Charles Edward Challingsworth was born in Woolwich, London, in 1894. A carpenter by trade, he arrived in Adelaide before the start of the 1913 soccer season and joined the North Adelaide club. He immediately established himself among the ranks of prominent players when he was named in a “First Division Select XI” in an exhibition game. A creative wing half, his club North won the league in 1914. In one game, a 4-3 win over Hindmarsh, he scored with a shot from 40 yards.
Challingsworth joined the AIF in January 1915. He had no relatives in South Australia and his next of kin was his mother who lived in Wimbledon. He played for North whilst he was in training camp – until May 1915. The remainder of 1915 was spent at base depots in Australia before he arrived in France in early 1916. Originally serving in both the 10th and 48th Battalions, he became attached to the 12th Machine Gun Company.
Challingsworth was killed in action during the Allied assault on Gueudecourt, one of the final Somme battles, in January 1917. He had been promoted to sergeant not long before and was only 22. His personal affairs were complicated – on some forms he seemed to be naming his mother as his wife. But he left most of his savings with a Miss Kerr of the Imperial Hotel, King William St, Adelaide.