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Cpl. William Wharmby
British Army 3rd Btn. D Company Cheshire Regiment
from:Hyde, Cheshire
William Wharmby was born in 1895 in Hyde, he married May Walls on the 5th of Sep 1925 at Dukinfield. He was the father of Raymond and Enid Wharmby
Enid has told us of her father and how deeply affected he was by his experiences of WW1, although he never talked about his time served. Having served in the trenches in France the conditions are believed to be the cause of the Rheumatoid Arthritis that troubled him immensely for the rest of his life to the point of him taking his own life by means of gassing with a fireside gas poker. At the age of just 12 years, Enid was the unfortunate discoverer of this tragedy at the family home, 38 Cross Street, Hyde. We know he was also injured by shrapnel the cause of a scar that can be seen on his right cheek.
Wishing to uncover some detail of William’s time in the army in WW1, searches I had done on genealogical websites gave all but 1 image, his Medal Rolls Index Card. Enlistment and quite detailed pension records exist for such soldiers but none could be found for William. It is known that during the London Blitz of WW2, the office holding these records was bombed and severely damaged, destroying some records and rendering many others undecipherable or damaged, these records became known as the “burnt records.†It is almost certain that this is the reason for not being able to find such records for William.
However, as time goes by and genealogy becomes more and more popular, the availability all kinds of records to further one’s genealogical research increases constantly. After several years of unsuccessful searches some of the “burnt records†from the indexes known as WO363 and WO364 (WO standing for War Office) have now been published and I have my first breakthrough on this missing chapter in my research. We know from William’s Medal Rolls Index Card that he initially served with the Cheshire regiment under the number 10489 and then later with the Essex Regiment under the number 60218. This is not necessarily exclusive as, to be exact, this card only details the regiment he was in at the point in time he earned the medals. As the number of casualties built and the sizes of battalions were decimated the army was forced to constantly “regroup†making it commonplace for soldiers who enlisted in their local regiment to end up serving for another in addition to the probable changes of battalion while remaining in the same regiment. The card also details that William first served in France from 29 November 1914. It is not clear as to Williams rank in the Essex Regiment, whether he retained the rank of Corporal from his time in the Cheshire regiment as one would expect, the addition of the Pte (Private) actually in the rank heading box adds to this uncertainty. The 15 to the left of “Star†indicates that he received the 1914-1915 Star which differentiates it from the 1914 Star, the latter being awarded to those who served in France and Flanders between 5 August 1914 and 22 November 1914, the former to those who served in France and Flanders from 23 November 1914 to 31 December 1915 plus anyone who served in any other operational theatre between 5 Aug 1914 and 31 December 1915. Those receiving either of these Stars also received both the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. The Victory Medal and the British War Medal are on one roll (another name for an individual section/collection of archive material) while the Star is on another.
From WO 363-4 papers that survived and were published online 2014 we now know that William first attended the Depot of the Cheshire Regiment on 8th April 1914 and was initially assigned as under company “Hâ€. He was then given leave “Furlough†from the 8th to the 15th – I wonder if this was a standard practice for new recruits to enlist formally then to be give a few days at home with their families before their inevitable time in combat.
William was transferred on 16th August 2014 to Birkenhead under “F†company of the 3rd battalion of the Cheshire Regiment. Over the next few months he was promoted to Lance Corporal, Corporal and to “acting†Sergeant before being deployed on 28th November 1914 to join the Expeditionary force in France under “D†company. He was however listed as a private. (I do not know if this was a true demotion or whether his previous promotions were relative to William being a regular soldier amongst reservists as I believe the 3rd battalion was).
While quite rightly in memoriam we concentrate on those who gave their lives during the conflict, which includes a couple of William’s cousins Joseph Wharmby and Samuel Mottram Wharmby, I have a particular interest in those who survived but continued to suffer from the effects of their time in conflict.
Editor's Note: 3rd Battalion Cheshire Regiment was a training unit, it remained in UK throughout the war, providing drafts for other battalions. From the above it can be accertained that this was indeed a training unit and his move to D company may have been to another Battalion in the Cheshires. Subsequent move to the Essex Regiment may have as suggested been as a result of losses and regrouping but without the actual battalions involved it is difficult to be more specific. It was also common practice in training units for recruits to progress between companies as they developed skills, the qualified soldiers passing out from the advanced training company and temporary ranks were also given but usually to those thought capable of taking a similar post in their active service unit.
The hat in his photograph which seems to indicate operations away from the Western Front at some stage possibly Middle East. He also is still wearing the stripes of a Corporal. The addition of Pte to the top of the medal card indites that he was a Private when he qualified for the 1915 Star on date of entry into war theatre.
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