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WilliamNathanPrior

PhotocourtesyofRobinandZoeBarnes

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WilliamNathanPriorwas theonly son and youngest child ofNathanandAnniePrior.

NathanPriorwasbornon27thJune1854inRoxwell,afarmingvillagejust outside Chelmsford, Essex. Nathan was the youngest child ofDavid Prior, an agricultural labourer/husbandman, also born inRoxwell,Essexin1811andSarahPriornéeBrightborninWrittle,Essexin1815.

DavidandSarahmarriedin1835.Theyhadfivechildrenwhosurvivedtoadulthood,Emmaborn in1836, Johnborn in1838,Sarah in1844,George in 1852 and finallyNathan in 1854. Tragedy struck thePriorfamilywhenSarah,aged43,diedofperitonitison4thMarch1857and,justtwoyearslater,on28thFebruary1859,Daviddiedofconsumption(presumedondeathcertificate)aged48.

Afterthedeathoftheirfather,youngSarahaged15wentintoserviceandworked as a general servant for farmer JosephWilliams and hisfamily inRunwell,Essex.Nathanaged4andhisolderbrotherGeorgeaged7wentto livewiththeireldersisterEmma(1836-1873)andherhusbandCharlesWidocks, anagricultural labourerborn in1835 (alsospelledWiderks).

In 1861, Nathan was aged 6 and George was aged 9. The brothersbegantheirworkinglivesasagriculturallabourersinEssex.Aftertheirsister Emma died, aged just 37, in 1873, the brothers moved toStratford,Essextofindwork.

In1881,NathanPrioraged27was lodgingwiththeClarkFamilyat6,Bridleway,Stratfordandwasemployedasalabourerinanironworks.The area of Stratford inwhich Nathan resided suggests that hemayhavebeenworkingintheengineeringworkshopsoftheGreatEastern

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Railway’s large railwayworks and depot in Stratford. The G.E.R. hadbuiltmanyhomesfortheirworkersinStratford.

Nathan probablymet his futurewife Anne in Stratford, Essex whereshelivedwithherfamily.

AnneTerryRolfewasborninKingsLynn,Norfolkin1858.ShewasthedaughterofWalterRolfe(1826-1909),aslatelayerandlater,arailwayinspectorwhowasborn inMildenhall,Suffolk.Walterwas thesonofThomasEldredRolfe (1802-1872),a saddler,born inBrandon,SuffolkandJaneRolfenéeVeall.

Walter’s wife was, Ann Terry Rolfe, née Bird (1825- 1903) who wasborninMarch,Cambridgeshire.WalterandAnnweremarriedon16thOctober 1850 and they had 10 children including Anne. Walter andAnnRolfelivedat55ManbeyGrove,Stratford,nearMarylandStation,inthelatteryearsoftheirlives.

AnneTerryRolfeandNathanPriorweremarriedinWestHamin1883.All their childrenwere born in Stratford Essex. Theywere Gertrude

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Anniebornin1884;EdithEllenborn1885;RoseAnnie(1887-1971)andWilliamNathan born in 1891. In 1891, the familywere living at 99,Manbey Road, Stratford, Essex which was very near Anne’s parentswholivedatno55,ManbeyGrove.

In1901,thePriorfamilywerelivingat36MorningtonRoad,Wanstead,exceptforEdithaged15,whowasnowinserviceasahousemaidfortheLocksFamilyinLeyton.TheeldestdaughterGertrude,aged17,wasemployedasawaitressinarestaurant.

Shortlyaftermoving toWanstead,NathanPrior joined theWansteadMen’sMeeting. Thiswas a ChristianBrotherhood, anorganizationofthe Wanstead Congregational Church, established by the Revd JohnJermyn inOctober 1903. By1908,Nathanwas an activememberoftheW.M.Mandamemberof thecommittee. NathancontributedtotheBrotherhood’sconsiderablesuccessinthearea.

In 1911, Nathan aged 56 was employed as a Signal Fitter in theRailway’sEngineersDepartment.Gertrudeaged26wasnowemployedas a nursemaid. Edith aged 25 was living at home again and wasemployedasadomesticcook.Roseaged24wasunemployed.

William,knowntothePriorfamilyasWillie,aged19,wasemployedasa commercial clerkwithametalmerchant. In1910,WilliamhadmetandfalleninlovewithayoungladycalledClaraLilianClarke.

Clara and her family lived at 7 Market Terrace, Market Place,Nightingale Lane inWansteadwhere they ran a sweetshop. By theoutbreak ofwar Clara andWilliamwere engaged to bemarried andweresavingforahome.

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Below:NathanPriorinc1908.(WansteadCongregationalChurchArchives)

Willie enlisted in Shaftesbury Street, North London with the 2nd/ 4thBattalionLondonRegiment(RoyalFusiliers).TheBattalionwasformedinSeptember1914.HelandedinEgyptwithhisregimentonrouteforGallipoli,onAugust24th1915.

The Gallipoli campaign was to become one of the most savagelycontested of the FirstWorldWar. Over 400,000 Allied troops werekilled and wounded and the Campaign ended in defeat andcontroversy.

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CorporalWilliamNathanPriorandhisBattalion landedat “W”Beachon the Gallipoli peninsula at aroundmidnight on October 15th 1915.They were engaged in various actions against the Turkish Army,includingthelandingatAnzacCove,thelandingatCapeHelles,the2ndBattleofKrithiaandthe3rdBattleofKrithia.

Below,troopslandingat‘W’Beach

Theill-fatedlandforcesattempttooccupytheGallipolipeninsulaandto control the Dardanelles Strait led to the British Government’sdecisiononthe7thDecember1915toevacuatethepeninsula.Thelasttroopslefton9thJanuary1916.

OnDecember23rd1915,while“A”and“B”Companieswereoutoftheline,adug-outattherestcampwashitbyashell.Onemanwaskilledand six were wounded; William was probably one of theseunfortunates.Themedicalarrangements inGallipoli for thewoundedwere totally inadequate; the casualties often outstripped availableresourcesandtheinjuredmensufferedunduly. Thewoundedhadtobeevacuatedtohospitalshipsoffshore,outofrangeofTurkishgunfire.

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Below,anoff-shoreHospitalShip

Williamdiedofhiswoundsonthehospitalship‘GloucesterCastle’on4th January1916duringthesuccessfulevacuationofGallipoli.Hewasburied at sea, so he is commemorated on the Helles Memorial,Canakkale,Turkey (Panel196)on theGallipoliPeninsula.Williamwas24yearsoldwhenhedied.

WilliamwasawardedtheWarandVictorymedalswiththe14/15Star.He is also commemorated on the Great War Memorial insideWansteadUnitedReformedChurchandalsoontheWarMemorial inWansteadHighStreet.

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MedalRecordCardforPrivateWilliamNathanPrior

Williamhadwrittenawill andafterprobatewasgranted,he left thesum of £382 11s 4d to his father Nathan Prior. He also left a smallamountofmoneytohisfiancéeClaraClarke.

Nathan Prior died shortly after theWar ended, on 29thMarch 1920,aged 65, just over 4 years after the loss of his only son. In hiswill,NathanlefthiswidowAnniethesumof£490-2s-8d.

AnniePriordiedaged77inWestHamEssexinJune1929.

With grateful thanks to Jackie Clark, a relative of the Prior family, for her help andsupport.

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WilliamNathanPrior’sfiancéeClaraandherfamilystory.

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Clara Lilian Clarke wearing Will’s locket. Photograph courtesy of Robin Barnes

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In1996,ZoeBarneswroteanarticlefortheEastSurreyFamilyHistorySociety’spublication,‘FamiliesatWar.’ZoeismarriedtoRobinBarnes,thegreatnephewofClaraLillianHiggin,néeClarke.Clarawasbornon14thFebruary1890,inHoxton,London.ShewasthedaughterofAlfredMissionClarkeandSophiaClarkenéeKenner.Clarahadanoldersister,Matilda Petrie Clarke, always known as Trixie, born in 1880 and abrotherAlfredHenryClarke,bornin1900.

In 1911, when Clara was 21 years old, the family were living at 7,Market Terrace, Market Place, Nightingale Lane, near WansteadCongregationalChurch. Clara’s fatherhaddied in1903at theageof46.

In 1911, Clara and her mother were in business, running a smallsweetshopandtobacconist.ClarahadmetayoungmancalledWilliamNathanPrior in1910and they soonbecamevery fondof eachotherandwereexpectedtomarry.

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No7,MarketTerrace,MarketPlaceinNightingaleLane.In2016thisisnowAnne’sNewsagents,86NightingaleLane,Wanstead.

PhotocourtesyofRobinBarnes.

“Hejustsmiledandpassedaway”Were-producethearticlebelowwiththekindpermissionofZoeBarnes.

ByZoeBarnes

In1914ArthurandMatilda(Trixie)BarnesofCatford,Kentfoundtheirlives not greatly changed by the outbreak of the First World War.ArthurwasfortyandnotfitenoughtofightsohestayedhomeinthepharmacyheraninpartnershipwithMrCharlesSayer.Hewouldhavelikedtohavejoinedupthesameasmanyofhisfriends,butinsteadhepatrioticallyboughtmaps,magazinesandbookstofollowtheprogressoftheAllies.

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Asthemonthsworeon,therealityoftheterriblebattlesbeingfoughtbecameapparentfromthestorieshiscustomerstoldofthehardshipstheirsonswereenduring.ArthurwasgladthathissonColinwasbarelytwoyearsold.

On the 23rd October 1914,Matilda’s younger sister, Clara camewithherfiancé,WilliamPriortohaveteawiththefamily.Theyhadknowneachotherforsomefouryearsandwereexpectedtomarrywhentheyhadenoughmoneyforahouse.Theylivedwithinamileofeachotherat Wanstead: Clara with her widowed mother and younger brotherAlfredwhilstWilllivedwithhisparents.

Will had joined up soon after the outbreak of hostilities and he hadcometosaygoodbyebeforeheleftfortrainingwithhisregiment.Willwas 22 years old and I think an only son. His parents, Nathan andAnnieandhisthreesistersmusthaveworriedforhim. AfterWill lefthe wrote regularly to Clara (whom he nicknamed ‘Darkie’ for herbeautifuldarkeyes)andshetreasuredhislettersallherlife.Honouringher dying wishes, they were destroyed, unread, after her death in1984.WillalsowrotetoArthurandTrixandtheyinturnsentletters,parcelsandreadingmatterbacktohimatChristmas.

1914foundWilltrainingatMaidstonewiththe2/4thBattalion,LondonRegimentRoyal Fusiliers. Hewas verybusywith little time to spare,buthemanagedtowrite to thankArthur for theparcelsandmedicaladvice. Sometime in theNewYear the regimentwas shippedout toMaltatofinishtraining.Willdidn’tknowitbuthewasheadingforoneofthewar’sbiggestcatastrophes-Gallipoli.

Will’s letters homewere allwrittenwith the censor inmind so theywere mostly light-hearted and contained very little military

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information.Thepleasurethatparcelsfromhomecouldbringtomenliving in tents, on army rations, can be imagined. While copingwiththesedifficulties,Willmanagedtoshopforlaceandothermementoesto send home. He wrote very practically, ‘I purchased the doyleysmadewith linen instead of silk as I thought the former would washbetter.’Healsoguaranteesthatthelaceishandmade,‘thougheveninMalta an awful lot of shops endeavour to push lace made inNottinghamonyouwhilstswearingitisMaltese.’

ThoughWillhopeddailythattheregimentwouldmoveon,June1915stillfoundhiminMaltabutatleasthehadhisfirsttasteofaction.Inalonganddetailed lettertoArthur,hetellsofaraidonthehomeofanearbypeasantwhowassuspectedofsignallingtoenemysubmarines.It turned out to be a joke played on the officer inWill’s patrol, butunfortunately thiswasnotdiscovereduntil theyhad raided thepoorman’s house and managed to frighten both themselves and theoccupantsbadly.

Writingletterspassedthetime,butworryingaboutfamilyandfriendsmusthavemadetheinactiononMaltaseemworse.Arthurwrotethathis son Colin had become ill and was taken to Brighton to recover.Parcels continued to be exchanged, with Will endeavouring to findpiecesofGosschinatosendtobothTrixieandhisfiancéeClara,whowerebothkeencollectors.

TheDardanellescampaignwasgoingbadly. GroupsofmenfoughttogainatoeholdonthebarrencliffsastheTurksfiredfromtheheights.WillwasstuckonMalta.InAugusthevolunteeredtogotoFrancetostrengthentheregimentwhereitwasinaction,butwasunsuccessful.ThesoldiersonMaltawereengagedinbuildingnewcamps.Thiswasnot to Will’s liking at all. He managed to find a drunken army

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storekeeperandpersuadedhimthatheneededanassistant.‘ItoldhimI had considerable experience in that linewhen in civilian life’-morelies. Every morning Will checked out tools to the men and in theeveninghecheckedthembackandforthishereceivedextrapay.

Eventually, in the middle of August 1915, Will was moved toAlexandria.Hewasnowunsureastowherehewouldeventuallyendupbutforthemoment,EgyptmadeanicechangefromMalta.On14thSeptember 1915,Will and some of his pals pooled their money andwenttoseethesights.

Arthur received a long letter describing the journey by train fromAlexandria to Cairo, the sights of Cairo and the train ride to thepyramids. They had seen the inside of the Great Pyramid, riddendonkeys to see the Sphinx, and even managed to miss their returntrain.Theyarrivedbackincampearlynextmorningjustintimeforrollcall.IthadbeenajollytripandWillhadenjoyedhimself.

He nowheard that theywere tomove oncemore andwith his nextlettertoArthurheenclosedanenvelopeforClara:‘should…..Iceasetobe anymore please give Darkie the enclosed note. Don’t think I amlosing heart old chap, far from it, but everything is possible …… Isincerelyhopethatyouwillneverhavetheoccasiontohandthisletterover’.

Beforehe leftAlexandria,Will foundhehadsomethingnewtoworryabout. Family and friends were under threat from Zeppelins andpossibly from invasion. However, he still found time to track downsomeGosschinaforClaraandTrixie.

In the middle of October 1915, one year since he’d answered hiscountry’s call, Lance CorporalWilliam Prior finally arrived in Gallipoli

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and intothethickofthemuddlethatmarkedmuchofthiscampaign.Hewrote‘…ifsomeenterprisingpersonwouldhirethepeninsulaandletitoutasamazethereisafortunetobemade’.

Will puts a cheerful face on conditions: there was little water, notmuchinthewayofwarmfoodorclothing,andevenwhennotatthefront, thetroopscouldbecaughtunderfire. Amazinglythepostwasstill getting through and from a dugout somewhere in Gallipoli, inNovember 1915, Will sent thanks for another of Arthur and Trixie’sparcels. Any illusions he had harboured must have left Will manymonthsbeforeandhehopedinthefuture,‘thatwarswillbenomore.’Hislettersnowarelesscheerfulandthismusthaveworriedthefamilyat home althoughWill does not seem to have suffered from the ill-healththatplaguedmanyofthemenlivinginthecold,wettrenches.

November22nd1915foundWill‘unshaven,coveredinmudandterriblydirty,thatyoumayfail torecogniseme.’Hewas inatrenchnearthefront fighting off attacking Turks and sitting through thunder storms.Ominously,hewrote,‘althoughwehaveonlybeenheresoshortatimeas sixweekswe have only about half themenwe landedwith…… Imustclosenowasanastyaccidenthasjustoccurredwhichhasupsetmeabit.Oneofmypalshasjustbeenblowntopiecesandtwomoreseriously injured and the sight of this has turned me a bit.’ TheseincidentsmusthavebecomealltoofamiliartothesoldiersatGallipolialthoughbyDecember,Willwrote in amoreoptimistic vein that theweatherhadimprovedandhishealthwasstillgood.

Christmas 1915 had none of the optimism of 1914, thewar seemedunendingandtherewasnolightattheendofthetunnel.AtGallipolithe decision had been taken to evacuate and as Will wrote hisChristmas cards, the Anzacs and the B.E.F. were abandoning the

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wretchedpatchof rock theyhadhungon to for eightmonths. WhyWill dated his cards the 28th December 1915 we will never knowbecause a week later he was dead. Two days later the Allies leftGallipoliforgood.

Will had probably been injured by a shell and then suffered aninfection. In a time before antibiotics any such infectionwas seriousandoftenfatal.Hewasnursedonboardahospitalshipanddiedthere.Likemanyhewasburiedatsea.

William Prior died 80 years ago and lies buried in thewaters of theDardanellesbutforushelivesoninhisphotographsandthetwentyorso letters thathesenthomeandwhichsurvive.Thoughtful,kindandcaring with a sense of humour and great optimism are the qualitiesthatshinethroughhiswriting.Thesewerealsothecharacteristicsthatother people noticed in him. Chaplain G. Raymond Locky wrote toClara,addressingherasMrsPrior,andtellingofWill’slasthours,takingcommunionandsharinganapplewithafellowpatient.

InFebruary1916Clara receiveda letter fromoneof thenurses,A.G.NashwhohadbeenwithWillbeforehedied.Fromherletterwefindthat Will had had his left arm amputated so he probably died ofgangrene.‘HesmiledsosweetlywhenIwenttohisbedandaskedmetogivehimthelittlegoldringandputitonhisfingerandhejustsmiledandpassedaway.’EvenwhenhewaswoundedWillhadsaid, ‘attendtotheothersfirsttheyareworsethanIam.’Thisnursewhomusthaveseenall sortsof horrorswrote aboutWill as if having ‘a tremendousfeelingofstrengthandgoodnesshisunselfishnesswasbeautiful,Ishallneverforgethim.’

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In the one letter to Clara that survives,Will was anxious that in theeventofhisdeath,‘hisowndearDarkie’wouldbehappy.‘NowDarkie,I do thankyou from thebottomofmyheart for all thepleasureyouhave given me and hope that sometimes in future years when mymemorycrossesyourmindyouwillalwaysthinkofmeasatruefriendandone that shouldhehave livedwouldhaveendeavoured tomakeyouashappyaspossible.’

Will leftClarasomemoneyhopingshewouldbuyacabinettodisplayhercherishedcollectionofGosschina,whichshedid.Healsothankedhis good friends, Trixie and Arthur, ‘for their great kindness andthoughtfulness they have shown me ….. I am very proud indeed tohavehad theprivilegeof including them inmysmall categoryof realtruefriends.’

Arthur and Trixie looked after and supported Clara throughout thisdifficult time asWill had asked them. For just over a year they hadfollowedWill throughhis brief army careerhopingagainsthope thathewouldcomehomeandjointheirfamily.Theyweretosuffermoreanxiety twenty-five years laterwhen theironly son joined theRAF inWorldWarII–butthat’sanotherstory.

Addendum: In January 2016, Robin Barnes, Arthur and Trixie’sgrandsonaddedthefollowingtoWilliamPrior’sstory.

WehaveanumberoflettersfromWilltoClara’ssisterandbrother-in-law,mygrandparents,sometoClaraherself,andtwofromthosewhocaredforhiminhislasthours.WealsohavepicturesofWillandagoldlocketthathegavetoClara,withhispictureinside

Anextract from theChaplain’s letter dated4th January1916 toClaraincludes the following“Yesterday Iaskedhim if I shouldwrite toyou

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buthedeterminedtodothat forhimselfassoonashecould- I thinkthatwhathewouldhavelikedtosaywouldbejustforyoureyesandears alone. He told me that you were a member of the Church ofEnglandandthathehadmadeuphismindtobeconfirmed:soItoldhim a little about Communion and Absolution and this morning at5.30amheldaHolyCommunionserviceinthewardandadministeredto him. He had had a very bad night but justwhile the servicewasgoingonwaseasier….Lateritwasobviousthathecouldnotlastoutthemorning and I gave him special absolution and Blessing that youwillfindintheServicefortheVisitationoftheSickandheseemedverygrateful.At7.20amIlefthimwiththeSisterlookingafterhim,thinkingtoseehimafterbreakfast,buthecollapsedandpassedawayjustafter7.30am.”

At the time of Will’s death Clara was living with her mother at 86,Nightingale Lane (whichwas7,Market Terrace,MarketPlace)wheretheykeptasweetshop.Strangetorelate, it isstillasweetshop,nowcalledAnne’sNewsagent.

RobinandZoedonotbelievethatClarawasCofEasshewasbaptisedinto the Church of England in old age. They also know that hergrandfather was a non-denominational missionary with the LondonCityMission.

Robinwrites,“WhennewsofWill’sdeathreachedClarashewasinthemiddle of someembroidery andnever finished it, leaving theneedlestuckinthecloth.

Willhadwrittentwo“justincaseIdon’tmakeit”letterswhichwestillhave and they are very sad. They remindus of amarriage and a lifeplannedbutunfulfilled.

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WillsentClaraasewingworkbasketfromMalta(wherehistroopshipstoppedoffonhiswaytoEgyptformilitarytraining)andwedonatedthat,manyyearsago,totheMuseumofLondon.Thegoldlocketnowbelongs to our daughter, Clara’s great, great niece, who remembersWillwhenshewearsit.

AfterthatIthinkthatsheratherbuiltWillandthemarriedlifethatshewould have had with him into an ideal. Great Aunt Clara did, later,marry anotherWansteadmanon the3rd July 1924when shewas34years old. His name was Charles Higgin (1869-1942) who ran theWanstead Laundry in Nightingale Lane. Clara and Charlie lived at‘Glendale’ 4, Stanstead Roadwhich is just off Nightingale Lane, nearNightingaleGreen.

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AfterCharlie’sdeath in1942Clara,aged52, retired toChelmsford tobenearerherbrother.SadlyClaraneverhadchildrenofherownbutshe was looked after in old age bymy father, her nephew, and shelivedtotheripeoldageof93,dyingin1984.

Withgrateful thanks toRobinandZoeBarnes for sharingClaraandWill’sstory.

Every effort has been made to contact all copyright holders of thematerialpublishedintheprofilesoftheseyoungmen.Wewillbegladtomakegoodanyerrorsoromissionsbroughttoourattention.

Youmaydownloadthisresourceatnocostforpersonaluseaslongasyouarenotpublishingforsale.Allweaskisthatyouacknowledgethesourceofthismaterial.

MargarethaPollittBrownforWansteadUnitedReformedChurch.