Willie Heywood

William Heywood was the elder brother of Horace above. He was born in 1886 in Middlestown and was already working as a coal miner in 1901. By 1911 he was married and living at 14 Golden Square, Horbury with his wife Sarah and daughters Annie and Irene.

William became a Private in the 9th Battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (Service number 16814). In September 1915 the battalion moved up towards the front-line trenches north-east of Loos – the march took 3 days with about 5 hours marching a day. They reached the lines at 1 am on 27th September 1915 and almost immediately deployed and attacked hill 70, coming under gas attack as they did so. The battalion lost 215 men killed, wounded or missing in the action, among them Willie, whose body was never found and identified. His name is recorded on The Loos Memorial, which commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who have no known grave who fell in the area near Loos. On the same day that Willie died not more than a mile away John Kipling also died – the son of Rudyard Kipling.