William was born in Portwood in 1890, the eldest child of Frank and Katie Hoyle. They lived at 6, Henry Street, Brinnington, Stockport. He has two younger sisters, Mary and Sarah. Frank died in 1897 leaving his widow to marry Charles Carson, a widower, in the following year.

William went to the Portwood Wesleyan Day School, and afterwards to St. Joseph’s School next to St. Joseph’s R.C. Church in the centre of Stockport.

In 1901 the family were living at 27, Heald Street, Portwood, Stockport.

By 1911 the family had moved to 26, Hatherlow Street, Portwood and William was working for Messrs T. and J. Leigh as a bobbin carrier in the Meadow Mill, Portwood, Stockport. (This large mill is still standing close to Junction 27 of the M60.)

He was an active member of the Portwood Reform Club on Avenue Street, Stockport and was well known around Portwood having spent almost his whole life there.

From his Army Service number, it appears that William Hoyle enlisted around May 1911. The newspapers state that he was called up as a reservist in August 1914 which suggests that William enlisted in the Special Reserve. He would have completed 6 months initial training followed by 3 to 4 weeks training per year. The reserves would allow a young man to escape from the mill for a few weeks and provide a welcome source of extra money.

William was called up in August 1914 and was sent out to reinforce the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment on 11th September. The battalion had been all but wiped out during the Retreat from Mons so the drafts were urgently needed.

William may have taken part in The Battle of the Aisne on 14th September 1914. Cheshires were now advancing north as part of an attempt by the Allies to outflank the German armies in the 'Race to the Sea'. William took part in actions at La Bassee and Ypres.

By November the battalion had reached the Belgium border and William was wounded in the 1st Battle of Ypres receiving a severe shock from a bursting shell. He was in hospital first at Rouen and then in England in Tonbridge Wells. He returned home on 22nd December 1914 in time for Christmas.

William returned to the 1st Battalion on 11th February 1915. While the Cheshires were not involved with the initial attack and subsequent retreat on Hill 60 in April and May 1915, on 19th June 1915 they were in the front-line positions at Dormy House, Zillebeke, just to the south of Ypres (now Ieper).

The Battalion's War Diary makes no mention of casualties for the day when William was killed but records that units to the left of their position were gassed and subject to heavy artillery fire. William’s body was not recovered.

'HOYLE.'

'– Private Wm. HOYLE, 1st Cheshire, killed in action at Hill 60 on June 19, was the son of Mrs. Catherine Carson, 26 Hatherlow-street. He was a bobbin-carrier at Meadow Mill, and a member of Avenue-street Reform Club. Early in the war he was wounded, came home in December, recovered, and went back to the Front.'

Stockport Express 29 July 1915

'News has been received that Private Wm. Hoyle, of the 1st Cheshires, has been killed in action. He is another Portwood lad to give his life for his country. He is the son of Mrs Catherine Carson, of 26, Hatherlow-street, and before the war was employed at the Meadow Mill as a bobbin carrier. He was a reservist, and was called up on August 5th. He took part in many of the great battles in the early stages of the war, and was in the Mons retreat and also at La Bassee and Ypres. In the taking of a trench he received a severe shock from the bursting of a shell, and was for a time in Rouen Hospital, and afterwards in hospital at Tunbridge Wells. He came home on December 22nd , and returned to the front on February 11th, and was killed on June 19th at Hill 60. He was well-known in the Portwood district, where he had spent almost his whole life. He went to the Portwood Wesleyan Day School, and afterwards to St. Joseph’s, and on leaving school commenced to work for Messrs T. and J. Leigh. He was a member of the Avenue-street Reform Club. Mrs Carson has four stepsons in the forces.'

Stockport Advertiser 30 July 1915

'HOYLE'

'– Private WILLIAM HOYLE, 1st Cheshires, son of Mrs Catherine Carson of 26 Hatherlow-street, Stockport. Killed at Hill 60. He was a bobbin carrier at the Meadow Mill, Portwood, and was called up as a reservist in August.'

Cheshire Daily Echo 3 August 1915

William is commemorated at the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial, Belgium, also at the Stockport War Memorial, Wellington Road South, Stockport and on the War Memorial in St. Joseph’s R.C. Church, Tatton Street, Stockport.

Rest in Peace..

1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission “Find War Dead.
2. Nixon, Paul, Army Service Numbers 1881-1918. At the time Army Service Numbers were issued sequentially by regiment. Nixon has analysed these numbers by year, so the Cheshire Regiment issued Service Number 9408 on 7 February 1910 and Service Number 9658 on 27 June 1911. This indicates that William Hoyle enlisted between these dates, probably in the summer of 1910.
3. Cheshire Daily Echo 26 July 1915 and 3 August 1915.
4. “The Long, Long Trail – The British Army in the Great War of 1914 – 1918”, British army reserves and reservists.
5. Free BMD Births Sep 1890, Hoyle, William, Stockport, Vol 8a, Page 84.
6. The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England, 1891 Census; Class: RG12; Piece: 2804; Folio: 37; Page: 37 and 1901 Census; Class: RG13; Piece: 3298; Folio: 50; Page: 9 and 1911 Census; Class: RG14; Piece: 21389.
7. Free BMD Deaths Jun 1897, Hoyle, Frank, Age 35, Stockport, Vol 8a, Page 66.
8. Marriages Sep 1898, Carson, Charles, Stockport, Vol 8a, Page 83 and Marriages Sep 1898, Hoyle, Catherine, Stockport, Vol 8a, Page 83.
9. Army Medal Office. WWI Medal Index Cards. In the care of The Western Front Association.
10. Picture of Meadow Mill copyright Alan Murray-Rust and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
11. Stockport Advertiser 30 July 1915.
12. Hartley, John, “More than a Name” 2008.
13. Wells, Dominic “The Soldiers of St. Joseph’s Parish” 2018.
14. Thanks to Stockport Heritage Library.