Name
William West
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
21/03/1918
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
202846
Essex Regiment
11th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
ARRAS MEMORIAL
Bay 7.
France
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Addenda to the Pirton Village Memorial, Pirton School Memorial, Not listed on the Hertfordshire Regimental Memorial, All Saints Church, Hertford, Shillington Village Memorial, Bedfordshire
Biography
William’s name appears on the School War Memorial, confirming that he was a pupil and that he gave his life.
The Shillington census of 1901 identifies William and records his family living on Church Hill. His parents were James and Louisa West and her maiden name is believed to have been Arnold. They were born in Shillington and Pirton respectively and Louisa’s parents were born in Pirton.
In 1901 they had three children, Ethel (b c1896), William (b c1898) and Emma (b c1900). All the children were born in Finsbury Park, London, so they must have lived there for quite a while. James was listed as a general labourer. That and the location might well indicate that he worked on the railway - Pirton had a strong enclave of families living in the Finsbury Park area doing just that. The family must have also lived in Pirton in the early 1900s because William attended Pirton School.
In 1911 they were living in Pirton and then had seven children. The additional four were Walter George (b c1903), Christopher Frederick (b c1905), Ada Mary (b c1908) and Leonard Arthur (b c1910). The family had obviously moved around, probably following work, as the locations of the children’s birth included Finsbury Park, Shillington and Pirton. By the time William enlisted he was again living in Shillington. He enlisted in Hitchin and was originally Private 269304 of the Hertfordshire regiment, but was transferred to the 11th Essex Regiment, becoming Private 202846.
The date of his transfer has not yet been discovered so his war service leading up to his death on Thursday March 21st 1918 is not known. However, from the date, he must have died in the major German attack in the spring of that year. This was a desperate action by the Germans who saw an urgent need for victory before significant numbers of Americans, who had just joined the war, could be mobilised into action. They were nearly successful with the allied forces being pushed back considerably before they were able to rally and the advance was halted. It seems likely that poor William’s body was left behind in the British retreat and was lost or buried before he could be recovered and identified. His name is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, one of the 34,750 men from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who have no known grave.
The Arras Memorial is located off the Boulevard du General de Gaulle in the western part of Arras and, as well as the names of the missing, it contains a cemetery for 2,651 Commonwealth burials and the Arras Flying Services Memorial. William West’s name can be found in Bay 7 and he is also listed on the Shillington War Memorial.
Additional Information
Test from the book 'The Pride of Pirton'.
Acknowledgments
The Pride of Pirton book – www.pirton.org.uk/prideofpirton Chris Ryan / Tony French / Jonty Wild
