Charles Hadfield was born at Pietersburg, South Africa, where his New Zealand-born father was an Assistant Resident Magistrate; his mother was daughter of a Devon clergyman.
He was invited to the home of the theatre critic and author Robert Aickman in May 1946, as were the author L Tom C Rolt and four others, the outcome of which was the formation of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), a pressure group for the preservation and restoration of the waterways, with Aickman as chairman, Hadfield as vice-chairman and Rolt as secretary.
Hadfield recalled: ...a serious upset occurred in the Association: some original members were expelled and independent canal societies founded.
The Association itself chose a protest role as a pressure group which had some success in preventing possible abandonments, but for a time kept it out of a constructive part in decision-making or co-operation with the Commission.
This extended to a study of world canals, amassing a rich store of research material now kept at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port.