Willson Kenwick NUNNERLEY

1898-1917

The Gentleman Farmer

Until the Day Dawn⁴

Willson Kenwick Nunnerley was born on the 13^th November 1898⁷, Kenwick Park⁴⁵, Cockshutt². He was the youngest² of a long line of children born to Sarah Anne and affluent Gentleman Farmer William Nunnerley².

As the nineteenth century drew to a close, Willson began taking his early steps into childhood; growing up on the prosperous and sprawling farm estate in the tranquil, but by no means prosaic⁹ hamlet, was undoubtedly an exciting place for his burgeoning sense of adventure as he explored the “verdant ridges and low rounded knolls … quiet woodlands and plantations”³⁹. On Sundays, however, he would have been expected to be quieter and calmer, with the morning spent in the company of his family at the weekly Service in the Parish Church of Ss Simon & Jude⁹. Nevertheless, the ride in the family chauffeured car³would have been quite a thrill and undoubtedly piqued his interest in modes of transport which didn’t require horsepower.

With the Edwardian²⁰ era drawing to a close, Willson’s life changed direction as formal education beckoned; by the time he was eight, he was boarding at Ruthin Grammar School³⁵, where, seemingly impassioned about competitive sport, many of his “happiest hours were spent”²⁶ on the school field.

With the accession of George V²¹to the throne, Willson’s life changed course yet again, as he made the transition to Rossall School³²in Lancashire; it was here that he would have learnt to live and work by its motto, Mens agitat Molem (Mind Over Matter)³² in the pursuit of success.³²

By the time Willson had left school, the world had been plunged into one of the most catastrophic conflicts it has ever known. Too young to legally enlist¹⁵, he spent the first two years of the war assisting his Father² managing the farm¹⁸, many miles distant from the terrible destruction across the sea. But as the demand for seemingly endless numbers of recruits continued unabated, the rules regarding enlistment were changed in early 1916⁴². Quite possibly, Willson had been frustrated at being held back from attesting earlier, but now he had the opportunity he had been waiting for. Thus, in September 1916 at the age of “17 years 9 months & 14 days”¹⁷, he joined the Inns of Court Officer Training Cadets (OTC), Class B Reserve¹⁷, at Berkhamstead¹⁷, where he underwent intensive basic officer training in skills such as map reading, bombing, musketry, leadership and command²².

Having procured his pilot’s certificate, on 20^th April 1917, Private WK Nunnerley, 10776¹⁷, was Gazetted 2^nd Lieutenant (Temp), obtaining his wings on 4^th August 1917¹³. Assigned to 13^th Squadron¹² he embarked on what would be the final, short chapter of his young life.

A year on from his attestation, 2^nd Lieutenant WK Nunnerley had joined the BEF in France¹³, where his duties were to observe and photograph the enemy’s artillery and carry-out night-time bombing raids, often engaging in aerial combat²².

Three months later, on 5^th December 1917¹², despite being driven by the “incomprehensibility of being beaten”⁴⁰, 2^nd Lt. WK Nunnerley was killed in action¹². He had been carrying out artillery registration⁴⁴ near Arras²³. Laid to rest in Duisans British Cemetery, Etrun, France, he was posthumously awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal⁸.

A Memorial Service for 2^nd Lt. WK Nunnerley was held in the Parish Church of Ss Simon & Jude Cockshutt on 19th December 1917⁴⁵. Aged 19 years and three weeks, he was the youngest man from Cockshutt to be killed in The Great War.

On 3^rd April 1919, Ss Simon & Jude’s PCC unanimously approved the plan and inscription for his memorial tablet and that a faculty (permission) be applied for⁹; it was subsequently placed on the North wall next to the pulpit.

We Will Remember Him.