SHARPE, William
No. 152674, Private, William James SHARPE
Aged 21
Not on Memorial but in "Our Exning Heroes"
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Born in Woodditton on 21st August, 1894 to Edgar and Alice Melinda SHARPE (née NUNN) of 58 Saxon Street. The only possible birth registered was Newmarket 3b:483 in Q3-1894, thus the year on his attestation papers for the Canadian Army is incorrect. 1901 census...Living in Saxon Street were James W.[6], his father Edgar [38] farm labourer born Bury St Edmunds, his mother Alice Melinda[35] born Hargrave, sisters Rosie [12] born Hargrave, Jessie Rose [8] born Ousden, Alice [2] born Woodditton and brother Edward[4] born Woodditton. 1911 census...At 58 Saxon Street were James William [16] farm labourer, his parents, brothers Edward, labourer, George Kilburn [7] and Thomas [2] and sisters Alice, Ruth Helen [9] and Winifred May [5]. All the children are now recorded as born in Saxon Street. In the 1911 census William was living with his parents in Saxon Street. He emigrated to Canada then and was a farmer. Possibly he sailed from Liverpool on 16th February 1912, on the "SS Tunisian" to Halifax. |
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On 5th August 1915 he attested for the 79th Overseas Battalion of the Canadian Infantry at Brandon, Manitoba. He was 5' 6" (167.6 cm) tall, chest 33.5" to 37"(85.1 to 94 cm) Canadian Archives :-RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 8809 - 32 Item Number: 223589. His mother's address at 67 Saxon Street has been deleted and replaced with 51 Stamford Terrace, Exning Road, Newmarket. His medals were sent to this address. His will left everything to his sister Winnie. He embarked on R.M.S. Lapland on 24/4/1916. arriving in England on 4th May 1916, transferred from 79th Bn to 16th in France on 26/6/1916 He was killed in the Battle of the Somme. His "circumstances of death" card held by the Canadian Archives records he was killed in action in trenches near Courcelette being previously posted as missing on 25th September 1916, body not recovered for burial. All records except Our Exning Heroes have him as William, not Walter. As yet his connection with Exning has not been established, unless he was a member of the congregation at St Phillips Church William's entry in "Our Exning Heroes" reads as follows: Sharp, Walter James. Born in 1894 at Wood Ditton, and educated at the village school. He was on Cheveley Estate for some years, and then went to Canada and worked on a farm. When war broke out he at once joined up in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and was sent to France in 1916. In the autumn of that year he took part in the battle of the Somme and was killed by a rifle bullet. |
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