Royal Air Force
William Ponting was born at Taynton, Gloucestershire in 1881, the son of Thomas and Alice (née Weekes) Ponting (both of whom died in 1922).
William appears to have worked as a draper’s assistant in East London, prior to the war.
Little is known of his war service, however, his Royal Air Force (RAF) record in the National Archives (AIR 76/407) shows he was commissioned into the RAF as a Second Lieutenant on 5 October 1918. On 21 October 1918 he was with Store Section, 1 (S) Aircraft Repair Depot at Farnborough and died at Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot on 25 October 1918, age 37. The cause of death was influenza. His next of kin was stated to be Mrs (Emily Lansdell) Ponting of Clarence Parade, Southsea, Hampshire; his estate of £153 3s 5d was left to her.
According to the Gloucester Journal of 2 November 1918 William’s funeral was on 30 October 1918 and he was buried (inside Taynton (St. Lawrence) Churchyard alongside his brother Charles Arthur Ponting (age 40) who had also recently died of influenza and whose funeral had been five days before. A private headstone marks the grave.
Researched by Graham Adams 21 March 2014 (revised)