William Browning Shaw (1897-1918)
Seaham man served with 1st/7th West Yorkshire Regiment died in a prisoner of war camp
William Browning Shaw, the son of Thomas and Thomasina Shaw, was born in Sunderland in 1897. He had four brothers and three sisters and appears to have lived all his life in the area until he enlisted at Sunderland in the 1st/8th Battalion, Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment.
Little can be discovered about his service history. At first William was attached to the Cyclist Company of the Northumbrian Division but was later transferred to the 1st/7th Battalion, Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment. He was reported missing on 16 April 1918 during the Battle of the Lys and, having been captured by the enemy, was sent to the prisoner of war (POW) camp at Friedrichsfeld. There he contracted pneumonia and died on 19 November 1918. He was buried in the local cemetery but later re-interred in the Cologne Southern Cemetery.
https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/2747448/698/42823/, https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/File/Details/3842253/3/2/ & https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/File/Details/2893450/3/2/
https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/34600/cologne-southern-cemetery/
Civil Parish: Dawdon
Birth date: 15-May-1897
Death date: 19-Nov-1918
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 50 Wayman Street, Sunderland, Durham (1901 census)
36 Stavordale Street, Dawdon Colliery, Seaham, Durham (1911 census)
Family: Father: Thomas Shaw
Mother: Thomasina Shaw (nee Bell)
Siblings: John, James Bell, Elsie, Jane Alice, Thomas Edward, Alexander & Margaret Ethel Shaw
Military service:
Cyclists Company, Northumbrian Division and 1st/8th & 1st/7th Battalions, Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment.
Service nos.: 6032 & 307224
Rifleman
Medal(s): British War Medal
Victory Medal
Memorial(s): Cologne Southern Cemetery, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Grave Ref.: XII.F.8
Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland Book of Remembrance
Gender: Male
Contributed by John Edwards