3rd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own)
Wilfred Seeley was born on 8 December 1899 at Rotherham, Yorkshire. He was the son of Elijah and Clarissa Elizabeth Seeley. At the time of the 1901 Census he was the youngest of five children (four sons, one daughter). His father was a furniture dealer.
He joined the Army at Barnsley on 8 May 1918, stating his occupation to be a crane driver and that he was unmarried. Initially he was posted to ‘C’ Company of the 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment; transferring to the 3rd Battalion on 2 April 1919.
He died as a result of a motor accident on 30 September 1919; he was 19 years old. A report in The Citizen in October 1919 stated:
Soldier’s neck broken: In motor lorry smash at Birdlip: Vehicle runs backwards and overturns.
A serious motor accident, which resulted in the death of Pte. Wilfred Seeley of the West Yorks. Regiment occurred near Birdlip on Wednesday morning.
It appears that the Company to which the deceased belongs were being conveyed from Salisbury Plain to Gloucester by motor lorry. Seeley was riding in one of the leading lorries which contained four other men and some boxes of ammunition. When mounting the hill by Nettleton, the driver of the lorry tried to change gear and got the clutch out, but was unable to replace it. He applied the brakes but the lorry ran backwards down the hill and overturned.
Seeley, who was asleep at the time, appears to have been struck in the neck by one of the ammunition boxes, with a result that his neck was dislocated and he was killed immediately.
The facts have been reported to the Coroner by PC Loveday, Birdlip and an inquest will be held at the Police Station on Thursday morning.
His father, living at 40 Frederick Street, Rotherham, was informed of his death by telegram on 2 October 1919.
Private Seeley was buried near to the scene of the accident, at Brimpsfield (St Michael) Churchyard, where a CWGC headstone marks his grave. He is commemorated on the Rotherham War Memorial.
Researched by Graham Adams 25 October 2011