This man is a candidate for addition to Keighley's Supplementary Volume under the proposal to add further names in 2024, the centenary of the original roll of honour.
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Supported by the National Lottery's Heritage Fund, our project intends to submit about 120 names for peer review to add them to the book which is kept at Keighley Library. The unveiling of the book with it's new names is planned for November 2024, 100 years after the unveiling of the original war memorial.
Private. 9th Bn. West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) Service Number: 10242.
Early life:
William was born on 4th November 1892 in Keighley. The family were living at 13, Duncan Street in Keighley during the 1891 census and he was probably born at home. In 1891, the family consisted of Charles and Martha, aged 33 and 26 respectively, George aged eleven, John aged eight, Charles aged three and Sarah aged one.
Duncan Street was behind what is now Keighley Timber on Goulborne Street. William was baptised at St. Peter's Church near to their home and the 11th December 1892 baptism record confirms that they were still living at Duncan Street at that time.
A 1918 newspaper account of file grinder Arthur Ripley's death at Keighley.
The family lived in Keighley until at least 1895 when they moved soon after, to Leeds. Charles was still employed as a file grinder and William would have been three or four when they moved away from Keighley.
Martha was born on 9th October 1898, followed by Isabella, born on 3rd September. In the 1901 census they were living at 14, Kippax Grove in East Leeds and Charles was still employed as a file grinder.
In the 1901 census William was eight years old and at school and living with his parents at 14, Kippax Grove His step-brother James Rushworth was 18, brother Charles was 13, sister Sarah was 10 and younger sister Martha was just two years old. Also living with them was Martha's mother Elizabeth Rushworth aged 66.
The house they lived in is now gone but examination of the ordnance survey maps shows that it was a back to back house and eight people were living there in very cramped conditions and they had outside toilet blocks.
In 1904 tragedy struck the family when their father Charles died. He was just 47 years of age and his death was registered at Leeds in the second quarter of the year. It's likely that his death was due to lung problems caused by his work, although we have no actual proof of that. Contemporary reports of file grinder's deaths show that this work was very much an occupational health hazard.
In the 1911 census the family had moved to a larger house at 22, Glensdale Mount. These were relatively new houses and probably less that three years old so it would have been a great improvement on Kippax Place.
William was 18 years old by now and employed as a moulder's apprentice. His mother Martha was head of the household aged 46, also living there was his brother Charles aged 23 and a road sweeper for Leeds Corporation, sisters Martha aged twelve and Isabella aged nine were both still at school. The census form indicates that Martha had given birth to eight children in her marriage with Charles senior, with six still living and two had died.
War service:
Very little is known of William's Army service because no service record exists for him. We have some records which enable us to sketch out his experiences during the war. The war gratuity calculation tells us he's likely to have served for less than 12 months, so he must have enlisted after war broke out and wasn't already serving at the time.
We know he enlisted at Leeds fairly early in the war, because he went out to the Balkan Theatre, disembarking there on 11th July 1915. This matches up with the 9th Battalion war diary which states that they embarked on S.S. Aquitania at Liverpool on 2nd July 1915 and sailed on the 3rd for the Island of Lemnos in the Mediterranean. They arrived there on 11th July, so William was part of this troop movement. The 9th Battalion war diary tracks their movements until William's death on 7th August 1915, about three weeks after he arrived there.
WO 95/4299. 9th West Yorkshire Regiment war diary
MUDROS BAY, ISLE OF LEMNOS.
11th July 1915. 09.00:
Battalion commenced disembarkation.
11.30 am: Battalion completed disembarkation.
12.00 noon: Battalion bivouaced Western side of MUDROS BAY, ISLE OF LEMNOS
12th July to 15th July: Nil.
16th July 9.30: Infantry Brigade also 8th Northumberland Fusiliers & 6th Dorsets inspected by G.O.C. 9th Army Corps.
17th & 18th July: Nil.
19th July 18.00 pm: Orders received for Battalion to embark at 06.30 am 20th July.
19.09 pm: Orders received for Battalion to stand fast & embarkation at 06.30 am 20th July 1915 cancelled.
20th July 1915 17.15: Orders received for Battalion to prepare to move at shortest notice to CAPE HELLES.
21st July 1915 18.20: Orders received that move of the Battalion to CAPE HELLES suspended temporarily.
22nd July 1915 11.05: Orders received for Battalion to embark for IMBROS and 13.00.
KEPHALOS, IMBROS. 22nd July 1915 15.00: Battalion less luggage party completed embarkation for IMBROS, The Battalion (less luggage party) was conveyed to IMBROS 1/2 on HMS MOSQUITO & 1/2 on HMS RACOON.
22nd July 1915 20.00: Battalion (less baggage arty) completed disembarkation & arrived in bivouac in "C" area KEPHALOS CAMP IMBROS.
23rd July 1915 10.00 Baggage party joined the Battalion.
24th July 1915 12.05: Battalion was inspected by Sir Ian Hamilton GOC in C Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
25th July 1915 to 31st July 1915: Nothing of importance.
1st August 1915 to 5th August 1915: Nothing of importance.
6th August 1915 07.25: Orders received from 32nd Infantry Brigade that Battalion would be leaving KEPHALOS at 16.00 6th August 1915.
6th August 1915 16.45: Battalion paraded in fighting order at 16.45 at IMBROS CAMP & embarked on two sttel armoured oil propellor lighters K5 & K6 in charge HMS Destroyer MOSQUITO left KEPHALOS BAY. 20.00 course towards ANZAC and then both lighters run ashore at 6 BEACH and Battalion formed up in support of 6th Yorkshire Regiment at 22.00 advanced on two lines across rough & sandy bushy ground at slow pace in two lines, B&C and D&A Companies. Yorkshire Regiment took LALA BABA HILL but lost heavily. Battalion pushed through in support, bayonetting about 10 snipers en route. Captain Stone killed & Lieutenant Worsnop mortally wounded by snipers.
7th August 1915:
After occupying LALA BABA HILL, Battalion pushed forward across sandy isthmus & Salt Lake & supported 34th Brigade (Lancashire Fusiliers) in attack on HILL 10 where enemy had a strongly entrenched position surrounded with land mines. Nine officers wounded in assault.
Battalion became now rather scattered, some platoons moving in to support 34th Brigade on KIRETCH TEPE SIRT whilst others moved with the 33rd Brigade & 10th Division to attack YILGHIN BURNA (CHOCOLATE HILL). Headquarters went with 34th Brigade, Battalion collected far right & billeted in TURKISH REDOUBT at HILL 10. Water scarce, many Turkish rifles & 3 cases of shells in the redoubt.
William was killed in action on the 7th August part of the attack. He has no known final resting placed and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Panel 47 to 51 on the Gallipoli Peninsula. There are 20,907 casualties named on this memorial.
Post war:
Martha applied for a dependants pension. She was awarded a gratuity on 26th April 1916, but the record card doesn't say how much she received. Her address at that time was 48, Kitson Street, off Clark Lane in Leeds.
In the Soldier's effects records, Martha received £2 14s 3d of Williams remaining Army pay on 31st January 1916 and a war gratuity payment of £3 on 3rd September 1919.
She would also have received his 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal along with a bronze memorial plaque and King's certificate inscribed with his name.
We are not aware of any local war memorial bearing William's name.
In the 1921 census Martha was 57 and living at 44, Kitson Street in Leeds with her eldest daughter Sarah Elizabeth Linley and her husband Sam Linley. Also living there were Martha and Isabella Grimshaw plus the Naylor family.
Martha appears in the 1939 register, aged 75 and still living with Sarah and Sam Linley.
She died in 1943 aged 78 and her death was registered at leeds.
Information sources:
1891 census
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1910
1901 England Census
England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales Deaths 1837-2007
1911 England Census
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in the Great War
World War I Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923
Army Registers of Soldiers' Effects, 1901-1929
British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
World War I Service Medal and Award Rolls, 1914-1920
Gro War Death Army Other Ranks (1914 To 1921)
1921 Census Of England & Wales
1939 Register
West Yorkshire, England, Electoral Registers, 1840-1962
