So sorry to hear this.

Although he abandoned Tyneside long ago for London he never forgot those roots in his songs. IIRC he wasn't on the Jarrow march, but I think he told me he did sing for them at a stop somewhere near London. He got his first job there as a barman having told the landlord he was experienced, when he'd never even been in a pub before!. He later worked on the roads and built the road he eventually lived in.

I was just looking at the song sheet he produced: Poems of a Geordie Lad (in aid of the North of England Cancer Research Campaign, foreword by Catherine Cookson no less) and most of the titles tell of fondness for his homeland: The Story of the Jarrow Marchers, Down by the River Tyne, Tyneside Lament, Blood on the Coals, The Yards of the Tyne, Back to Tyneside, The Rose of Tyneside, The Flowers of Tyneside.

I have many fond memories of him at Herga (which he gave up when it became too difficult for him to get out of the house to get there), not least the concert we put on at the Pump House, Watford with Charlie as the star performer. The song Blood On The Coals has a special memory for me, as it was one of the songs I recorded with Herga Kitty.

I haven't seen him for a long time, but haven't forgotten him, and as Leadfingers said, 97 was a good run. RIP Charlie.

Mick