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Quorn WW1 Roll of Honour - William Hudson
Died 3rd October 1918, aged 29
Bellenglise, France
Early years
William was born in Long Eaton, Derbyshire in 1889, one of three boys and two girls born to Samuel Arthur and Fanny Hudson. In 1892 the family moved to a cottage on the Beaumanor Estate in Old Woodhouse, then owned by the Perry Herrick family. Samuel was the head coachman and the 1901 and 1911 census returns find the Hudsons living on Main Street in Woodhouse Eaves, although by 1911 their two older sons had died.
William’s working life
William, like his father, had an affinity with horses, and in 1911 he was working as a groom and boarding in Quorn Lodge Cottages. These have since been demolished, but they belonged to a prestigious house called Quorn Lodge (for photograph see Artefact 871), which was near the road now called Lodge End, that previously went through from the A6 to the hamlet of Woodthorpe. Quorn Lodge at this time was home to the Parkers, a well-known local farming family, whose company still exists today.
The war years
At the outbreak of war William joined the North Staffordshire Regiment and went off to fight in France. Meanwhile, back at home, Lady Sophie Perry Herrick died and in September 1915 William’s parents, his two sisters (Lillian and Edith), and Lillian’s son Frank Henry, moved to 83 Barrow Road in Quorn, it was then number 35, known as ‘Meadow View’ (see photograph below). They settled in and started a carrier business, with a carriage, a trap and two horses, which they intended would provide a future for William when he came back from the war.
Hearing of William’s death
William was killed on 3rd October 1918, but the family were not notified of his death immediately, and it was only two weeks before the armistice when they received the devastating news. It must have been very hard for them when such a short time after their loss, there were celebrations and dancing on Barrow Road as the war ended.
William was blown to pieces at Bellenglise, so his body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial, Pas de Calais in France.
The family in Quorn carries on
William’s mother Fanny died in Quorn, in July 1939 aged 88, and Samuel died in January 1949, aged 91. They were still living at 83 Barrow Road and were both buried in Quorn Churchyard. Frank Henry Hudson’s granddaughter (William’s great great niece), still lives in Quorn today (2020).
Below:
1) William Hudson.
2) Meadow View, 83 Barrow Road, where the Hudson family lived from 1915.
3) The front of a postcard from William, sent from France to his sister Lillian in Quorn.
4) William’s memorial plaque given to his family after his death, a memorial card for William and William’s Victory and British War Medals.
5) The back of the postcard from William, sent from France to his sister Lillian in Quorn. It says:
“To Miss L Hudson, with best of wishes for a Happy New Year
Meadow, Barrow Rd, Quorn
From Pte W Hudson No 202074”
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Submitted on: |
2020-01-13 |
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Submitted by: |
Sue Templeman with thanks to Susannah Stocks and Pauline Haynes |
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Artefact ID: |
2305 |
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Artefact URL: |
www.quornmuseum.com/display.php?id=2305 |
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Print: |
View artefact in printer-friendly page or just on its own (new browser tab). |
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