William George Kingshott
William George Kingshott was born around 1894 in the village of Liss, Hampshire, England. He was one of four children born to the fantastically named Jeremiah Kingshott, and his wife Mary Jane. Jeremiah Kingshott was himself one of only three children born to Abraham Kingshott who came from Bramshott, Hampshire, England.
I've been able to piece together a fair bit of information on William, as his life was well documented due to the survival of his Army Service Record. Interestingly, William's sister, Sarah Ann Kingshott, moved to Canada too.
At the time of the 1901 census, which was taken on 31st March 1901, William was living with his parents at 9 Reservoir Cottages, Sheet, Hampshire. He was a schoolboy. Then, whilst still a boy, he was attested into the 1st Battalion Scottish Rifles as a boy soldier.
From 3rd November 1908 to 2nd February 1909 he was in training and on 3rd February he shipped out for service in India, which was then still a significant colonial outpost of the British Empire. He remained there until 14th December 1909 before shipping out to South Africa, remaining there for nearly three years.
At the time of the 1911 census, William is found as a boy soldier at Tempe Bloemfontein, South Africa. Click on the image to see a version that you can read.
William returned to the United Kingdom on 12th March 1912 and was discharged from the Army on 30th December 1913. Upon discharge, he would have been placed on the reserve list and, following the outbreak of World War One the following year, would have been quickly mobilised again.
Sadly, William's First World War service record does not survive, but I do know that he served with the Hampshire Regiment throughout the war. Following the war, William was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and the very much rarer Territorial Force War Medal.
Following demobilisation from the Army, on 19th July 1919, William married Daisy Dorothy Pentecost in a service at Tooting, London, England.
There is a gap as to what happened to William after his marriage, but in 1928 he left Southampton to emigrate to Canada aboard the Cunard White Star Liner SS Aurania. By this time he had two children, twins, called Ronald Henry and Joan Mary, born on 6th December 1923 in Croydon, Surrey. A copy of the ship's manifest listing them as passengers. Click on the image to download a copy that you can read.
After the family arrived in Canada, I don't know a great deal more about them. William George Kingshott died in Vancouver, British Columbia on 21st June 1975. He was 81 years old. His wife had predeceased him, having died in Burnaby, British Columbia on 5th April 1968.
Ronald Henry Kingshott settled in Washington state, United States. There is a small amount of information on him here, at the bottom of the page.
Joan Mary Kingshott married a chap called Leif Martinius Lunderby and they moved to Minnesota, USA. They had three children that I know about.
William George Kingshott was my 4th cousin twice removed. You can view his ancestral line here.
As always, if you are able to shed any light on any of the families mentioned, especially any descendants, please contact me.