Chailey Parish
Magazine notes in July 1917, Tingley, Pte
W, 25th Training Reserve and in December 1917 updates this with Tingley, Pte W,
9th Suffolk Regiment. In January 1919 it notes that he has been awarded
the DCM whilst serving with the 12th Suffolk Regiment and in July 1919, gives his battalion as the 11th Suffolks and the fact
that he also holds the Croix de Guerre.
Very little additional
information is currently known about this man. On 12th March 1919 his award of the DCM is confirmed in
the supplement to The London Gazette, (Page 3389) which records: G/1671 Pte (L/C)
W Tingley, 12th Bn Suffolk R (Chorley). On the 28th November that year, the Gazette published the citation:
41987 Pte (L/C) W Tingley, 12th Bn, Suff R (Chorley)
During the attack on the Bluff on 28th September 1918, just before reaching the first objective, an enemy
machine gun opened fire from about 50 yards in front, holding up the advance of the company on the left. He promptly rushed forward alone, and shot the three men on the gun, thus enabling the advance to continue. Throughout the attack he showed great coolness and courage, and set a splendid example
to the remainder of his platoon.
He is possibly
William Henry Tingley (senior) who appears on the 1901 census as the head of a household of six; that household comprising:
William (head, aged 26, a coachman), his wife Jane (aged 29) and their four children: Mabel Jane Tingley (aged seven), Annie
Amelia Tingley (aged five), Margaret Elizabeth Tingley (aged three) and William Henry Tingley (aged one).
If this is the
same man, his son and two nephews – Benjamin Tingley and William George Tingley – also served during the First World War.
To view William's
service record on-line via the Ancestry site, enter his name in the boxes below:
Sources and Acknowledgements
- 1901 Census of England and Wales
- The National Archives’ on-line medal information card index
- The London Gazette
- Chailey Parish Magazine
