William Tart, Age 25

Lance Corporal, 9837, 1st Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry.

K.S.L.I Regiment Cap Badge.

William was the eldest of three sons of William (an Iron Moulder) & Martha Tart of 52 Fingers Row, Dawley, who had enlisted into the army at different times. William had worked as a miner at the Kemberton colliery, with one brother Leonard working as a moulder at the Court Works Madeley and his second brother Thomas Edward Working as a moulder’s labourer at Ketley.

Both Leonard and Thomas had joined the KSLI serving with the Territorial’s but William had joined the regular army in 1912 serving at first with the 2nd Battalion KSLI in India.

At the outbreak of Hostilities in 1914, William was drafted to France, and at some point he had been wounded and sent home to recover, on his recovery he went back to France only to be wounded again, once more he came back to the UK to recover and again on his recovery returned to France.

But his luck ran out on April 23rd 1916 when the 1st Battalion of which William now served in was holding trenches in the Ypres Salient at Morteldje Estaminet. A portion of the trenches had been captured by the Germans on April 19th 1916 and on the 21st of April at 10 pm the KSLI counter attacked enduring terrible conditions owing to the state of the ground and the darkness of the night. They succeeded in spite of strong opposition in capturing back the trenches and held them despite heavy shelling in retaliation until relieved on the night of the 22nd/23rd April.

William seems to have come through the counter attack only to fall as the battalion was relieved, his body not being found his name joined the long lists of others on the Menin Gate panels 47 — 49.

William's name is commemorated on the Menin Gate.

WWI Medal Rolls Index Card

Commonwealth War Graves
Commemorated Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

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Victory Medal	British War Medal	1914-15 Star Medal