Last wishes of men who gave their lives
They are the last wishes of men who gave their lives in service to their country.
Black Country and Staffordshire soldiers ensured their loved ones would inherit all they had after they fell in battle in the Great War.
The wills of servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice are simple affairs. Three released to the Express & Star show how each soldier bequeathed all they owned either to parents or a spouse in just one sentence.
The wills form part of a unique UK archive of 278,000 digitised First World War documents. They have been preserved, scanned and placed online by records management company Iron Mountain and HM Courts & Tribunals Service as part of a modernisation programme and to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War.
The wills, which were carried around by soldiers at all times in a pocket book tucked into their uniform, represent the soldier's last ever personally written record.
More than one million searches for individual wills have already been made since the archive went live last year.
The 'informal will' documents declare: "The enclosed document appears to have been written or executed by the person named in the margin while he was 'in actual military service' within the meaning of the Wills Act, 1837, and has been recognised by the War Department as constituting a valid will."
Norman Joseph Brindley was born in Wolverhampton in 1898, the son of Henry Joseph and Mary Ann Brindley (nee Neale).
According to the 1901 census he lived with his parents at 118 Dudley Road in Blakenhall and the family lived in Cherry Street by the time of his death.
Norman was a Rifleman with the 8th City of London Battalion, Post Office Rifles, and died on April 29, 1918 aged just 20.
His will states he 'died at France' and that he left his 'whole property and effects' to his father. Private George Ball from Hednesford wanted to take care of his wife, Gertrude.
Serving with the 2nd/5th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), he was killed in action on March 28, 1918 at the age of 28.
His will gives the location of his death as 'France or Belgium' but he is buried in Bienvilliers Military Cemetery in Pas de Calais, France.
He lived with Gertrude in Littleworth Tileries, Hednesford. He was killed barely nine months after making his will.
His simple will states: "In the event of my death I leave all to my wife Mrs George Ball," followed by their address. Benjamin Coley's will states his death was on July 1, 1916. But instead of a location, all that is recorded for his whereabouts is 'killed in action'.
The 23-year-old from Aldridge Road, Walsall Wood, served as a Private with the 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment.
His handwritten will states: "In the event of my death I give the whole of my property and effects to my father Mr Benjamin Coley, The Vigo, Walsall Wood, near Walsall."
Pte Coley was buried at Thiepval Memorial in the Somme, France. This year marked 100 years since the start of the First World War.
Courts minister Shailesh Vara said: "In the year of the hundredth anniversary of First World War it is important to remember those who laid down their lives for this country. By working with Iron Mountain to make this treasure trove of documents easily accessible online, HM Courts & Tribunals Service is preserving the memories of our fallen soldiers. This will be an invaluable tool."
Scanned copies of wills are available for £10 from the website www.gov.uk/ wills-probate-inheritance/searching -for-probate-records
