World War 1
Search the known records to date of those lost from the wider Alnwick area in World War 1
Generally showing where they are commemorated, when they died and some basic facts about each person. There are gaps, however, so if you can fill in any missing details do please contact us.
William Willis
Forename(s):
William
Surname:
Willis
Initial(s):
W
Service Number:
268354
Rank:
Private
Regiment:
Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), 1/8th Battalion (Leeds Rifles) Territorial Force
Died:
13/11/1917
Aged:
27
Buried:
Menin Road South Military Cemetery
Service History:
Enlisted at Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland.
Willis's unit entered the fray around Ypres in October 1917. On 9 October the Battle of Poelkapelle began. It was badly prepared & executed, & conditions were atrocious. 1/8th Battalion (Leeds Rifles), at the centre of the attack at Wallemolen, was met with ferocious machine-gun fire & suffered heavy casualties.
The First Battle of Passchendaele followed on 12 October, in similarly atrocious conditions, & again resulted in heavy casualties. The Second Battle of Passchendaele eventually achieved the Allies objective but at enormous cost, to both sides.
Willis was among those wounded & subsequently died of wounds received.
(Source: 'Felton War Memorial: The Men behind the names'; Eleanor George [formerly Hall]; 2009; p. 17)
Background:
Born 1901, at Felton, Northumberland, the seventh of nine children born to John Willis (a Joiner, Cartwright & Sawyer with his own business at Bridge End, Felton) & his wife Isabella (née Middlemiss).
In 1911 Willis was a Footman employed by Gerald Montresor Harding, a retired Army Major, at Thorpe Hall, near Barnard Castle, County Durham but he was living at Newcastle when he enlisted at Elswick.
(Source: 'Felton War Memorial: The Men behind the names'; Eleanor George [formerly Hall]; 2009; p. 17)
Local Memorial:
Felton War Memorial incorporating Acton, Eshott, Swarland & Thirston