Family background

William Attwood moved to Linton after the First World War and we include him on this web site as a former soldier who served in The Great War and who lived in the villages after the war.

We believe William Attwood was born in 1896 in Walton, Warwickshire, the eldest son of William and Edith Attwood. William (senior) was a waggoner on a farm, while William (Jnr) was a gardener in 1911, living in Walton.

Service record

William (Jnr) served as Gunner 27075 William Attwood of the Royal Field Artillery, first going to France on the 21st May 1915. William's service record has not survived, but a record for his admission on the 1st May 1918 into No 18 General Hospital gives us some clues as to his service. William had suffered a severe gunshot wound to his right leg on the 28th April 1918 and had been treated at No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station and then passed via 34 Ambulance Train to No. 18 General Hospital in Camiers, which was at the time run by the Americans. After 4 days of treatment, William was transferred (on the 4th May) to Hospital Ship, probably for repatriation to the UK. These records identify that he was a Gunner in A Battery of 47 Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, part of the artillery of 14th (Light) Division.

A Battery 47 Brigade RFA had just spent a few days, from the 21st to the 27th April 1918 resting near Delettes, France. On the 28th April the war diary records:

This area where 47 Brigade relieved another unit is North West of Bethune near the village of Gonnehem, and is an area that was captured by the Germans in April 1918 as part of their major offensive in 1918 that pushed the Allied Armies back a substantial distance from their original front lines and caused massive loss of life and injuries. One of the two men reported as injured that day is likely to be William Attwood. We do not know whether this was the end of William's overseas service.

After the war

We learned of William's connection, post-war, with Linton when the Pension Record Cards were digitised. Unusually, William has two pension record cards detailing four different addresses. Around 1919, on his discharge from the Army on the 5th March 1919, William was at Rise, Skirlaugh, near Hull. Between March 1919 and January 1921, William moved to 6 Victoria Drive, Ilkley. Then, on the 6th January 1921, he moved to Walton Wood Cottages, Wellesbourne, Warks. Less than a month later, William moved back to Yorkshire and has an address near Stamford Bridge on the 12th February 1921. Finally, he moved to Linton. The electoral rolls for Linton for 1931-1934 show a William George Attwood living at Linton, and in 1937 and 1938, his address is Northgate Lane, Linton. No other records that we have found show a middle name for William, so we are not certain this is the same man. If it is, then William moved at some stage before the 1939 National Registration Act survey as he was then living at Hall Garth, Linton. If this is the correct man, he had married Beatrice Annie Hallgarth in 1924, and they had had three children between 1925 and 1928.

William's pension card shows he was claiming a pension for his war service due to a gun shot wound to his right leg.

Biography last updated 25 March 2022 15:40:20.