Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke was the third and last so-called ‘White Rajah’ of Sarawak – a dynastic monarchy founded by his great uncle James Brooke to rule the Kingdom of Sarawak, located on the island of Borneo, from1841 to 1946.
Charles, known as Vyner, was born in Greenwich, London on 26th September 1874. He was educated at Clevedon, Winchester College, and finally Magdalene College, Cambridge before entering the Sarawak public service.
He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) on 12th May 1911 and was posted to ‘C’ Squadron. He, however, only served for two years before resigning his commission in 1913. During World War I he served incognito as a private in anti-aircraft defence and as a fitter in the aeroplane manufacturing works at Shoreditch, east London.