Charles Joseph was born on 23 October, 1943 in Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon). He emigrated to England in 1963, just before he was 20. There was a major shortage at the time of transportation workers in the 1960s Britain, and Charles took a job on the London Underground, starting as a guard (conductor) in May 1965. Over the following 28 years he enjoyed a career of progressive professional growth, ultimately retiring from a senior management position in September 1993.

It was not long after he came to England, that he was introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and was baptize in September 1966 at the age of 23. The following year in 1967, he met and married Josianne Ginnette Gopal in the Hyde Park Chapel. After she passed away in 1981, he married Heather Lynn Bentley in 1989 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

His life in the Church provided him with many opportunities to serve. He was called to the Stake High Council under President Vance Leavitt. He later became a counsellor the stake presidency under President Leonard Boydell and then a counsellor under President Roy Cain. It was while serving on the stake presidency that he met his wife, Heather.

In December, 1991, Charles was called as bishop in the Britannia First ward, replacing the outgoing Geoffrey Willmott. Among his counsellors in the bishopric were Patrick Kearon (now a member of the Quorum of The Twelve Apostles) and Russell Ball, along with Ian Clark as Executive Secretary and Ward Clerk Renee.

Charles served as the Britannia bishop until in October 1993, when he was released in preparation for he and his family emigrating to the USA. They moved out to Glendale, California the following month with Charles, taking a position as a rail transit consultant, designing operating systems for light rail and subways systems. He initially worked on the Los Angeles subway system, then in Cairo, Egypt on their new subway system. Following those assignments he moved to Seattle, Washington to work on the light rail and subways systems in Tacoma and Seattle. He then moved east to Bristow, Virginia, where he worked on both the light and heavy rail systems for Washington DC. He finally retired in 2019 at age 76.

Despite a long and distinguished career, Charles states that the highlight of his life is his marriage to Josianne and to Heather and their combined four children, and seven grandchildren. His other major highlight was being introduced to and becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Charles and Heather now live in Grand Junction, Colorado, USA.