William Wheaton Chard

William was the older brother of Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott Chard VC. William rose to be the Colonel of the 7th Royal Fusiliers. He served with distinction in India, Egypt and Afghanistan. The Chard family moved from Pennycross near Plymouth to Mount Tamar House. There is a detailed description to William's service by his brother officers prominently displayed inside the church on the rear wall. Sadly the inscription says that he died of a disease that he had contracted whilst serving in India in 1890 - a not uncommon fate for the soldiers of Empire. Outside the church, very close to the front entrance, is the Chard family grave where William is buried. This grave also includes John and William's father (who confusingly is also called William Wheaton Chard) and their mother and sister Jane (also confusingly having the same name as each other!). The children had actually been born in Boxcar in Pennycross (pretty much on the site of the present YMCA gym) but the family moved to the larger premises of Mount Tamar sometime in the mid-Nineteenth Century. St. Budeaux Church became their local parish church which is why much of the family are buried there. The reason that John Chard is not buried in St. Budeaux is because he had gone to live with another of his brothers, Charles, who had become a rector at a church in Hatch Beauchamp. John Chard effectively retired from the army after contracting cancer of the tongue and joined his brother in Somerset. He died there at the relatively young age of 49 in 1897. He was joined by his younger brother Charles in 1910. The Chard family were typical of many Victorian families for having such strong military and religious connections.