Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
William Rufus Constable was born in Barton-upon-Humber the 12 Apr 1895 and baptised at St Mary’s Church, Barton the 31 May 1895, the son of George Constable and Mary (nee Doughty). George, from Beverley married Mary in Barton in 1884. The family moved to Beverley at the end of the 1890s and lived at 81 and then 25 Minstermoorgate. George was a tanner’s labourer. William joined the Church Lads’ Brigade in 1910 where it was said that “he was a good lad… though not very keen”. He worked as an errand boy, but by 1914 he was a “leather hide dresser” at a local tannery.
William enlisted in Hull on 8 Nov 1915, joining the East Riding Yeomanry as a Private and in Sep 1916 he arrived in the Balkans. He was transferred to the York and Lancaster Regiment, 1st Battalion. William caught malaria in Oct 1917, the war in the balkans ended in autumn 1918 but William stayed in the region until Jul 1919, serving the 9th Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment and was involved in signalling duties. He was awarded the War and Victory medals.
William returned to work at the tannery. In 1924 he married Eliza Harness, they lived in Cherry Tree Lane. William died aged 73 in May 1968 and was buried in Queensgate Cemetery the 22 May 1968.
Includes information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |