Allport William

ALLPORT, WILLIAM W

		Source
		CWGC	SDGW	Uttoxeter Advertiser	Other
Parents	John and Sarah Allport				1a
Where born	Uttoxeter, Staffordshire		Yes		1a
When born	About 1877		Yes		1a
When born	1881				9
Address	1901: Uttoxeter				1a
Address	At the time of his death: Folkestone, Kent		Yes
Spouse	Alice Edith Kennett
Children	2 sons (aged 2 and 3 at the time of William’s death)				9
Employment Before Joining up
Where Enlisted	Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire		Yes		9
Regiment	Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry	Yes	Yes		7 9
Unit	1st Bn	Yes	Yes		3
Rank	Serjeant	Yes	Yes		3 7 9
Service Number		Yes	Yes		3 7
Date of Death		Yes	Yes	Roll of Honour	3
Age at time of death	About 38
Where Killed or died	At sea – on hospital ship Madras			Roll of Honour	9
How he died	Illness – ‘disease’			Roll of Honour
Location of Grave or Memorial	No known grave. Commemorated on Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton
Awards	1915 Star – Roll L/4B Page 4				7
	Victory Medal – Roll L/106B Page 55				7
	British War Medal – Roll L/106B Page 55				7

William was born in 1881 in Uttoxeter, only son of John and Sarah Allport. His father was a butcher. William had an older sister, A. Allport.

He enlisted at Burton-on-Trent in 1900 with the Oxfordshire Regiment, which later became the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1908. He served as 6475, Sergeant William Allport in the1st Battalion.

During the Regiment’s movement to South Africa and India, William’s battalion stayed at Chatham Barracks, near Folkestone Kent. Here he met Alice Edith Kennett from Folkestone9 and in 1910 they married. Alice followed him to India.

Their two children were born in India before war broke out.

At the end of 1914 William went to Mesopotamia (Iraq) with the Indian Army. William, like many British and Indian soldiers succumbed to disease and was brought home in a hospital ship. Unfortunately he did not make it home; he died in home waters and was buried at sea.

The Uttoxeter Advertiser roll of honour says that he died at sea from disease on 29th August 1915 on hospital ship Madras. As he was buried at sea he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton.

William was 38 years old at the time of his death and his two sons were orphaned at the ages of 2 and 3.They were taken to be raised in Kent and, sadly, never had any further contact with their paternal family, Uttoxeter or Staffordshire.

William was awarded the 1914 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.