Charles thomas wooldridge biography of william

British trooper convicted of uxoricide

Charles Thomas Wooldridge (1864^[1] – 7 July 1896) was a Trooper in the Royal Horse Guards who was executed in Reading Gaol for uxoricide and who, as 'C.T.W', was the dedicatee of Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol.^[2][3][4]

Biography

The son of Eleanor (born c.1827) and Charles Wooldridge (born c.1824), Wooldridge was born in East Garston and joined the Royal Horse Guards in 1886.^[5] He married Laura Ellen "Nell" Glendell (1873–1896) in 1894 when his regiment was posted to Windsor.

However, his commanding officer had not given permission for the wedding to take place. Wooldridge's wife was "off the strength" and so was unable to join her husband when his regiment moved from Windsor to Regent's Park Barracks in London, forcing the couple to live apart and putting a strain on the marriage.^[3]

At first the couple were devoted to e