1887-1917

The Wheelwright

Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due course we shall reap⁷.

William’s life began on a fine²⁸ Spring day in 1887²¹, on the outskirts of the bustling market town of Ellesmere¹.  He was the fourth child of parents Mary and John Young, a hardworking smallholder.  With much work to be done, and sporadic income¹¹, William would have learnt from an early age to help around the smallholding, with time for play a bonus⁴⁷.  The unexpected death of his Father²², just three years later undoubtedly rocked the family, as did the hardships inflicted by the following severe Winter¹⁵.  Left to support five young children³ and perhaps in need of family support, Mary moved her family back to her own childhood roots, in the tiny¹⁵ hamlet of Kenwick’s Park, Cockshutt⁴.

Following this early traumatic time, William’s life seems to have settled into one of simple routine in the “quiet content (of the) byways as well as the highways”¹⁵ of the Parish, attending Sunday Worship at SS Simon & Jude’s with his family¹⁹.  When the “defective plain glass windows were replaced by the present coloured ones at Easter, 1894”¹⁵, the wriggling little boy was probably relieved to have something different to look at for a while!

At around the same time, William began attending school³¹, accompanying his siblings on the daily walk there and back, continuing with his chores, fitting them around the school day⁴⁷.  Whenever possible, he would have worked for one of the local farmers, his small pay going into the household finances⁴⁸.

On leaving school, William began an apprenticeship as a Wheelwright⁴, with Mr Thos. Sutton^46/31.  Over a period of fifteen years^31/45, he became a skilled carpenter, learning how to select and manage timber and the construction processes to use⁴⁵.  By the time he had become Master Craftsman and a member of the Egerton Lodge of Oddfellows³¹, he was both knowledgeable and accomplished⁴⁵; an asset in keeping trade flowing through the village before the advent of motor vehicles.

By 1916, with no end in sight to the war, it was clear that the skills William had mastered were a fundamental necessity in keeping the war effort moving, whether men, armaments or supplies.  In November³¹, he enlisted with the Royal Engineers⁴⁰ and, on going to France, was attached to the 11^th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment (Midlands Pioneers)²⁶ assigned to logistical and construction duties⁴⁹.  Soon after, Private W Young 46645¹⁹ was deployed to Belgium²⁶, where, in October 1917, the Battalion was under orders to construct a light railway in the Second Army area⁴⁹.  The work was arduous and the conditions dangerous, as the Battalion struggled with quagmire, induced by incessant rains⁴⁹, and continual heavy shell fire and mustard gas attacks⁴⁹.  The death and sickness rates were appallingly high⁴⁹.

On 27^th October 1917, William Young was killed in action¹⁹.  The Diary entry for that date states, “Work continued as before.  3 men proceeded on leave.  2 men of B Coy were killed and 5 wounded.  2 men were despatched to the Base unfit”⁴⁹.

Posthumously awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal¹³ William was laid to rest in Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, where his headstone reads, “In Jesu’s Keeping”¹⁹.

On 22^nd November 1917³¹, a Memorial Service was held in the Parish Church of Ss Simon & Jude, Cockshutt in tribute to Private W Young, a young man of “quiet disposition … much respected by all”^31.  In a quiet act of remembrance, the following inscription was added to his parents’ headstone²⁹ in the Churchyard of Ss Simon & Jude:

WILLIAM, youngest son of the above, killed in action 27 Oct 1917, laid to rest Reservoir Cemetery, Ypres, aged 30

We Will Remember Him.

Private William Young, 46645, 11^th Bn. Leicestershire Regiment.

Killed in action in Belgium on 27^th October 1917.

Buried at Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, Belgium. Grave I. I. 32.

The fighting man shall from the sun
Take warmth, and life from the glowing earth;
Speed with the light-foot winds to run,
And with the trees to newer birth;
And find, when fighting shall be done,
Great rest and fullness after dearth²⁴.