William England
Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial
Regiment: Lancashire Fusiliers
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 45542
Parents: Elizabeth and Edwin England
Home address: North Street, Oldland Common, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Bootmaker
Date of birth: 1890
Place of birth: Bitton, Bristol
Date of death: 12/04/1918
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated at Ploegsteert Memorial, Hainaut, Belgium. Not commemorated on a local memorial
Age: 27
Further information:
William was born in Bitton, the son of a plasterer and a middle child of seven with two sisters and four brothers. His youngest brother, George saw active service in the Air Force during the war and survived.
William enlisted first in the Royal Army Service Corps (232227) then transferred to the 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers. He served in France and Flanders and it is likely that he would have fought in the Battles of The Somme Arras and Ypres. He was killed in action during the Battle of Hazebrouck - one of the Battles of the Lys (7 – 29 April 1918). The Lys was a victory for the allies but at a cost to them of 119,000 casualties. William's body was never identified and the Ploegsteert Memorial where he is remembered, commemorates more than 11,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War and have no known grave.
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/
Some information supplied by Kingswood Heritage Museum