William Gilbert Barrington

Memorial: Kingswood - Holy Trinity Church

Regiment: Devonshire Regiment

Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Private 59181

Parents: William James and Emily Barrington

Home address: Woodbine Terrace, Kingswood, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Bootmaker

Date of birth: 1894

Place of birth: Oldland, Bristol

Date of death: 15/04/1917

Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated at Mikra Memorial, Thessaloniki (formerly Salonika), Greece, Kingswood Holy Trinity Memorial and Kingswood Methodist Memorial

Age: 22

Further information:

William was born in Oldland, the son of a miner and the second eldest of nine children with three sisters and five brothers, two of whom died in childhood.

William served with the 1st Garrison Battalion, Devonshire Regiment. William’s battalion was part of the Egypt Expeditionary Force. On April 15th, 1917, “Arcadian” with a company of 1,335 troops and crew was proceeding from Salonika to Alexandria, and was in the southern Aegean, 26 miles N.E. of Milo when German submarine UC-74 approached unseen and discharged a torpedo which inflicted such extensive damage that the vessel sank in six minutes. 277 people drowned including William. The Memorial on which William is remembered is located in what was the base for the British Salonika Force and the Memorial itself commemorates almost 500 nurses, officers and men of the Commonwealth forces who died when troop transports and hospital ships were lost in the Mediterranean, and who have no grave but the sea.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?98825