Charlie Christodoulou

Charles 'Charlie' Christodoulou (born c.1951 – killed 14 February 1976) was a British soldier in the Parachute Regiment who later served as a foreign mercenary during the Angolan War of Independence of the 1970s. Known as 'Shotgun Charlie' as he was seldom without one in his hands in Angola, he was involved in the murder of 167 civilians during that conflict.

Christodoulou was born in Birmingham in the United Kingdom of Greek Cypriot parents and was believed to be a cousin of Costas Georgiou, known later as 'Colonel Callan', the leader of the British mercenaries in Angola. The two served together in the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in the British Army and toured in Northern Ireland. Christodoulou was honourably discharged from the Army with the rank of Corporal,^[1][2] where he was referred to as "Charlie Caldwell" or "Charlie Kebab" and in Angola as "Shotgun Charlie", because he was never seen without a Spanish-made shotgun, which became his weapon of choice.^[1][3][4] In 1976 Christodoulou was recruited in the Aldershot area by Nick Hall as a mercenary for the Angola War along with Georgiou and Michael Wainwright.^[5]

Described as a "withdrawn and easily led character", Christodoulou fought with the rank of Captain^[2][6] in Angola in 1976 for the FNLA. A ruthless and sadistic man disliked by all except Georgiou, his best friend, Christodoulou was one of the first four British mercenaries to arrive in Angola, along with his close friends Costas Georgiou, Nick Hall and Michael Wainwright. He was a cold-blooded killer and was involved in the murder of 167 pro FNLA civilians.^[1][3]

Christodoulou was killed with 5 other mercenaries in February 1976 in an ambush in Angola.^[7][8] His General Service Medal with bar for Northern Ireland is in a private collection.

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