Lieutenant William Aubrey FORTESCUE
3rd (Reserve) Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers attached to the 2nd Battalion

Date of birth: 27th December 1969
Date of death: 12th October 1916

Killed in action aged -54
Buried at London Cemetery and Extension Plot I Row B Grave 2
He was born at Kensington on the 27th of December 1869 the younger son of Charles Spooner, gentleman, and Susan Frances (nee Trinder) of 1 Essex Villas, Kensington in London. He was christened at St Philip's Church, Kensington on the 18th of April 1870.

He was educated at the King's School Canterbury from September 1883 to November 1884. He was a gentleman.

He was married at All Saints Church, Kingston-upon-Thames to Mary Mildred (nee Ritchie) on the 27th of June 1895. The marriage was solemnized at St Martin's Church, Jersey on the 16th of September 1895.

Although he was born Spooner he changed his name to Fortescue in 1896. His elder brother Charles wrote some time later: - "He took the name of Fortescue from a branch of the family because he disliked the name Spooner. Later in life he realised it was an insufficient reason and was shy about it."

He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion East Surrey Regiment (Militia) and was promoted to Lieutenant on the 3rd of February 1897. He resigned his commission on the 16th of November 1898. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 33rd Battalion Imperial Yeomanry on the 4th of February 1902 and left the army in December 1902 when his unit was disbanded after which he joined the Police Force. He later moved to Canada where he became a fruit farmer at Walhachin in British Columbia.

He decided to return to England to seek a commission and travelled to St John's, New Brunswick where he boarded the SS "Scandinavian" and landed at Liverpool on the 24th of January 1916. He travelled to London where he booked a room at the Arundel Hotel on the Victoria Embankment. He applied for a commission in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers on the 29th of January 1916 and was interviewed by Colonel the Earl of Westmoreland, Commanding Officer of the Battalion, at Sutton-on-Hall on the 31st of January. Westmoreland wrote: - "This candidate has been interviewed. He appeared young for his age."

He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers (Special Reserve of Officers) on the 15th of February 1916 and was attached to the 2nd Battalion of his regiment.

At 3.20am on the 12th of October 1916 the 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers began assembling at for an attack on the enemy held trenches of Spectrum Trench and Zenith Trench to be made later in the day. They were to attack in eight waves at 2.25pm, with the first four waves being fifty yards apart with orders to take the enemy position and consolidate it. The next four waves were to follow some two hundred yards behind them and, when the first enemy line was taken by the leading waves, they were to dig a communication trench. Just before zero hour, twenty German soldiers left their position and ran towards the British trenches with their hands up. Ten of them were killed as they crossed no man's land with the remainder being taken prisoner. As the battalion left the safety of their trenches they were bunched together and suffered very heavy casualties from two enemy machine guns positioned in a small trench forward of the main German front line. An hour after the attack began a small group of men managed to get past this obstruction and move forward a further two hundred yards before digging in. The remaining survivors from the battalion continued to shelter in shell holes. When the second wave came forward a Lewis gun team managed to dig in to a shell hole from where they caused considerable damage to the enemy troops before being knocked out. More casualties were sustained by the battalion when British artillery, which was being fired in support of the attack, began falling short. Although the battalion continued fighting throughout the day they did not manage to gain a foothold in the enemy trenches and by 7pm that evening they had suffered casualties of four officers and sixty two other ranks killed with six officers and one hundred and sixty two other ranks wounded and one officer and one hundred other ranks missing. William Fortescue was among the dead. The battalion was relieved by the 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment at 3am the following morning.

His brother received the following telegram dated the 19th of October 1916: -

"Deeply regret to inform you that Lt. W.A. Fortescue 3rd Lancashire Fusiliers was killed in action Oct 12th. The Army Council express their sympathy. Are you his next of kin."

The Walhachin Chronicle wrote: -

"His cheery personality endeared him to us all and he will be very much missed."

He is not currently commemorated on the war memorial at the King's School Canterbury.
 

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