HALE, William Basil

William Hale was born in Wordsley and lived at the Acorn Inn, Brettell Lane, until moving to Sussex where he became a hunt servant at The Kennels, Eastbourne, Sussex. He enlisted in the West Somerset Yeomanry in September 1914 which went as dismounted troops to Gallipoli in October 1915.They moved to Egypt in December and formed part of the Western Frontier Force. In July 1916 he was he was posted to the Machine Gun Corps and by May 1918 he was a Sergeant serving on the Western Front. He then suffered from severe kidney abcesses and was sent to a military hospital. He was transferred to hospital in London on the 1st June, only to contract influenza. Sergeant William Hale was 28 years of age and died at St George’s Hospital on the 25th June’ He is buried in Amblecote churchyard and commemorated on the Amblecote Memorial.