Other Information:William entered the war in France on the 19th August 1914. In the early hours of the 25th January 1915, due to constant shelling, the unit was forced to evacuate its wounded from Bethune and relocate in Chocques. Shelling was reported to have stopped around noon and so a small party returned to Bethune to recover the units equipment, William was one of them. Just before 3.30p.m. the shelling began again and half a dozen NCOs and men were thrown flat by concussion of shells. William was seen throwing up his hands, then fell dead. He was described in the war diary as “an excellent man”. His body was carried back to Chocques but there was a dispute between the Padre and the Maire about where he should be buried. Eventually the Maire handed over a section of a ploughed field, and, as the first of the unit’s personnel to be killed, he was buried in the near corner “-a place of honour”. The ceremony took place at 2p.m. on the 27th January. A special stone cross from the unit officers and staff was erected later in 1915. Williams was the son of Elizabeth Partridge, and the husband of M E Banning (formerly Partridge) of 52 Barnard Street, Salisbury, Wilts.
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