time.                                                                     

In January 2004, Charlie moved to Norman Court. He was happy there developing new friendships & cared for by the wonderful staff. Charlie’s health gradually declined, & he was recently admitted to Harlow hospital where he died peacefully on the 1st of January at the wonderful age of eighty two.

Charlie was not perfect by any means, & he suffered from occasional periods of depression which sometimes made life a little difficult, but most importantly he was a hard working loving husband, father & Grandfather, whose sacrifices made life comfortable for his family. We will all remember his wonderful sense of humour.

“A measure of a man is what he leaves behind, a united family and strong values.”

 We will miss him deeply. 

“MAY HE SLEEP PEACEFULLY”

Charles Leslie aged 14

Left to right

Dorothy, Constance Alice

Constance Eleanor and Charles Lesley

Douglas Stanley Hudgell  1918 - 1970  (Brother)

Dinah Hudgell (Great Aunt) 1862 -