Name
William Nathan Medcalf
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
10270
Essex Regiment
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
Headstone Inscription
No Report
UK & Other Memorials
Wheathampstead Village Memorial(*1)
Pre War
William Nathan was born in 1895 in Ballingdon, Sudbury, Suffolk to William Medcalf, a commercial traveller, and Emma (nee Theobald). The 1901 Census records William and his parents living at Ballingdon Street Ballingdon Suffolk with Maurice (born 1884), Torquill (born 1885), Arthur (born 1887), Herbert (born 1889), May (born 1891), Ellen (born 1893), Frederick (born 1900). On the 1911 Census the Family were still living at Ballingdon Street but now with the addition of Vera (born 1904). There was also the eldest son Clement (born 1881).
William married Dorothy I Maud Henley in 1917 in St Albans district. He died on 16 Jan 1921 and was buried in Wheathampstead on 22 Jan 1921.
Wartime Service
No Service record was found. William enlisted on 14 Oct 1913 as Private in the Essex Regiment, this would normally have been in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion for initial training before allocation to an active Battalion. His Service Number of 10270 seems to have been issued sometime around Feb/Mar 1914. This may have been just prior to his posting to South Africa where 1st Battalion were stationed in Durban and Mauritius. However the 1st returned to UK in Dec 1914 and after re-equipping were sent to Egypt in Mar 1915 landing at Gallipoli (Cape Helles) on 25 Apr 1915. William left UK to join them on 10 Jun 1915 until the evacuation in Jan 1916.
Additional Information
Brother Frederick served with Royal Naval Air Service / Royal Air Force from 16 Jan 1918 as AC2 246670 and was demobilised 18 Oct 1919.
* This name was added to the memorial in 2014, but doesn't seem to appear in the CWGC database
Acknowledgments
Neil Cooper
