1169 Pte William Edward Castle
3rd Birmingham Bn. (16th Royal Warwickshire)
K.I.A. 25 December 1915 (Christmas Day) aged 20
Citadel New Military Cemetery, Fricourt, France.
William Castle was born on 8 may, 1895, and was the son of Job & Rebecca who lived at 241 Coventry Rd, Small Heath.
He attended Ada Street Council School and was a Boy Scout for five years. William was a Warehouseman before enlisting
into the 3rd B'ham Bn on 13 January, 1915.
The picture above shows him wearing his navy blue uniform (khaki cloth was in a shortage) and he was a member of the
battalion Drums and Bugles band. He went to France with the rest of his battalion on 21 November 1915.
The battalion was serving on the Bray Front (southern Somme area) and he was killed by shellfire when he and comrades,
from B Company, were digging support trenches on Xmas Day, 1915.
His then Company Captain (and later Lt Col and C.O. of the battalion) Graham Deakin wrote to his parents:
"He was a nice lad, always cheerful and obliging, and we are sorry to lose him, for he always did his duty well."