William's Story.
Lance Sergeant 250926 William Walters.
127th Brigade, 42nd Division (East Lancs), 1V Corps, 3rdArmy.
Buried Queens Cemetery, Bucquoy, Pas de Calais.
Grave no 111. D.10.
Son of Clara Walters of 222 Newtown Coppice Road Poynton.
William had a sister Fanny, and a brother James.
Previous to enlistment he was employed at Messers S and J Watts of Portland Street Manchester,
Bucquoy was taken by the 7th Division in March, 1917. It was partly lost in April, 1918, after a prolonged and gallant defence by the 62nd (West Riding), 37th and 42nd (East Lancashire) Divisions; it was retaken on the 21st August.
Sergeant William Walters enlisted in Manchester on January 25th, 1916, serving in the 1/6thManchester regiment, Previous to enlistment he was employed at Messers S and J Watts Portland Street Manchester. Many of the 1/6thManchester recruits held white collar positions employed by the City’s legal, financial and stockbroking practices or worked for the major commercial organizations trading and manufacturing cotton goods. Watts warehouse opened in 1856 as a textile warehouse for the wholesale drapery business. At the time it was the largest single-occupancy textile warehouse in Manchester. Today the building is part of the Britannia hotel chain.
William was originally drafted to Egypt late 1916 to defend the Suez Canal. He did not stay there long, as the battalion was posted to France, landing in Marseilles on March 17, 1917.
A letter has been received from the chaplain dated August 23rd, 1918 in which he writes; “I am writing to tell you the sad news that your son fell in battle two days ago, I believe, instantaneously killed by a bullet. I think that you may rest assured that he suffered no pain at all. He was a good soldier and will be greatly missed and sincerely mourned by his comrades. I buried him or rather his body, for he is not dead, just behind the fighting line this afternoon. He was reverently laid to rest quite close to the spot where he died for his country and her great sacred cause. May I, as one who has suffered personal bereavement in the war, assure you and all his dear ones of my own sincere sympathy, and my prayer is that you may all be greatly comforted and strengthened in your great sorrow by the thought of his splendid sacrifice, and, above all, by the knowledge that he and all of you are in the strong wise hands of the heavenly father, whose love will never let his children go.”
BATTLE FOR ALBERT 21-23RDAUGUST 1918
At the beginning of August, a major Allied offensive was launched with the intention of recapturing ground lost in the spring. The next phase was scheduled to commence on 21 August. It would be later officially known as the Battle of Albert and would take place over the same Somme battlefields as the fighting of 1916.
At zero hour 4.55am on August 21stthe guns opened up. The objective was to take Beauregard Dovecot a group of shell shattered tree trunks on high ground where 5 roads meet a few hundred yards from Miraumont. At 5.50am the 6thManchesters alongside the 7thBattalion went over the top advancing under a creeping barrage. Their first objective was to cross a ravine covered by machine guns but fortunately, there was a heavy mist that morning and the troops were able to get in close to the enemy where heavy hand -to -hand fighting ensued.
At 6.55am they advanced further towards the Dovecot and by late afternoon the Dovecot was captured. The Manchester’s then advanced along the ridge clearing enemy dugouts and holding off enemy counter attacks. By the end of the day, the division had captured the high ground dominating the Ancre. The newly won positions had to be consolidated and all preparations were made for the inevitable counter attacks, so work went on steadily throughout the night.
Sometime during the day, William was killed.
The inscription on Williams headstone says
“Till the day dawns and the shadows flee away”
James Walters served in the 15thGlostershire Regiment and was wounded twice; fortunately, he survived the war.
During the 1stworld war, many employees of S & J Watts lost their lives in battle. The company marked this by erecting a memorial in 1922 in the main entrance to the building on Portland Street. A bronze sculpture, "the Sentry", stands in an arched niche on the right, and on the opposite side is a marble plaque commemorating the dead.
Cheshire County Memorial Project would like to thank Phil Underwood for compiling this page on William