COURTNEY, William

William Courtney was the son of Isaac and Mary Courtney of 75 John Street, Brierley Hill, and was born in Quarry Bank. He attended King Edward’s School, Stourbridge, from 1904 to 1907 and was an assistant teacher at Moor Street Schools in Brierley Hill. He volunteered for the South Staffordshire Regiment but was transferred to the Gloucesters at some point, possibly after return from injury. He joined the 8th (Service) Battalion and was promoted to Sergeant. They fought valiantly at La Boisselle on the first three days of the great battle of the Somme in 1916 but their subsequent attack at High Wood at the end of July was a costly failure. They returned to the Somme in November for the last action of this exhausting battle and fought on the Ancre in a sea of mud. Their objective was Grandcourt but during the struggle Sergeant William Courtney was killed in action on the 16th November. He was 25 years of age and is buried in Grandcourt Road Cemetery (C 94) and commemorated on the Brierley Hill, Brierley Hill church and King Edward VI College Memorials.