Charles Henry Balanco – Royal Artillery
Gunner Charles Henry Balanco – Royal Artillery A Swansea youth whose troubled early years preceded wartime service Early Life and Family Background Charles Henry Balanco was born in 1923 in Swansea, the son of Benzeslo Balanco and Florence L. Balanco . No official records survive that shed light on his childhood or early family circumstances, leaving much of his early life undocumented. What does survive, however, are several newspaper reports that provide a glimpse into his youth during the difficult wartime years. South Wales Evening Post A Troubled Youth – Swansea Borough Sessions, 1941 In May 1941 , the South Wales Evening Post reported that eighteen‑year‑old Charles Balanco, then working as a firewatcher , appeared before Mr. Temple Morris , Acting Recorder, at the Swansea Borough Sessions. He and a fifteen‑year‑old schoolboy pleaded guilty to a series of breaking‑in offences committed at premises across the town. The court heard that the pair had forced entry into the Central...
