William Horne Pratt
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 29/03/1895 |
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Place of birth: Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom |
General information
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Last known residence: 20, Ashleigh Avenue, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Profession: Policeman |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Guardsman |
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Service number: 14553 |
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Enlistment date: 30/10/1915 |
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Enlistment place: Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Scots Guards, 1st Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 22/09/1975 |
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Place of death: Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Cause of death: Death post-war (unrelated) |
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Age: 80 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 5
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Enlistment place | ||
| #4 | Place of wounding | ||
| #5 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
William Horn Pratt was born on 29 March 1895 in Fyvie, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. His father James was a forester. He had one brother Alexander and four sisters Mary, Georgina, Marjory and Louise. William was working as a clerk when he enlisted in the British Army in Aberdeen on 30 October 1915. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion Scots Guards which was part of the 2nd Guards Brigade of the Guards Division. The division was sent to Flanders in July 1917 to take part in the emerging Allied offensive that would become known as the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as the Battle of Passchendaele.
The attack, with the Steenbeek near Langemark as its objective, scheduled for 25 July, was postponed until 31 July 1917. The Guards Division took up positions the day before, in Canal Trench on the eastern side of the Ypres-Yser Canal. The Germans had abandoned their positions there in anticipation of the offensive. The headquarters of the Guards were in the castle of Boezinge. At 03h50 on 31 July 1917, the signal for the attack came. The leading battalions were the 1st Scots Guards on the right and the 2nd Irish Guards on the left. As the 1st Scots Guards left their positions along the railway line at Canal Trench, they immediately came under fire from Artillery Wood and Big Clump, further along the railway line. Guardsman William Horn Pratt, then aged 22, was badly wounded early in the attack by a gunshot wound to the back. He was taken to an aid station at Canal Cottage in Canal Trench, then evacuated to Boesinghe Chäteau and from there to Boussat Farm where there was a large medical post.
On 3 August 1917, he was admitted to Evington War Hospital in Leicester, where he was discharged on 8 September. While in England, he was transferred from the 1st Scots Guards, which was a fighting unit, to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion Scots Guards, which mainly trained recruits. William would serve the rest of the war in England. On 7 February 1918, he married Agnes McGillivray. Together they had two sons Bryan and Jim, and two daughters, Lorna and Doreen. In a second marriage to Edith Martindale, he had another daughter, Margaret, and two sons, Christophe and Martin. After the war, in 1919, William joined the Wakefield City Police in Yorkshire. He reached the rank of chief inspector there. On 22 September 1975, William died in Wakefield at the age of 80.
The attack, with the Steenbeek near Langemark as its objective, scheduled for 25 July, was postponed until 31 July 1917. The Guards Division took up positions the day before, in Canal Trench on the eastern side of the Ypres-Yser Canal. The Germans had abandoned their positions there in anticipation of the offensive. The headquarters of the Guards were in the castle of Boezinge. At 03h50 on 31 July 1917, the signal for the attack came. The leading battalions were the 1st Scots Guards on the right and the 2nd Irish Guards on the left. As the 1st Scots Guards left their positions along the railway line at Canal Trench, they immediately came under fire from Artillery Wood and Big Clump, further along the railway line. Guardsman William Horn Pratt, then aged 22, was badly wounded early in the attack by a gunshot wound to the back. He was taken to an aid station at Canal Cottage in Canal Trench, then evacuated to Boesinghe Chäteau and from there to Boussat Farm where there was a large medical post.
On 3 August 1917, he was admitted to Evington War Hospital in Leicester, where he was discharged on 8 September. While in England, he was transferred from the 1st Scots Guards, which was a fighting unit, to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion Scots Guards, which mainly trained recruits. William would serve the rest of the war in England. On 7 February 1918, he married Agnes McGillivray. Together they had two sons Bryan and Jim, and two daughters, Lorna and Doreen. In a second marriage to Edith Martindale, he had another daughter, Margaret, and two sons, Christophe and Martin. After the war, in 1919, William joined the Wakefield City Police in Yorkshire. He reached the rank of chief inspector there. On 22 September 1975, William died in Wakefield at the age of 80.
Sources 6
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1 Battalion Scots Guards, (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/1219/3_2 ). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), WO 372). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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British Army World War I Service Medal and Awards Rolls, 1914-1920 (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), WO 329). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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F.Loraine Petre, Wilfrid Ewart, Cecil Lowther, The Scots Guard in the Great War 1914-1918,(Uckfield,The Naval & Military Press, unit 10 Ridgewood Industrial Park. 1925), 192-201. Sources used |
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McCarthy Chris, Passchendaele: The Day-By-Day Account (Londen, Arms & Armour, 2018), 32-33. Sources used |
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Soldiers Effect Records(National Army Museum, Chelsea (NAM) 1901-60; NAM Accesion Number: 1991-02-333). https://www.nam.ac.uk/ Sources used |
More information 1
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/3582980 |