William Stafford (1888-1918)
Ryhope man served with 1/7th DLI died in a prisoner of war camp buried in Cologne
William Stafford, the son of John Henry and Jane Stafford was born in Ryhope, Durham, in 1888. He had four sisters and two half-sisters, and lived all his life in the Ryhope area until he enlisted in the Durham Light Infantry (DLI). He married Mary Elizabeth Atkinson in Sunderland in 1912 and they had a son.
Little can be discovered about his military service, apart from the fact that he served in the 1/7th Battalion DLI and landed in France on 28 October 1915. He was captured by the enemy at Craonne on 21 May 1918 during the fighting on the River Aisne and sent to the prisoner of war (POW) camp at Limburg. He died of heart failure there on 24 September 1918 and was buried in the local cemetery. He was subsequently re-interred in the Cologne Southern Cemetery.
https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/en/List/4628102/698/41404/
https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/34600/cologne-southern-cemetery/
Civil Parish: Ryhope
Birth date: 1888
Death date: 24-Sep-1918
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 8 Queen Street, Ryhope, Durham (1891 census)
2 Nicholson Street, Ryhope, Durham (1901 census)
11 Powell Terrace, Ryhope, Durham (1911 census)
26 Regent Terrace, Grangetown, Sunderland, Durham (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)
Employment: Stoneman in Ryhope Colliery (1911 census)
Family: Father: John Henry Stafford
Mother: Jane Stafford (nee Adamson, formerly Soulsby)
Sisters: Mary Ann, Jane A, Sarah Elizabeth & rebecca Stafford
Wife: Mary Elizabeth Stafford (nee Atkinson)
Son: John William A Stafford
Military service:
1/7th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
Service nos.: 3333 & 275872
Private
Medal(s): 1914-1915 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Memorial(s): Cologne Southern Cemetery, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Grave Ref.: XI.C.5
D.L.I. Book of Remembrance, Durham Cathedral
Seaburn, Durham T.A. Centre 7th D.L.I. Roll of Honour of the Fallen
Gender: Male
Contributed by John Edwards