| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
William Albert Chapman was born in Lund, 6 Apr 1891. He had 5 sisters and 2 brothers. His parents were Thomas and Lydia Piercy Chapman. His father was a farm worker and in later a jobbing gardener. William was a ledger clerk in Hull with the Yorkshire Penny Bank (later known as the Yorkshire Bank). In the 1911 census he was lodging with his sister, Annie Waites, 59 Prince's Road, Sculcoates, Hull.
William enlisted at Helmsley on 15 Nov 1915 and joined the 21st Battalion (Yeomen Rifles) of the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a private, after training he embarked for France, 5 May 1916. Appointed an unpaid Lance Corporal on 13 May, he was officially promoted on 9 Sep 1916. His Battalion was part of the 124th Brigade of the 41st Division. He was involved in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette which started 15 Sep 1916, he was killed in action. The attack was a costly one: 4 officers and 54 other ranks were reported killed, 266 men were wounded and 70, including William Chapman, were missing. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial on the Somme.
His younger brother, Henry Maurice Chapman was also killed in France 28 Mar 1918 whilst serving in the 18th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry and is commemorated on the Arras memorial. Neither William nor Maurice is commemorated on the Hengate Memorial in Beverley
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |