7782 Sgt William John Lissmore Kersey, 2nd Bn, Hampshire Regiment

7782 Sergeant William John Lissmore Kersey of the 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment was 26 years old when he was killed in action on 18th October 1916. He was born in Cowes, Isle of Wight and was the son of John Lissmore Kersey of East Cowes.

William Kersey's medal index card notes that he was a private when he first landed overseas in Gallipoli on the 15th June 1915 and that he was an acting sergeant at the time of his death. His number looks to date to 11907 and marks him as a regular soldier who, unless he had extended his service, had probably only been on the Reserve for two or three months before he was recalled to the Colours.

William Kersey was one of 792 British soldiers to die on this day in 1916 but unlike many, he has a known grave. He is one of 1773 men buried in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery at Longueval.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission