WILLIAM MELLOR 

William's Story.

William was born in Willy Moor, Tushingham Cheshire in 1893, the second son of William Mellor, a farm labourer, and his wife Ann, (nee Philips) of Tushingham, Cheshire. William had two sisters, Elizabeth and Sarah and four brothers, John Thomas, George, Samuel and Henry. The 1911 census records William working as a farm waggoner at Bickley Wood, Malpas Cheshire

William must have joined the army between April 1911 and August 1914.

William landed in France with the battalion on September 10^th, 1914. His army service records record his address as Scotland Street, Whitchurch.

The 1^st battalion advanced through Sailly on the 17^th October, and on the 19^th were at Bois Grenier, a small village three miles south of Armentieres. Heavy fighting was heard all round on the night of the 19^th/20^th, and the battalion stood to arms. On the morning of October 20^th, the Germans attacked heavily along the whole of III Corps front. The First Battle of Ypres and the struggle for the Channel ports had begun. In the evening the battalion dug themselves in a position in the defence of Le-Quesne Farm, no easy task, since most of the work had to be done with entrenching tools. The battalion then took over the trenches of the 2^nd York and Lancs and one company of the 1^st Leicester’s on the 21^st October, in addition to the line already held, heavy shelling took place throughout the day. The battalion remained in the trenches under constant attacks and shelling until the night of the 25^th when they received orders to withdraw to Bois Grenier.

The total casualties for the five days (20^th - 25^th October 1914)

Officers; 3 killed, 8 wounded, other ranks; 52 killed, 71 wounded and 11 missing.

History of the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry in the Great War 1914-1918

Major W. de B. Wood

William’s brother, John Thomas, died of illness on the 2^nd December 1918, whilst serving with 8^th Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, in Greece.

William is also remembered.

Roll of Honour in St Alkmund’s Church, High Street, Whitchurch


Researched by Terry Evanson