Charles C. Stadden (12 June 1919 - 12 Sept 2002).  

            My father Charles Stadden, the world renowned miniature figurine sculptor and oil and watercolour artist, passed away on 12th September 2002. Having been on active service throughout most of WW2, he was able to spend the rest of his life combining his love of military history with his ability as an artist and sculptor. With the help of family members, I have tried to put together the most detailed account yet written of his life.

Part One 1919 -1939

           Charles Clarence Stadden (always known to friends and family as Chas) was born in Leytonstone, London on 12^th June 1919.  He had three older brothers, Frank (b.1912), Arthur (b.1914, always known as Gyp) and Victor (Vic, b.1916) and a younger sister, Pearl (b.1923). Their parents were Francis (Pop) Stadden and Emily James who had been married  on 10th February 1912 in West Ham Register Office.  Francis Stadden had served in the Middlesex Regiment and the Devonshire Regiment during WW1 attaining the rank of Company Sergeant Major. In peacetime he was employed as a stationers manager for Strakers of London.

            Emily had been a Lyons Tearooms waitress. She had three sisters and seven brothers, at least five of whom served in WW1. Here there was a strong connection with the Lancashire Fusiliers. Charles James was a drummer with the 1st Bn. who had served in  Malta, Gibraltar, Crete and India up to 1911 being recalled to service in 1915 with the 9^th Northamptonshire Regt.  Henry James was in the 2n Bn. He deserted and moved to Canada but later served in the Canadian Artillery during WW1. John James too was in the 2^nd Bn. and died in a German POW camp on 29^th July1915 after being gassed two months earlier at Shell Trap Farm, Wieltje, 2^nd Battle of Ypres. Arthur James was in the Royal Army Medical Corps and died when his ship ‘Transylvania’ was torpedoed in the Mediterranean on 4^th May 1917. Able Seaman Ernest James died at Cromarty in Scotland on 5^th August 1916 while serving on HMS Achilles. The youngest,  Frank James was also an Able Seaman in the Royal Navy. 

             Having such a background of military service must have made an impression on the four young Stadden boys. Two of Emilys sisters were married to servicemen, and while Chas was a young boy his mother had taken him and Pearl  on visits by train to Chichester where his Aunt Louise lived while her husband (in the RAMC) was stationed at the barracks there.

             Chas' childhood seems to have been a happy one living in Epsom Road, Leyton, close to Epping Forest and then during the 1930’s at Gordon Road, Wanstead. He was educated at Canterbury Road School, Leyton and had an interest in things military from an early age. Christmas presents were usually toy soldiers, and his father used to bring Chas two or three postcards depicting military uniforms when he came home from work on a friday evening. Another lifetime interest was steam trains, which began when Chas and Vic used to play at Snaresbrook level crossing pulling on the railings pretending to be signalmen.

            Chas left school at 14 despite gaining an Art Scholarship to work as a liftboy at Martins Bank, 68 Lombard Street, London. He was dismissed within two years for causing £400 worth of damage to one of the lifts with one of the heavy ledger trolleys. To avoid telling his parents of being given the sack he decided to join the military at Stratford while still underage.

            Although Chas had been the first to join up, his older brothers were all also soon to be on active service - Frank and Gyp both also with the RASC (in the far east) and Vic with the 4th (Queens Own) Hussars. Frank had been a full time fireman in Wanstead and Gyp a driver for Tate and Lyle, both reserved occupations. As the Second World War began Chas was sent to France as part of an RASC unit delivering brand new three ton Bedford trucks via Southampton and Le Havre to a base at Houdain near Arras.

Part Two 'Dunkirk'

            The RASC unit was stationed in a large red brick school building surrounded by a high wall, the entrance to which was a gateway through the wall. The vehicles were parked on the courtyard. The RASC drivers were all paired together with the experienced drivers looking after those who had just gone through training. On one occasion Chas’ driving partner was sick and he had to take one of the brand new lorries out on his own. On passing through the narrow gateway he steered too early and clipped the wall, bringing it down onto the canopy at the back of his lorry. When presented before his commanding officer Chas replied to the effect that he had not wanted to be in the RASC but had desired to be an infantryman, preferably The Lancashire Fusiliers. With typical military efficiency Chas found himself posted with immediate effect to No.1 Mule Pack Transport Company, RASC.

            Chas knew nothing at all of mules or horses and so was sent back to England to a training school at Aldershot where he learnt to ride including use of sword, lance and revolver on horseback. Another part of his education was learning to drive six horses and two limbers in the manner of the Royal Horse Artillery. Then there followed a month with the Royal Veterinary Corps at Melton Mowbray to learn how to treat animal wounds and complaints such as colic.

            At the beginning of 1940 it was back to France, a village named Ecquoviers near Lens, where Chas rejoined his mule pack company, which, for the next few months, was stabled in a brickworks, and now became part of The Cyprus Regiment, a unit comprising British Officers and NCOs with the men being almost all Cypriots.

            When the news came that the Germans had broken through in May 1940, the Mule Pack Transport Companies at first were moved south through Arras to Baupaume. However, presumably as the Germans circled round towards Bologne and Calais, the Mule Packs headed back north again towards Lille. At this point Chas and many others like him thought that they were still advancing against the enemy but the retreat to Dunkirk began in earnest in the Forest of Nieppe where the instruction came to turn all the mules loose. All British ranks below Sergeant (armed with rifles and Lewis guns) in the Mule Pack Companies were included in an improvised infantry battalion made up of men who were otherwise detached from their units.  The Cypriots (who were all unarmed while in France) were sent straight back to Dunkirk to be evacuated.         

            The improvised battalion then dug slit trenches and awaited the approach of the enemy. However, there was no sign of the Germans yet in the area and the battalion was sent back into the town of Dunkirk. After more reorganisation by the Town Major they were sent out to the far end of the beaches at Nieupoort to dig in once again where they could look back and see Dunkirk Harbour. After coming under mortar fire they were relieved by the Royal Fusiliers and ordered to make their way back to where small boats were coming in to take part in the rescue operation. Orderly queues were forming into the sea under the black smoke from the burning oil tanks in Dunkirk, which gave some protection from the attacking enemy planes. As a non swimmer, standing in the sea up to his chest with his rifle held over his head, and having just missed out on one boat, Chas decided to go back to the beach and try and make his way to the harbour where he could see ships were loading from a jetty. 

             During the night, having teamed up with a couple of others with the same idea they made their way along the beach. At some point they had found a supply of rum with which they filled their waterbottles, which was later shared with some French soldiers in return for some water. In the morning, towards the harbour, the beach was more crowded but still under the cover of the black smoke. At the end of the jetty was the piermaster, who sent groups of men along the jetty at intervals having first shouted through his megaphone “You are now under command of the Royal Navy” which raised a great cheer from those in the queue. Holes had been blown in the jetty which were crossed by walking on wood and metal thrown across the gaps.

          All those present had been told that if anyone fell in the water there would be no chance of rescue such was the priority for getting the troops on board ship and away. The ship at the jetty was a Royal Navy destroyer (Chas never knew which one). There was no gangway and everyone had to jump down onto the deck. All weapons brought aboard were then stacked in a pile. Chas didn’t want to lose his own rifle which had been well looked after but there was no choice. He would also have preferred to stay on deck but was immediately sent below which was just as well as the ship was bombed as it left the port and many were killed and injured by shrapnel. The rest of the crossing was uneventful back to Dover and when the time came to leave the ship Chas managed to collect his own rifle from the pile of weapons.  Once disembarked all the troops were put straight onto trains to various destinations. Women handed out food and drink as they passed through stations. Chas ended up at Blackdown Camp, Aldershot where he was redirected to Melton Mowbray to rejoin the mule companies of The Cyprus Regiment. 

           Chas was then given a three day leave to visit his family in London and returned to Melton Mowbray where the Cypriots had all by now been armed and were being trained with the Royal Scots Fusiliers. They also took turns guarding the coastline in anticipation of a German invasion. In July Lord Lloyd the Colonial Secretary inspected the unit. The stay at Melton Mowbray was not to last very long as the order came that the men of the two Mule Pack Transport Companies of the Cyprus Regiment were to travel to Greenock in Scotland to embark on the liner ‘RMS Andes’ which was to sail for Africa on 4^th August 1940.

Part 3 'Eritrea' 

                 ‘RMS Andes’ was a brand new stabilised passenger liner of 27000 tonnes which had not even had a maiden voyage before becoming a troopship. It had its internal windows and decoration boarded up to prevent damage. The ‘Andes’ headed into the North Atlantic towards Greenland where the decks became covered in ice.  It then joined up with a convoy heading south including other ships such as ‘Empress of Britain’ and ‘Empress of Austrailia’. The Royal Navy escort could usually only be seen on the horizon. The long detour was necessary as a precaution against U-boat attacks. The first port of call for supplies only was Freetown in Sierra Leone. The troops were not allowed to land for health reasons.  The voyage then continued southwards along the west coast of Africa and on arrival at Capetown in South Africa the men were allowed ashore on what was to be a stay lasting three weeks. 

                  The South African people showed great hospitality to the British soldiers. They were invited into homes and taken by car on sightseeing tours including one trip to Table Mountain.

                 After the three weeks were up the voyage continued round the east coast of Africa and finally through the Red Sea to Egypt where they landed at Port Tewfik near Suez. The destination was the RASC Base Depot at Geneifa Camp alongside the Infantry Base Depot.

                Geneifa Camp was a collection of tents, a few huts, a cinema and several canteens in the desert. A spell on leave in Cairo in October 1940 included visiting the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Training was resumed until suddenly the new mules arrived, whereupon it became a race to get the mules shod and break them in to wear Army saddlery before leaving for Eritrea with the 5^th Indian Division in January 1941 for the campaign against the Italians.

                The first part of the journey from Geneifa was by train along the Nile valley. After a stop at Luxor to feed and water the animals the train continued to the end of the line at Aswan. From here they travelled upstream on a Nile boat for three days with barges attached on each side for the mules. The boat made its way though Sudan  past Wadi Halfa and Khartoum. They finally disembarked at Sennar where they stayed for a few days. One of the jobs here was to shoot crocodiles at Sennar Dam to protect the Sudanese women doing their washing. The mules were then once again loaded into railway wagons.

            Chas had by now been promoted to the rank of Corporal with No. 1 Company, Mule Pack Transport, The Cyprus Regiment and he was in charge of guarding the baggage on the train. However, this did not stop him taking a turn on the footplate driving the steam locomotive for part of the trip.

            Their destination was Kassala, where they left the train and embarked on the 130 mile trek to meet the main body of troops at Akordat in Eritrea, marching from waterhole to waterhole. The longest distance covered in one day was 35 miles with the temperature 120F in the shade. From here Nos 1 and 2 Mule Transport Companies of the Cyprus Regt went along with the rest of the Army into the mountains at Kerren, where the work really started. There were only two mule Companies for two divisions, whereas two mule Companies would normally supply a brigade. 

            The main work for mule transport was to take supplies up to the front line, and bring back any wounded. On the way up to the front line, any enemy patrols would be carefully avoided unless they spotted you. On the way back enemy patrols were often engaged, but only after the supplies had been delivered.  In mountain warfare patrols could easily penetrate some distance behind the opposing front line. There was also the very real danger of being hit by artillery. Although most of the supply work was done at night, any noise could bring down fire on the mountain tracks used by the mule transport. Chas always said the mules always seemed to know when they should be quiet, although stumbles or dislodged rocks could not always be avoided.

             The only rations were bully beef and biscuits, there were no fresh fruit or vegetables to be had. This led to many small wounds and desert sores becoming gangrenous. Later on tins of fruit juice from South Africa became available which eased the situation. Chas was involved along with his unit in the battle for Kerren. Many casualties were caused in this campaign by rock splinters from mortar fire, and the difficulty of being able to dig trenches in the rocky terrain. At one point an Italian artillery shell landed a few feet from where Chas and his mates had dug in a Bren Gun, but instead of exploding, the shell split in half and only covered them all in sand. 

              Chas made it as far as Massawa and then into Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), but as the campaign finished in April 1941 the two mule companies retraced their route by desert march, train, Nile boat and train again back to Egypt and Geneifa Camp. Mules which had been lost were replaced and the Cyprus Regiment was reinforced with more Cypriot troops, as training recommenced. This state of affairs was not to last for long as Nos 1  Mule Pack Company, The Cyprus Regiment, was shortly to be attached to 5^th Brigade, 4th Indian Division and begin the journey to Syria where they would join Operation Exporter and the fight against the Vichy French (Colonial troops including the French Foreign Legion).

Part 4 'The Middle East'

               So, in May 1941 the mules were loaded into the railway wagons once more. The train crossed the Egyptian frontier and the Mule Pack Company headed into Palestine together with the Royal Fusiliers. From the train the trek commenced from the coast through Nazareth to Tiberias where Chas’ unit was billeted in the Elizabethan Hotel. During the invasion of Syria No. 1 Mule Pack Company were attached to one of the Australian Infantry Divisions but were not involved in the fighting to any great extent. It was probably around this time that Chas sustained his first wartime injury, a broken nose in a bar room fight with an Australian soldier. 

               The ceasefire with the Vichy French came on 12^th July 1941, and the British Army came into possession of  over 10,000 mules and horses formerly used by the enemy. At the same time the British Cavalry in the Middle East became entirely mechanised and 3,000 cavalry horses were now surplus to requirements. This put a massive burden on the Veterinary and Remount Units in processing and then retraining those animals that could be reused.                

               While in Syria Chas had been involved in training infantry for mountain warfare (probably with a view to what would later be needed in Italy) but suddenly all British Corporals with the Mule Pack Companies were moved to Remount Depots to cope with the sudden influx of horse and mules. Chas had to travel via Beirut to Sarafand Depot on the coast where he spent around eighteen months retraining cavalry horses to pull carts. One of the reasons for the retraining was in order to save petrol by having horsecarts carry supplies between the British bases in the area.  The rest of the Cyprus Regiment Mule Pack Transport was still in the mountain warfare training school.

               Meanwhile back in London, Chas’ family were engaged in a battle with the authorities to find out what had happened to Frank and Gyp following the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942. The British government had made no official contact with the Japanese to find out the fate of the missing servicemen. Franks wife Rene campaigned with the Leyton Far East POW Society and enlisted the help of the local Member of Parliament. Eventually after some months Rene and Gyps wife (also called Rene) received postcards informing them that their husbands were alive and well in Japanese POW Camps. It was only later that it became apparent what horrors both men would have to endure before the end of the war. Chas would have received the news about his older brothers in letters from home while he was at Sarafand.

               At long last the order came for Chas to rejoin his unit in mid 1943 as the Italian campaign started. The voyage to Italy began at Beirut, where the mules were loaded directly into the hold on a converted merchant ship using slings attached to a crane. The ship called in at Port Said in Egypt, where it joined a convoy which headed across the Mediterranean to Augusta in Sicily. Several mules died during the crossing due to seasickness in a storm. By now the liberation of Sicily was complete, and the Allies were far enough advanced into the Italian mainland to allow Chas’ ship to dock at Bari on the east coast. This must have been towards the end of September 1943. The first part of the journey towards the front line was once again by train to Lucera which, at the time, was ten miles from the front line.

Part 5 'Cassino'

                Catching up with the advancing Allied Army, the Cyprus Regiment Mule Pack Companies spent November and December working with the 2^nd Canadian Infantry Brigade in particular the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry along the Sangro River .

                 At the beginning of 1944, it was time to rejoin the 4^th Indian Division as the mules were now required in the conflict further west at Cassino . The march across the Apennine Mountains took three or four weeks but Chas arrived in the Cassino area sometime before the bombing of the Monastery on 15^th February 1944.

                The mules were camped between two New Zealand Artillery Batteries east of the Rapido River . From their arrival early in February until after Cassino fell on 18^th May the Cyprus Regiment Mule Packs were to spend every night making dangerous journeys up to the front line on Snakeshead Ridge or Castle Hill, supplying food and ammunition to the infantry and returning with the dead and wounded. 

                 The days were spent trying to get some sleep in a slit trench, although every now and then the nearby Artillery positions came under fire from the Germans. During the late afternoon, the Troop officer and Chas as Troop Sergeant would find out from the Quartermaster which supplies were to be transported that night and where they were required. Ammunition, barbed wire, blankets, meals packed in hay boxes and anything else the infantry might need had to be carried. As the mules were loaded up it was the Troop Sergeants responsibility to check everything was correct and loaded properly. 

                 Undercover of darkness the mule packs then made their way across the valley to the Bailey Bridge over the Rapido River then past the old Italian barracks. They would then either turn left for Castle Hill or right for the much longer route taking the mule tracks up onto Snakeshead Ridge. Whichever route they took, silence was essential, as any noise could attract enemy artillery and mortar fire.

                 The mules always seemed to know when to be quiet, but although their feet were covered, loose rocks would sometimes give their position away. A dip in the hills known as the ‘Bowl’ was a particularly dangerous place.  German mortars were always accurately trained on it as they knew it was a staging post for Battalions going up onto Snakeshead Ridge. Close to the front line the much needed stores would be offloaded, to be replaced with wounded or dead infantrymen. The mule packs then carefully made their way back to camp, a journey just as dangerous as on the way up. At around 3am, the mules were fed, watered and groomed before resting during the day.

                 Crossing the Rapido Valley on 11^th May, Chas was to see the area full of Allied artillery that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. He was on top of Snakeshead Ridge as the fourth battle of Cassino ‘Operation Diadem’ began with an immense artillery barrage. The shells felt like they were just passing over him as they headed for the German positions. During the days that followed, the mule packs supplied the Polish Infantry who were eventually to be successful in taking the Monastery on 18^th May.

                 As the Allied armies rapidly moved on towards Rome, Chas and the Cyprus Regiment Mule Packs remained behind for a few days to perform the sad task of collecting the dead from the battlefield, many of whom had been killed in action several months before but could not be reached due to enemy fire.

                 In the weeks that followed the Mule Packs trekked through Italy , having the chance to visit Rome before heading north to arrive in the Cortona area at the beginning of July. Here they were in the line for one week, however during the next fortnight Chas and his company were effectively on leave touring the countryside south of Perugia . By August they had crossed to the east coast of Italy , preparing to play their part in the battle for the Gothic Line.

Part 6 ' The Gothic Line' (Coming Soon)

          During his full time military service he was with the Royal Army Service Corps (Horse Transport), The Cyprus Regiment and the Royal Fusiliers. By the time he was demobilised in 1946 he was a Sergeant in the Royal Fusiliers and had seen  active service at Dunkirk, Eritrea, Abyssinia, Crete, Syria, Sicily and Cassino, Italy.

             On the reconstitution of the Territorial Army in the post-war period he served as a Sergeant in the Royal Fusiliers T.A. and then the Royal Sussex Regiment T.A., Littlehampton until 1967.

              Charles Stadden had been interested – like most youngsters – in model soldiers, but in 1951 he decided to turn his hand to their commercial production. The experience gained in light engineering before the war  assisted him in revolutionising some of the manufacturing techniques.

          Whilst still producing ‘master’ models for manufacturers he allowed his artistic talents to return to drawing and painting and the current interest in military uniforms made his work much sought after. His name is included with the well known military artists of an earlier era such as Harry Payne and Richard Simpkin.                

           Over the years Charles Stadden produced military figurines in 25mm, 30mm, 54mm, 85mm and 90mm sizes as well as larger sculptures and wood carvings.  He could produce 54mm pewter master figure from scratch in less than a day and a 25mm pewter master figure in a few hours.       

            Although most well known for military subjects, he produced many other pieces for the toy and giftware trades including sculptures of film and pop stars. He created masters for Subbuteo Sports Games, Triang Hornby railways and for Scalextric racing cars. 

           Although he ceased to make figures around 1995, he was still painting watercolours until a few weeks before he passed away at the age of 83 years. 

           He leaves his wife Betty, his three children, Richard, Denise and Andrew, and eight grandchildren.

COMMENT

      In the recent article  about Roy Maitland in ‘Toy Soldier and Model Figure Magazine’ John Tunstill is quoted as saying

          “ Whilst I admire the achievements of Charles Stadden, and am fully in accord with the accolades heaped upon him as the ‘father of the model soldier’, it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the ‘midwife’, Roy Maitland. Combining the artistic abilities of Chas with Roy’s own marketing skills created a profitable business.”

             This is a very romantic view  which Betty Stadden would very much like to put straight. Chas had already started to successfully sell his model soldiers before being employed by Roy Maitlands ‘Norman Newton Ltd’ in 1954 along with Doug Hingle. Chas and Doug were left high, dry and unemployed when the company collapsed in 1958.  Norman Newton Ltd was allegedly only saved from bankruptcy by some creative accounting. Chas and Betty had just taken on a mortgage on their first house and Betty was pregnant with their second child, Denise.

              Chas had to build up a new career from zero in the space of a few months by driving all over the country finding work as a freelance patternmaker for the toy trade. Doug went back to the Post Office. The experiences Chas had as an employee of Norman Newton Ltd made him determined to stay self employed as a freelance artist which he did very successfully for the rest of his life. Obviously he did work for Norman Newton/Tradition in the 1960’s and early 1970’s but only ever as a freelance. 

So, Chas started his business successfully twice, both times without the marketing skills of Roy Maitland.

          However, Roy also played a big part in my early career as a patternmaker, as he commissioned me to make a long series of 90mm figures for Tradition from 1989 to 1993.