8th January 2026 • The HERALD • Page 33 v F @heraldpublishing v FLAT ROOFING SPECIALISTS All Roof Repairs Tel: 023 8184 5632 Mobile: 07880 508415 Email: steve@braithwaiteroo ng.co.uk THE FLAT ROOF SPECIALIST WILLIS DECORATING & JOINERY SERVICES Est Since 1986 Interior & Exterior Painting & Decorating Wallpaper Hanging Hand-painted Kitchens & Spray Finishes Wardrobes, Bookcases, Radiator Covers Call David on 023 8084 9800 or 07946 048261 E: david.willis24@btinternet.com MR SWEEP THE CHIMNEY SWEEP keep it clean - keep it safer Open fires, wood burners, stoves etc. Both private and commercial properties Member of the Guild of Master Sweeps Tel: 07971 280906 www.mrsweeplymington.com email: mrsweeplymington@gmail.com 38 Bath Road, Lymington SO41 3SB TALES FROM THE GRAVEYARD OF ALL SAINTS CHURCH, FAWLEY by Patricia Hedley-Goddard, Churchyard Archivist for the ancient parish of All Saints’ Fawley WILLIAM GEORGE WATERMAN Within the Graveyard of All Saints Church, Fawley, lie the mortal remains of ten members of a prominent local family, the Waterman’s. However, there is one member of the family, who sadly only has his name on the war memorial within the Church and he is William George Waterman. William was born on 10th September 1895 at Fawley to Arthur and Elizabeth Jane Waterman (nee Hayward). Arthur was the proprietor of Slades Farm in Boldre and also e Falcon Inn in Fawley. At that time Fawley village was an important bustling country village with the Church at the heart of it. It was surrounded by an eclectic mix of shops, and William’s maternal grandfather, George Hayward was the local butcher. William George was baptised on 10th November 1895 at All Saints Church, Fawley by the then Rector R. Browne. He was educated locally and on completion of his schooling he became an electrician, which was a new phenomenon at that time. Probably only the rich residents could a ord to have electricity installed. I have not been able to trace where he received his training. However, William’s life was about to change dramatically when Great Britain became involved in World War 1 in 1914, and like so many young men at that time William decided to join the call to serve his country. In May 1915 he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve aged 20 and became Signalman Z/4464 William Waterman. On enlistment William was recorded as being ve foot four inches tall with fair hair and grey eyes. His rst posting was to Pembrokeshire which must have been an adventure in itself, leaving Fawley and travelling across England to Wales. He probably had never travelled outside of the county of Hampshire. From training at Pembrokeshire he was soon assigned to HMS Hampshire, a Devonshire class armoured cruiser. is ship was built in 1902 and completed in 1905. In 1916 William was on board as part of the crew when the ship took a small part in the legendry Battle of Jutland. en in June 1916 HMS Hampshire was ordered to carry Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War from Scapa Flow on a diplomatic mission to Russia via the port of Archangel. ere were two escort ships detailed to protect the Hampshire, but a heavy storm meant that the escort ships could not keep pace with the Hampshire. It was therefore decided that the escort ships return to Scapa Flow, leaving the Hampshire with her important diplomatic delegation to continue to their Russian rendezvous alone, hopefully allowing them to arrive on time. However, at about 19:40 hrs on 5th June, about 1.5 nautical miles o Mainland in the Orkney Islands, the Hampshire struck mines laid by a German submarine U75, which the submarine had laid prior to the Battle of Jutland. HMS Hampshire was severely holed and within een minutes a er the explosions she sank by the head. e lifeboats that the crew had attempted to lower were smashed against the sides of the ship in the severe storm and were unusable. is contributed to the deaths of 737 crew members and 14 passengers. Only 12 crew members survived and all of the diplomatic delegation perished, including with such shocking news. She lived until April 1943 and was then buried with her husband in the churchyard Curiously, there are no grave markers surviving to indicate where members of the Waterman family lie. My thanks, once again, to my husband for his research into this tragedy. Lord Kitchener. Sadly, William George Waterman was not one of the survivors, and his body was never recovered. HMS Hampshire lies upside down in approximately 38 fathoms of water and is a designated war grave under the protection of the Military Remains Act. e propeller was later salvaged and acts as a memorial on show in the Scapa Flow Museum. Wi l l iam is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial and also on the WW1 Memorial plaque within All Saints Church, Fawley. Sadly, on 24th June 1915 just nineteen days a er the death of William, his father Arthur also died. Elizabeth Jane (mother to William and wife to Arthur) must have suffered horrendously HMS Hampshire
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