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Pte. William Charles Rance
British Army 10th (City of London) Btn. Royal Fusiliers
from:15 Green Avenue, West Ealing, London
(d.23rd April 1917)
William Rance was my great-uncle. He was my paternal grandmother's eldest brother. Sadly, my grandmother died in January 1940 from the effects of TB, and the connection to William was lost. I rediscovered him whilst researching my family history.
William volunteered in October 1915 and after training was drafted to the Western Front. He fought and was injured during the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. After recovering and rejoining his unit, he fought in the (second, I think) Battle of Arras where he was killed on 23rd of April 1917. He was entitled to the 1914 - 1915 Star, General Service and Victory Medals. I don't know if his parents ever claimed them. William is buried in the small Chili Trench Cemetery at Gravrelle in France. Unfortunately, although he has a name marker there, his exact resting place has been lost due to damage done to the cemetery during WW2. His marker records his rank as Private but the National Roll of The Great War records his rank as Lance Corporal as does the write-up in his local newspaper written by his friend Private W Bouchard. I am not sure if the higher rank was a temporary issue or if the official promotion had not been processed at the time of his death and so his memorial recorded him on the lower rank.
Like so many young men killed in WW1, his name has all but disappeared from history.
