Parents

George Wilson was born about 1854 in Durham and Margaret was also born about 1854 in Newcastle on Tyne. George was a bank manager.

In the 1881 census they lived at 9 Noble St, Gateshead. At that time they had 6 children, all born in Durham. They employed one servant. William was their 4th child and was 3 in 1891.

By the 1901 census the family had moved to 52 Bewick Rd, Gateshead and the parents were still there at the time of William’s death.

William George

William was baptised on 21 May 1887 at Christ Church, Gateshead, Durham. He was still living with his parents in 1901 but we can find no record of him in the 1911 census though we know he was still alive.

He next appears in the records when he married at Christ Church West Didsbury on 26 February 1916. He was described as a lieutenant and his residence was given as Inchcolm, Scotland. Inchcolm is a small island in the Firth of Forth and was used in both wars as part of the coastal defences for Rosyth, the Forth Bridge and Edinburgh. His spouse was Edith Mary Ward, daughter of Herbert George Ward (born in Nottinghamshire about 1858) and Jane Ward (born in Manchester about 1863). The family lived at 33 Central Rd in 1901 and 1911. Edith was 18 in 1911 and was an apprentice in a millinery warehouse. We found no record of any children born to William and Edith.

There is no record of William’s occupation before he joined the Army, nor of when or where he enlisted. It is not clear how he came to be in Didsbury.

At the time of his death, Edith was living at The Orchard, Palatine Rd, Northenden. We have not been able to locate the property.

William served in the 17th Division, Mechanical Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corp. He died on 8 May 1918, aged 31. He is buried at Bagneux British Cemetery, Gezaincourt, ref I. G. 6.