William Henry Chapman died the same day as his friends, Frank Graves, George Stent and Fred Tocock.

William was the son of John and Florence Annie Chapman and was born in Winchfield near Hartley Wintney in 1894. His father, a carpenter, was born in Cornwall and his mother in Ipswich. In both the 1901 and 1911 census’ the family were living at Holmwood Terrace in Hartley Wintney. In the 1911 census William’s occupation is shown as a gardener.

He enlisted at Bustard Camp, Hampshire and became a Sergeant in “C” Company 1st/4th Battalion of The Hampshire Regiment.

He was killed in action in Mesopotamia on 21st January 1916 and is remembered on the Basra Memorial in Iraq as he has no known grave. At the time of his death his parents were living at Woodlands in West Green.

When war was declared on the 4th August 1914, many young men from Hartley Wintney were at camp with the 1st/4th Hampshire Regiment. They were immediately mobilised as part of the Wessex Regiment and amongst these young men were Fred Tocock, William Henry Chapman, George Stent and Frank Graves. They had grown up together in the Hampshire village, went to war together and sadly died together on the same day – 21st January 1916.

On the 15th October 1914 they had been posted to Poona in India to relieve better trained soldiers for action on the Western Front. Then on the 5th March 1915 they were posted to Mesopotamia and by January 1916 the 1st/4th Hampshires were in the thick of battle with the Turks and in the battle of Umm-El-Hannah on the 21st January 1916 the friends died together.

They are remembered on the War Memorial in front of St. John's Church in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire.