Rev Charles Blackshear Paul was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on March 23, 1895. From the age of seven, he accompanied his parents, the Rev and Mrs Isaac Paul, wherever they were appointed to serve in village churches in Ceylon and South India. As such, he had no regular school education and was homeschooled by his parents. He was able, however, to join the preparatory class of Jaffna College in 1910, where he was taught Scripture by Mr S.M. Thevathasan who later became his colleague at the Anglo-Chinese School (ACS), Singapore.
Charles Paul came to Singapore in February 1911, joined the ACS and later completed his post-Cambridge class which was started by the principal, J.S. Nagle. Paul lived with his uncle, Mr H.M. Hoisington, who had a great influence on his life and career. Like the former, Paul was an all-round scholar and had a great passion for teaching.
Paul joined the Government Normal Class (teacher training) Course in 1918, and rejoined the ACS where his special subjects were Latin, Scripture and English. He was an outstanding teacher and was so recognised by the Cambridge examiners.
In 1925 he married Lizzie Joseph and they had two daughters: Freda and Grace.
He became scout master of the school's 11th Scout Troop in 1930 and was appointed district scout master in 1937. He was also actively involved in the organisation of the St John’s Ambulance of Singapore teachers' unit. After his retirement from the ACS in 1950, he was appointed principal of the Duchess Primary School where he served for three years and later taught Latin at the Victoria School for seven years.
Having grown up in the Tamil Methodist Church, he served it in many areas and worked closely with the pastors. Rev Paul began his ministry after being ordained as deacon in 1947 and was active in the Tamil Methodist Church at Short Street. When Rev J.V. Ayaduray pastored the Tamil Methodist Church, Paul was the Sunday School superintendent during which enrolment increased to 98.
In 1948, Rev Paul succeeded Rev Ayaduray as pastor of the Tamil Methodist Church. His wealth of experience with young children and adults served him well when he provided pastoral care to the churches which included supervision of the Pasir Panjang Tamil Church. Rev Paul handed over the pastorate to Rev T.R. Doraisamy in 1951.
During the Japanese occupation of Singapore, Rev Paul and his family were in Ceylon where he served at the Jaffna College. He returned to Singapore after the war. Whilst at the college, he was praised for “his transparent religious sincerity, complete integrity of his Christian faith and his utterly unselfish concern for the boys of the College.”
Rev Paul entered into glory on January 3, 1973.