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Thank you to Margaret Dennis for the following research. Thank you to Molly Worsfold and Tim Dumas from St. Bartholomew Church in Leigh for allowing Dorking Museum to reproduce their research. Thank you to Ian Sturges for family detail.
William Robert Sturges is wrongly listed on the South Street Memorial as W.R. Sturgess
William was born in Dorking on 31st May 1883 to William Norman and Fanny Susannah (nee Streeter) and baptised at St. Martin’s church on 22nd July 1883. William’s parents had married in Roffey, West Sussex on 24th March 1883. The family were living in Cape Place when William was born, and at 11 Hampstead Road when his sister Elizabeth Harriet was born on 30th January 1886.
When William enlisted in 1903 as a regular soldier, his occupation was a groom, and he was single.
William joined the Royal Sussex Regiment and served with them in the Boer War, winning the Queen Victoria Medal with 5 bars. He was sent to St. Helena to guard Boer prisoners and promoted to Lance Sergeant. In about 1904, he moved to the Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment as a Private, was posted to India with the 1st Battalion, he also served in Aden. He became a distinguished member of the running team, with long distance being his speciality. He came home in 1910, and was posted to the 2nd Battalion, who then went to Gibraltar for two years and while he was there he was promoted to Corporal. He also got married. He spent a year in Bermuda, and then applied for a home post. He rejoined the 1st Battalion and was promoted to Sergeant.
He left England at the outbreak of the War on 12th August 1914. He was killed in action near the River Aisne, Northern France 14th September 1914, aged 32, and commemorated on La Ferte-sous-Jouarre memorial to the missing. He was the first Dorking man to die in the First World War.
Locally Sergeant Sturges’ name is on Dorking South St Memorial, and Leigh memorials, as he had also lived in the Reigate area.
He left a wife and a one year old son.
| Born | Dorking, Surrey | |
| Lived | Reigate, Surrey | |
| Son of | William and Fanny Sturges of Dorking | |
| Enlisted | Guildford | |
| Regiment | 1st/2nd Battalion, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) | |
| Number | L/7881 | |
| Date of Death | 14th September 1914 | |
| Place of Death | Chemin des Dames, France | |
| Cause of Death | Killed in Action | |
| Age | 32 | |
| Memorial | La Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial |
