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William Henry CausonWilliam Causon was born in Saul in the summer of 1896, the second of Thomas William Ballinger Causon (a miller, but later a gardener) and Frances Alice Mildred Allen's seven children. He was baptised in Frampton on 20 December the same year. The family lived in Shakespeare Cottage, Vicarage Lane, a property with five rooms, including the kitchen. William caught measles in November 1910 during an epidemic which caused the death of eight children from the National School that winter. He worked as labourer before the war.
On 9 September 1915 William enlisted in the 14th (Service) Battalion (West of England) Gloucestershire Regiment at Chisledon. This unit was known as a 'bantam' battalion, a bantam, in British Army usage, being a soldier of below the minimum regulation height of 5 ft 3 in; he was only 5 ft 1 in tall. In December 1915, during training at Tidworth, Wilts, William sustained an injury. He had been fallen out from drill and was running about to keep warm but fell and was kicked by another soldier running behind. His right tibia was fractured and he was left with a significant limp. He was transferred to 15th (Reserve) Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment in January 1916, but was later declared physically unfit and was discharged on 10 July 1916. He received the Silver War Badge and is commemorated on the plaque in the Village Hall. William Causon is recorded as living in the village with his parents until 1921. He has not been definitively traced after that date, although the death of a William Henry Causon born 27 June 1896 was recorded in the second quarter of 1979 in the Ogwr district of Glamorgan. |