William's Story.
Most men who lied about their age to enlist did so because they were too young to join. William Queeney was, almost certainly too old.
He’d been born near Wednesbury in Staffordshire but lived in Stockport, the 1891 census show’s William age 24 living at 13 Kershaw’s Place, Duke Street, Stockport, working as a fireman, stationary engine, and living with his father who was a widower and his widowed sister Mary Quinlan and her four-year-old daughter Ann. By 1911 William was living at 1 Lomas Court, Lord Street, Stockport, with his partner Elizabeth Shaw, they had three children Mathew 11, Annie 7, and Elizabeth 4. The census for 1911 shows that one child had died.
His service papers show that, when he enlisted on 7 September 1914, he had given his age as 44 – just old enough to be considered. He was, in fact some four years older. He was small, his height is listed as 5 feet 2 ¼ inches weighing 100lbs, he had a fresh complexion, dark grey eyes and brown hair. He states that he wasn’t married
After training, he was posted to the 1st Garrison Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment which was on Empire defence duties at Gibraltar. He returned home in March 1916, suffering from Tuberculosis and admitted to the Southwark Military Hospital, East Dulwich and was discharged from the army the following month. His army pension papers show some discrepancies which perhaps suggest that the authorities were trying to avoid giving William a full pension. Whilst it was accepted that the TB was not caused by his army service, there is a statement that it was aggravated by his service at Gibraltar. Eventually in July 1916 he was awarded a pension for two of the children, Annie and Elizabeth, Mathew is listed as over age.
On 17 January 1917 he died of TB and haemorrhage of the lungs.
Men whose deaths are linked to their service were entitled to be regarded as “war deaths”, even if they died after discharge. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission still considers cases brought to its attention, in 2009 thanks to information supplied by John Hartley, William was listed on the Brockwood 1914-18 war memorial.