Thomas & Charles were both sons of Thomas & Emma, born and raised in Halghton. They had another brother Fred, and sisters Mary, Margaret, Annie, Peggy
Private 437211, Labour Corps Thomas Bettley, Halghton Mill Cottages, Halghton (War Records spell his surname as Betteley)
Other units, as recorded on his service records on Ancestry: R.W.F. Lab Cor 8259, 42637, 437211; Loyal North Lancs and Kings Own Royal Lancs
Thomas was born in 4th May 1889 and was baptised in Bangor on Dee on 9th June that year.
In 1911 he was working as a Cowman at Halghton Lane Farm.
Possible marriage to Sarah E Harris, Ellesmere Sept qtr 1921.
In 1939 he is living at Little Greenhill Farm, Ellesmere with inferred wife Sarah E and their children. Thomas is a Dairy Farmer.
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Private 6124 Charles Leonard Bettley, Halghton Mill 1st Australian Signal Corps
Born 1893, by 1911, he was working as a groom but obviously went to Australia soon afterwards because he enlisted at Melbourne on 14 March 1916 age given as 22 years 10 months, and address as “C/O GPO Melbourne” (elsewhere, Swan Hill, Victoria).
He joined the 19th Reinforcements of the 8th Australian Infantry, and seems to have trained as a signaller.
He sailed from Melbourne on 28 July 1916, reaching the UK in September. After landing in France on 2 January 1917, he fell ill that March and was returned to the UK. He was transferred to the Signal Engineers in September and returned to France March 1918, for service with the Australian Corps Signal Company. Unfortunately later that year he fell ill again and was invalided to the UK, where he stayed until the end of hostilities.
He left the UK again for Australia on 22 December 1918 and was discharged there on 24 March 1919. His medals were issued but apparently returned undelivered in 1923. In 1938 his brother in law, a Mr J Ridgway of Manchester, steamship agent, wrote to the authorities trying to ascertain his whereabouts as he had not been in touch for a considerable time; but they had no information after 1919.
Hanmer WW1 