William Dobbins
This name is on St Mark's War Memorial, Kennington Oval, London SE11
(William Dobbins)
Service no A/3469
Rifleman, King's Royal Rifle Corps, 2nd Battalion
Died of wounds on 14 April 1916
Remembered at Lillers Communal Cemetery, France and at St Mark's Church
Lived at Upper Kennington Lane
William Dobbins - a good bad boyThe story of William Dobbins, laid out in a few tattered sheets in the National Archive, is one of the most vivid I have found. One of at least seven children of Irish immigrants William Dobbins (born 1859 in Limerick) and Ellen Dobbins (born 1858, also from Limerick), Dobbins was born in Westminster in around 1885.His siblings wereMary, born 1883Ellen,born 1887Mary Jane, born 1889Joseph, born 1891Robert, born 1895Catherine, born 1897In 1901 the family were living at 1 Albert Buildings, in the parish of St Mary the Less, Lambeth. Both William Dobbins Senior and Junior described themselves as builder's labourers, and Ellen as a charwoman. Their eldest daughter, Mary, was working as a domestic servant. I have not been able to trace the family on the 1911 census, with the exception of William Dobbins (junior) himself. He was at that time in H.M. Prison, Wandsworth. His crime is unknown but he is described on the census as a 26-year-old single painter's labourer.
So, already we get a picture of a bit of a tearaway. Next he pops up on 28 August 1914 volunteering for the adventure of war. He states that he is a carman (that is, he drove a vehicle of some sort to deliver goods).
The attesting officer, Harry A. Edgar, asks him:
- How old are you?
- Twenty-six years, 234 days, says William. This is three years after he states he is 26 in the 1911 census.
We are already primed for anomalies in the life of William Dobbins.
- Have you ever served in the Royal Navy, the Army...?
- Yes, says William, the Royal Fusiliers, But I was "too short"
- Have you ever been rejected as unfit for the military...?
- Yes, says William, but I was "undersized"
- Are you willing to serve in the Army Service Corps?
- Yes, says William.
As it turned out he joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a Rifleman, and we are left with the distinct impression of a small and energetic man, ready for action.
Unfortunately, we cannot know what Dobbins actually looked like, how tall he was, or wasn't, how heavy or how many inches around his chest. But we know he was accepted as fit and off he went to war, ending up with the 2nd Battalion on 29 November 1914.
What happened next is shocking to see, written in its bare outline on his casualty sheet:
W. Pringle writes in a careful hand:
Tried by FGCM 16/2/15
1. When on active service "striking his sup. officer being in the execution of his office"
2. When on A.S. [active service] using insubordinate language to his superior officer"
Sentence 5 years penal servitude. Sentence commuted to 2 years impr [?]
H.S. Authy. A.G.G. H.2 No 13/121
d/22.3.15
If Dobbins is telling the truth in his papers, he had experience, in the army at least, and possibly in some frightening, stressful situation, he was moved to express his feelings.
Then, in another hand another officer has written "Died of wounds."
On 17 April 1916, W. Pringle adds to the record. His words are struck through but, clearly, they have been actioned:
2. The sentence passed by F.G.C.M. remitted by the G.O.C. 2nd Infy Brigade on the ground of good behaviour in the presence of the enemy with effect from 3/4/16
[?] Post of orders nd K.R.R.C. No 248 d/17.4.16
Dobbins died on 14 April 1916.