Henry Edward Wigley was born on 11 March 1888 in Bermondsey, Surrey (now Greater London), a son of Charles James Wigley (1840-1893) and Charlotte Ann Wigley née Forrest (1853-1915). His birth was registered in the 2nd quarter of 1888 in the St Olave Southwark registration district, Surrey (now Greater London). On 26 August 1888 he was baptised at Christ Church, Bermondsey, where the baptismal register shows the family were living at 29 George Row, Bermondsey and that his father was a labourer.
In the 1891 census he was shown as aged 3 years and living in two rooms at 15 Vine Street Buildings, Horslydown, Bermondsey, with his parents and three surviving siblings: Charles Frederick Wigley (1876-1922); John Wigley (1879-1933); William Wigley (1882-1906). An elder brother, George Alfred Wigley had been born in 1885 but sadly died aged 4 years in 1889. His father was shown as unemployed, his mother as a charwoman, his brothers, Charles as a van boy and John & William as scholars.
His father died in 1893 and in 1895 his mother married William Stean. On the 1901 census he is shown as living in three rooms at 345 Guinness Trust Buildings, Snowsfields, Bermondsey, with his mother and step-father, two siblings: William Wigley and Charlotte Elizabeth Wigley (1892-1981), three half-siblings: George Stean (1881-1905); Ethel Stean (1888-1975) and Lilian Maud Stean (1895-1972).
He was employed initially as fitter's mate from 3 March 1904 to 9 July 1908 and as blacksmith's improver from 26 October 1908 to 19 July 1910 at Hayward Brothers & Eckstein Ltd, 46 Fish Street, Hill, London, but left their employment for the reason of slackness of business. He was then taken on as an engineer's labourer at E. Coules & Son, 6 George Street, Bermondsey, London, but left them on 1 March 1911, again due to slackness of business.
Having enlisted as a Sapper in the Royal Engineers for three years on 25 March 1911, service number 21318, in the census taken on 2 April 1911 he was shown as stationed in the Brompton & St Mary's Royal Engineers Barracks, Brompton, Gillingham, Kent, his occupation having been recorded as a blacksmith. His service number was 21218. His service record shows that on 9 May 1911 he was subjected to a stoppage of pay of 3d per day. This was because on 18 May 1909 a Mary Ann Clay (1891-1972) of 17 Shand Street, Bermondsey, obtained at Tower Bridge Magistrates Court a 'maintenance order for the support of his bastard child' who had been born on 17 October 1908. This daughter was Sarah Jane Ann Wigley-Busby (1908-1988) and the amount was increased to 4d per day from 1 March 1914.
On 24 March 1914 he successfully applied for his service to the colours be extended for a further seven years. He served in Mauritius from 5 August 1914 to 7 December 1914 and joined the British Expeditionary Force in France on 26 August 1915. He suffered from gastroenteritis and was medically discharged on 29 September 1916. Following the end of World War One he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, the British War Medal 1914-1918 and the Victory Medal.
On 27 May 1917 he married Beatrice Mary Mummery (1888-1933) at Christ Church, Bermondsey, where in the marriage register he is described as a bachelor and a smith living at 35 Neckinger Street, Bermondsey, whilst his wife was shown as a spinster residing at the same address.
In the 1939 England and Wales Register he is shown as a widower living at 6 Buckenham Street, Southwark and was described as a hydraulic engineer's fitter. He married Lydia Mackway (1881-1971) in the 2nd quarter of 1941 in the Surrey Mid-Eastern registration district.
He was living at 74 St Agnes Place, Kennington, London, when, aged 56 years, he was injured as result of enemy action when a German V1 Flying Bomb fell on the Royal Victoria Yard on 16 August 1944 killing seven and injuring 74 people. He was taken to the Dreadnought Seamens's Hosptial, King William Walk, London, SE10, where he died later that day. On 23 August 1944 his body was buried in Greenwich Cemetery, Well Hall Road, London, SE9 6TZ
He is shown incorrectly as Wigley H I on the Royal Victoria Yard war memorial that is located at The Colonnade, Grove Street, London, SE8 and as Wigley, Henry Edward on the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour 1939-1945 that is kept just outside the entrance to St George's Chapel at the west end of Westminster Abbey. He is also commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website, on the Imperial War Museum's Lives of the First World War website and on the Lewisham War Memorials website.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
