Name
William Charles Todd
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
08/03/1915
28
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Lance Corporal
7243
Bedfordshire Regiment
1st Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 (Mons) Star (with Clasp & Roses), British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
Panel 31 and 33.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
NA
UK & Other Memorials
Elstree Town Memorial,
Church of St Nicholas Memorial, Elstree,
Watford Borough Roll of Honour
Pre War
William Charles was born in 1886 in Watford to William John Todd, a brewery labourer, and Harriet (nee Wilson) and baptised 17 December 1886 at St Mary’s, Watford. The family consisted on his parents and two sibling and they were living at 20 Court, High Street, Watford on the 1891 Census. William (junior) was a scholar aged 5.
On the 1901 Census, he was a farm labourer aged 15, he lived in Bushey, with his parents and one sibling.
He had deficient sight for the Army but was passed fit for the Militia but William Charles attested as Militia on 10 Jan 1902 for the Bedfordshire Regiment as Private 4321 giving his address as Bushey Mead House, Bushey Hall Road and after completing 49 Days of Drill he enlisted in 4th Battalion on 14 Jul 1902. He had probably served a normal engagement of 7 years and 5 years Reserve.
William Charles married Edith Kate Passingham on 9 May 1908. They were living at the High Street Elstree on the 1911 Census William Charles was working as a domestic gardener. There were to be children William Richard (born 1909), Edith Grace (born 1912) and Ethel Beatrice (born 1914).
Wartime Service
He may have been called back from Reserve (no 1914-18 service record can be found for him). He was renumbered as 7243 and went to France on 30 Aug 1914 to join 1st Battalion Bedfords with the original British Expeditionary Force and fought at the battles of the Marne and the Aisne in September, at the battle of La Bassee in October and during the Battle of Ypres 1914 (also known as the First Battle of Ypres) in Nov 1914
On 6 Mar 1915 1st Beds took over a position in the Front Line on a canal bank South of Ypres. On the 7 May their position was shelled and was under sniper fire resulting in casualties of 3 dead and 1 wounded. On 8th Mar 1915 the shelling and sniping continued and the casualties for that day were 2 dead and 9 wounded. William Charles was one of those killed on 8 Mar 1915. The Battalion was relieved the night of 8 May. His remains were not recovered, and he is remembered on the Menin Gate memorial and also Elstree Memorials.
Additional Information
War Gratuity of £5 and arrears of £4 4s 1d was paid to his widow.
There is an article about William in the West Herts and Watford Observer, dated 27 March 1915.
His widow, Edith, remarried 1921 in the Barnet district to Frederick C ELDRIDGE and died 1951 in the Barnet district aged 66.
Acknowledgments
Neil Cooper
Sue Carter (Research) and Watford Museum (ROH on line via www.ourwatfordhistory.org.uk), Neil Cooper, Jonty Wild
