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Legacy Roots - Parsons Branch
William Henry
PARSONS
1894 - 19--
{CLICK ON THE PHOTOS/DOCUMENTS TO ENLARGE}
PARSONS
William Henry & Maud
50th Wedding Anniversary
Approx. date: 1967
From the private collection of,
Dorothy May Spice, England
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Abdali Army Band
(seated left) heir apparent Prince Fadhl Abdul Karim of Lahej
(seated right) William Henry Parsons
Approx. date: 1934
From the private collection of
Dorothy May Spice, England
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Abdali Army Band
(back of picture left)
Approx. date: 1934
From the private collection of,
Dorothy May Spice, England
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Names:1, 2, 3, 4
given: William Henry
aka: Bill
surname: PARSONS
Birth 1
date: About 1894
place: Plumstead, Kent, England
Christening
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Marriage
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Death
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Military Service:
Sources/Documents:
1. William Parsons household, England 1901 census, London County, [RD] Woolwich, [SD]Plumstead, West, [ED] 10, dwelling 224, population schedule, class: RG13, piece: 571, folio: 111, page: 40.
2. William Henry Parsons (1914) WWI Postcard dated 3 October 1914, inscribed and signed, "Dear Mother and Dad, Arrived at Southampton. I am wounded in the left thigh by a shrapnel bullet. It is not serious, but bery painful. I do not know where they are going to move me to but will let you know as soon as possible. Loving son, Bill."
3. Journal of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment QRWS 1/3/3, The Drums of the 1st Bn The Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment, taken at Picquigny, Somme, 1917.
4. William Henry Parsons, article.
"There can have been few more loyal and devoted Queen's men than William Henry Parsons. Few indeed can have had longer service. Enlisting as a trumpeter in the Royal Field Artillery in 1911, he left the Service as a Bandmaster in 1959. His career was as varied as it was long.
'Clergy' Parsons, one of three brothers in The Regiment joined the Queen's in September, 1911. He served in the 1914-18 War in the 1st and 2nd Bns. and was three times wounded. In 1919 he was transferred as Sergeant Drummer in the Loyals. On completion of this first period of Colour service, Drum Major Parsons left the Army in 1921; and two months later joined the Royal Air Force. He served for no less than 25 years with the R.A.F. and left as a Bandmaster in 1949. Although 55 yerars old with 37 years Regular service to his credit, Mr. Parsons immediately joined the Hertfordshire Regiment and served as a Territorial bandmaster for another 10 years.
But it is not for his military service that this remarkable man will be best remembered. Loyalty to the Service was perhaps the principal characteristic of this old soldier who preserved an almost passionate pride in the Queen's. He was a staunch supporter of the Old Contemptibles and of Regimental institutions; he was a contributor to the Regimental Journal and a great correspondent. With a prodigious memory and an inexhaustible stock of reminiscences, he kept up with a wide circle of friends. He will be remembered as a kind and generous man with high standards and ideas.
On the death of his old friend, the late Drum Major Winter, Mr. Parsons wrote: 'So has passed on a grand old soldier of the Queen's who served the Regiment well': these words may serve as his own epitaph."
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William Henry Parsons
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Site developed by Ashley Rechten & Lorraine Arnold
Last updated: 17 November 2011
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