Charles Bonnell was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 4 August 1909, the son of Walter Herbert Muirhead and Ola Barrett Bonnell (née White).  He was in the class of 1925 of Lakefield Preparatory College School, Peterborough, Ontario. After leaving school he worked as a salesman and as an advertising agent.

He joined the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (Toronto Division) as an Acting Lieutenant (Temporary) on 8 October 1939. He served initially at HMCS STADACONA, was loaned to HMCS ACADIA and HMCS AMBLER before being appointed to the UK and to HMS KING ALFRED ‘for Training’ on 13 June 1940. He then served in HMS PATROCLUS where he was ‘nominated for service in MTBs’ and joined HMS HORNET ‘for MTB Training’ and then served in MTB No 46 ‘in Command’ from 2nd June 1941 to March 1943.

He was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for sinking a large enemy supply ship in the English Channel on 3 November 1941 while in command of MTB-218.  The citation from the London Gazette of 6 January 1942 reads: “For courage and skill when an enemy convoy was attacked by our light Coastal Forces.”

Charles Bonnell was appointed to HMS DOLPHIN on 3 March 1943 and, having volunteered ‘for Special Service’, to HMS TITANIA on 12 June 1942 where he trained as a Charioteer. He was one of first two Canadians, both RCNVR, selected to join the very secret British two-man “chariot” training program, then just in early stages of design and development. Becoming part of a group of only 24 officers and 31 men and the only Canadians to do so, they trained and qualified as divers and on chariots.  In his training as a Chariot No. 1 Crewman he conducted a successful attack with his No. 2 Crewman (not named) on the battleship HMS HOWE, returning safely to the Depot Ship.

Charles Bonnell and his No. 2 Crewman were allocated to a team of Charioteers formed for an operation to attack Italian shipping at the port of La Maddelena. The team was embarked in HMS P311 for the operation with three chariots – Nos. X, XVIII & one other. P311 had completed the passage through the Sicilian Channel – reported at 0130 on 31 December 1942 – but no further reports were received from the submarine and P311 was presumed ‘lost with all hands’ in a minefield near La Maddelena on or about 2 January 1943. Also lost were the three chariots, the three chariot crews and the team of four ‘dressers’ – ten personnel in all. The date of the loss of P311, her crew and her chariot passengers was assumed to have been 8 January 1943 which is the date that the submarine was due to arrive back at Malta.

Chuck Bonnell was husband of Eleanor Bonnell of Holland Landing, Ontario, Canada. They had been married in Oakville, Halton, Ontario on 2 July 1931. He also left a daughter, Barbara, then aged 13. He is commemorated on the Halifax (Nova Scotia) War Memorial on Panel No. 9 and on the 12th Submarine Flotilla memorials at Rothesay on the Isle of Bute and at Kylesku.