Peter William Parton , known a s William, was born a t Moreton i n 1 883 , the el dest o f the nine children, one o f whom died in infancy , born t o Peter William Parton and his wife Susannah . William’s father was a tailor and later combined the job with that of a publican when h e took over the Red Lion Inn a t Great Chatwell soon after the birth o f his son. The Parton fam ily would run the Red Lion Inn for the next forty years. The Lion Inn, also known a s the Red Li on, in Great Chatwell, has a history dating back to the 17th century. It's location o n the Staffordshire/Shropshire border ha s been a vital part o f the local community for centuries. Brewing was taking place a t the pub b y the end o f the 18th centu ry . William’s sc hoolin g would h ave finish ed wh en h e re ach ed 14 years o f age, qui te wh at h e did then is unknown possibly learning t o b e a tailor; however, a t the time o f the 1901 census when h e was 1 8 years old, h e is recorded a s being a bar man, so h e is learning the pub tr ade . In 1905 his father died and his mother then took over the running o f the Red Lion. The 1911 census records that William is an assistant t o his mother. William Parton married Margaret Sylvester a t Shifnal in 1911 and they made their home a t t he Red Li on. They ha d two children, Cicely Margaret (1 912) and Pet er William (1 91 4). The Great W ar began on 4 th August 1914 and the call soon went out for volunteers t o join the army and the fight. When William joined the army i s not known, suf fice t o say that with the well o f volunteers drying up the gover nment introduced conscription from January 1916. His medal card shows that h e received the British W ar Medal an d V ictory M eda l and from that little snippet w e can deduce that William first saw action after 1 st January 1916. William joined the British army when h e enlist ed at Iron Bridge, S hro pshire into 5 th Ba ttalio n Sou th Staffordshire Regiment, a T erritorial Army battalion part o f the 137 th (Staf fordshire) Bri gad e in the 46 th (No rth Midland) Division. In 1918, the 46 th Division including the 5 th Battalion, South Staf fordshire Regiment, was hea vily i nvolved in sev eral major battles, incl uding the Battle o f the St. Quentin C ana l, th e Battle o f the B eau rev oi r Line, the Battle o f Cambrai, the Battle o f the Selle, and t he Battle o f Sa mb re. On 12 th October 1918, the 5 th South Staffs were tasked with relieving the 5 th Royal Leicesters in Ri que rval Wood. The attack was launched against the Germans occupying the wood, who responded with machine gun and artillery fire. It was a hard-fought action over two days in which the South Staf fords were ultimately successful. Peter William Parton is one of the 20 soldiers killed during the fighting; he has no known grave and is remembered on the V is-En- Memorial Pas de Calais, France. (Panel 6 and 7) William’s widow Margaret married Edwin Williams in 1920 an d took ov er the running of the Red Lion, t hey had a daughter Brenda Mary (1920).

Pete r W. Parton

Pri v ate 41478 - 5 th Battalion South S taf fordshi re R e gi ment Ki lled in Ac tion 12 th Octobe r 1918 – age 35 Remember ed on the V i s -En- Me morial , Pas de C al ai s

V is-en-A rtois M emori al

Historical Informatio n This Memorial bears the names of over 9,000 men who fell in the period from 8 August 1918 to the date of the Armistice in the Advance to Victory in Picardy and Artois, between the Somme and Loos , and w ho have no k now n grave. They belonged to the forces of Great Britain and Ireland and South Africa; the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand forces being commemorated on other memor ials to the missing. The Memorial consists of a screen wall in three parts. The middle part of the screen wall is concav e and carries stone panels on which names are carved. It is 26 feet high flank ed by pylons 70 feet high. The Stone of Remembrance stands exactly between the pylons and behind it, in the middle of the screen, is a gr oup in relief repres enting St Georg e and the Dragon. T he flanking parts of the screen wall are also c urved and carry stone panels carved with names. Each of them forms the back of a roofed colonnade ; and at the far end of each is a small building.