Army Service Corps
William Henry Caudle was born at Leckhampton in the fourth quarter of 1886, the son of John and Ellen Caudle, who lived at Grantham, Leckhampton. He was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School and prior to the war he worked as a clerk in the Education Department of London County Council. In 1909 he married Florence May Caudle at Lambeth, London and by the time of the 1911 census the couple had one child, a daughter, Rhona May. At that time the family was living at 31 Okeburn Road, Upper Tooting in south west London.
He enlisted into the Army Service Corps in Tooting but his Service Record has not survived, so it is not known if he served overseas. The absence of a Medal Index Card, would indicate that perhaps he served at home only.
On 6 July 1918 he died of pneumonia in the Military Hospital at Press Heath, Shropshire, aged 31 and was buried in Leckhampton (St Peter) Churchyard, where his grave is marked by a standard CWGC headstone. He is commemorated on the Cheltenham Borough War Memorial, Leckhampton Village and the Pates Grammar School Memorials. Oddly the Leckhampton War Memorial incorrectly records that he died at Poperinghe, Belgium and Soldiers Died in the Great War gives his surname as ‘Candle’.
The CWGC Register records that his widow was living at 857 Garratt Lane, Tooting when the register was compiled in the early 1920s.
Researched by Graham Adams 19 March 2013 with acknowledgement to “Leaving all that was dear – Cheltenham and the Great War” by Joe Devereux and Graham Sacker.