{"id":150,"date":"2016-11-18T14:50:08","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T14:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/rochesterborstalfirstworldwar\/?p=150"},"modified":"2016-11-18T14:50:08","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T14:50:08","slug":"ashton-walter-arthur-1898-1916","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/rochesterborstalfirstworldwar\/2016\/11\/18\/ashton-walter-arthur-1898-1916\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashton, Walter Arthur (1898-1916)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eldest son of Arthur and Emily Ashton.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1901 Census aged 3 living at 22 Montfort Road, Strood with his parents and 3 sisters. His father is a bricklayer.<\/p>\n

1911 Census aged 13 at 3 Moore Street, Strood with his parents and has gained a younger brother.<\/p>\n

Military Career<\/strong><\/p>\n

Private 11th<\/sup> Battalion Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent) Regiment. Service No G\/10240<\/p>\n

Medical taken on 9th<\/sup> October 1915 Height 5 feet 4 inches. Weight 106lbs. Chest 34 inches<\/p>\n

Enlisted in Chatham 18 October 1915, lying about his age, giving it as 19 years 4 months. Trade – Clerk<\/p>\n

Embarked Southampton 2 May 2015, landing at Le Havre the following day.<\/p>\n

19 August 1916 Applied Paid Lance Corporal<\/p>\n

19 September 1916 Wounded in Action. Compound Fracture Humerus<\/p>\n

To England H.S. ? ex 1 Can G.H. Etaples<\/p>\n

Died of wounds 22 September 1916 in Military Hospital Newcastle. Family were notified by telegram the following day.<\/p>\n

Buried in Strood Cemetery (C432). He is not listed by the CWGC, Kent Fallen or on Every Man Remembered website<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"DSCI0016.JPG\"
DSCI0016.JPG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

His mother acknowledged receipt of his effects by handwritten note on February 12th<\/sup> 1917<\/p>\n

His father acknowledged receipt of his Memorial Scroll from the regiment in February 1920<\/p>\n

His mother acknowledged receipt of his medals 21 September 1921<\/p>\n

His effects totalled \u00a33 4s 2d. \u00a0and were left to his mother.<\/p>\n

The diary pages the day he was wounded aren\u2019t in the War Diary for the Battalion but the 122nd<\/sup> Infantry Brigade were moved en masse by train to Oisemont on 16th<\/sup> September. This was during the Battle of Flers Courcelette on the Somme in which the tank made its first appearance. The battalion took very heavy casualties in this period.<\/p>\n

Ancestry.com sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

Military-Genealogy.com, comp. UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008<\/p>\n

England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.<\/p>\n

National Army Museum; Chelsea, London, England; Soldiers’ Effects Records, 1901-60; NAM Accession Number: 1991-02-333; Record Number Ranges: 814001-815500; Reference: 494<\/p>\n

First World War and Army of Occupation War Diaries; Class: WO 95; Item: 4 Piece 2634\/4: 11 Battalion Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (1916 May – 1917 Oct)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Findmypast sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

1901 Census RG13 Piece 721 Folio 48 Page 25<\/p>\n

1911 Census RG14PN3869 RG78PN147 RD45 SD2 ED14 SN235<\/p>\n

WO 363 – First World War service records ‘burnt documents’<\/p>\n

Other Sources<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.kentfallen.com\/west%20kent%20pages.html<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.janetandrichardsgenealogy.co.uk\/Pte%20W%20A%20Ashton.html<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Biography compiled by Sean Ryan<\/p>\n