William Henry Harris – Devonshire Regiment, 9th Battalion (“B” Company)

Private William Henry Harris – Devonshire Regiment, 9^th Battalion (“B” Company)

Early Life

William Henry Harris and Mary Alice Cambridge
marriage certificate
Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood, Gloucestershire

William Henry Harris was born in 1886 at Bradford, Barnstaple, Devon, the son of William Henry Harris and Mary Alice Cambridge, who were married in 1876 at Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood, Gloucestershire.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Harris family were living at Bradford, Pilton, Devon. William (senior), aged 36 and born in Gloucester, was employed as a Head Gardener (Domestic Servant), and his wife Mary Alice, aged 35, was also Gloucester-born. Their children present were Hedley Vibert (7), William Henry (5), Ethel Agnes (3), and Dorothy Eveline (3 months).

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, fifteen-year-old William had moved to the Barber’s Shop, Duns Lane, Oystermouth, where he lived with his uncle, Samuel C. Harris (30), a Hairdresser, and Samuel’s wife Alice L. (33). William was recorded as their nephew and employed as a Hairdresser’s Apprentice.

1911 Census

The 1911 Census shows William still residing at 2 The Dunns, Mumbles. Samuel C. Harris (39) was then working as a Hairdresser and Tobacconist, assisted by Alice L. (42). Their children were Graham (8), Ida L. (6) and Clifford C. (3). William, now aged 23, was working as a Hairdresser’s Assistant.

Marriage

William Henry Harris and Gertrude Bond
marriage certificate
All Saints Church, Oystermouth

In September 1914, William married Gertrude Bond at All Saints Church, Oystermouth. Gertrude, born in 1891 at Neath, was the daughter of Ernest Young Bond.

Military Service and Death

William later enlisted and served as a Private in “B” Company, 9^th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment during the First World War. The battalion was part of the “Service Battalions” raised for wartime expansion, and in 1915 it was serving on the Western Front during a period of intensive trench warfare.

William Henry Harris
Loos Memorial, France
credit - findagrave

While full, day-to-day records of the battalion’s movements on 30^th September 1915 are not readily available, the 9th Devons were operating within the wider theatre of Western Front operations in this period, when British forces were engaged in major offensives including the Battle of Loos, which began on 25^th September 1915. Units of the Devonshire Regiment were involved in that sector and in the ongoing activity, consolidation, and trench fighting that followed during the closing days of the month.

Within this context, Private William Henry Harris was killed in action on 30^th September 1915. His name is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, France, which records the men who died in operations connected with the Loos sector and who have no known grave.

Aftermath

1921 Census

Following William’s death, his widow Gertrude married Sidney F. Easton at Barnet, Middlesex. The 1921 Census records them living at 210 High Street, High Barnet, Hertfordshire. Sidney (26) was employed as a Nurseryman’s Assistant, and Gertrude (27) was at home with their two-month-old son, Henry.

South Wales Daily Post

It was not until September 1916, a year after William’s death, that the South Wales Daily Post published a newspaper notice acknowledging his loss.