A snakes and ladders life

The life paths of William Mayhew and his younger brothers Harry and Ted, whose stories I have already written about, could not have been more different despite being born within an eight-year span in an impoverished area of Fulham, known as Sands End, in South West London.

William Lewis Mayhew was born on 11^th September 1882 as the eighth child and third surviving son of Richard Mayhew, a labourer, and his wife Annie (née Bristow).  He was baptised nearly a year later at St James Church on Monday 6^th Aug 1883[i].  The ‘Private’ nature of the baptism suggests it conducted hastily, possibly due to William being very unwell and thought to be close to death. 

Fortunately, William survived infancy and, over the course of the next few years as the Mayhew family continued to grow, he was joined by a sister Alice in 1885, then three more brothers, Harry in 1886, James in 1888, and Ted in 1890. 

By the 1891 census, William, aged 9, is one of ten Mayhew children aged between 20 years and 7 months living with their parents Richard and Annie in a tiny two-up-two-down terraced house at 68 Victoria Road, Fulham.[iii]  Such a large family was not unusual for the time, but it is hard to imagine how they coped living in a home with just two bedrooms, each about 3m (9ft) square, upstairs, plus a main room and living area downstairs.

According to Victorian philanthropist Charles Booth’s investigation into London poverty[iv], Victoria Road was in a ‘Poor criminal patch between Bagley’s Lane and Wandsworth Bridge Road’ and a researcher’s notes on a walk around the area in March 1899 describes the inhabitents of Victoria Road as ‘Irish, noisy, poor, a few criminals…’.[v]  Victoria Road is located at the centre of the image below, and life must have been exceptionally challenging for those residents, who, unable to afford better living conditions, were striving to provide for their families.

Overall, the Mayhew boys seem to have kept away from crime, apart from a stupid misdemeanour by William when he was 17 and charged with stealing apples from a local nursery, followed by an altercation with a police officer when confronted[vii].  Allegedly, William, his friend Moses Butler who was carrying a large sack of apples, and two other youths were challenged by a police officer early one Sunday morning.  Butler apparently encouraged the others to knock the officer, throw the sack of apples upon him, then run away.  However, it’s not clear whether William and his friends were convicted.

By the 1901 census, the Mayhew family had moved along Victoria Road to number 30.  William, by now 18, was the eldest of his siblings still living at home, and was working as a labourer at the local gas works alongside his father[ix]. 

Three years later William, now a 22-year-old Carman (delivery man) married his sweetheart, 20-year-old Mary Daley, on Christmas Day 1904 at St James’ Church, Fulham.  Christmas marriages were not unusual in those days, particularly in industrial working-class communities where most people worked six days a week with no paid holidays.  Often Christmas and Boxing Day were the only days that a young working-class couple could be sure of not having to go to work and, according to St James’ Church register, William and Mary’s weddings was the fourth of six that Christmas.

Their first son, also named William, was born in late 1906 within a few months, the young family embarked upon a long and arduous journey by train from London to Liverpool where they boarded the SS Lake Manitoba bound for Quebec on 24^th April 1907.  It would have been a significant and life-altering decision for William and Mary to leave their families, however they were probably filled with a sense of hope and anticipation for a better life with the promise of new opportunities and a fresh start away from the economic struggles of living in inner-city London. 

William, Mary, and baby William, arrived in Quebec, Montreal, just over three weeks later.  Their names appear on lines 30, 31 and 32 on the passenger manifest list, which can be viewed here.  William indicated their destination was Dresden, Ontario, and the immigration clerk stamped an abbreviation for ‘General Labourer’ above William’s occupation, then ‘Com. Paid C.G.E.A. No’ noting the number 7766 after each of their names.  C.G.E.A. was the abbreviation for the Canadian Government Employment Agent who received a commission from the government for placing newly arrived immigrants with employers who were seeking labourers, so William was almost certain of finding work immediately upon arrival.

Nonetheless, William did not intend to stay in Canada and he was determined to try to reach the United States.  Perhaps factors such as cost, travel logistics, or availability of passage for him and his family led him to choose Canada as their entry point.  It is also possible that William hoped that entering the US through Canada would avoid the scrutiny of the more usual route via New York’s Ellis Island, known as the ‘Island of Tears’, where 1907 saw approximately 1.25 million immigrants processed[xi]. 

On 15^th June 1907, less than a month after their arrival in Canada, William, together with Mary, and baby William, tried to enter the United States by taking the ferry across the Detroit River from Canada. The passenger manifest[xii] chronicles that although they are in good mental and physical health, they only have US$7 and are not intending to join any friend or relative at their destination.  William was unable to prove that he could support his family so, along with many of their fellow passengers, they were ‘debarred’ and denied entry into the US.  By law, the shipping company was responsible for the cost of returning debarred passengers to ‘the country from whence they came’, which fortunately for William and his family was deemed to be Canada, not the UK.  

After returning to Chatham, they managed to find accommodation, however what was already a very difficult time for William and Mary was compounded when baby William became unwell.  Tragically, on 20^th July, shortly before his 1^st birthday, their beloved son died of a brain abscess, probably caused by an infection.  Although we can never know if any medical help was sought, the prognosis for any baby with a brain abscess at the time would have been dire, and their chances of survival before antibiotics would have been considerably lower than they would be today.

We can’t begin to imagine what an incredibly challenging and emotionally distressing time this was for the young couple.  Their isolation, with no nearby family or friends for support, would have heightened the difficulties they faced, particularly with the serious illness then loss of their first-born child.  However, somehow, they came to terms with their loss, and heartbreak turned to joy when their son Richard John was born on 15^th April 1908 at their home in Selkirk Street, Chatham.  William’s occupation was recorded in the birth register as a labourer,[xiii] a job which demanded physical strength and endurance, yet would have offered limited prospects for advancement or career progression.

Nevertheless, despite having found some stability in Chatham, William persisted in his efforts to reach the United States.  He attempted another entry in January 1909, this time boarding the Detroit-Windsor ferry alone. Once again, however, he was rejected.  According to the immigration card, William was 26-year-old labourer standing 5ft 7in tall, with a dark complexion, brown hair and eyes, and no distinguishing marks were noted. The card also records that he cannot read nor write, has never been in the US before (nor been refused entry in the past, which is not strictly true), and his wife Mary is living at 171 Selkirk Street, Chatham. 

Once again, William was likely denied entry due to the absence of funds, a lack of a destination address, and no relatives or friends to join in the United States, despite having funded his own passage.  Consequently, he had no choice but to return to Chatham where he was reunited with Mary and their baby Richard.  A year later, in January 1910, another son, Frederick Thomas was born.

Undeterred by his previous lack of success, and leaving Mary with a toddler and a new-born baby, William makes another attempt to reach Detroit on 31^st March 1910 accompanied by a friend, 25-year-old Richard J Day.[xiv]  Notably, William now had a scar on the back of his head and tattoo marks on both forearms.  According to the immigration form, he could also read and write, suggesting an improvement in his literacy. 

Fortunately for William, having some funds and expressing his intent to join Richard Day’s brother, Mr. William Day of Porter Street, Detroit, Michigan, he was at last accepted into the United States. 

Having successfully made his way to Detroit, William sent for Mary who, accompanied by 2-year-old Richard and 3-month-old Frederick, boarded the ferry and crossed the border to join her husband on 20^th April 1910.[xv]  Mary’s immigration card reveals that she was a housewife who could read and write, is 5ft 4½ tall with a fair complexion, light brown hair, grey eyes.  Like William, she also had tattoo marks on both forearms.[xvi]

Mary, William and their boys were reunited and they appear together on the US Federal Census just six days later lodging with William Day and his family on Porter Street, Detroit, Michigan.[xvii]

Happily, the Mayhews seem to have soon found a home of their own and, in December 1911, they welcomed their first daughter Irene Beatrice, followed by the birth of another daughter, Mary, in October 1913.  However, disaster struck once more when 3½-month-old baby Mary, succumbed to pneumonia brought on by exposure[xviii] during the bitterly cold month of February 1914 when Detroit’s overnight temperatures had dropped to below -20C.[xix]

Once again, William and Mary had to confront the heartache of losing another of their beloved children. 

Meanwhile, as the year progressed, tensions were escalating in Europe.  On 4^th August 1914, when Britain’s ultimatum to Germany to withdraw its army from Belgium expired, the British Empire, which then included Canada, allied with Serbia, Russia, and France, declared war against the German and Austro-Hungarian empires.  Although the Canadian Parliament did not opt for war, the country’s foreign affairs were controlled from London, and few Canadians could have anticipated the sacrifices Canada would be called to make.  However, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed that the United States would remain Neutral.

Less than a year after the death of baby Mary, and just four months after war had been declared, William and Mary celebrated the birth of another son, Arthur Edward, who was born in December 1914.  Initially, the war in Europe was unlikely to have directly affected William and Mary, who despite having lived in the US for nearly five years, were legally citizens of Canada.  They may even have prospered as the city of Detroit experienced a surge in industrial production to meet the demands of the war effort and factories were repurposed to manufacture military equipment, ammunition, vehicles, and other supplies needed for the war.  There was a surge in war propaganda and patriotism, with campaigns encouraging support for the war effort, including the purchase of war bonds and voluntary enlistment in the military.  For many people, it was a good time to be living in the United States.

At the outset of the war, Canadian men had the option to volunteer for military service, which lead to approximately 330,000 enlistments in the first year.  However, by 1916, a shift was noticeable.  The devastating toll of the war had by then resulted in over 130,000 Canadian volunteers being killed or injured, consequently leading to a decline in the number of individuals willing to enlist.

Despite the tumultuous international events of the time, William and Mary’s life appeared stable.  At the beginning of 1917, they were living at 315 Michigan Avenue, Detroit’s primary street, where in February they joyously welcomed the birth of another son, James William.

Meanwhile, back in Canada, a heated conscription debate was underway.  The Military Service Act of 1917 was passed in late August, subjecting all male citizens between the ages of 20 and 45 to military service, if called, for the duration of the war.  Additionally, the Military Voters Act and the Wartime Elections Act were passed, allowing military personnel and certain women, who were relatives of Canadian soldiers serving overseas, to vote for the first time.  However, the Act also revoked the voting rights of many Canadians who had immigrated from “enemy” countries.

The passing of the MSA divided Canada and the country geared up to a general election, which would prove to be a pivotal moment in both Canadian history and William’s life.  The main issue during the election was the conscription crisis, which deeply divided the country along Anglo-French lines as English Canadians had made up 95 percent of enlistees since the start of the war, while most French speakers had avoided joining up for “Britain’s War”.  Prime Minister Robert Borden, leader of the Unionist (centre-right) government, supported conscription to increase troop levels for the war effort, however, the Liberal Party opposition, led by Wilfrid Laurier was against conscription and advocated for voluntary enlistment. 

Borden’s Unionist government won the election with a significant majority, mainly due to the support of English-speaking Canadians and many recent immigrants.

Thus, the process of call-ups began in January 1918 and, on 5^th February 1918, William who was deemed Class 4 for Conscription ‘Those born in the years 1876 to 1882 inclusive, and are married or a widower with a child or children’ travelled to the city of London, in southwest Ontario, Canada.

Each conscript filled out an attestation form at the time of enlistment, which included basic personal information and required his signature indicating a willingness to serve.  They then attended a medical examination and William, by now a concrete labourer, was found to be physically exceptionally fit, with 20/20 vision and normal hearing, so was declared to be medically fit to serve in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force.

Unlike many British military records, which were destroyed during the Second World War, William’s extensive service records have survived and can be viewed online via the Library and Archives of Canada.[xxi]  These records, including a dental record which indicates he was missing two molars and had cavities in eleven of his remaining teeth, copies of pay records, wills, and other documentation, offer a fascinating and unique overview of his time in the Canadian Army.

Briefly, William joined the 1^st Depot Battalion Western Ontario Regiment and, within days was transferred overseas boarding the Troop Ship Cretic to England arriving on 4th March 1918.  He undertook training at Bramshott, in Hampshire, then Witley near Godalming in Surrey, but it’s unlikely that he would have been able to take leave and visit his family back at his birthplace in London.

Meanwhile, back in Detroit, Mary and the children left their home in Michigan Avenue in July, relocating to 5^th Avenue, in a less central part of the city.  It is possible that, although William’s army pay was sent to Mary, she might have already been facing financial hardship with the loss of his usual earnings.

On 18^th August, 35-year-old William was transferred to France and joined the 31st Battalion (Alberta), an infantry battalion, for active service on 31^st August 1918.  Just four days later, when William was helping to carrying a wounded man out of the line during operations at the North-East of Baralle on the morning of 4^th September 1918, his heart was pierced by a piece of shrapnel from an enemy shell. Catastrophically, William was killed instantly[xxii] just one week before his 36th birthday.

When I began to research William’s story, I initially assumed the focus would be on his military service.  However, I was taken aback by his unwavering determination to reach the United States, driven by his desire to create a better life for his family.  Considering his own lack of formal education, and the challenges of intercontinental communication during the early 20th century, I can’t help but wonder if his wider family back in Fulham ever got to know about his experiences, the fortunes of his own family, and his ultimate fate.

William lies buried in Upton Wood Cemetery, southeast of Arras, France, in Plot 1, Row F, Grave 25.[xxiii] Next time I am in the area, I will be sure visit the cemetery and pay my respects.

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