Charlie Dolling was born in the South Australian rural community of Wokurna on the Yorke Peninsula, inland from Port Broughton, to a family of German origin.

[2] A few weeks later Dolling made his first-class debut for South Australia in a Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

[12] On 13 February 1923, at St Paul's Anglican Church, Adelaide, he married Dorothy Clarke, a New Zealander with a degree in advanced mathematics, who shared his love of cricket.

[15] In an obituary, The Referee, assessing his work as a selector, said he "was an exceptional judge of a cricketer and possessed a high judicial sense of fair play".

[12] Don Bradman, who was appointed to the Test selection panel in his place, said Dolling was "a wise and tactful administrator, and that, as a selector, he enjoyed the confidence of everybody".

[15] Dorothy Dolling (1897–1967) was a prominent member of the Country Women's Association and was awarded the OBE for her welfare work during World War II.