Name
William Arthur Sams
1895
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
01/10/1915
19
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
16270
Essex Regiment
11th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
ABBEVILLE COMMUNAL CEMETERY
Plot II, Row E, Grave 7
France
Headstone Inscription
None
UK & Other Memorials
Stevenage Old Town Memorial, St Nicholas' Church Memorial, Stevenage Old Town, Holy Trinity Church Memorial Roll of Honour, Stevenage Old Town, Not on the Codicote memorials
Pre War
William was born in 1895 in Codicote, Hertfordshire, the son of Thomas and Hannah Sams and one of eight children, although one died in infancy.
On the 1901 Census the family were living at St Albans Road, Codicote where his father was working as a Horsekeeper on a Farm.
The family remained in Codicote in 1911 but had moved to Abbots Hay. William was then working as a General Labourer on a Farm. He was said to be living in Stevenage on enlistment.
Wartime Service
William enlisted in Stevenage and joined the 11th Battalion, Essex Regiment, serving in France from 30 August 1915.
On the 26th September his Battalion were engaged in fighting in the Vermelles area, South-West of the town of La Bassee. The unit War Diary indicates that the Battalion encountered strong German resistance and were, eventually, forced to withdraw, having suffered over 350 casualties.
It is believed that William was amongst the wounded and was evacuated to No.2 Stationary Hospital, Abbeville, where he died of his wounds on the 1st October 1915 and is buried in the Abbeville Communal Cemetery, France.
Additional Information
His father received a war gratuity of £3 10s and pay owing of £ 3 3s.
* Please note the layout of this cemetery and its extension is very confusing. Abbeville Communal Cemetery consist of a small, separated area with rows A to E (no obvious plot number - the French graves are allocated plot I (1) and II (2)), plus plots III (3), IV (4), V (5), VI (6) in the lower level of the larger cemetery area. The extension consists of plots I (1), II (2), III (3), IV (4), V (5), VI (6), VII (7) VIII (8) and IX (9) - the raised area of the larger area of cemetery with the CWGC building.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Paul Johnson, www.stevenageatwar.com,
