L/Cpl William Booth was the only one of Stathern’s WW1 soldiers to be killed in action in 1917. It is particularly fitting that, as in previous years, the British Legion wreath has been laid at the 2017 Remembrance Service by a relative, Michael Booth, because there are many Booth names on our Roll of Honour from both wars. We welcome to this Remembrance service William Booth’s direct descendants and other members of the Booth family, both local and from Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. They have joined us to commemorate the 100th anniversary of William Booth’s death on 2 December 1917. He was killed, aged 23, fighting for his country at Passchendaele in Belgium and I would like to tell you a little about him.

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William, known as Billy, was born in 1894, the third child of William and Betsy Booth of Stathern. His father William was an ironstone quarryman, and Betsy his wife came from Harby. The family lived in the white house along Blacksmith End now known as Anvil House, next to the Widdowson’s bungalow. The family, reputed to be partly from Romany origins, was large – in fact very large – there were 11 children recorded in the censuses and probably more; the family reckon 13. Information about William Booth’s life and army service is sparse and confusing. He would have attended Stathern School. He learnt to play the bugle. It is documented that in 1911 when he was 17, he was employed as a farm labourer and living as a boarder at Langar. The Roll of Honour indicates that he enlisted in 1914 and his brother Douglas in 1915. However, the family say that William and Douglas went together to enlist in the Leicestershire Regiment. His brother took the last place and William was told the regiment was full, so he went and enlisted in the Lincolnshire Regiment. That surely shows much determination to serve his country. Another brother, Stephen, enlisted with the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1916 and all three are recorded on our Role of Honour with Douglas and Stephen surviving the war.

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We know that William fought on the Somme in France and must have been involved in some horrific battles. Whilst on the Somme he came across a very seriously injured soldier and carried him 2 miles on his shoulder to a dressing station; the soldier was so grateful that he gave William his inscribed silver hip flask which has been placed on the altar today. Unfortunately, the soldier later died. We also know that on one occasion by sheer chance in France or Belgium, William happened to meet up with his brother Douglas and they shared some of their mother’s cake together.

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Unfortunately, we have been unable to locate William’s army record. Information from the family is that at one point he was treated on a hospital ship for injuries and then sent home to Stathern on sick leave. One Sunday morning while recuperating he put on his uniform and played his bugle on The Green. Years later William’s sister Ena recalled this event and said the whole village turned out to hear him play the bugle and there was not one dry eye. His bugle has been placed on the altar today by his grandson, John Booth, who is with us with William’s granddaughter Christine and John’s son, Tim, William’s great-grandson.

At some point William was promoted to Lance Corporal. He must have shown bravery, competence and leadership for this and he must have witnessed the death of many of his comrades. In the autumn of 1917, he returned to Stathern and married Lilian Lazzerini in the Nottingham Registration District. He returned to the war, probably directly to the Passchendaele fighting in Belgium and sent the loving embroidered cards “to my dear wife” that are on display here today. Lillian was pregnant with their son; presumably William knew this, though he never saw his son Ernest William (known as ‘Little Billy’), because 6 months after his marriage William, then aged 23, was killed in action, the circumstances being unknown. His body lies somewhere in the fields of Flanders. He has no known grave. ‘Little Billy’ was born 3 months later. William is commemorated on the Tyne Cot memorial in Belgium and here in Stathern on our memorials.

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Four years later Lillian remarried but I am sure she lovingly and proudly brought up Little Billy. And as he grew up, these artefacts on the altar today would have been immensely precious to him, as they are today to William’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren and to other family members. It is their tangible link and our link to a brave man from Stathern who sacrificed his life for his country

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Roger Hawkins, November 2017