Henry Chorlton Shaw was born in Ashton-under-Lyne on November 19, 1890. His father Henry was an Accountant, (and future Deputy Mayor of Ashton), and his mother Mary Emma Shaw, (née Tobin), died when Henry Chorlton Shaw was very young.
By 1911 he was living with his father and older brother, James, in Ashton and working as a secretary at a cotton mill. He was commissioned into the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant on February 16, 1914 and promoted to Lieutenant on September 2, 1914 the same day that Brigadier-General D. G. Prendergast, commanding the East Lancashire Infantry Brigade, visited the Battalion at Bury during their final preparations to leave for Egypt.
He sailed with the battalion to Egypt on September 10th and served with them through their training and preparations for action. He landed with the Battalion in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 assigned to D Company. He was not subsequently mentioned in the Battalion or Brigade war diaries but in January 1916 he was reported to be in hospital at Oxford after having spent some time in hospital in Malta.
After recuperating, he joined the 3/9th Battalion and was considered unfit for any additional overseas service. He was promoted to Captain on August 9, 1917 with precedence from June 1, 1916.
Sometime in 1916, he met and fell in love with Elsie May Nickson who was at the time recently married to a private serving in the Army Service Corps, and was by 1916 deployed in France. The result was that their daughter, Betty Shaw was born on June 5, 1918 and divorce proceedings were filed two months later. The decree nisi was granted in December 1918 and the divorce was made final on June 30, 1919, after a damages payment of £350. Henry Chorlton Shaw and Elsie May Wood married shortly thereafter.
Henry Chorlton Shaw relinquished his commission on February 5, 1919 due to ill health contracted on active service, retaining the rank of Captain.
By 1939 he was living on Mottram Road, Stalybridge with his wife, daughter Betty, and son Henry. His occupation was estate agent and money lender.
Captain Henry Chorlton Shaw died in Stalybridge on July 22, 1973. He was 82 years old.