Name: William Kelly
Rank: Private
Unit/Regiment: 5th (Reserve) Battalion, The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)
Service Number: 79645
Date of Death: 12 September 1918
Cemetery: Batley
William Kelly was born in Batley on 03 May 1887, and baptised at St. Mary of the Angels on 15 May. His parents were Batley-born John Kelly and his Liverpool-born wife Annie (née Trainer). The couple married at St. Mary’s on 05 July 1884, with William the second of their seven children.
Eldest son James was born in 1885, but survived for only nine months. After William came daughter Mary Jane (born 1890); Ann (born 1893); John Thomas (born 1896, died 1897), John Joseph (born 1898) and Thomas Edward (1901).
The family lived at Yard 2, Commercial Street in 1891, with John described as a coal miner hewer and Annie a woollen weaver. A decade later their address was Fleming Square, with John still a coal miner. William, now aged 13, had employment as a hurrier in a coal mine.
John died in 1903, and the following year Annie married Sligo-born bricklayer’s labourer Michael Kilroy. They had one son, Bernard, in 1906. In 1911 they were living at Fleming Street. Annie was once again working as a weaver.
William married Mary Cairns at St. Mary’s on 11 February 1911. Less than two months later, as documented in the 1911 census, the young couple were living with Mary’s parents at Grange Road, Batley. William worked as a coal miner hewer and Mary worked as a rag sorter in a woollen mill. The couple subsequently moved to 1 Spa Street and went onto have two daughters – Agnes born in 1912 and Annie in 1913.
Following the outbreak of war, William attested in Batley on 11 December 1915, just within the deadline date for the ending of the Derby Scheme. This scheme was introduced that autumn to try to drive up dwindling recruitment numbers. Under it eligible men, between the ages of 18-40, could still choose to enlist for immediate service; or they could attest voluntarily for the duration of the war, but defer this service until officially called up. As a further incentive, it was guaranteed that married men would not be called up until all single men had been mobilised.
William chose the deferred service route. This meant he was given a day’s army pay for the day he attested. He was then transferred to the Army Reserve and sent back home to carry on his civilian life until required. He would also have been given an armlet with a red crown signifying he had volunteered, thus avoiding any white feather censure, or other forms of negativity, for shirking his duty.
William was finally mobilised on 21 June 1918 and posted to his battalion the following day. This was the 5th (Reserve) Battalion The Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), based at Rugeley Camp, Cannock Chase, Staffordshire. His papers described him as being 5’7½” tall, with blue eyes, dark hair and a sallow complexion. His occupation was a miner. His character on discharge was stated as good, with no sign of drunkenness.
From the outset of his military service he clearly was not a well man. He only spent one night under canvas with his unit before being admitted to the Rugeley Camp hospital. Rather than moving with his Battalion to their new base at Hollesley Heath Camp, Woodbridge, Suffolk, this was where he remained until 13 August 1918, when wheels were set in motion for his army discharge. He was sent home to Spa Street to await instructions as to his final discharge. He was given £1 advance and £3 in lieu of civilian clothes.
His discharge was officially confirmed from 03 September 1918. Suffering from phthisis (the term for a wasting disease, most commonly pulmonary tuberculosis), he was deemed as no longer physically fit for war service. The military authorities were at pains to point out that this illness was not due to his military service, as he had suffered no hardship or strain. He was awarded a weekly pension of 27s 6d from 04 September 1918.
He died on 12 September 1918. Because it was not attributed to his military service, he does not have a CWGC headstone. Instead he is buried in a family grave in Batley cemetery. He is, however, remembered on Batley War Memorial (with both his widow and parish priest Father Lea putting forward his name), though his surname is recorded as Kelley. He is also commemorated on the St. Mary’s Church Memorial.
Because he never served overseas he has no campaign medals,
His widow was awarded a pension of 15s. a week with effect from 11 June 1919. Following an appeal this was uprated to 44s. 2d. per week to include a children’s allowance, backdated to August 1922. She married Walter Haley in 1931, and died in 1954.
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Some Sources Used (not directly referenced):
• Army Service Records
• Burial Registers (various).
• Censuses, England and Wales (various).
• GRO Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes.
• Newspapers (various).
• Parish Registers (various).
• Pension Records.
• The Long, Long Trail website.
Past To Present Genealogy 