Who Lived In A House Like This? Behind the Door of 44 New Street Castle Bromwich

William Henry Morle (1886 – 1967)

Both the 1901 and the 1911 census returns show 44 New Street, Castle Bromwich inhabited by the Morle family. The 1901 census lists Joseph Henry Morle as the head of the household. Joseph was born in Williton, Somerset circa 1864. He married Florence Annie Gillard in 1885 and over the next few years were known to have had at least five children; one of whom was a son, Charles Henry Morle. William was born in Somerset on 1st October 1886.

When William was ten, Joseph moved his family to the Aston area. William’s obituary suggests that the family immediately settled in New Street, Castle Bromwich, although the 1901 shows the family living at 76 Manor Road, Aston ( fairly close to the Villa Ground).

On 13th October 1902 William enlisted with the 5th Worcestershire Regiment. At this time he listed his address as 76 Manor Road, Witton. He was described as being 5ft 41/4 inches in height with a deformed breast bone and a chest of 30″ with a maximum expansion to 33″. He was said to have a fresh complexion with blue eyes and brown hair and he attested to his religion being Church of England. He served for 49 days with the Worcestershire Regiment before transferring to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on 1st December 1902.

In 1906, William married Alice Annie Woolley. Alice was the daughter of George Woolley and Emma Batchelor who lived on the Green at Castle Bromwich. Between 1907 and 1925, Alice is known to have given birth to six sons.

The outbreak of war was to create many difficulties for Alice, not only was William immediately recalled to the military and sent to France, but her brother, John Henry Woolley was killed in France on 7th November, 1915.

We can only imagine what Alice must have been going through at this time, with three young children to look after and provide for and a husband and brother in the Theatre of War. But, things quickly deteriorated even further. Just a few months after the start of war, William was captured near Mons in 1914 and taken Prisoner of War. He was to remain imprisoned for four years.

Figures vary as to how many people were taken prisoner during WW1, but certainly hundreds of thousands of men found themselves interned. We do not have William’s description of his experiences, but we can get an idea of how he would have been treated from the accounts of soldiers captured at the same time and location.

From the Imperial War Museum Website – Voices of the First World War:

At the start of the war, there weren’t enough places in Germany to hold all the POWs that were being taken. Camps were hastily constructed for them. Once these were built, prisoners were transported to them from the front. Prisoners were often given a hostile reception by civilians they encountered on these journeys, including Alf Bastin, who was captured in 1914.

Well we got as far as Cologne and the train stopped on the station. And we found out afterwards that the German people had been told that half the British navy had been caught. Of course, it was all poppycock. And we got on the station; they opened the doors and there all the German people were on the platform, all booing us and shouting and that; throwing stale bread, mildewed bread – which we were pleased to pick up and eat I might tell you! After a while it was all over and we set off again.

Those carrying out this forced labour had long days and little sustenance. British private H Turner described how he added to his meager diet.

We worked from early morning ‘til dusk and were then marched back to the compound and given our daily ration of bread. A small loaf, but this was for three men. The bread we thought was made from potato meal and probably a little flour added. We prisoners used to say it was 90% sawdust. Daily, we became weaker and weaker. By this time, we were seeking other sources of food supplies than that issued to us by the Germans and which appeared to be getting less and less. We found in the early morning a snail-like creature, stuck to the bark on the willow trees. We gathered these, and also some nettle leaves. On getting back to the camp at night, we would boil the snails and chop them up with boiled nettle leaves, making a sort of paste to spread on our bread. I can’t say that the snails had any particular taste, but they did at least supplement our scanty rations in some small way.

Whatever his personal experience of being a POW, William was eventually released and returned home to his family, which since some time prior to 1911 had made home at 44 New Street, Castle Bromwich. One of his proudest moments was helping Lady Ida Bradford lay the foundation stone for the Victory Hall. He retained the trowel he used in the ceremony as one of his most treasured possessions.

William remained living at 44 New Street until his death on 16th February 1967. He is buried in the graveyard by St Mary and St Margaret Church. His obituary stated that he died at the age of 80, 70 years of which he had called Castle Bromwich home.