Family :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

23 November 1914 - 6 February 1915. As the armies of 1914 fought themselves to exhaustion they settled down by the end of the year to the realities of static trench warfare. During the winter, activity was mostly comprised of a series of small scale raids and attempts by the BEF to gain superiority over the battlefront. At the same time increasing numbers of Territorial battalions and replacements for the Regular battalions came into theatre and had to be trained and acclimatised to trench occupation. This period was further noted for the severity of the weather and the need to rapidly source and equip the troops with adequate winter and waterproof equipment, whilst improving the trench conditions. Miserable times.

Detail :

CAPTAIN WILLIAM HAMILTON PADDAY, 36th attd. 47th SIKHS, Born at Stoke Devonport, on the 21st September, 1881, was the younger son of the late Colonel A. C. Padday, Royal (late Bengal) Engineers, and a grandson of Thomas Campbell Foster, Q.C., a Bencher of the Middle Temple, and Recorder of Warwick. He was educated at Bath College, and the R.M.C, Sandhurst. He was a prominent member of the Bath College Football XV in 1898; and at Sandhurst in 1900 ran with his company when it won the cross-country race. He entered the R.M.C. in 1900, and from there in the following year obtained his commission in the Indian Army, and was attached to the Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment), then serving in the Punjab. After a year's service with this regiment he was gazetted to the 36th Sikhs. Some years later, for a short time, he joined the Military Police in Assam, rejoining his regiment in 1910. He was a keen sportsman, fond of shooting, fishing, and yachting. For a time he was the Honorary Secretary of the Lucknow and also of the Xaini Tal Yacht Clubs ; and while racing with the latter club won several cups. He was also a member of the Junior Army and Navy Club, London. On the outbreak of the war with Germany he was at home on leave, and was attached for a short time to the 8th (Service) Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment). Early in November he joined the 47th Sikhs in France, and with them he was serving when killed in action on the 21st December, 1914, near Givenchy. The circumstances of his death were thus related by an officer of the regiment : On the night of the 20th and 21st December the regiment had been ordered to take a trench, which was found to be occupied at both ends by Germans with machine guns. Previous experience had shown that the best way to dislodge the enemy from such positions was by parties of bomb-throwers creeping up and throwing bombs among them. Captain Padday was in charge of a regimental party of bomb-throwers whom he had himself trained, and went off with the party to dislodge the Germans. A Sepoy who was with him said he had thrown two bombs, and was preparing to throw a third when he was shot through the head at close range. It was impossible to recover the body at the time, and a retirement being just then ordered the party had to make their way back. As a subsequent counter-attack, in which the 47th Sikhs did not participate, did not reach that particular trench, it was never possible to recover the bodies of those who died there. His CO wrote that he died a most gallant death, gallantly performing a difficult task. Another officer wrote: "His coolness and great personal bravery alone commanded admiration, and his never-failing cheerfulness under any circumstances."

Probate PADDAY William Hamilton of 30 Orsett-terrace Hyde Park Middlesex a captain in H.M. Indian Army died 21 December 1914 at Givenchy in Northern France Administration London 26 April to Alice Hamilton Padday widow. Effects £910 12s. 1d.

Masonic :

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley