First World War Commonwealth War Grave - Horace James Wise

War grave of Private Horace J Wise.
All Saint's Cemetery, Maidenhead Berkshire.

 

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them".

 

 

 

Horace James Wise was born in 1891 to Alfred Wise, a bricklayer, and his wife Maria Woodward, a sweet shop owner.

Horace attended the local Wesleyan Sunday school as a child and was mentioned in a report of the Anniversary Celebration commending his singing. Horace also played to the town's Football Club, The Maidenhead Magpies. 

 

On the 1901 Census, 9 year old Horace can be found living at 18 Moffatt Street (which now no longer exists), Maidenhead Berkshire, along with his elder brother George and younger sister Elizabeth.

 

1911 finds Horace, now a warehouse porter, working for Messers J and R Morley and living at 18 Charterhouse Street, London.

 

Horace first enlisted with the Royal Berkshire Regiment but was declared as unfit for service on 8th November 1915.  He later enlisted with the 184th Machine Gun Corps on 11th October 1916.  On 16th February 1917 Horace arrived at the Field Billet.  On 10th April Horace was deprived of 6 days' pay for losing by neglect his rations.  He was in trouble again on 22nd May for being absent from the Billet between 21:00 and 21:20, for this he was deprived 2 days' pay.

 

On 27th August 1917 Horace was wounded in action, he received a gunshot wound to his left buttock as well as shrapnel wounds to his back.  He was immediately transferred to Grantham Military Hospital in Sunderland where his wounds were cleaned and he underwent a Laparotomy (an exploratory operation on the abdomen), which found that the wounds had not penetrated his bowels.

 

Horace never returned to fight at the front, on 20th February 1919 he became unwell and was again admitted to the Grantham Military Hospital on 25th February and was found to be suffering from Influenza and Bronchial Pneumonia, sadly despite all efforts to save him, Horace died at 5:30am on 27th February 1919.

 

He left behind his Father Alfred, mother Maria, and siblings George, and Elizabeth. After his death, on 8th December 1919 his father Alfred wrote enquiring as to what became of his son's brand-new Camden boots. It is unclear if the boots were returned to his family.