Regiment: 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cambridge’s Own
(Middlesex Regiment)
Service No: G/41331
Date & place of birth: July 1876, Petworth, Sussex
Date & place of death: 8 November 1916 (aged 40), France
It is difficult to be absolutely sure, but this is probably the correct William Whittington.
Family background
It is most likely that Private William Whittington is the son of William and Jane Whittington. William was a labourer who had died by 1881 when Jane was working as a dressmaker and the family were living in Red Lion Yard. He had a half-brother James Wilson from his mother’s first marriage and a sister. He married Keiza Boniface in 1901 and by 1911 was a groom at Petworth House, living at 294 North Street, Petworth. They had four sons and a daughter.
Military career
Private William Whittington enlisted in Chichester into the Royal Fusiliers before joining the Duke of Cambridge’s Own Regiment.
Death and commemoration
William was killed in action on the Somme and is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial. He was awarded the British and Victory medals.
Subsequent family history
Harry John Boniface, the son of William Whittington’s widow, Keiza, was killed in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in March 1917 and is commemorated on the war memorial at Iping.
All his sons married and some had grandchildren.