William Herbert Hutchinson
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
William Herbert was the son of Herbert William and Ruth Hutchinson (née Rowland). His father Herbert William Hutchinson was born in Nottingham in 1867. His mother Ruth was born in 1865 at Kimberley, the daughter of James and Hannah Rowland (née Longdon). In 1911 Ruth was living with her parents and four siblings at Ebenezer Terrace, Kimberley. Herbert and Ruth were married in 1890 (reg. Nottingham) and had nine children including two daughters who died in infancy. One census record gave the children's places of birth as Kimberley (Basford registration district) but all the births were registered in the Nottingham registration district. Their nine children were: Annie b. 1891, Frances Mary b. 1894 d. 1896, William Herbert b. 1893, Maurice b. 1897, Rowland b. 1899, Nellie birth registered 1901 (J/F/M), Arthur b. 1903, Dora Ruth b. 1906 and Margery birth registered 1909 d. 1909 (J/F/M). Herbert, a dairyman (own account), and Ruth were recorded on the 1891 Census living at 31 Willersley Street, Meadows, Nottingham, and continued to live there for the rest of their lives. Their seven surviving children were all living at home at the time of the 1911 Census: Annie a plain net folder (lace), William a porter (tailors and outfitters), Maurice, Rowland, Nellie, Arthur and Dora. Ruth Hutchinson died in May 1935 and her husband in February 1939; Herbert was still living at 31 Willersley Street at the time of his death.
7th (Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry) the Border Regiment. Previously the 1/1st Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry Battalion, the 1/1st was mobilised in August 1914 and attached to the Welsh Border Mounted Brigade. In June 1917 in light of manpower shorages, the Regiment was dismounted and retrained as infantry. After infantry conversion, the regiment was redesignated 7th (Westmoreland and Cumberland Yeomanry) the Border Regiment, William Hutchinson was lost at sea when RMS Leinster (City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, Captain William Birch), bound for Holyhead from Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) Ireland, was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine (UB-123) on 10 October 1918. RMS Leinster sank in the Irish Sea just outside Dublin Bay, four miles east of the Kish light vessel, 12 minutes after the first of two torpedoes struck the ship. In addition to the 77 crew, the ship's log recorded 694 passengers but this is probably an underestimate. Onboard were over 500 servicemen, a member of the Women's Royal Naval Service who was the first Wren to die on active service, nurses, 22 postal sorters of whom one survived, and civilians including about 100 British citizens. There were at least 569 casualties accounted for. UB-123 was lost in a minefield in the North Sea while returning to Germany; none of the 36 crew survived. William's body was later recovered and he was buried on 11 November 1918 in Douglas Cemetery, Isle of Man (grave ref. H.266). CWGC - History of Douglas Cemetery (extract): 'It contains the graves both of servicemen and of interned civilians who were victims of the 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 Wars. There are 49 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-18 war here, including 3 unidentified sailors of the Royal Navy. After the 1914-1918 War a Cross of Sacrifice and a Screen Wall, built of Standiffe stone, were erected on the western corner facing the main entrance. These constituted a central war memorial for the Isle of Man, the number of war graves in this and other burial grounds on the Island being recorded on a panel set in the screen wall. The Cross of Sacrifice standing before it bears the inscription: 'Their Name Liveth For Evermore'.' (www.cwgc.org)
CWGC headstone personal inscription: 'Say what a son should be and he was that' RMS Leinster's anchor was raised in 2018 and is now a memorial to those lost. Nottingham Evening Post, ‘Roll of Honour’, 22 November 1918: Hutchinson. Drowned in crossing from Ireland, October 10th, 1918, buried Douglas, Isle of Man, November 11th. Pte WH Hutchinson, eldest and beloved son of Ruth and Herbert Hutchinson, 31, Willersley-street, in his 26th year. Late with Dixon and Parker.’ (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) WW1 Pension Ledgers: Named his parents Herbert William and Ruth Hutchinson. Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his father Herbert William Hutchinson was his legatee. RMS Leinster: www.postalmuseum.org/blog/the-centenary-of-the-sinking-of-rms-leinster/
