Week 5 - Samuel Charles William Renyard

[Merry]

Samuel Renyard was the first person recorded on our family tree to be killed in WW1.

Samuel was born towards the end of 1895 at Boldre in the New Forest in Hampshire. He was the only son in a family of six born to Samuel Renyard sr and Annie Eliza, née Wort.

Samuel Sr was illegitimate though his parents married soon after his birth. Despite this marriage, Samuel sr used his mother's surname, Reynard, for much of his life and on most documentation this is his family name and is the name on Samuel jr's birth certificate. However, in 1911 the family are shown on the census as Wallis which was Samuel sr's father's name. At this time Samuel Wallis sr and has son were both recorded as domestic gardeners and Samuel jr used his middle name William, presumably to avoid confusion with his father.

Samuel jr joined the 1st Hampshire Regiment (Private 9290) as soon as the war began - this time as Samuel Charles William Wallace rather than Wallis or Renyard. On 23rd August 1914, less then three weeks after war was declared, he found himself in France.

Samuel's service papers have not survived, but in September 1914 his regiment were serving near Rouen and Samuel was wounded. He was taken to the army hospital, but died of his wounds on 6th October 1914. He is the only person from his regiment buried at Bois-Guillaume cemetery near Rouen in 1914. Samuel had just turned 19.

Samuel was posthumously awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service, but he did not receive the 1914 Star until his father applied for it at the end of 1919.

Samuel's name appears with 28 others on the war memorial at Boldre. Hampshire.