Son of John and Fanny Wood, of 60, Temple Rd., Prenton, Birkenhead
Census Details
1901 Census -
Living at 29, Station Road, Prescot, were John Wood (40), A company secretary, his wife Fanny (39), and their children Harold (11), Lilian (9), Dorothy (5) and Marion (2). The 3 daughters had all been born in Prescot.
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations
Birth registered Q1 1890, West Derby, 8b, 562
SDGW – Where Born
Liverpool
Enlisted
Edinburgh
Resided
Prescot, Lancs
How Died
Killed In Action
Theatre of War
Gallipoli
Research Ref. No.
P302
Service Details
Harold Edwin Wood attended PrescotGrammar School, starting there in 1899.
Prescot Parish Magazine of 28th July 1915 reported “Mr. Richardson has given me a list of Grammar School Old Boys who have enlisted for the war. It contains no less than 52 names and already two of them have given their lives for their country, viz. Harold E. Wood, Corporal, 5th Royal Scots killed at the Gallipoli landing, April 1915 and Norman Beardmore, 20, Lance Corporal of the Royal Engineers at Ypres, 19th May 1915”.
Harold Wood’s Medal Index Card shows that he arrived in Gallipoli on 25th April 1915, entitling him to the 1914-1915 Star in addition to his British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Harold Wood’s inscription on the Helles memorial
Private 43361 Robert WOODS
Unit/Regiment
16th Bn, York and Lancaster Regiment
Date of Death
31/01/1919
Age at Death
33
Burial/Memorial & Reference
Prescot Churchyard
Middle East part
Census Details
1901 Census -
The Woods family lived at 24 Beaconsfield Street. Robert Woods, a 43 year old Watch Pinion Maker and his wife Elizabeth (42), had children Robert (13) and Elizabeth (10). Also there were mother-in-law Elizabeth Orford, an 81 year old widow and her 41 year old Son William, a Tool Maker
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations
Death registered Q1/1920, Prescot, 8b, 1415
Notes
Transferred to (211458) 360th Reserve Employment Co, Labour Corps
Research Ref. No.
P303
Research ongoing
Robert Woods grave in Prescot Churchyard
Private 332068 George Charley WOOLLARD
Unit/Regiment
"C" Coy, 2nd/9th Bn, King's (Liverpool Regiment)
Date of Death
01/06/1918
Age at Death
27
Burial/Memorial & Reference
Couin New British Cemetery
F 34
CWGC Family Details
(if shown)
Son of George and Mary Ann Woollard, of Ashley, Newmarket. Native of Cowlinge, Newmarket
Census Details
1901 census -
The Woollard family lived at Queen Street, Cowlinge in Suffolk. George Wollard was a 40 year old Carpenter and resided with his wife Mary Ann, a 37 year old Tailoress, and children Violet (11), George (9), Laura (7), Mary (6) and Mabel (9 months)
Woollard’s Medal Index Card. He qualified for the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Private 285049 Ernest WORTH
Unit/Regiment
9th Bn., Welsh Regiment
Date of Death
20/09/1917
Age at Death
24
Burial/Memorial & Reference
Tyne Cot Memorial
Panel 93 to 94
Census Details
1901 Census –
Ernest Worth was aged 7 and lived at the Prescot Union Workhouse (now Whiston Hospital).It appears that his sister Rachel, aged 9, is also with him in the workhouse. His parents cannot be traced.
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations
Birth registered Q1/1893, Prescot, 8b, 693
SDGW – Where Born
Ditton
Enlisted
Liverpool
Resided
St. Helens, Lancs
How Died
Killed In Action
Theatre of War
France & Flanders
Notes
Formerly Private 201421, Liverpool Regt.
Research Ref. No.
P305
Service Details
The Parish Magazine of 28th November 1917 reported “Pte. Ernest Worth, 24, 5th Welsh Battalion. Killed in action in France20th September 1917, of 6, Carvers Yard”.
Private Worth’s Medal Index Card, which shows his service with the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) as well as the Welsh Regiment, and his entitlement to the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Ernest Worth’s inscription on the Tyne Cot memorial
Private 2064 William W WYCHERLEY
Unit/Regiment
2nd Battalion, Manchester Regiment
Date of Death
12/09/1917
Age at Death
24
Burial/Memorial & Reference
Coxyde Military Cemetery
III G 6
CWGC Family Information
Husband of May Wycherley, of 18, Queen St., Cheetham Hill, Manchester.
Census Details
1901 Census –
John (44, a Carter for a Coal Agent) and his wife Mary (40), lived at 37, Eccleston Lane Ends with their six sons Ernest (19, a labourer at the Glass Works), John (12), William (8), Job (5), Reuben (4) and Simeon (12 months)
Birth/Marriage/Death Registrations
The birth of William Walmsley Witcherley was registered Q3/1892, Prescot, Volume 8b, Page 701
Notes
Note occasional spellings of surname as “WITCHERLEY/WITCHERLY”
Although William Wycherley had moved to Manchester, other family members remained in and around Prescot. His brother John Henry Wycherley, served with the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry and is recorded as living at Beesley Court, St Helens Road.
Research Ref. No.
P306
Service Details
Private William Wycherley was one of the men executed by his own side during the Great War. Generally, these men are titled "Shot at Dawn". This work does not cast any judgment on the men or their actions, especially Pte Wycherley. It simply reports the facts as they have been found.
Although it is not clear exactly when William joined the army, his marriage certificate to May Owen, dated 16th June 1915, shows him as serving as a Private with the Manchester Regiment.At the time he is recorded as being 22 years old with an occupation of Grocer's Assistant. His address was 1, Beesley Street, Prescot. His wife Mary was aged 25 and lived in Fallowfield, Manchester.
Private William Wycherley had been absent on at least two occasions prior to the final case, which resulted in his execution. His initial offence, for which the punishment is not known, was to overstay his leave in the UK by seven weeks. He then deserted as his battalion, the 2nd Manchesters, was making its way to the front line. Again, the punishment is not known.
Then on 25th June 1917, Private Wycherley complained of feeling sick just before going over the top and he disappeared. His battalion had just recently taken over the inner sector of the Nieuport bridgehead, close to the sea. No offensive operations were planned for this sector, indeed any action was likely to be purely defensive, as the battalion had been ordered to retain the line at all costs.
It seems likely that Pte. Wycherley's trip "over the top" was to be part of a trench raid, perhaps gathering intelligence on the enemy troops facing them.
Two days after going missing, William Wycherley was arrested at Etaples, where he gave false identity details. Once his true identify was uncovered, he was returned to the northern Belgian coast to face his punishment and was executed on 12th September 1917 at Coxyde. He was 24 years old.
William Wycherley’s Medal Index Card, with his name spelt incorrectly, shows that he was only entitled to the 1914-1915 Star and that he was shot for desertion
Private Wycherley’s grave at CoxydeMilitaryCemetery
