RILEY, William

William Riley was the son of Louisa Riley of 5 Bloomfield Street, Halesowen. He volunteered for the Worcesters and joined the 10th (Service) Battalion. They had their first experiences of trench warfare in Artois during late 1915 and were then posted to the front line where other Worcesters had fought at Neuve Chapelle and Festubert. It was a quiet sector with few casualties but on the 19th March Private William Riley was killed in action. Shelling was a daily occurrence and this was probably the cause of his death. He was 25 years of age and is buried at Pont du Hem Cemetery (I A 8) and commemorated on the Halesowen Memorial.