William was baptised on the 24th April 1889 in Filby with his twin brother Robert, the younger brothers of Charles George and sons of Robert and Anna Maria Bessey. Twin Robert died on the 18th September 1889 aged 5 months.
In 1891 the family was living in Thrigby. Robert snr. died on the 5th November 1891.
The 1901 census records Anna as a widow and the family as living in Thrigby Road, Filby.
William was confirmed at Filby church in 1908 aged 18years.
William, service number 5084TS, was a trimmer on H. M. Trawler "Cantalrice". He was killed by a mine explosion off Great Yarmouth on the 5th November 1916. He was 27 years old.
William is remembered on the Filby school and church memorials and also on the Chatham Naval Memorial in Kent.
The Bessey family was hard hit by the First World War. Not only were Charles George and William brothers Sidney Bessey was their cousin.
Please be aware a lot of development remains to be done and our researches are far from complete.
The information provided here is gathered from a number of sources and is, to the best of our knowledge, accurate. We cannot, of course, vouch for the accuracy of all those source and we are aware that names by which individuals were known and those recorded in official records often varied. There are also gaps in the official record as some records were lost to enemy action during the Second World War and through the passage of time.
To see pictures of the war memorial please click here.
If you have any further information regarding these men or photographs or, despite our best efforts, there is an error for an individual entry please contact Lesley via webmaster@filbyvillage.org.uk
To return to the church memorial index please click here.
