Charles Taylor Wagstaff
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Charles was born in 1882 the son of Eliza Taylor. He initially retained the name Charles Taylor after his mother's marriage to William Wagstaff in 1888 but later census and military records give his name as Charles Wagstaff or Charles Taylor Wagstaff. His mother was born in Elsfield, Oxfordshire, in 1851, the daughter of James Taylor. Eliza (35), a spinster, married William Wagstaff (42), a bachelor, in the parish church of Elsfield, Oxfordshire, on 7 August 1886. William Wagstaff was born in 1845 in Nottingham, the son of Joseph Wagstaff; William's profession was given on the marriage register as 'pensioner'. According to the 1911 Census William and Eliza had been married for 24 years and had had four children all of whom were still living at the time of the census. Three children, who would have been born after their marriage, Mary Ann (b. 1888), Harry (b. 1890) and William (b. 1892), were living with their parents at the time of the 1901 and 1911 Census. Charles, who was also living at home in 1901, was named on the census as Charles Taylor and described as William's stepson. However, by 1911 when Charles had married and left home, he completed the census as head of household in the name of Charles Wagstaff. There is therefore the possibility that Charles, even if not William's son born before their marriage, was later considered by William and Eliza to be the eldest of their children. William and Eliza have not yet been traced on the 1891 Census, but their only daughter, Mary, had been born in Nottingham three years earlier. In 1901 the family was living at 8 Calcutta Street, St Ann's, Nottingham. William was employed as a commissionaire. Their daughter Mary was a hosiery hand while her younger brothers, Harry and William, were still at school. Charles (19) was a labourer. By 1911 William, a pensioner, and Eliza Wagstaff were living at 19 Paxton Street, Gordon Road, Nottingham. Also in the home on the night of the census were Mary a jennier in the lace trade, Harry a threader, also in the lace trade, and William who was a cycle enameller. William and Eliza were still living at the same address when Charles was killed in 1917. Charles married Margaret White in 1905, the registration of their marriage gave his name as Charles Taylor Wagstaff. In 1911 he and his wife were living at 25 Bombay Street, St Ann's Well Road, Nottingham. Charles was a brass bobbin maker and Margaret a cardboard box maker for a box manufacturer. They had had three children of whom only two had survived; Thomas William Taylor (b. 1906) and Lawrence Taylor (b. 1909). The WW1 pension record also named two other children who were born after the census: Winifred Mary b. 1911 and Edward Charles b. 1916. It is likely that they had another daughter, Rose I., who was born in 1913 (reg. Wagstaff, mother's maiden name White) but who died in 1915 aged 2 years. The family was still living at 25 Bombay Street when Charles died in 1917.
15th Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) Wagstaff was called up for service and following training he was drafted to France. The battalion took part in heavy fighting during the Third Battle of Ypres. Wagstaff was seriously wounded and taken to a dressing station, where he died on 29 October 1917. He was buried nearby at Bleuet Farm Cemetery, Belgium (grave ref. II. A. 43). CWGC - History of Bleuet Farm Cemetery (extract). The cemetery is north west of Ieper [Ypres] near a village called Elverdinge. 'Bleuet Farm was used as a dressing station during 1917 Allied offensive on this front. The cemetery was begun in a corner of the farm and was in use from June to December 1917, though a few of the burials are of later date. Two graves were brought into the cemetery after the Armistice from isolated positions close by.' (www.cwgc.org)
His half-brother, William Wagstaff, served in the 2nd Battalion Sherwood Foresters (11706 Private) and was killed on the Western Front on 26 October 1915. He is buried in Hop Store Cemetery, Belgium. (See record on this Roll of Honour) CWGC Additional information: 'Husband of Margaret Wagstaff, of AS, Bombay St., St. Ann's Well Rd., Nottingham.' Nottingham Evening Post, 'Roll of Honour,' 21 November 1917 (abridged): 'Wagstaff. Killed in action October 29th 1917, Private Charles Wagstaff, Sherwood Foresters, aged 35. Husband of Maggie Wagstaff, 25 Bombay Street. Wife and four children. Eldest son of William and Eliza Wagstaff, 19 Paxton Street. Second son to fall. Father, mother, sister, brother Harry.' 'In memoriam' notice published 29th October 1918 in the Nottingham Evening Post :- “WAGSTAFF. – In loving memory of our dear sons and brothers, Pte. William Wagstaff, [1] Sherwood Foresters, killed in action October 26th, 1915; also Pte. Charles Wagstaff, Sherwood Foresters, killed in action October 29th, 1917. – Fondly remembered by father, mother, brother, sister, brother-in-law Harold.” [1] Pte. William Wagstaff, 2nd Battalion Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment, was killed in action on 26th October 1915. He is buried in Hop Store Cemetery. Above courtesy of Jim Grundy and his facebook pages Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-19118. Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his widow Margaret was his sole legatee and she received payments for herself and her four children. WW1 Pension Ledgsres Index Card: Charles Taylor's record card named his widow Margaret, residence 25 Bombay Street, St Ann's Well Road, Nottingham, and their four children Thomas William Taylor b. 1906, Lawrence Taylor b. 1909, Winifred Mary b. 1911 and Edward Charles b. 1916. His widow Margaret was awarded a pension of 33 shillings and 9 pence a week with effect from 20th May 1918.
