William Arthur Haymes was born in the spring of 1895 in the Devon village of Beer. The oldest of six children, his parents were coastguard Arthur Haymes and his wife, Ellen.
Arthur’s work moved the family around the coast: the 1901 census found the family living on Magazine Lane in Marchwood, Hampshire. By the time of the next census, though, they have moved back to the more tranquil setting of Devon, and were living at the Coastguard Station in Seaton. William had left school, and was employed as an errand boy for a local wine and spirit merchant.
Ellen died in 1915, and Arthur was left to raise the family on his own. With war raging across Europe by this point, it is likely that William had joined up. Sadly, his service records have been lost to time, but it is clear that he joined the Devonshire Regiment, and was assigned to the 8th (Service) Battalion.
Private Haymes’ unit moved to France in the summer of 1915 and, over the next few years, fought at Loos, the Somme and Passchendaele. It’s not possible to track William’s progress during this time, but it is clear that he was well thought of: by the end of the war, he had risen to the rank of Serjeant.
By the spring of 1919, Serjeant Haymes was waiting to be demobbed. The conflict had impacted his health, however, and he was medically discharged on 14th March, suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. He returned home, but the condition would result in a slow and painful declined. William passed away on 27th April 1920, at the age of 25 years old.
The body of William Arthur Haymes was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Michael’s Church, Axmouth.
Arthur had remarried at the start of 1919: the 1921 census found him living with his wife, Cora, and an extended family that included his youngest two sons, and his four stepchildren. Now employed as caretaker for the Seaton Town Social Club, the family were recorded at 5 The Avenue, Seaton.
