Mystery surrounds a heroic soldier with links to Shenstone who won two medals for gallantry in the First World War.
Captain William Paul’s actions saw him awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and Military Cross (MC), but he never made it home and lies buried in France after his death in 1917.
Very few details about him have been unearthed by experts researching his background ahead of his medals going up for sale at Richard Winterton Auctioneers on 26th May.
Militaria specialist Nick Thompson said although his widow had lived in Shenstone, much of his life remained a mystery.
“While clearly a heroic soldier who served in the 1st Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment, comparatively little is known of him.
“There are no known photographs, we don’t know where or when he was born, and records show there was no age supplied for his grave marker, so consequently it is not known how old Capt Paul was at the time of his death.
“But given the Army Long Service medal, which would have marked 20 years’ service, and a Freemasonry medal denoting membership of the White Horse Lodge in November 1902, we think it’s likely he would have been serving in the Army towards the end of the Boer War and therefore must have been in his 30s when he was killed.
“He was an experienced soldier when he went to France in 1914. In terms of existing records he really is quite anonymous until he gets the two awards of the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order.
“However, we do know that his widow lived in Shenstone as his medals and memorial condolences were sent by the War Office addressed to her in New Road.
“It’s not the first time I’ve come across such an enigma but it is certainly mysterious.”
Nick Thompson
Going up for sale will be Capt Paul’s George V Distinguished Service Order, George V Military Cross, 1914 Star, British War and Victory Medal trio, as well as the George V Army Long Service and Good Conduct medals.
Also included is his memorial death plaque together with the original card tube containing his memorial parchment scroll and King’s condolence note.
Prior to the Great War, he was an active Freemason and there are six boxed Freemasonry medals included in the archive.
The whole collection is expected to fetch up to £4,000 at auction.
Although the exact details of Capt Paul’s actions to earn the MC and DSO are unknown, his final mission is recorded.
He was awarded the Military Cross in the King’s military ‘new year honours’ and the Distinguished Service Order was given for actions in France, presumably towards the latter part of his three years of war.
His final combat operation came when leading a retaliation to heavy bombardment at Bourlon Wood on 30th November 1917.
The operation ultimately succeeded in pushing back the Germans and restoring the line – but the victory cost Cast Paul his life.
He was wounded and died the next day. He is buried in the Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery at Manancourt in France.
Adding to the enigma, Paul’s archive includes a Queen’s South Africa medal named to 5464 Corporal D Howley West Yorkshire Regiment and an India General Service medal with 1908 George V North West Frontier Bar named to 7556 Lance Corporal D Howley, 1st West Yorks R.
Aside from the same regiment, no other details are known as to the connection with Capt Paul.
Mr Thompson pieced the story together through pages of the war diary for the 1st West Yorkshire Regiment as well as cemetery records from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and entries from the London Gazette referring to promotions and awards.
“With sufficient time and resources, there’s certainly plenty of potential research the next custodian of this fascinating collection will be able to explore.
“Despite the mystery, this lot is a complete archive of a man’s service for his country and his sad and untimely death in World War One.”
Nick Thompson
For more details on the sale visit www.richardwinterton.co.uk/auction-dates.
