Person:William Robson (20)

William Hutchinson Robson was born in 1898 at Sunderland in County Durham, son of Isabella Westmorland Robson, formerly Hutchinson, and her husband James Cran Neil Robson, a painter and decorator. He appears in both the 1901 and 1911 censuses living with his parents and siblings in Sunderland. By 1911 he was working as a news boy.

When the First World War broke out, William was sixteen years old. He became a soldier, serving as a private in the Northumberland Fusiliers. His older brother James had also become a soldier, and was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Just under two years later, William was killed in action in Belgium. He was just twenty years old when he died. The armistice ending the war came seven months after William's death.

1. ↑ Births index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   b. William Hutchinson ROBSON, June Quarter 1898, Sunderland Registration District, Vol. 10a, page 622

2. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 4710; Folio 148; Page 7, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 65 Bell Street, Sunderland, Durham
   Two rooms occupied
   James C. Robson, head, married, male, 34 [1866/7], Painter House, worker, b. Sunderland, Durham
   Isabella W. Robson, wife, married, female, 32 [1868/9], b. Jarrow, Northumberland [sic]
   James T. Robson, son, single, male, 5 [1895/6], b. Sunderland, Durham
   William H. Robson, son, single, male, 2 [1898/9], b. Sunderland, Durham

3. ↑ England. 1911 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom: The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.))
   Class RG14; Piece 30176; Schedule 65, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: 25 Marlborough Street, Sunderland, Durham
   Three rooms occupied
   James Cran Nell Robson, head, male, 44 [1866/7], married, Ship Painter - Paint Manufacturing, worker, b. Sunderland, Durham
   Isabella Westmoreland Robson, wife, female, 42 [1868/9], married 16 years, 5 children born alive, 5 children still living, b. Jarrow, Durham
   James Thorburn Robson, son, male, 15 [1895/6], single, Apprentice Plater - Shipbuilding, worker, b. Sunderland, Durham
   William Hutchinson Robson, son, male, 12 [1898/9], School news boy, worker, b. Sunderland, Durham
   John Robson, son, male, 9 [1901/2], b. Sunderland, Durham
   Watson Robson, son, male, 7 [1903/4], b. Sunderland, Durham
   Henry Robson, son, male, 5 [1905/6], b. Sunderland, Durham

4. ↑ Commonwealth War Graves Commission, accessed 7 Aug 2013.

   Name: William H. ROBSON
   Rank: Private
   Service No: 36698
   Date of death: 8 Apr 1918
   Age: 20
   Regiment / service: Northumberland Fusiliers, 23rd (Tyneside Scottish) Bn.
   Panel reference: Panel 2
   Memorial: Ploegstreet Memorial, Hainaut, Belgium