Maj Gen.Charles Robert West Hervey was born on 8 February 1818 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, his father, Henry, was 31 and his mother, Margarita, was 19. He married Mary Ann De La Motte and they had six children together. He also had one son from another relationship. He then married Mary Elizabeth Dickson on 6 November 1880 in British, Monmouthshire. He died on 23 June 1903 in Torquay, Devon, having lived a long life of 85 years.