William Foord joined the British army at the outbreak of the First World War and departed for France. He never returned.
William Albert Foord was born in the village of East Dean on the south east coast near the town of Eastbourne, East Sussex, on 25 September 1895. When he was one year old, the family moved to Ocklynge Cottages in the parish of Willingdon, a few miles away from where he had been born. He was the third of ten children of Albert and Mary Jane Foord. He attended the small village school and was a chorister at the parish church.
He enlisted in the 11th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment at Eastbourne Recruiting Office on 5 September 1914, just 11 days before his 18th birthday, although on his Army Records he gave his age as being a year older. He was, at the time, a farm labourer working for Thomas Cooper of Chalk Farm in Willingdon and was 5ft 7ins tall with light brown hair and grey eyes.
Boulogne Eastern Cemetery – Copyright Commonwealth War Graves Commission
William was sent with other recruits to Cooden Mount Camp at Bexhill to commence training and from there went on to Detling Camp in Maidstone, Kent in July 1915.
From Detling Camp he went for further training to Aldershot, and it was from here that he travelled by train with his battalion to Southampton Docks and embarked for Le Havre on 5 March 1916, sailing in snowy conditions.
In France, the battalion was not involved in any major battles at this time but continued with training and sorties to cut wire in preparation for the forthcoming Battle of the Boar’s Head at Richebourg. The battle was to commence on 30th June in an attempt to draw German soldiers away from the planned attack at the Somme the following day.
On 31 May whilst at Cuinchy, William received a gunshot wound to the head and was taken to the 13th General Hospital at Boulogne. From here it was planned he would be taken by hospital ship back to England for treatment. However he died in hospital at Boulogne on 25 June almost a month after the injury.
At the time of his death, William Albert Foord was 20 years old. His body now lies at the Boulogne Eastern Cemetery and his death is recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
This story was submitted by Rosalind Hodge, Archivist, Willingdon Parish Church
