William Pomfrey was born on 25th February 1893 in Chailey. He enlisted in The Royal Field Artillery at Guildford on 22nd August 1914, giving
his trade or calling as Cowman and his next of kin as his mother, C Jones of Reanor Cottages, Stolingbury St Mary’s,
Dorking, Surrey. His description on enlistment records that
he was five feet, three inches tall, weighed 126 pounds, had a ruddy complexion, brown eyes, dark hair and… six moles
on his back.
William was given the number
85523, the rank of driver and posted to Number 4 Depot at Woolwich. On 19th October 1914 he was posted to the 18th Divisional Artillery and then, on the 2nd November that year, to
the 18th Divisional Ammunition Column (DAC).
From his surviving service record
it would appear that William did not settle easily into army routine. On
19th November 1914 he was absent from the Defaulters’ Parade at 6.30am and confined to
barracks for seven days. On 9th January 1915 he was charged
with overstaying his leave from 12 noon on 7th January to 9am on the 9th and deprived of two days’ pay. On 18th January he was charged with being absent from the stables from 4.30pm on the 17th until 7am on the 18th and denied another day’s pay. Inattention
on parade on 5th February cost him another two days confined to barracks and on 22nd February he was charged with being absent
without leave from 6.45am on 13th February until 9.30pm on the 22nd.
He forfeited ten days’ pay but otherwise does not appear to have been punished.
William’s records note that
he was posted to RFA 5c Reserve Brigade on 14th February which may or may not have been behind his decision to go absent without
leave. He resumed duties with the Reserve Brigade on 23rd February and managed
to stay out of trouble for the next four and a half months before again going absent without leave from 10.30pm
on 5th July until 6pm on the 6th July. For this he forfeited
four days’ pay AA and two days’ pay RW.
Between 27th July and 13th December 1915, William was in France, Chailey Parish Magazine noting in October 1915, Pomfrey, Dvr W, DAC, France.
Between 14th December 1915 and
17th July 1917, he was back on home soil again and being posted to the RFA 5b Reserve Brigade (28th February 1916) and
then 20th Reserve Battery (9th January 1917). On 18th July 1917 he embarked again for France and was posted to the 19th DAC 10/88 Brigade.
His tenure with them did not last long. By 30th October 1917 he was back home and back with a reserve brigade of artillery.
On 10th November William Pomfrey
got married at West Ham and on 15th December he was mustered, his rank now being Gunner.
On 21st December 1917 he was caught gambling in Woolwich Barracks by Sergeant Bell and confined to barracks
for three days. On 28th January, a daughter, Cecilia Grace Pomfrey was born at
Catford.
William Pomfrey was posted back
to France for the last time on 26th August 1918. This time his rank was Signaller and he was posted to the 5th DAC.
He remained with the 5th Division until demobilisation on 1st March 1919. His Protection Certificate, issued on 1st February 1919, gives his home address
as 4 Penberth Road, Catford SE.
Further documents in his file at
Kew
indicate that William may have spent time at No 2 General Hospital, Havre and that on another
occasion his aunt, Miss Pomfrey of 30 Lansdowne
Road, Hove, Sussex, was enquiring about his
whereabouts. His Military History Sheet records that he passed out in signalling.
In total, twelve misdemeanours,
mostly for going absent without leave, are noted on William's service record although the most severe punishment he ever
received was being confined to barracks or losing pay. As early as November 1916,
Chailey Parish Magazine notes that William has been invalided although this is not borne out by his service record.
To view William's service record
for yourself, enter his name in the boxes below and then follow the instructions on the Ancestry website:
Sources & Acknowledgements
- William Pomfrey’s service record exists as a burnt document at The National Archives, reference: WO363/P620
- Chailey Parish Magazine
