William was born in March 1883 in Newington, London to William Harknett and Frances Nee Gosby. He joined the Royal Artillery in 1899, so he was a Regular Soldier. He married Ada Beatrice Jacobs 14/11/1903 at St Leonard's, The Hythe, Colchester. The happy pair must have travelled around various military establishments in G.B. as their five children were born in Colchester, Exeter and Wiltshire. William was discharged in 1915 as being medically unfit. From what I can not seem to find. His doc's request that he be discharged, and that he had been engaged in Officer's Mess duties before his discharge. His Doc's I found whilst researching the Harknetts in WW1 at the P.R.O. at Kew. It was with some suprise that I found him again buried in a C.W.G.C. in Colchester having died in 1916 as a member of the Sussex Regt. I found this in a book on War Graves before the CWGC Website was available. Not being fit to serve, and then dying in an Infantry regiment was suprising. I surmised that he had been wounded in some action and came home and died as a result of his wounds. Don't think this is so, as I found out that he was in what was called a Garrison Battalion. These battalions were made up from men not able to go over to France and get killed, but fully able to do the more mundane things such as guarding installations and docks etc thereby freeing a fit man to go overseas. I do not know from what he died as I cant seem to be able to find these details. Whatever, William did his bit in that terrible carnage, and deserves to sleep the long sleep with pride. His funeral was held at St Leonard's on the fourth of November 1916. Ada his widow remarried to a chap named William Bell. His children married into the local! families of, Allison, Webb, Clark, Fitch and Went. The Clarissa Harknett who was a civilian victim of WW2 bombing in Colchester was Clarrisa Fitch, the wife of William's son George Harknett. He remarried into the Went Family......

I WILL find out from what William died, I know I will. I have not a photo etc. of this chap, or of his kin. My Mother was a Harknett, not directly related to William but related I am sure as from what I have found of this West Essex family if you search back far enough they all come from the same nest! Should you have access to newspapers or photos of any kind I would be only to glad to see them.

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