William Pride

Inland Waterways and Docks (Sandwich), Royal Engineers formerly Inland Water Transport, Royal Engineers

"Committed suicide whilst of unsound mind at Stonar Camp, Sandwich, Kent". The name of a first world war soldier from Newark, has finally been added to a war memorial after two years of campaigning. Sapper William Pride's name was engraved onto the Memorial to the Fallen in Newark Cemetery yesterday, which by coincidence was the the 96th anniversary his death. Sapper Pride, who served with the Royal Engineers, committed suicide in 1918 at a military camp in Kent while the balance of his mind was disturbed by his experiences of combat. He had served with the Water Transport Corps ferrying wounded soldiers from the frontline in Mesopotamia, now Iraq, while under constant shell-fire. His name was omitted from the town's roll of honour after the war because of the stigma attached to suicide at the time. It was sadly a familiar story replicated up and down the country as soldiers, seamen and airmen who took their own lives or were shot for cowardice were refused inclusion on war memorials. Many would have had what we now understand to be post-traumatic stress disorder. The wrong was finally righted yesterday when the name of Sapper William Pride was engraved on one of the memorial's granite monuments. Sapper Pride had already been recognised as a casualty of war by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission and honoured with one of its headstones on his grave which is in Newark Cemetery. Pete Stevens of Balderton, who works for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, discovered the omission and launched a campaign backed by the Advertiser and Sapper Pride's descendants. After strong lobbying, Newark Town Council, who own the cemetery, agreed in July to change the criteria for inclusion on the war memorial which meant Sapper Pride's name could finally be added. The work was carried out on Thursday. It was done by Mark Gill, the workshop manager at E. Gill and Sons of Newark and letter cutter Roger Smeeton. A stencil was placed on the memorial and the name was then sandblasted near the bottom of the final column of first world war names. Mr Gill said: "It was a shame it was not put on originally but I am pleased that the criteria has changed so it could be added." Sapper Pride's great grandaughter Cherilyn Pride of Southend Avenue, Newark, visited the cemetery just after the work had been completed. She said it was wonderful to see his name finally on the memorial. "Pete Stevens really got the ball rolling and the Advertiser has been a great help," she said. "I always hoped that his name would be added and I am very pleased that it has been. I feel it is important that people see the names of the brave men who sacrificed so much." Mr Stevens said it had taken a long time to sort the matter out. "In the end we have done what we set out to achieve," he said. "It is right and fitting that Sapper Pride's name is on the memorial." http://newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Sapper-William-Prides-name-added-to-Newark-w Sapper William Pride's name was engraved onto the Memorial to the Fallen in Newark Cemetery on 11th September 2014 which is all 98 years of his death.