William James Whitty

Story:
William James Whitty was born in Blandford, Dorset, on 15th July 1887 and baptised there on 28th September 1887, the son of George Whitty and Jane Whitty (née Gosney).  He lived most of his early life in and around Blandford.  He married Maud Winifred Martin at Sutton Waldron, Dorset, on 30th December 1914 and they set up home in Redmans Lane, Melbury Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset.  They went on to have five children.   He enlisted on the first occasion on 26th June 1915 and joined the Devonshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 27408) and served in the UK for nearly two years before being discharged due to deafness on 24th July 1917.  He returned to the Devonshire Regiment on 11th February 1919 (Service No. 186345) classified as a 'W' Reservist and working at the Munitions Factory situated at the Rover Company in Coventry, Warwickshire, where he served until 24th July 1919.  There are no medal records.  The 1921 Census shows him living at 19 The Street, Sutton Waldron, working as a Wheelwright. By the 1939 Register he was living at 3 Sunnyside, Wincanton, Somerset, now described as a Wheelwright and Carpenter.  He died at Hardway, near Bruton, Somerset, on 25th July 1961.