Cpl 11243 William John Fisher

On the 1881 Census the family are living at 18 Gordon Street, Everton. His father George is probably at sea, mother Mary is aged 40, she has two children in the household, both were born in Liverpool; George Robert 7 and William J. aged 2.

 

On the 1891 census the family have moved to 24 Gordon Street, Everton. His father, George is a 49 year old sailor, his mother Mary is aged 49. Thye have four children declared; Mary E. 12 b.Liverpool, Ann Jane 11 b.Liverpool, George Robert 17 a miller b.Liverpool, William J. aged 12 b.Liverpool. They have 2 boarders Joseph and Ann Jane Bagnall.

William married Sarah Eugenius Parsons on 05th August 1901 at St Polycarp's Church, Liverpool when he was 21 and Sarah was 20. He is recorded on the marriage certificate as W. John Fisher and his occupation as a plasterer. His address was stated as 67 Gordon Street, whilst Sarah's was 16 Buckingham Street. Records held on Find My Past incorrectly record the date of marriage as 21st July 1901.

 

A daughter Mary was born on 03rd February 1901 and baptised Roman Catholic.

 

Margaret Mary was born on 01st July 1903, also baptised Roman Catholic, father William John, and mother Sarah Ann.

 

A son William John was born on 11th August 1907. No baptism has been found.

 

In 1911 the family is living in three rooms in 2 Court, 2 House, Portland Place. William is 28, a mineral labourer, Sarah is 26, Mary is 10, Margaret Mary 8, and William is 4.

 

Another daughter, Sarah, was born on 25th May 1913 and also baptised Roman Catholic.

 

William enlisted in Liverpool soon after war was declared (based on the amount of the War Gratuity), as Private 11243, joining the 11th Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment.  (The 11th was a Pioneer battalion.)

 

He disembarked in France with his battalion on 19th May 1915. At some point he was transferred to the 19th Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment  and was serving as Corporal No 11243 when he was killed in action on the 22^nd March 1918, during the German Spring Offensive.

The Battalion diary gives an overview of the events of the 22nd March 1918 as follows:

22^nd  GERMAINE – HAM- MOYENCOURT

The battalion moved up accordingly being in position at 6:30 a.m. About 3pm the enemy attacked the left of our position and advanced on our left flank towards FLUQUIERES. At 4:30 pm an attack was launched on our front and the enemy forced his way through on our right. The remainder of the Battalion was forced to retire to south of FLUQUIERES. During this engagement the Battalion lost 11 Officers and About 21 O.R. The order was given to retire to the defences at HAM. The Battalion by this time was very weak, and passing through the 20^th Division took up positions in HAM, as ordered, getting into position at 2am. 

William's body was not recovered or was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial.

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.

He was initially declared Missing on 22nd March 1918, aged 38.

 

His death was later assumed to have occurred on 22nd March.

 

William earned his three medals.

 

His children were 17, 14, 10, and 4 years old when William was killed.

 

His widow Sarah received William’s Army effects, including a War Gratuity of £21-10s.  The pension card shows that Sarah, living at 8 Haddon Street, Liverpool, received a pension of £1-10s-10d a week for herself and three minor children from November 1918. His eldest daughter Mary had turned 17 by the time her father was killed and was thus not included in the pension allowance.  

His widow Sarah Fisher 36, remarried on 01st August 1920 to Thomas Foster 37, a ships scaler, at All Saints Church, Liverpool, they gave their address as 8 Haddon Street.

 

Sadly, William has not been identified on any memorial, although there is a J Fisher 11th Battalion K.L.R. in the Hall of Remembrance at Liverpool Town Hall on Panel 3.