William John Joy

Appledore History Society was recently gifted several medals from his great nephew. Currently these items are being restored and will ultimately be framed and used at exhibitions and other historial events.

William Joy was born in 1898 in Appledore, Kent. In the 1911 census he was recorded as living at Hope Cottages, Snargate with his parents. His father was recorded as being a platelayer for the railway. William died and was buried in Appledore on 10th December 1919, with his address being given as 3 Station Villas, Appledore, Kent. His reason for death is provided as Lung disease. Below is an image of his dependents record, provided to his widow on his decease:

Below is a clipping from the Kentish Express, reporting the unveiling of the war memorial in St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Appledore. William is mentioned in the report:

His name is listed below. He is not, however, mentioned on the Appledore School roll of honour (as he probably did not attend Appledore School), but he is mentioned in the WW1 Memorial book created by Rev. Keith Fazzani and kindly donated to ALHS and in which William Joy was mentioned.

It is interesting to note that whilst William did not die during active engagement, he did die before 1921 (the official ending of the Great War), so was entitled to registration as a war casualty.

William Joy was buried in the now closed churchyard of St Peter’s and St Paul’s in Appledore. The image below shows his grave (with a poppy wreath). If you review the grave’s location on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission map, you will see it is grave no. 4.