William was born in Saxlingham Nethergate on 3 February 1888. He came from a large family of twelve children, one of whom died. His parents were William and Ellen, nee Aldis, Poynts. His father was a carpenter working for Saxlingham Estate.
His siblings were
William’s siblings were;
George born 1890
Charles born 1892
Ellen born 1895
Isaac born 14 December 1896
Albert born 18 January 1899
Edward born 1902
Cecil born 1 August 1903
Jonathan born 13 December 1906
Arthur born 15 March 1908
Leonard born 23 December 1909
The family lived on the Street, Saxlingham Nethergate.
In 1901 William aged 13 years old was working as a labourer on a farm.
On 24 September 1906 he joined the Prince of Wales’ Own Norfolk Royal Garrison Artillery Militia at Norwich. His Service number was 3634. He was 18 years and 7 months old. On joining he said that his home address was in Saxlingham and had been for the previous 6 months, He stated that he had previously been employed by Mr. G. King of Horsford, Norfolk as a gamekeeper. He signed up for 6 years.
On 16th November1906 he left the Militia and transferred to the Regular Army as a full-time soldier. He joined 69th Battery, Royal Field Artillery as a gunner. His new service number was 44746
His next of kin were listed as being his parents and brothers and sister.
He was 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 138 pounds and having a 35inch chest. He had a fresh complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair.
His unit was deployed to India as part of the 1 Brigade , Royal Field Artillery. In July 1910 69th Battery is listed in the booklet ‘ Stations of Unit’ as being stationed at Rawal Pindi for Nasirabad.
In the 1911 Census he was stationed at Nasirabad, Rajputana (now Rajasthan) with the regiment and he was a wheeler. This was the name given to wheelwrights in the Army. He would not only have repaired wheels but also carts and wagons. His rank at that time was Gunner.
The 1st Brigade ended its deployment in India in 1912 and returned to England. They arrived in Southampton at the beginning of January 1913 and then were stationed in Edinburgh.
They travelled on the transport ship ‘ Rewa’. This ship became a hospital ship during the war and was torpedoed and sunk in January 1918
Later in1913 William attended the Army Signal School in Aldershot and trained to be a signaller. William is third from the left on the second row down at the back in this photograph taken in December 1913
At the start of the First World War 1st Brigade , Royal Artillery was still stationed in Edinburgh under Scottish Command,
When the war began they were immediately mobilised. William arrived in France on 16 August 1914.
In 1913 he had trained as a signaller and this is the role he had in France. This was a dangerous job as they were constantly in the line of fire .They were involved in laying and maintaining miles of wire used in communication. This was frequently broken by enemy bombardment and vehicles going over the cables. They often accompanied officers into No Man’s land to observe the enemy positions and then relay the information back to the artillery. . They used a variety of different methods for sending the information. In the early days of the war they used flags doing semaphore. They were very vulnerable doing this and were easy targets for the Germans. Messages were also sent by Morse code and field telephones. If the cables were broken or not yet laid they sent signals using mirrors and sunlight, and in the night by lights. The mirrors and sunlight were effective and messages could be seen up to 50 miles away.
His service records have not survived but it is known that he received a Military Medal. This was in the Gazette on 14th September 1916.
On 15 June 1917 he married Mary Main in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland. Mary was born 11 November 1891 in Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland. Her parents were James and Isabella (nee Cowie) Main.
It is presumed that William met her whilst he was stationed in Scotland.
In the photograph above William was still a corporal. By the time he received the bar to the Military Medal he had become a sergeant, as in the photograph below.
He was a very brave man and received a Bar to the Military Medal for his bravery at Passchendaele. This was in the Gazette on 23rd February 1918. His residence was given at that time as being Edinburgh. He was in Edinburgh in April 1918 as he had a photograph taken with his wife on 1st April.
After the war he was for a time in Edinburgh and living at 7 High Street, Portobello, Edinburgh. His son William Junior Poyntz was born there on 13th June 1919.
William transferred to the Army Reserve on 25th April 1919. He had served for 12 years and 160 days. He went on the serve for 342 days in the Reserves. He was discharged from the Reserves on 31 March 1920. The Discharge documents assessed him as being ” Very Good, Thoroughly sober reliable man, A very good signaller.
William returned to Norfolk with his family sometime before 20 December 1919. It is thought that he was living with his sister Ellen Riches, on The Street, as he had his medals sent to that address. As well as the military medal he also received the 1914 Star, known as the Mons Star This was given to the men who had fought between 5 August and 22 November 1914. Men who had been in the line of fire also received a clasp with the dates on it. The men who had served during this time became known as the ‘Old Contemptibles’ . The name came from the Kaiser describing them as ‘ a contemptible little army’
In 1920 he was on the Electoral Roll for Saxlingham.
. By 1921 he had moved to live in Shotesham St Mary. He was working as a cowman for Luke Harrison at Fylands Farm. The family lived in America Cottage, on Wash Lane ( This was one of two cottages which have now been made into one house , now known as Dawson’s Farm)
His daughter Isabella Cowie Main Poyntz was born in Shotesham St Mary, Norfolk 1921. She was less than a month old at the time of the 1921 Census
Mary’s sister, Isabella Knox, a widow, and her son were also staying there when the Census was taken. Isabella had emigrated to Australia in 1914. She married Thomas Knox on 10th May 1916 two days before he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. He arrived in France on 24th March 1917 and was reported missing and then killed on 11th April 1917. His son John Knox was born on 31st May 1917 and so he never knew his father.. Isabella had arrived back in England on 4th March 1921 and it is presumed that not having seen her sister for many years she visited her on her way back to Scotland.
In 1926 William became a special constable. Men were made special constables in 1926 as a response to the General Strike. A general strike was called by the Trades Union Congress in support the miners who had been locked out of their jobs. In order to deal with the unrest the government created ‘ a militia’ of special constables. William received a letter from the government thanking him for being involved.
The family were living in Cargate Lane, Saxlingham in 1927. It is not known where he was working.
On 1st February 1928 he applied for a job as an underkeeper ( gamekeeper) at John Fielden’s Holmewood Estate, at Holme, near Stilton, Huntingdonshire This was a large estate owned by John Fielden, one of the richest men in the country. He came from a family who had become rich through the cotton manufacturing industry.
Before joining the army William had worked as a gamekeeper in Horsford.
On 7th February he received a letter telling him that he seemed suitable for the job but that the estate agent would have to make enquiries presumably about him. He was also asked to find out how much it would cost to transport his furniture to Holme.
He received confirmation of the appointment a week later. The letter also outlined the terms of employment. William would be paid 35 shillings a week initially but if his work was acceptable this would be increased. He would be provided with a suit of clothes a year and accommodation. He would be expected to give a month’s notice on leaving. It was agreed that the estate would pay £7. 10s for the transporting of his furniture.
The family moved there in 1928. It is known that they were living in Denton Lodge, Holme in April 1932. William appeared as a witness in a court case concerning a poacher on the estate. A report of the case was in the Peterborough Standard on 20th May 1932 and it gave William’s address as Denton Lodge, Holme.
In 1939 William was still working as a gamekeeper and the family had moved to the Bungalow, The Fen, Norman Cross, Huntingdonshire. William Junior was working as a farm labourer. The facilities at the Bungalow were basic and there was no running water or sewage system. There was a outside toilet and septic tank. Water was fetched in buckets. These were carried two at a time using a yoke. The bungalow had three bedrooms and most of family life was spent in the kitchen.. There was a garden and the family kept chickens.
Isabella married Harry Allen in 1941 and she continued to live with her parents. Harry was a driver in the Field Ambulance Brigade in Sicily in 1943. He received the Military Medal for evacuating 63 casualties on 9th August 1943 during heavy mortar and shell fire. Whilst later serving in Italy he was wounded and discharged from the army. They had two sons, Bruce born in 1945 and Robert born in 1948. They lived with William and Mary until 1949 when they moved to a new council house in Stilton.
William was a member of the Old Contemptibles Association. This Association was founded in 1925 by Captain John Danny. All the men in it had fought in Flanders between 5 August and the 22nd November 1914. This first battle had prevented the Germans from advancing to the Channel ports. The Kaiser had called them ” a contemptible little army” and so the men that served took their name from there. By 1935 there were a hundred branches throughout the country. The men met up with each other and the association assisted men in finding work etc. They organised outings and events for the families.
When William retired they moved to live in rented accommodation at 21 North Street, Stilton in 1953/54. About 1958/59 they moved into a semi-detached council bungalow at 25 Ermine Crescent, Stilton.
On Friday 26th June 1964 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the First World War the members of the Association were reviewed by the Duke of Gloucester in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. Two thousand men marched into the gardens where they heard speeches and were inspected by the Duke of Gloucester. The wives of the men were invited to attend. William took part in this review. Over the following weekend there was a reunion in the Albert Hall and a service in St. Paul’s Cathedral.
In the mid 1960s Bruce and Lynda, his wife, took his grandparents on two occasions to visit relatives in Saxlingham Nethergate. They met with Kathy Riches, the daughter of William’s sister Ellen.
William died on 25 September 1972 at home in Stilton, Huntingdonshire. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at Peterborough Crematorium.
Acknowledgements
England & Wales, Birth, marriage, death index 1837-2005
UK Census Collection
British Army Medal Roll Index cards, 1914-1920
1939 Register- www.findmypast.co.uk
Norfolk Electoral Rolls-Southern Division Saxlingham Nethergate and Thorpe, (Absent Voters Lists 1918-1920)
Findmypast – British Army Service Records 1760-1915
UK, British Army Recipients of the Military Medal, 1914-1920
Allen Family Tree, Garrett-Scarfe Family Tree www.ancestry.co.uk
Wikipedia- Information about 69th Brigade.
Western Front Association
Australian Military Service Records
www.ancestry.co.uk
Army and Navy Gazette . Saturday 4th January 1913
‘Stations of Unit,’ published by HMSO July 1910
Sara Webber, information about America Cottages.
Danny Keaney , great nephew of William for family information
Pamela Crutchfield, great niece of William for family information
Many thanks to Bruce and Robert Allen for sharing information about their grandparents and family. and for giving me access to photographs and documents. Thank you for your interest and informative emails.
Thanks to Malcolm Wayland of the Cambridgeshire branch of The Western Front Association for military information and documents about William, and also putting me in touch with Bruce Allen. Thanks to him for sharing his great knowledge of First World War events and his contacts with other organisations.
Unfortunately at the time of the exhibition which was held in Saxlingham in November 2024 we did not have the photographs or information about William. He would definitely have been included in the exhibition and catalogue as people would have been interested in his bravery and life.
If anyone has any photographs or information about this person, please contact me. Email jan@janmfox.co.uk