Wilfred Bancroft
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Wilfred was born in West Hallam on 26th August 1890 and baptized 12th October 1890, the son of George a coal miner and Mary Bancroft née Brewin His father George was born in 1831 in West Hallam and his mother Mary was born in 1851 in Loughborough, they were married in 1870 in the Shardlow Registration district. They went on to have eight sons, they were :- George b1872, Fred b1875, Arthur b1880, Herbert b1882, Robert b1884, James b1887, Wilfred born 1890 and Caleb b1894 , all the children were born in West Hallam. His father George died in 1900 aged 68 years. In the 1911 Cencus he was still living at West Hallam but as a boarder he is 20 yrs of age , single a coal miner/hewer living with Frank Upton a coal miner and his family at High Lane West Hallam. He was the husband of Lilian Clayton having married her in June 1916 in Arnold and the father of Charles (b.1913), Ernest (b.1915) and Phyllis (b.1917). They lived at 5 Portland Street, Daybrook.
It appears he enlisted prior to the war in Derby on 26th June 1911. He gave his age as 20 yrs and 8 months. He was mobilized on 5th August 1914.He served from 05/08/1914 to 27/04/1915, and then was in hospital to 24/08/1916 and then he was discharged as medically unfit for war service. He had been at Dykebar War Hospital, Paisley, which before the war it had been an asylum. His service record states he was suffering from shell shock, wandering in the mind, sleeplessness, he had also struck his wife on one visit. That he was confused, unsettled and demented. He was sent to Mickleover Asylum. On his discharge it states he was 25 yrs 10 months of age and that his next of kin is his wife living at 5 Portland Street Daybrook, that he was a miner by trade and also lived at the same address. His pension record dated the 31st August 1918 awards his wife a pension of 20 shillings (£1.00) per week plus 1 shilling (5p ) for each of 2 children , Charles born 29th August 1913 and Ernest born 21st January 1915 making a total of 22 shillings (£1.10p )per week. Further details were obtained from a probate record dated 4th April 1918 which shows that he died on 28th April 1917 at Mickleover Asylum ,Derbyshire, it stated he was a private in the Royal Field Artillery and lived at 5 Portland Street, Daybrook and that his assets total of £111 12 shillings and 4 pence were left to his widow Lilian Bancroft.
Awarded Silver War Badge 501334. Not listed on CWGC. His older brother Frederick had been killed on 09/08/1915. Probably on St Aiden's memorial because their brother, Arthur, lived locally, on New Victoria Street.
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