| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
Private William Spivey, of Well Place, Beverley, enlisted in the winter of 1915-16 with the Army Supply Corps, he spent only three months with them between 19 Jun and 6 Sep 1916 before joining the infantry on 1 Dec 1916. William served in the 17th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), on the Western Front, being involved in the Battles of Arras and Cambrai in 1917 and in the retreat of 1918. He served until 26 Jul 1918.
William was born in Beverley the 3 Jul 1892 the son of Tom Spivey, a tanner’s labourer, and Elizabeth (nee Harker). William had five sisters. The family lived in Lurk Lane and later in St Andrew’s Street. William became a farm worker and in 1911 was working as a plough boy on Cobb’s Farm, Routh. On 21 Nov 1913 William married Emma Sissons Jeffrey of Lurk Lane at Beverley Minster. They had two children, Harold born 1917 and Elizabeth born the 31 Oct 1919. In 1939 William was living at 34 Pearson Street, he died in Hull the 12 Oct 1947 aged 55. Emma died in Beverley in 1986
William is commemorated on the street shrine for St Andrew Street, but is incorrectly described as “Driver W Spivey of the East Surreys”. A further inaccuracy occured in the Beverley Guardian of 4 Jan 1919 which contained a photo of William stating he had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. In fact this is an error and he was only awarded the War and Victory Medals. It was Corporal Charles Spivey of Pocklington, in the 5th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment who won the DCM and Bar for heroism on 17 Apr and 3 Oct 1918.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |