Samuel's Story.
EARLY LIFE
Samuel Bayley was baptised on 8 December 1897 at St James' Church, Gawsworth, near Macclesfield, the son of Sarah Ann (née Warrington) and Thomas Bayley, a gamekeeper of Moss Houses, Gawsworth, Macclesfield. His sister Gertrude was born in 1906.
By 1911 the family had moved to the corner of 12 Bread Street/246 Crompton Road, where Sarah (known as Lillie) was a shopkeeper, Thomas was working as a jobbing gardener, and Samuel was a baker/confectioner.
WW1 SERVICE
Samuel probably enlisted in 1916 and was undergoing training in England when he fell ill. He was taken to the Military Hospital at Devonport but died of appendicitis and pneumonia on 10 December 1916. An 'In Memoriam' notice was placed in the Macclesfield Courier on 14 December 1918:
BAYLEY - In ever loving memory of Gunner Samuel Bayley, who died December 10th, 1916 aged 19. From Father and Sister, 246 Crompton Road.
COMMEMORATION
Gunner Samuel Bayley was buried on 14 December 1916 in the south-east corner of the old burial ground in Gawsworth St James churchyard, near Macclesfield. He is named on Gawsworth St James Church and Gawsworth Church Lane war memorials.
In Macclesfield, Gunner Samuel Bayley is commemorated on the Park Green, Town Hall, and St Michael's Church war memorials.
Samuel's mother Sarah died on 30 November 1918 and is also buried at St James' Church, Gawsworth.
SOURCES
GRO Indexes: Births, Marriages, Deaths
England and Wales Census: 1891, 1901, 1911
WWI Pension Record Cards (Ancestry, Western Front Association)
Macclesfield Courier: 14 December 1918
Research by Rosie Rowley, Congleton.
Research by Rosie Rowley, Congleton.