Lewis Hamilton

Thornton Cleveleys War Memorial 1914-1918 | Index

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton was born in Widnes, Lancashire and baptised at St. Mary's Church on 23 May 1886. His parents, Robert Hamilton and Elizabeth Jane (Eliza) Boyd were born in Antrim and were married in Mearns, Renfrewshire on 5 February 1872.

Shortly afterwards, Robert and Eliza moved to Widnes where all ten of their children were born: William James (1873), Robert (1874), Adam Andrew (1876), John (1877), Leah (1879), Emily Ada (1881), Elizabeth Jane (1884), Lewis (1886), Leah (1889) and May (1892). Apart from the first Leah, the children lived until adulthood but only three of them (Emily, Elizabeth and May) married.

The Hamilton family moved to our area in the late 1890s and by 1901 they were living at 17 Gamble Road, Thornton, where Eliza ran a grocery shop. The men worked as labourers for the United Alkali Company and the road they lived in was named after Sir David Gamble, Bart, K.C.B. (1823-1907) of Windlehurst, St. Helens, who was a director of the company.

On 7 November 1904 Lewis attested in Fleetwood to serve for six years in the Reserves of the 3rd Company, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. He underwent annual military training until his discharge on 6 November 1910.

On the outbreak of war, Lewis was mobilised with the 5th King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment and sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force on 14 February 1915. He was wounded at Ypres in May that year and sent to hospital in England, before returning to the front in February 1917. Lewis was killed in action on 26 November 1917. He was aged 31 and unmarried.

Pte. Lewis Hamilton, 240233, 2nd/5th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment is commemorated on Panel 18A of the Tyne Cot Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.