Private William Walter Saben Notts & Derby Regiment and Labour Corps
1914-18 British War Medal. Victory Medal.
The Man William Walter Saben was born on Monday 15th May 1893 in Edmonton, London, only son of Walter William a Carpenter and Alice nee Logsdale. No trace of the 1901 census can be found but by 1911 Alice is listed as a widow living with William, who had finished his education and working as a Clerk aged 17. Their address was given as 53 Elmore Street, London.
At the outbreak of World War I on 4th August 1914, William was aged 21, although did not enlist voluntarily into in to the armed forces and was conscripted and attested on 13th January 1916 following the introduction earlier in the month of the Military Service Act, shifting from a voluntary system to mandatory military service due to heavy casualties and declining volunteers, initially targeting single men aged 18-41. He enlisted into the Notts & Derby Regiment at Holloway with service number 6529, later 202982 and described as 5’.4½” tall weighing 113lbs a chest of 35” and of a good physical development.
Following time on the Army Reserve he was formally posted on 4th October 1916, undertaking his training in the UK, making arrangements to marry in December before being posted to the Western Front in France. His marriage banns were read in October 1916 and on Christmas Eve 1916 he married Louisa Eliza Billingham in the Parish Church of St John The Baptist, Hoxton. His profession being given as Soldier and their residence at the time of marriage was 42 New North Road, London. Later living at 14 Halcombe Street,
William was posted to France 26th February 1917 and on 4th April 1917 was present at the start of the Battle of Arras, he ‘went over with a tank’ and following the attack was found to be suffering from shell shock, a psychological trauma experienced by soldiers in battle, particularly during World War I, leading to symptoms like tremors, confusion and fatigue, now recognized as early PTSD. He complained of a pain in the back of his head that lasted 3-4 days about twice a month and burning in both eyes.
At the outbreak of World War I on 4th August 1914, William was aged 21, although did not enlist voluntarily into in to the armed forces and was conscripted and attested on 13th January 1916 following the introduction earlier in the month of the Military Service Act, shifting from a voluntary system to mandatory military service due to heavy casualties and declining volunteers, initially targeting single men aged 18-41. He enlisted into the Notts & Derby Regiment at Holloway with service number 6529, later 202982 and described as 5’.4½” tall weighing 113lbs a chest of 35” and of a good physical development.
Following time on the Army Reserve he was formally posted on 4th October 1916, undertaking his training in the UK, making arrangements to marry in December before being posted to the Western Front in France. His marriage banns were read in October 1916 and on Christmas Eve 1916 he married Louisa Eliza Billingham in the Parish Church of St John The Baptist, Hoxton. His profession being given as Soldier and their residence at the time of marriage was 42 New North Road, London. Later living at 14 Halcombe Street,
William was posted to France 26th February 1917 and on 4th April 1917 was present at the start of the Battle of Arras, he ‘went over with a tank’ and following the attack was found to be suffering from shell shock, a psychological trauma experienced by soldiers in battle, particularly during World War I, leading to symptoms like tremors, confusion and fatigue, now recognized as early PTSD. He complained of a pain in the back of his head that lasted 3-4 days about twice a month and burning in both eyes.
St John The Baptist Church, Hoxton.
He seems to have suffered for the next few months and was transferred to the Labour Corps on 8th October 1917 with a new service number of 402711. The Labour Corps was a British Army unit formed in 1917 to provide manual and skilled labour on the Western Front and other theatres during World War I. It consisted of men from across the British Empire, including China, India, and South Africa, who performed essential tasks like building roads and railways, digging trenches and supporting troops. The corps also included soldiers who were no longer fit for frontline combat but could perform lighter duties, such as William.
He remained with the Labour corps for the rest of the war returning to the UK on 22nd January 1919 and posted to the Z Class reserve on 14th February, although his claim for a disability pension was declined. He was awarded his 1914-18 British War Medal and Victory Medal for his services.
By March 1921 William and Louisa were still living at 14 Halcombe Street together with Louisa and James Cummings, possibly relatives and in March 1921 had their only son Eric William who was Baptised at St John The Baptist where his parents had married in 1916.
In 1930 the family lived, again with the Cummings, at 79 Walford Road and by 1939 had moved to 149, Wemborough Road, Harrow and William now aged 46, listed as a Contract Clerk. It is not known if he saw service in any capacity during World War II.
William passed away on 5th June 1968 aged 75, still living at 149 Wenborough Road and Louisa 14 years later on14th March 1982 at Heathcote Hospital, Leamington Spa.
He remained with the Labour corps for the rest of the war returning to the UK on 22nd January 1919 and posted to the Z Class reserve on 14th February, although his claim for a disability pension was declined. He was awarded his 1914-18 British War Medal and Victory Medal for his services.
By March 1921 William and Louisa were still living at 14 Halcombe Street together with Louisa and James Cummings, possibly relatives and in March 1921 had their only son Eric William who was Baptised at St John The Baptist where his parents had married in 1916.
In 1930 the family lived, again with the Cummings, at 79 Walford Road and by 1939 had moved to 149, Wemborough Road, Harrow and William now aged 46, listed as a Contract Clerk. It is not known if he saw service in any capacity during World War II.
William passed away on 5th June 1968 aged 75, still living at 149 Wenborough Road and Louisa 14 years later on14th March 1982 at Heathcote Hospital, Leamington Spa.
The Story The medals awarded to Walter William Saben were acquired as a birthday present in August 2025, together with several other medals that had been found during a family house clearance in Leamington Spa the previous year where they had lain, having been part of another collection back in the 1970s, for fifty years.
Mainly because of his unusual surname, Ancestry enabled a reasonable biography to be put together, especially so as some his World War I pension records had survived helping to add more information.
Of interest is the fact Walter’s wife Louisa had died in 1982 at Heathcote Hospital, Leamington Spa. The indication being she had lived locally and possibly explaining how the medals had ended up in the town and bought at a local antique fair.
Another World War I soldier rescued from obscurity and now remembered for posterity.
Mainly because of his unusual surname, Ancestry enabled a reasonable biography to be put together, especially so as some his World War I pension records had survived helping to add more information.
Of interest is the fact Walter’s wife Louisa had died in 1982 at Heathcote Hospital, Leamington Spa. The indication being she had lived locally and possibly explaining how the medals had ended up in the town and bought at a local antique fair.
Another World War I soldier rescued from obscurity and now remembered for posterity.
William Saben's World War I Medal Index Card showing award of the 1914-18 British War and Victory Medals.
William Saben's Pension Record Card, showing his claim as rejected.
Medal Details
- 191418 British War Medal: 202982 PTE.W.W.SABEN. NOTTS.& DERBY.R.
- Victory Medal: 202982 PTE.W.W.SABEN. NOTTS.& DERBY.R.
Return to: The Collection
Go to Previous Page: Eric Robert Arthur RUSSELL
Next Page: Thomas Edwin SADLER
Go to Previous Page: Eric Robert Arthur RUSSELL
Next Page: Thomas Edwin SADLER
Page last updated: 8 Dec 25
