14850, Private, William HAYLOCK
Aged 28


X Coy., 2nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
Killed in Action on Monday 18th June 1917

Born in Exning in Q2-1889 [Newmarket 3B:543] to William and Rebecca HAYLOCK (née WATSON) at Snailwell Junction, Newmarket.

1891 census...William [2] was at Snailwell Junction, Snailwell Road with his father William [41], railway signalman, born Ovington, Norfolk; his mother Rebecca [44] born Soham; sisters Harriet [16] and Nellie [14] both born Newmarket, and his Soham born sister Janet COLE[18] her husband Richard COLE [25] stableman born Coventry and their son William [3 months} born in Exning.

1901 census...William [13] was still at Snailwell Road, Exning with his parents; sister Nellie and a new brother Harold P [8] born Newmarket.

1911 census...William [23] was a domestic gardener, living with his parents at Snailwell Junction, Newmarket.

The pension card has the family moved to Harraton Cottages, Exning .

Exning and Newmarket are variously used to locate this family due to the parish of Exning boundaries. William enlisted in Newmarket.

His entry in "Our Exning Heroes" reads
"William Haylock was born at Snailwell Junction, where his father was a signalman. He was brother to Mrs. Woollard of Harraton Cottages, where his mother is now living. He joined up in September, 1914, and went out to France in the following July. After some eighteen months he was sent home to England for some time in hospital with bad legs and septic sores, and was for some time in hospital at Felixstowe.
He went to France again in the early summer of 1917, and was killed on June 18th, of the same year. He had been over the top and they had taken the German trench when a shell came and killed him.
When war broke out he was working on Lord Derby's farm, and previously had worked in the garden for Mr. Cannon, and had learnt to drive a motor. He was 29 when he died."


On June 14th the battalion was part of the attack on Infantry Hill, near Monchy le Preux. Launched at 7.30 am , within 10 minutes Hook Trench had been captured and an hour later the remainder of the trench postions on the hill had been taken. On the 18th the enemy launched a heavy counter attack causing heavy casualties, even reaching the lip of Hook Trench. Daybreak on the 19th however saw the Germans retiring. Casualties to the battalion in the days 13th to 18th June were 250. The day he died the 2nd Battalion lost 45 killed of which only 5 have known graves, the rest are commemorated on the Arras Memorial



William is commemorated on his father's headstone in Newmarket cemetery (New Ground G-529)


No known grave - William is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France - Ref:bay 4
and on his father's headstone in Newmarket cemetery (New Ground G-529)

click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details


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