Name
Arthur Whittaker
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
Not Yet Researched
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Biography
Arthur Whittaker was born in the winter of 1887 at Kitters Green, Abbots Langley. He was one of seven children (three sons and four daughters) born to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Whittaker. Arthur’s brother, Charles, also served in the Great War. The family lived at Yew Tree Cottage, Abbots Road, Abbots Langley. Nathaniel had previously been employed as a Plumber and Lead Worker, but by 1911 had retired. In the 1911 Census Arthur was recorded working as a Teacher of Golf.
He was first recorded in the Abbots Langley Parish Magazine Roll of Honour in February 1915, serving with the Hertfordshire Territorials. In August 1916 the Parish Magazine reported that Arthur had been wounded serving with the 1st Battalion of the Hertfordshire Regiment, and this was also reported in the Hertfordshire Advertiser on 12th August. Arthur’s Medal Roll noted that he had been sent to France on 17th August 1915, and had gained the rank of Lance Corporal whilst serving with the Hertfordshire’s.
Arthur continued to serve with the 1st Hertfordshire’s throughout 1916 and 1917. His Medal Roll indicated that he was commissioned to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant on 28th November 1917 whilst serving with the 18th (County of London) Battalion (London Irish Rifles). The Parish Magazine noted that Arthur was serving with the 18th London’s with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in the January 1918 publication, and he continued to serve with this unit through to the end of the War.
Arthur survived the War, as did his brother Charles and cousins Stephen and William. His cousin Jesse Whittaker was killed in action on the Somme on 27th September 1916, and his brother in law Haseley George, who had married his sister May, was also killed in action on 22nd October 1918.
Additional Information
Formerly Hertfordshire Territorials & 1st Battalion Hertfordshire Regiment
Acknowledgments
Roger Yapp - www.backtothefront.org
