William Downing

Private William Downing – Royal Irish Fusiliers, 1^st Battalion

Early Life

Morris Downing and Ellen Bride
marriage certificate
Christ Church, Swansea

William Morris Downing was born in 1888, the son of Morris Downing and Ellen Bride, who had married in 1884 at Christ Church, Swansea.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the family was living at 20 Roseland Terrace. Morris, then 43 and born in Pembrokeshire, was employed as a sailor, while Ellen, also 43, was recorded at home. Their children were Carrie (15), Willie (13), George (11), Amy (7), Morris (5), Maggie (2), and Albert, who was less than a month old.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to 6 Bryn Goleu Terrace, Sketty. Morris, now 52, was working as a labourer, while Ellen was 50. William, aged 24, was also employed as a labourer. His siblings included Carrie (20), a domestic servant; Amy (17); and Morris (15), an apprentice barber.

Military Service

Attestation Papers

Attestation Papers

In 1906, William first enlisted with the 41^st Foot (Welch Regiment).

With the outbreak of the First World War, he re-enlisted in September 1914, joining the Army Service Corps with the rank of Driver. In 1917, he was transferred to the Royal Irish Fusiliers, 1^st Battalion, where he continued to serve until his final illness.

Death

William died on 28^th March 1918 at the University War Hospital, Southampton. This hospital had been established in 1914 when the War Office requisitioned the newly built University College buildings at Highfield. To accommodate the influx of wounded soldiers from the Western Front, wooden huts were added behind the main building, creating space for hundreds of beds.

Staffed by a combination of professional nurses and Volunteer Aid Detachments (VADs), the hospital treated many servicemen evacuated from major battles such as the Somme. It became a vital centre for military medical care, where men were operated on, nursed through their recovery, or, like William, spent their final days far from home.

Burial

William Downing
Netley Military Cemetery
credit - CWGC Archive 

William was laid to rest at Netley Military Cemetery, Hampshire, the burial ground of the Royal Victoria Military Hospital. Overlooking Southampton Water, the cemetery became the final resting place for more than 3,000 servicemen and women from both World Wars, including many who, like William, died of wounds or illness after being evacuated from the front.

Legacy

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects

The Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects record that William’s next of kin received his war gratuity.

Although William did not die on a foreign battlefield, his name was included on the St Paul’s Church war memorial in Sketty, alongside those who fell in France, Belgium, and beyond. His commemoration reflects the wider understanding within local communities that the cost of war was not only borne overseas but also at home, in military hospitals, training camps, and naval bases.

The inclusion of William’s name ensures that his sacrifice was recognised equally with those who fell in combat. Today, his story reminds us that the war’s toll extended far beyond the trenches of the Western Front, touching families and communities in quieter but no less painful ways. His life and service continue to be remembered through the memorials in Sketty, the registers of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and his resting place at Netley.