Army Service Corps
William Coombe was born in Cheltenham in 1877.
He enlisted there intp the Army Service Corps (ASC). He had seen considerable service abroad and died on 11 May 1918, at Shirehampton near Bristol whilst serving with the Remounts Depot there; he was 41 years of age. He is buried in the New Burial Ground, Horsefair Street, Charlton Kings.
He left a widow, Kate Coombe, at a Ham (Green), Charlton Kings address.
A recently released Pension Record Card states the cause of death was ‘self inflicted wounds, whilst temporarily insane’. The Western Daily Press of 14 May 1918 reported the inquest at Bristol, where it emerged that William Coombe was found in a field at Barrack Lane, Shirehampton with his throat cut. A razor was found nearby. A fellow member of the ASC, who worked with him, reported that Coombe had talked about committing suicide on several occasions, as he believed he had cancer, his brother having died from it. The inquest concluded that he died of a self inflicted wound whilst of unsound mind.
Researched by Graham Adams 22 July 2011 (revised 26 July 2021)