Thank you to John Callcut for letting us reproduce the following information, taken from his book: A Village at War. Newdigate in World War One.
William Charles Chatfield was born in the small village of Nutley on the edge of the Ashdown Forest near Uckfield in 1894 where he grew up with his brother Alfred and his sister Mabel. His father died in 1904 and his mother, Harriett Anne married William Henry Wheeler in Cuckfield two years later. They set up home in Marshalls Cottages in Maresfield where Henry (as he was known) and his stepson William worked on the local farm whilst Harriett looked after the children and her new daughter Millie. Eventually the family moved to New Barn Cottages in Seal near Farnham, but before that William and his mother came to work for Captain Palmer at Oaklands Park, Partridge Lane, Newdigate, where he became well known and respected throughout the district. William enlisted into the Queen’s at Dorking. The battalion was involved in bitter fighting from the 15th to the 22nd July 1916 around High Woodand the attack on the trench known as the German Switch during which there were 1,697 casualties.
KILLED BY BOMB EXPLOSION
News has been received of the death of Pte. William Charles Chatfield, of the Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regt., son of Mrs. Chatfield, of Oaklands Park, Newdigate. Pte. Chatfield was accidentally killed on July 29th, by a bomb, which he was about to throw into an enemy trench. He was a well-known and respected in the Newdigate district, and before joining up in January last he was in the employ of Capt. Palmer.
William Chatfield Death Notice 7th October 1916 © Surrey Advertiser
Pte. Chatfield was accidentally killed on the 29th July by a bomb which he was about to throw into an enemy trench, and is buried in Dernacourt Communal Cemetery which at the time was used by the Field Ambulances. His name is also recorded on the memorial in Nutley Parish Church.
© Dorking Advertiser
| Born | Nutley, West Sussex | |
| Lived | Newdigate, Surrey | |
| Son of | The late William George Chatfield and Harriett Annie Wheeler. Newdigate | |
| Regiment | 1st Battalion. The Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment | |
| Number | G/7220 | |
| Date of Death | 29th July 1916 | |
| Place of Death | Somme, France | |
| Cause of Death | Accidentally Killed | |
| Age | 21 | |
| Cemetery | Dernacourt Communal Cemetery, France |
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