William Tooke was an Ipswich-born soldier who served as Private 8021 in the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He was killed in action on 1 November 1914, during the desperate fighting around Ypres, leaving his wife Rose Frances and their daughter Hilda Rose. With no known grave, he is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium. [1][2]
Early Life and Family
William was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, around the beginning of 1890. His birth was registered in the March quarter in the Ipswich district, under volume 4a, page 883. The family report identifies his father as William Tooke and gives his mother’s surname as Davis, but does not supply her full name. Its approximate January birth date should not be treated as an exact birthday. [1]
In April 1891, William was recorded as a boarder in Cavendish Street, Ipswich. By March 1901, he was living in Newington, London, described as a son aged ten. These entries trace a move from Suffolk to London during childhood, although the supplied material does not explain the family circumstances behind it. [1]
No civilian occupation or detailed account of William’s youth appears in the report. Nor does it reproduce an enlistment document. His early biography is therefore necessarily modest: a birth in Ipswich, childhood residences in Suffolk and London, and a later connection with Charlton through his wife’s recorded address. [1]
Marriage and Daughter
William married Rose Frances Stickells in the Farnham registration district, Surrey, during the June quarter of 1913. The registration establishes a marriage between April and June rather than a particular June wedding day. Their known child was Hilda Rose Tooke. [1]
Rose’s address in the casualty information was 1 Rathmore Road, Charlton, London. This is a secure family address, but it should not automatically be read as proof that William himself was living there continuously immediately before mobilising. His death in November 1914 came less than eighteen months after the quarter in which the marriage was registered. [1]
Behind Private 8021 was a recently married husband and a father whose family life had scarcely begun before war intervened.
Marriage, family and casualty details in the supplied report.
Military Service
William served in the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, a regular battalion within 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Division. The battalion retained a strong association with its predecessor, the 52nd Light Infantry, and regimental histories frequently call it “the 52nd”. These references concern William’s battalion, not a separate unit. [1][3][4]
In August 1914, the battalion was stationed at Aldershot. It embarked at Southampton aboard the Lake Michigan on 13 August and landed at Boulogne the following day, joining the original British Expeditionary Force in France. William’s recorded 1914 Star entitlement places his overseas service in the opening campaign, although the report does not establish his individual embarkation date. [1][4]
The battalion reached the Mons area on 23 August. Its regimental history describes entrenching to cover other troops’ withdrawal and subsequently acting as rearguard. During the retreat and the advance across the Marne, prolonged marching and fatigue were prominent features of its experience. After crossing the Aisne on 13 September, it held positions near La Cour de Soupir under bombardment before moving to Flanders. [4]
These movements explain the battalion’s condition on reaching Ypres: it was already part of an army worn by weeks of campaigning. They should nevertheless remain unit history rather than an assumption that William personally experienced every stage without interruption. His exact joining date and any periods away from the battalion remain unverified. [1][4]
Unit Context: The Woods South-East of Ypres
During late October, the battalion moved repeatedly between reserve positions and threatened sections of the line east and south-east of Ypres. Lieutenant-Colonel Davies’s diary, reproduced from the regimental chronicles, describes fighting around Polygon Wood, Westhoek, Zwarteleen and Groenenberg Farm. Orders changed rapidly as neighbouring formations required assistance and German attacks exposed gaps between units. [5]
On 30 October, “A” and “B” Companies were placed around Groenenberg Farm and an adjacent wood, helping connect the Irish Guards with the Gordon Highlanders. The following day, German pressure and withdrawals nearby made their position insecure. Davies brought forward “C” and “D” Companies and reorganised the battalion to prevent an enemy advance through the woods. [5]
Later on 31 October, “A” and “B” Companies advanced through the wood in cooperation with troops on their left, driving back German soldiers. By evening, the battalion occupied a revised line around the woods, while some former trenches remained in German hands. This local action formed part of the wider crisis around Gheluvelt, but should not be confused with the separate, celebrated counter-attack by the 2nd Worcestershire Regiment. [5][6]
The Fighting on 1 November 1914
The diary entry for the day William died provides unusually precise context. Heavy shelling began at daylight in the woods near Zwarteleen and intensified around 1 p.m., with accurate fire on the battalion’s trenches. The withdrawal of neighbouring Irish Guards exposed “C” Company, prompting Davies to order a change of position. [5]
Reports then arrived that the Northamptonshire Regiment on the left had also withdrawn and that German troops were entering the large wood. To avoid an attack from the rear, Davies ordered further retirement to a position beside a road near the wood’s north-western edge. Elements of the battalion subsequently cooperated with the Grenadier Guards and other troops to establish a more defensible line inside the wood. [5]
The account lists seventeen men killed, forty-three wounded and nine missing. Its printed total does not agree with those individual categories, so a single combined figure should not be repeated uncritically. What is clear is that 1 November brought substantial losses during shelling, withdrawal and the reconstruction of the defensive position. [5]
Circumstances of Death
William was killed in action on 1 November 1914, approximately twenty-four years old. His death date and battalion place him within this fighting near Ypres, but neither the family report nor the consulted diary identifies his company, precise location or the weapon responsible. It would therefore be unsafe to say that he fell during a particular withdrawal or was killed by a specific bombardment. [1][5]
The distinction between his death date and the previous day’s counter-attack matters. William’s record does not establish that he died in the action of 31 October; the surviving battalion narrative demonstrates that severe fighting continued on 1 November. His biography belongs to that continuing struggle to hold the Ypres front. [1][5]
On the day William died, his battalion endured heavy shelling and withdrew to prevent German troops from reaching its rear.
Lieutenant-Colonel Davies’s diary, 1 November 1914.
Burial and Commemoration
William has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. The report’s entry under “Burial” is therefore a memorial reference, not evidence of an interment at the monument on 1 November. His official casualty record preserves his name, service number and regimental identity. [1][2]
The family compilation records the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, together with a Memorial Plaque. Although it calls the star a “Mons Star”, it does not reproduce evidence of a clasp entitlement. The secure statement is that these awards are listed in the report, rather than that every associated qualification has been independently checked. [1]
Legacy and Descendants
William’s family legacy continued through Hilda Rose, while Rose Frances remained the wife named in his commemoration details. The supplied material does not trace their later lives or reproduce letters describing the effect of his death. Those gaps should remain open rather than be filled with imagined reactions. [1]
His remembrance brings together two scales of history: a young family connected with Charlton and a regular battalion helping hold the line at First Ypres. The diary explains the circumstances around his death; the marriage and family records restore the husband and father behind the service number. [1][5]
Sources and Further Reading
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Private William Tooke — official casualty record.
- Lightbobs: Wood Fighting, 24 October–10 November 1914 — extracts from the regimental chronicles, including Davies’s diary for 1 November.
- Lightbobs: 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 1914–1919 — regimental campaign history based on R. B. Crosse’s account.
- The Long, Long Trail: Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry — battalion organisation and deployment.
- Voices of War and Peace: The Recapture of Gheluvelt — wider context for the fighting on 31 October.
- Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum: Oxfordshire Remembers, 1914–1916 — regimental remembrance and campaign context.
- Individual Report for William Tooke, supplied family-history compilation — birth registration, census, marriage, daughter, medals and casualty details. A separate local memorial inscription in Ipswich or Charlton has not been verified for this biography.
Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-William-Tooke.pdf https://ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/web/direct-files/attachments/141549598/7db9c1f4-5259-4f64-bd3f-ea9fa68a5f5f/Individual-Report-for-William-Tooke.pdf
[2] Private William Tooke | War Casualty Details 1626709 | CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1626709/william-tooke/
[3] Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry – The Long, Long Trail https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/oxfordshire-buckinghamshire-light-infantry/
[4] 2 OXF & BUCKS LI 1914-1919 – LIGHTBOBS https://www.lightbobs.com/2-oxf–bucks-li-1914-1919.html
[5] 1914 WOOD FIGHTING 24/10 – 10/11 http://www.lightbobs.com/1914-wood-fighting-2410—1011.html
[6] The Recapture of Gheluvelt, 31 October 1914 https://www.voicesofwarandpeace.org/portfolio/the-recapture-of-gheluvelt/
[7] Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfordshire_and_Buckinghamshire_Light_Infantry
[8] Search for ” Tooke” | Lives of the First World War https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/searchlives/%20Tooke/filter
[9] 2nd Battalion Ox and Bucks Light Infantry – Airborne Assault Museum https://paradata.org.uk/content/4634788-2nd-battalion-ox-and-bucks-light-infantry
[10] 1914-1919 OVERVIEW – LIGHTBOBS http://www.lightbobs.com/1914-1919-overview.html
[11] 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry … https://wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/allied/battalion.php?pid=6839
[12] 2nd Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry https://www.pegasusarchive.org/normandy/unit_2oxbucks.htm
[13] [PDF] PART 1 – Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum https://www.sofo.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Oxfordshire-Remembers-Part-1-1914-16-PANELS.pdf
[14] 2nd OXFORDSHIRE AND BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LIGHT INFANTRY https://somme-roll-of-honour.com/Units/british/2nd_OBLI.htm
[15] 2nd Battalion, Ox and Bucks Light Infantry – Great War Forum https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/8422-2nd-battalion-ox-and-bucks-light-infantry/
[16] 31 October 1914 – The Western Front’s Last Piece: The Fight at … https://roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com/2013/10/31-october-1914-western-fronts-last.html
[17] Search William Tooke Obituaries and Funeral Services https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/tooke/william
[18] US Newspaper Obituaries Directory | Paperboy https://www.thepaperboy.com/obituaries
[19] 1914 NONNE BOSSCHEN http://www.lightbobs.com/1914-nonne-bosschen.html
[20] List of names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall from Florida … http://www.cantho-rvn.org/VN_Mem/Statetwn/fl.htm
[21] 1918 NOVEMBER – DECEMBER http://www.lightbobs.com/1918-november—december.html
[22] 1/1 BUCKS BATTALION 1914-1918 SUMMARY http://www.lightbobs.com/11-bucks-battalion-1914-1918-summary.html
[23] 5 OXF & BUCKS LI 1915-1916 http://www.lightbobs.com/5-oxf–bucks-li-1915-1916.html
[24] 5 OXF & BUCKS LI 1917-1918 http://www.lightbobs.com/5-oxf–bucks-li-1917-1918.html
[25] 1919 REGIMENTAL CHRONICLE 2nd Bn OXFORDSHIRE & … http://www.lightbobs.com/uploads/9/2/1/3/9213075/1919_2obli_chronicle.pdf
[26] WOLVERTON AND THE TERRITORIAL FORCE 1908-1919 http://www.lightbobs.com/uploads/9/2/1/3/9213075/wolverton___the_bucks_battalion_1914-1918_amd_2016_2022.pdf
[27] ROYAL BUCKS KINGS OWN MILITIA http://www.lightbobs.com/royal-bucks-kings-own-militia.html
[28] A Brief History http://www.lightbobs.com/a-brief-history.html
[29] 324147_49.pdf – PDFCOFFEE.COM https://pdfcoffee.com/32414749pdf-pdf-free.html
[30] St. Columba Cemetery, Middletown, Rhode Island – Surnames E-I https://www.interment.net/data/us/ri/newport/st-columba-cemetery/records-e-i.htm
[31] Georgia Obituaries – Higginbotham Genealogy https://www.higginbothamgenealogy.com/fl/florida_obituaries.htm
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