Pte 48207 William O'Hare

• Age: 25
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 18th Btn
• D.O.W Monday 29th April 1918
• Commemorated at: St Souplet Brit Cem
  Panel Ref: II.D.3

William O’Hare was born in 1893 in Liverpool and was the son of William and Eliza (nee Cavendish) O’Hare who remarried on the 2nd Feb 1890 at St Peter, Liverpool. William was a 27 year old widower, a brass moulder, of College Lane, Eliza was 20 of Wood St. They were to have two children die in infancy, Eliza Jane died in 1892 aged 1 and brother George Daniel died in infancy in 1899 aged 1.

The first marriage of 21 year old father William, of Blake St, was to 19 year old Jane Oates of Heath Street, on the 31st Oct 1882 at St Peter, Liverpool, she sadly died in March 1889 aged 24 (no children recorded).

On the 1901 Census the family are living at 3 in 4 Court, College Lane, Liverpool. Father William aged 39 a brass moulder, mother Eliza aged 32, children John 11, Thomas 4, and William aged 7.

Brother Francis died in infancy in 1904 aged 2.

The 1911 Census finds William living with his parents and three brothers, he is now 18 years of age and his occupation is shown as a driver of horses. His father William is 49 years of age born in Liverpool, whilst his mother is 42 years of age and also born in Liverpool. William's brothers, all born in Liverpool are listed as: John aged 21, Thomas aged 14 and Edward aged 5.   

He was serving in the 18^th Battalion (1 Company 3 Platoon), The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 48207 when he was captured on 21st March 1918 during the German Spring Offensive. Taken wounded as a Prisoner of War, William sadly succumbed to his wounds on 29th April 1918. 

He was buried originally in a German Cemetery at St Martin bei St Quentin in Grave 27 Row V Plot 7 

His mother wrote to the International Red Cross in the hope that they may be able to provide some news of her son. However, a negative reply was sent on 25th September 1918. 

William's body was reinterrred after the war and he now rests at St Souplet British Cemetery, France where his headstone bears the epitaph:

THY WILL BE DONE 

St. Souplet village was captured by the American 30th Division on the 10th October 1918. The American troops made a cemetery of 371 American and seven British graves on the South-West side of the village, on the road to Vaux-Andigny. A smaller British cemetery was made alongside. The American graves were removed after the Armistice and the seven British graves were moved into the British cemetery. Further British graves were brought in from the surrounding battlefields and the following smaller burial grounds. There are now nearly 750, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, one-fifth are unidentified and special memorials are erected to 55 soldiers from the United Kingdom, buried in other cemeteries, whose graves could not be found. The cemetery covers an area of 2,504 square metres and is enclosed by a stone rubble wall.

Soldiers Effects list William as P.O.W (wounded).

Liverpool Daily Post 10th May 1918

MISSING - INFORMATION WANTED

HARE(sic) - Officially reported wounded and missing between March 21-28th,  Private W. O. Hare K.L.R., formerly employed at Heaps Mill, and resided with his mother, 25 Parr Street, Liverpool.

ICRC record state he had "Bullet fracture, right thigh, injury to the right shoulder".

Soldiers Effects to father William snr, it lists William jnr as P.O.W (wounded), Pension to mother Eliza.

His father died in December 1928 aged 66 and his mother died September 1935 aged 67.

The following message was gratefully received from Peter Dellius who contacted the website on 19th August 2022 as follows: 

Re William O'Hare (Unique name on roll) As a young man in 1960's I worked in a shop in Berry Street, Liverpool and the cleaner there was, Mary O'Hare, who was married to William's youngest brother told me that  "A fellow soldier turned up at the house in Parr Street shortly after end of war and told William's parents that the last time he had seen William he was with others lying wounded in a cargo net being lowered into the hold of a boat, blood was dripping from the net" The family pursued this hoping that he had been carried home and was in hospital in UK. To no avail. I think it more likely that the vessel was a barge and taking wounded back behind lines.

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