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The Thiepval Memorial |
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WALKER, WILLIAM HENRY
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Source |
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CWGC |
SDGW |
Uttoxeter Advertiser |
Other |
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Parents |
? & Joseph Walker |
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5 |
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Where born |
Hatton, Derbyshire |
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Yes |
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3 |
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When born |
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Address |
High Wood, Uttoxeter |
Yes |
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2a |
3 |
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Spouse |
Yes |
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2a |
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Mrs. Gertrude Walker |
Yes |
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3 |
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Children |
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Employment Before Joining up |
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Where enlisted |
Uttoxeter |
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Yes |
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Former service |
(4552). 1st/6th Bn., N. Staffordshire Regiment |
Yes |
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3 |
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Regiment at the time of death |
North Staffordshire (Prince of Wales’s) |
Yes |
Yes |
2a |
3 |
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Unit at the time of death |
1st/6th Bn. |
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Yes |
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3 |
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‘B’ Company |
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1 |
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Rank at the time of death |
Private |
Yes |
Yes |
2a |
1, 3, 5 |
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Service Number at the time of death |
4552 |
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Yes |
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1 |
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241480 |
Yes |
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3 |
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Date of Death |
1 July 1916 |
Yes |
Yes |
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1, 3, 5 |
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Age at time of death |
30 |
Yes |
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5 |
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Where Killed or died |
Somme – 1st day (Gommecourt Wood) |
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Gommecourt, France |
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5 |
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Gommecourt, Somme |
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3 |
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How he died |
Missing, presumed died on or after 1st July 1916 |
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2a |
1 |
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Killed in Action |
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Yes |
2a |
3 |
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Location of Grave or Memorial |
Thiepval Memorial for the Missing Pier and Face 14 B and 14 C. |
Yes |
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Uttoxeter Town War Memorial (Market Place) |
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3, 4 |
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Awards |
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William was reported missing after the action on the first day of the Somme on the 1st July 1916[2a], but it was not until June 1917 that he was officially classed as killed in action[2a].
The Uttoxeter Advertiser roll of honour says that he died at Gommecourt Wood, as does the family gravestone in Uttoxeter Town Cemetery[5].
His obituary in the Uttoxeter Advertiser[2a] said that he would be remembered as a former member of the Oldfields Cricket Club[3].
He has no known grave and his name is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing
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The Thiepval Memorial |
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The Walker family gravestone in Uttoxeter Town Cemetery carries a tribute to William. At the time of writing (June 2007) the grave is in very poor condition, but the words, can still be made out:
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The inscription reads as follows:
ALSO PTE WILLIAM H WALKER
SON OF THE ABOVE
KILLED IN ACTION AT GOMMECOURT FRANCE
JULY 1 1916 AGED 30 YEARS
GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS
TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS
