Hull Pals Memorial Post. PRIVATE WILLIAM WARD HAYTON 32958. Born 1884 in Pocklington, Yorkshire William was a tough man to track down. He and his four siblings appear to have been orphaned very young as the 1891 census has them in the Workhouse at Pocklington with no parents listed. William had an elder sister, Elizabeth, who was eleven at the time, and two younger brothers Philip and Frederick who was only two. Not the greatest of starts in life. After that the trail runs cold, but using instinct rather than fact as my guide I believe he is the William Hayton who in 1901 is working on South Wold Farm, Kirkby Underdale as a Waggoner and living there with the principal owners George and Dorothy Johnson. I believe he is the same William Hayton who the 1911 census finds working at a Cartman at the butchers shop run by William and Dorothy Parker at 37 Day Street, Anlaby Road in Hull. It was here he enlisted. The one thing I know for certain is that he is definitely the William Hayton killed in action west of Ervillers in France on 25th March 1918 fighting for the 10th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment. His body was never recovered, and his name is commemorated on Bay 4-5 of the Arras Memorial. He was 34 years old. If any of you ever visit the Memorial, please take the time to look him up, being an orphan you may well be the first person to have cared enough to do it.
Joanne Bone writes: He was born in Barmby on the Moor, which is in the registration district of Pocklington. His parents were Thomas Hayton b 1859 in Beswick and d 1889 and Laura Richardson Dorsey b 1859 in Pockilington and died in 1888. They were married on 14/5/1888 with all their children born in Barmby where Thomas was a farm labourer as was his father before him. I suspect Laura died at childbirth or soon after as her death is recorded in the July-Sept quarter as her son Frederick’s birth when recorded in the self same quarter. Thomas died only a year later leading to the children going into the workhouse. This seems particularly sad as Laura had family living in Pocklington – perhaps the extra mouths to feed were too much? It also appears that Laura’s mother and father were not married when she was born – her father is noted at her marriage as being David Cullimon Richardson. I think that Frederick died at a young age and brother Philip went on to become a coalminer. Whatever the circumstances the family seemingly never recovered from the loss of their parents and most probably drifted apart when they were old enough to leave the workhouse. A very sad and lonely end to what appeared to be a sad and difficult life for William – I can only hope that the camaraderie of his fellow soldiers gave him some comfort in friendship that he almost certainly lacked in his childhood. RIP William Hayton
3 November 2012 at 14:07
