1/4th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment
Walter Artemus Williams was born at Highnam, near Gloucester in the first quarter of 1884 (he was baptised on 2 March 1884). He was the son of John and Isabel (née Rudge). According to the 1911 Census the couple had ten children, of whom seven were still living (Janet Elizabeth; Alice Maud; Blanche Elizabeth; Isabel; Eva Ellen; Francis John Donald plus Walter).
On 15 January 1901 Walter joined the Royal Navy at Devonport – his service number was 213004. He served in nine vessels or shore establishments until 11 August 1907. During this time he rose to the rank of Able Seaman and was finally discharged in 1912, probably having served the intervening years in the Reserve.
At the time of the 1911 Census he was living with his parents and two sisters at 80 Seymour Road, Gloucester and was working as a wood sawyer. His father (a labourer) died on 3 March 1912, aged 59 and on 27 December in the previous year his brother Donald had also died, aged 30.
Unfortunately, no Army Service Record has survived but we do know that Walter enlisted in the Army, rather than returning to the Navy, probably in the early months of the war. He was posted to the 1/4th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, a Territorial battalion (part of 144 Brigade, 48 Division). He went with the battalion to France on 31 March 1915 and in April the battalion was receiving an introduction to and instruction in trench warfare near Armentieres. According to a short report in the Gloucestershire Chronicle of 29 May 1915, Walter was wounded by a sniper on 12 April 1915. He was evacuated to the Queen Victoria Hospital at Netley, near Southampton, where he died on 6 May 1915, from urological problems. He was aged 31.
Private Walter Artemus Williams was buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery where a CWGC headstone now marks his grave. Also commemorated on the headstone are his father, John and brother Donald.
Researched by Graham Adams 26 February 2017