Private, Pioneer Battalion, Australian Imperial Force

Scottish-born Arthur had emigrated to Australia and was living in Queensland, working as a ‘motorman’ (the driver of a train or tram). He enlisted in June 1916 with the Australian Imperial Force, and sailed back to the UK, arriving in Plymouth on 10 January 1917. Just a few months later, on 29 April, he married Annie Jones from Datchet.

Annie’s family had lived in Datchet from at least 1896. Her father, James Gentle Jones, a domestic coachman, had died in early 1909 and her mother took in boarders at their home on the High Street. Her brother Albert also served in WWI.

Arthur and Annie had only been married a few months when Arthur, 29, was killed in action, in October 1917, by a high-explosive shell. In his records, his wife’s address was given as Elder Tree Cottage.

Arthur is remembered at Logie Coldstone, Aberdeenshire, but is not remembered here in his wife’s village. This was perhaps because he didn’t spend much time Datchet, but there are other men remembered on Datchet’s memorial, such as Walter Sanford and William Johnson, whose only connection with the village was that their wives moved here to live with family during WWI.  For these reasons, Arthur was considered to be a candidate for inclusion on the memorial. His name was added in November 2018.