William Walter Sears

LEVERSTOCK GREEN WAR MEMORIAL 1914 - 1918

WILLIAM WALTER SEARS 1862 - 1918

William Sears was baptised in the village church on 4th April 1862 having been born the 26th March, he was the second child of Elizabeth and William. The clergy officiating the ceremony spelt the surname as Seear and noted Williams’s trade as a groom. The family were at the time living a few houses along from the White Horse public house.

When Williams family moved to Hornsey he was about ten years old and went to live with his grandmother in Highfield cottages, next to Yew Tree Farm, home to Alfred and Elizabeth Sears and daughter Margaret, Williams second wife. It was here that William met his first wife 21 year old Emma Cull from Paddington, London, working as a laundry maid at Highfield House in Highfield Lane. The pair married at the end of August of 1883 at the church of St Pauls.

By 1891 William working as a joiner and carpenter is living with Emma along with their three children in Rectory Road, Hornsey, all the children had been born in different counties, William in Surrey, Percy in Hornsey, Middlesex and Beatrice in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. With the death of Emma during the summer of 1899 William returned to Hemel Hempstead and married Margaret Sears on 15th August 1900 at St Paul’s church in Hemel Hempstead.

By 1901 William had taken over the Leverstock Green post office with Margaret and daughter Beatrice, as well as running the post office William traded as a grocer and carpenter and over the coming years Margaret gave birth too, Arthur, January 1904, Alfred, January 1906, Henry, November 1907, Una, December 1909, Gwendoline, December 1911 and last Christopher, November 1913.

James Hallett took over the running of the post office during 1908 this left William to concentrate on building work.

Though out the years William helped out with the running of the village representing the parish at various conferences as well as sitting on committees. He also played for the village cricket team and in May 1908, the married men played a game against the single man of the village with a resounding win for the married men, 58 runs to 21 runs. William was out for no runs.

With the start of the war the Hemel Hempstead Volunteer Training Corps a company of 2nd battalion Hertfordshire regiment was set up at a meeting in the town hall on 6th January 1915. This would be the First World Wars Home Guard, for men who were too old or too young to serve in the army or had reserved occupations. Over 100 men enrolled in the first fortnight. The training Corp was self funding and members were to provide their own rifles and uniforms. A rifle would cost £3.00. Mr Sears was the Leverstock Green district secretary.

Having served for six months William is not satisfied with staying in the Home Guard and aged 52 years is too old for the army so some improvisation would be needed. After deciding to enlist into the regular army he walked into the recruitment office in Watford in September 1915 giving his age as 40 years. On the enrolment form William makes no mention of his first wife or the three children he had with her, only the six children with Margaret are recorded which all support his new age.

His trade being carpenter and joiner would put him into the Royal Engineers with a service number 121303. His height was 5 foot 8 half inches. As engineers were in high demand through the war not much attention was given to the age of skilled volunteers.

The Royal Engineers carried out a variety of roles for the Army both in the field and along the Lines of Communication. These tasks were organised by different types of units, none of which was bigger than a company in size. These units were attached to Divisions or to larger formations at Corps, Army or even General Head Quarters. The main units of which there were many are Field and the Signals Companies. As they were attached to the fighting portions of the Divisions, these Companies often saw action and took part in the fighting.

A field Company was composed of 217 men who represented a variety of trades required by the Army, included in each company were 15 Blacksmiths, 20 Bricklayers, 40 Carpenters, 5 Clerks, 12 Masons, 6 Painters, 8 Plumbers, plus surveyors, draughtsmen, wheelwrights, engine drivers and so on.

Six month of training and service at home followed before disembarkation in France on 14th March 1916 as a member of 9th Field Service Company who were the Engineers to the 4th Infantry Division. The 4th Division went "over the top" on July 1st the first day of the battle of the Somme, unfortunately this division's attack failed and was withdrawn from the front, but its Royal Engineers stayed for a week serving at the front working on trenches with a move by the end of July to Ypres in Belgium, again working on front line and support trenches. Whilst serving in the Ypres salient William had an accident which resulted in the loss of his right eye.

This extract is from an army form for injuries received whilst not in action which states on the

                   "15th August 1916 on the canal bank Ypres whilst working on the water supply this accident occurred and was in no way to blame.                                                                   The disability is of a serious nature and in all probability will interfere with his future efficiency as a soldier."

William returned to England on 1st September 1916 and would spend time in three separate hospitals before arriving at Newark. By mid February and after a number of doctors had looked over William a medical form with the correct age of 54 years and a report of how his injury occurred.

"When working on piping outside the dugout a splinter of steel struck right eye, conjunctivitis set in and gradually got blind in same."

As the army did not know what to do with William he is listed as unclassified, unfit for active service and not much use for work at an army camp at home.

In June 1917 the pension board awarded a pension of 10 shillings per week between each of his six children, and 13 shillings and 9 pence for William and stated again that "William was in no way to blame and the injury occurred on active service" and is transferred to class P army reserve.

By October and still in the army but living at home in Leverstock Green, William is diagnosed as having cancer in the stomach, he put this complaint down to receiving a blow to the stomach while in a trench in France, little notice was taken at the time. The pain became very much worse whilst he was a patient in the 2nd London General Hospital for treatment to his eye and became a lot worse as time went by. His weight was now down to 8 stone 10 ozs when he enlisted he weighed 13 stone. On a doctors report for November 1917. William explanation for getting cancer was by the blow to his stomach and irregular diet while in France. The doctor wrote "A doubtful case as regards cancer, but man may be given the benefit.  He seems in a bad way." The army medical board agreed and recorded "probable soon be fatal." William is listed with a 100% disability.

William died at home on 1st January 1918 of malignant disease of the Pylorus and Exhaustion aged 55 years, the oldest person to be placed on the war memorial. His address was given on the death certificate as St Michael’s Rural Road.

An article in the Gazette for 5th January 1918 reported.

We deeply regret having to record the death of a well-known and much respected local tradesman, who was truly to be recorded as a war hero.  Mr W.W. Sears, of Leverstock Green, whose death occurred last Thursday from an internal complaint, from which he had suffered since last June.  He was unfortunately wounded at Ypres, losing one eye whilst serving in the Royal Engineers and from the time he left hospital he had never regained his health.  Mr Sears who was born at Leverstock Green, his family having lived in the village for many years, left there at the age of ten, and has resided there during the last 17 years.  Before he enlisted in the royal Engineers he was one of the Hemel Hempstead Volunteers.  He was also a member of the local Conservative association.  It seems hard to realise a man of so strong and active constitution should have passed away at such a comparatively early age.  His death is a great loss not only to Leverstock Green itself but in the neighbourhood generally.  The internment will take place at Leverstock Green today.  One of his sons is at present at Sandwich, serving also in the royal Engineers, but owing to a motor cycle accident whilst serving in France he is now retained for home service.

The following week a second article appeared in the Gazette giving details of the funeral which shows the esteem William had within the community.

Two days after his death William is officially discharged from the Army, as he died whilst in the army he should be recorded with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission but is not and is also entitled to a head stone.

MEMORIAL

William is remembered on the Leverstock Green War memorial as well as Hemel Hempstead town War Memorial.