Site Home
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.
Great War Home
Search
Add Stories & Photos
Library
Help & FAQs
Features
Allied Army
Day by Day
RFC & RAF
Prisoners of War
War at Sea
Training for War
The Battles
Those Who Served
Hospitals
Civilian Service
Women at War
The War Effort
Central Powers Army
Central Powers Navy
Imperial Air Service
Library
World War Two
Submissions
Add Stories & Photos
Time Capsule
Information
Help & FAQs
Glossary
Our Facebook Page
Volunteering
News
Events
Contact us
Great War Books
About
230869Rflmn. William Lawrence
British Army 17th (Poplar and Stepney Rifles) Btn. London Regiment
from:Gold Street, Mile End
William Lawrence was born on 5th November 1896 in Mile End Old Town, the son of Matilda and Frederick Lawrence. At the start of the Great War in August 1914 he enlisted as a Rifleman in the 17th London Regiment (Poplar and Stepney Rifles). Then on mobilisation the 17th moved to St Albans, Hertfordshire. While in training he met a local St Albans girl called Violet Clark who he later returned to and married at St Albans Abbey on 2nd July 1917.
In 1915 his unit proceeded overseas landing at Le Havre on 10th March 1915. During his service on the Western Front he fought in many engagements, and was wounded in action at the Somme. On recovery he returned to the firing line and took part in the fighting at Ypres, and was again wounded at Arras in 1917. He was invalided back to England and, after receiving hospital treatment for a gun shot wound to the arm, he was discharged as medically unfit for further service in December 1917. He won the 1914-15 Star, and the General Service and Victory medals. Violet and William started married life at 7 Queen Street St Albans. They went on to have five children.
Related Content:
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers.
This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved -We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.