Pte 94251 William Fitton

• Age: 19
• From: Radcliffe, Lancs
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Friday 29th March 1918
• Commemorated at: Pozieres Memorial
  Panel Ref: P21-23

William Fitton was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire, in late 1898 or early 1899, the son of William Fitton and his wife Annie (née Hughes). His parents, both born in Radcliffe, married in 1896 and had three children. William had an elder brother Joseph, born in 1897 and a younger sister Elizabeth, born in 1901.

In 1901 the family is living at 26 Peter Street, Radcliffe.

His father, 28, is a grocer’s carter, his mother is 27, Joseph is 3, William 2 and Elizabeth 2 months.  

His mother died in September that year, at the age of 27, leaving his father with three young children. His sister Elizabeth is not in the household in 1911, suggesting she was perhaps raised by others after her mother died when she was a baby.

His father remarried to Ada Coote in 1905 and their son James was born in 1906.

The 1911 census finds them at 24 Peter Street.

His father is 38, a grocer’s carter, his stepmother Ada is 30, Joseph is 13 and working as a cotton (bobbin?) carrier, William is 12, at school, and stepbrother James is 4.   They had two more children, Ada in 1911, and Frances in 1918.

Prior to the war he was employed by Messrs J. Bentley & Sons Ltd, Mill Street, Radcliffe. John Bentley & Sons were cotton spinners and manufacturers.

William was connected to the New Jerusalem Sunday School.

He enlisted in Bury and was serving as Private 94251 in the 19th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment when he was initially reported as missing during the German Spring offensive between 22nd-29th March. This was later confirmed as killed in action on the 29th March 1918, aged 19. The amount of the War Gratuity suggests that he served for one year, enlisting in early 1917, when he would have just turned 18 years old.

T. Wilkinson (relationship unknown) of Brookside, Starling Road, Radcliffe, contacted the International Red Cross seeking news of William, missing since March 1918.  In a reply dated 18th September they reported that they held no information.  At this address in 1911 was Thomas Wilkinson, 53, an estate and commission agent, his wife Mary, daughter Dinah, 18, and son Joseph, 16.

William’s death was later presumed for official purposes as having occurred on 29th March 1918. The Battalion diary records the events of the day as follows:

The Battalion was again reorganised and formed a company of the 89th Composite Battalion which was composed of the 17, 18 and 19 Bn The King’s (Liverpool Regiment) Lt Col G Rollo D.S.O. being in command. At night outposts were placed around the village to prevent surprise from the Bosche, who had by this time succeeded in getting a footing in MOREUIL. The 89th composite Battalion was at this time attached to the 4th French Cavalry Division.

William is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, France.

The POZIERES MEMORIAL relates to the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.

The cemetery and memorial were designed by W.H. Cowlishaw, with sculpture by Laurence A. Turner. The memorial was unveiled by Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien on 4 August 1930.

His pension documents were received from the paymaster on 02nd October 1918, which suggests that William was not officially declared killed in action for many months.

His father William, living at 9 Northcote Street, Radcliffe, received his Army effects and a War Gratuity of £5.

In 1939 his father and stepmother are still living in Northcote Street, with daughters Ada and Frances. His father, 67, is a retired railway fitter. He lived to the age of 88, and died in 1961.

William is commemorated on the Radcliffe Memorial, Greater Manchester.

We currently have no further information on William Fitton. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.

Grateful thanks are extended to Christine North and Sylvia Cunningham for their help and assistance.