Private Victor Claud Willis

Victor Claud was the third son of Emily Millerwood and Walter William Willis; he was born on the 3rd of March in 1889 at Reigate in Surrey. Emily and Walter had met and married in April 1880 at Kensington in London. Victor Claud was baptised on the 16th of June 1889 at the Parish Church of St Mary in Reigate. Baptismal records reveal that Walter William was a market gardener by profession.

According to the 1891 Census, the Willis family resided at 215 Grove Nursery on the Streatham Tooting borders. The Electoral register for 1896 reveals that the Willis family were living in a house at Rosary, Mitcham Road in Tooting.

By 1901, the Census reveals that 47-year-old Walter was a self-employed market gardener from his home at 114 Brookfield at the London Road in Mitcham. Twelve-year-old Victor was still attending school.

In 1910, Emily and Walter visited Toronto to witness the marriage of their second son Leonard to Helen Cradock on the 15th of 0ctober.

In 1911, according to the Census, Emily and Walter had been married for 30 years and the couple had 6 children, only the 3 youngest children were still living with their parents at Brookfield, Sutton Road in Mitcham. Twenty-two-year-old Victor was employed as a clerk at the local gas works. The Electoral Register describes Brookfield as 2 furnished rooms on the ground and first floor for the rental of 6 shillings per week. Victor’s mother was his landlady. Victor continued to live at home with his mother during 1912 and 1913.

Victor’s father Walter died in September 1912 at the age of 59 years.

At the age of 26 years in 1917, Victor enlisted in the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion, London Regiment, his enlistment records reveal that he was 5 foot and 5 inches tall and weighed 130lbs. At the time of recruitment, he was still employed as a clerk. His service record is not available through Ancestry. Victor was killed in Action on the 20th of September 1917, and he is remembered at The Menin Gate.