15342 Lance Corporal William Pomfret
9th(Service)Battalion
Devonshire Regiment
1st July 1916
Reproduced here
by kind permission of Mr Ken Holmes
Born in Heywood Lancashire in 1883.
His parents were George Pomfret(1861-1940) and Grace Livsey(1859-1926).They married on 12/08/1882.
William had 2 brothers; Arthur(1885-1966) and Fred (28/05/1892-1976).
He also had 3 sisters; Florence(1887-1965),Georgina(born in 1889) and Annie(1890-1933).
In the 1891 census, the family were recorded living at
30 King Street, Heap, Heywood Lancashire. George was employed as a joiner.
In the 1901 census, the family were now recorded as living at 255 Bamford Road Heywood Lancashire. George was still a joiner and William was now employed as a Woollen Warper (this was someone who set up the "warp"(thread) on the looms).
In 1905 William married Elizabeth Ellen Molyneaux(born in 1880). They had 2 children;
Leonard(04/06/1909-1990) and Evelyn Beryl(20/02/1905-1965).
In the 1911 census, William and his family were recorded as living at 11 Folly, Bamford, Rochdale Lancashire.
William was still employed as a warper.
He enlisted in Bamford,Rochdale in 01/1915 and his date of disembarkation into France was on 06/10/1915.
He was killed in action on 01/07/1916.
He was awarded the 1914-1915 Star,the 1914-1918 British War and Allied Victory medals.
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Heywood Advertiser - Friday 28 July 1916 - "Mrs Pomfret of 72 Norden Road Bamford has received official information that her husband, Lance Corporal William Pomfret of the Devonshire Regiment was killed in action on July 1st. Lance-Corporal Pomfret who was 33 years of age , enlisted in January 1915 went to the front in October last. He was a warper at the mills of Messrs Samuel Porritt and Sons limited, where he had been employed from boyhood. For about fifteen years he was a member of St Michael’s Church, Bamford. He has left two children- a girl 11 years of age and a boy aged seven. His parents live in King Street, Hooley Bridge Heywood. The deceased has a brother in the army – Sergeant Arthur Pomfret of the Lancashire Fusiliers.”.
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Brother Fred also served in ww1 as Private (3966), 4th Border Regiment called up on 30/08/1916 before being transferred to the Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) Private (64675) on 17/10/1916. He served twice in France 21-1-1917 - 24-08-1917 & 22/04/1918 – 15-01-1920.