William Mark Henstridge

Story:
William Mark Henstridge was born in Melbury Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset, in 1896 and baptised at Melbury Abbas Church on 9th August, 1896. He was the son of William George Henstridge, a farm labourer, and Emily Eliza Henstridge (née Lane). At the time of the 1911 Census he was single, a scholar and living at 7 Melbury Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset. He enlisted in Shaftesbury as a Private in the 1st Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment (Service No. 12701) but later transferred to the Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) (new Service No. 73046). He served in France & Flanders from 13 Jul 1915 with the 14th Company and was awarded the Victory and British War Medals as well as the 1915 Star. He was presumed killed in action on 2nd April 1917 and his name appears on the Thiepval Memorial in France (Pier and Panel 5 C and 12 C). He is also remembered on the Melbury Abbas War Memorial. His mother was awarded a dependent's pension.