William Parnham
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
William was the son of John and Sarah Parnham (née Goodhall or Goodall). His father John was born in Cropwell Bishop, Nottinghamshire, and his mother Sarah in Belper, Derbyshire. They were probably married at North Wingfield St Lawrence in 1874 and had at least seven children of whom only five survived infancy: Ann, George Henry, William b. 1881 bap Cropwell Bishop St Giles 7 August 1881, Hezekiah and Sarah. The two children who died in infancy were probably John b. 1886 d. 1886 and John b. 1887 d. 1888 (reg. J/F/M). John, a brickmaker, and Sarah were living in Cropwell Bishop at the time of the census between 1881 and 1901. In 1891, four of their children were living at home: George (12), William (9), Hezekiah (8) and Sarah (1). However, only Ann, a domestic servant, was living with her parents in 1901. Their son William, a gas house labourer, was living in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, with his uncle and aunt, Mark and Sarah Parnham. William married Charlotte Emiiy May (May) Whiting in 1904 (reg. Newark). His wife was born in Lewisham, London, in 1885 and in 1891 at the age of seven was probably an inmate at a Pauper Edicuational Establishment in Penge, Surrey. However, by 1901 it is likely that she was a general domestic servant in the household of Seth Eason, a farmer and contractor and his wife Elizabeth, on Victoria Street, Newark. William and May had four children of whom two died in infancy. Their children were born in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, between 1904 and 1911: John William, Doris Edna b. Clay Cross 1906 d. 1907, Beatrice Mary and Annie b. 1911 (O/N/D) d. 1912. In 1911, William, a gas stoker, May and their children John and Beatrice were living at Egstow, Clay Cross. Also in the household were William's two brothers, George Henry, a widower, who was a gas stoker and Hezekiah a yard labourer. Their father has not yet been traced after the 1901 Census but their mother may have died in 1902. The CWGC record gave William's widow's address as 71 Chatham Street, Highbury Vale, Bulwell, Nottingham. May married George A Ludlam, a widower with two children, in 1926. In 1939 they were living in Nottingham with his children. She died in 1955.
2/5th Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) William was living in Bulwell, Nottingham, when he enlisted in Chesterfield. The Register of Soldiers' Effects notes that he died of wounds on 21 April 1918, 'officially accepted Limburg.' William is buried in Denain Communal Cemetery, France (grave ref. B.62), and the history of the cemetery suggests that William might have died while a prisoner of war. CWGC - History of Denain Communal Cemetery (extract): 'Denain was a German hospital centre during the greater part of the War; and from the 1st November, 1918, to the 12th March, 1919, the 33rd Casualty Clearing Station was posted in the town. The Communal Cemetery, was used by the Germans to bury their soldiers and (in 1917 and 1918) 153 British prisoners. A British plot was made at the South-East end, after the capture of the town; and after the Armistice the graves of the prisoners and other British graves were regrouped beside it.' (www.cwgc.org)
CWGC: 'Son of John and Sarah Parnham, of Cropwell Bishop; husband of Charlotte Emily May Parnham, of 71, Chatham St., Highbury Vale, Bulwell, Nottingham.' WW1 Pension Ledgers Index Cards: named his widow, Charlotte EM and two children, John William and Beatrice Mary, all of Bulwell. Registers of Soldiers' Effects: his widow was his sole legatee.
