Charles Thomas Wooldridge Charles Thomas Wooldridge Charles Thomas Wooldridge (c.1866 – 7 July 1896) was a Trooper in the Royal Horse Guards who was executed in Reading Gaol for the murder of his wife and who, as 'C.T.W', was the dedicatee of Oscar Wilde's "The Ballad of Reading Gaol". 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. He married Laura Ellen "Nell" Glendell (1873–1896) in 1894 when his regiment was posted to Windsor. However, as his commanding officer had not given permission for the wedding to
Charles Thomas Wooldridge to be carried out. On the morning of the execution Wooldridge attended a service in the prison chapel, showed repentance for his terrible crime and was resigned to his fate. Because of "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" Wooldridge became the most famous person ever to be executed at Reading. The executioner was James Billington, whose use of a drop longer than specified by the official Table of Drops stretched Wooldridge's neck by eleven inches. He was aged 30 when executed. Wilde was imprisoned in Reading Gaol when Wooldridge was hanged there on Saturday 7 July 1896; the two never met