Charles Shirreff was born in Scotland. In 1768 he was in London and by 1778 he had petitioned to the East India Company to go and work in India. In his application he stated that he had lost his speech and hearing at a young age and, for this reason, his father and sister should be allowed to accompany him. His actual departure was delayed until 1795 when he took his passage on the Lord Hawkesbury, reaching Madras in 1797. He also worked in Calcutta where he was living in 1804. He left India in 1809 and returned to England where he spent time in London before eventually retiring in Bath.