SPEAR William Arthur John

Major William Arthur John Spear SBStJ TD** LRIBA Royal Engineers, Sheriff and Lord Mayor of Norwich

William Arthur John Spear

The Man William Arthur John Spear (Bill) was born on Saturday 6th June 1908 in the Parish of St George Hanover Square, London, son William Henry a Licenced Victualler and Florence Louise nee Imhofe. He was Baptised on 26th July at St James Picadilly and had one brother Arthur Nathan born in 1912

The 1911 census shows Bill and his parents living at 27 Great Portland Street, London together with seven servants who are listed as Barmen, Barmaid, Cook, Kitchen Maid, Charwoman and Nursemaid. The family moved to Norfolk in 1913 and William senior became the Proprietor of the Ship Inn, Mundesley.

Bill was only aged six at the start of World War I and still at school for the duration of the conflict, he was educated at Paston School in North Walsham. The 1921 census shows the family, together with Florence’s mother Mary Emily Imhofe and a Domestic Servant Voilet Alma Simpson, still at the Ship Inn

Following his education Bill become an articled pupil to George Skipper, a famous architect in Norwich, in 1925 aged 17. He returned to London for training and in 1931 was living at 14 Aberdeen Park, Islington with other pupils when he qualified as an Architect.

On 1st August 1933, Bill enlisted into the Territorial Army (TA), Royal Engineers (RE), 54th East Anglian Divisional Engineers as a 2nd Lieutenant with service number 56416. During the third quarter of 1935 he married Gertrude Joan Osborne in Norwich and they lived at 1 Josephine Close and had one son, John Nathan Osborne born in 1936.

Bill was promoted to Lieutenant on 1st August 1936, aged 28 and on 24th August 1939 with World War II imminent was called up and embodied at the start of the war on 3rd September; promoted to Acting Captain on 6th September and Temporary Captain on 6th December.

Serving Brother of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. 1939-45 Star. Pacific Star. Defence Medal. War Medal 1939-45. Efficiency Decoration and two clasps.

He was transferred to the 288th Field Company RE, where in 1940 early training was provided in tented camps in Canterbury, followed by Thetford in the Breckland district of Norfolk. They then mined the beaches on the East Anglian coast, followed by further training in Blackburn and Scotland, where tropical kit was issued.

Bill was promoted to War Substantive Captain and Temporary Major on 28th March 1941. The 288th eventually departed from Liverpool on 30th October 1941 for overseas service with the 18th Division. They travelled via various destinations to Cape Town, South Africa in December and it was here they heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and that Britain as now at war with the Japanese. The 288th had originally been destined to serve in the Middle East but were now diverted to the Far East and Singapore. They arrived at the end of January 1942 to defend the far-flung outpost. But days later Singapore surrendered on 15th February 1942 and William was taken as a Prisoner of War of the Japanese. He was initially held at Changi and upon arrival the 18th Division played a full part in providing essential sanitary facilities for the greatly overcrowded barrack area. However, the Japanese authorities demanded working parties for clearing, building and cargo handling duties in the city. So, on 13 March 1942, Bill and 2nd Lieutenant B McD Buchanan (288th) led a contingent of Sappers, predominately from their own company, among the other Changi POWs and marched back to the city to occupy River Valley Road camp. From here, working parties were sent each day to all parts of the island and even across the causeway to Johore. There were no hospitalisation facilities and all cases of dysentery. avitaminosis, recurring fever etc were sent to Roberts Hospital, Changi. and thence, on recovery, back to the India Lines.

On 23rd March 1943, Bill travelled overland, in overcrowded railway boxcars with many other prisoners in inhuman conditions, to Thailand, where he was forced to work on the Infamous Burma Railway for the next two and a half years, surviving the cruelty meted out by the Japanese. He was liberated on 4th September 1945 and returned to his family in Norwich. For his war time service Bill was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45 which were sent to him at the TA Centre, Nelson Barracks in Norwich in October 1948.

William Spear's Past Sheriff and Lord Mayor of Norwich Jewels.

Bill returned to his trade as an architect and remained in the TA following the war, reforming and commanding the TA company (No. 251) of the RE in Norwich. In 1947 he was promoted to substantive Major and on 1st May awarded his Efficiency Decoration ‘Territorial’, this appearing in the London Gazette of 30th. This was followed by his first clasp on 1st August 1950 and the second in 1954.

Bill and Gertrude lived at 453 Unthank Road, Norwich and in 1954 sailed to Madeira from Plymouth returning on 16th October in the Venus of the Bergen Steamship Company. A journey they repeated in 1960 aboard Venus, returning on the 21st October.

Bill was transferred to the Territorial Army Reserve of Officers and turned to politics. He was elected as a Conservative Councillor representing Nelson Ward on Norwich County Borough in 1956 and on 25th June 1958 retired from the TARO aged 50.

Bill was appointed by HM The Queen as Sheriff of Norwich in 1962-3 and on 19th January 1963 met Her Majesty The Queen on a visit to Norwich. In 1974 following local government reorganisation Norwich became a Non Metropolitan District Council. Bill was elected as the first Lord Mayor of the new authority for the municipal year 1974-5 and as President of the Norfolk Royal Engineers Association and Lord Mayor on 16th March 1975, unveiled a RE Memorial Tablet in Norwich Cathedral, that had been relocated from Blackfirars Hall. He also met Ted Heath, who had only recently ceased being the Prime Minister, who visited Norwich on 17th September 1974 and Her Majesty for a second time on 11th April 1975. Following his year as Lord Mayor he was presented with his Past Lord Mayor’s Jewel.

Gertrude passed away on 26th April 1982 and Bill lived at Flat 1 Curzon House, Albermarle Road. He was also involved with the St John Ambulance Association in some capacity and in the London Gazette dated 11th January 1983 was appointed a Serving Brother of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.

In 1987 Bill retired as a councillor aged 79 years, becoming President of the Norfolk and Norwich Conservative Club and the 10th person given their life membership.

He passed away on 19th August 1991 aged 88 years after a full and varied life, witnessing first hand both sides of human nature.

Reverse of William Spear's Pat Sheriff and Lord Mayor's Jewels.

The Story The medals and related ephemera awarded to William Arthur James Spear were acquired from Keys Auctioneers in Norwich, via The Saleroom online, over three separate auctions, the lots having been split.

The first items seen and available to bid on, on 29th January 2025 (whilst in the Phillipines), were William’s Past Lord Mayor and Sheriff’s Jewels, they were of interest because of the civic connection and following some initial research it was revealed he had also been a Prisoner of War of the Japanese during World War II and had worked on the Burma Railway, those killed whilst doing so being a sub-theme of this collection.

The auctioneers were contacted to enquire if there were any further items relating to William available and they advised there were some ‘autograph’ books from his time as Lord Mayor and Sherrif and they would be available later in the year. They suggested putting a ‘flag’ on Saleroom to advise what date the auction would be, which was done.

Meanwhile, further research on Ancestry and the London Gazette revealed William’s full medal entitlement and it was planned to ‘make up’ a representative group, as all his awards were unnamed, only the Territorial Decoration and clasps being engraved with the year of award.

The auction site was logged into online in January (whilst in Thailand) and the jewels bid on. They were won after some strong competition and the auctioneers were asked to hold onto them until the books were available later in the year.

Some of Bill Spear's uniform ribbon bars.

In March 2025 a note did flag up on The Saleroom and it was assumed that it was for the books, however, surprisingly and pleasingly, it was for William’s actual medals! Which matched exactly the combination that it had been planned to ‘make up’. This auction was on 12th March 2025 and again the site was logged into and bid upon (now in the UK). These were won, again following some stiff competition!

Keys were contacted again and the date for the auction of the autograph books given as 26th March 2025. These were by now a ‘must have’ and bid on, also being won with not so much competition, despite containing two signatures of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II when she had visited Norwich during William’s term as Sheriff and Lord Mayor.

In June 2025 during a very hot spell, Norwich was visited and the lots collected personally on 16th June and the RE Memorial in the Cathedral on Cloister Wall 62 photographed. The Norwich City Hall and Castle Museum were also visited and Norwich Archives e-mailed, none had any record or knowledge of where the past Sheriff and Lord Mayor portraits were kept, if they existed at all. Access was kindly allowed however to the inner sanctum of City Hall to photograph the Past Lord Mayor’s roll of Honour.

Upon return, the Norfolk Heritage Centre were contacted by email (having not been visited!) and after some exchange of emails several pictures of William were found, although still no official portrait, nevertheless a very pleasing and long-awaited result. Ironically, the day following the receipt of the picture, google was checked again and a website in Iceland found holding several official original newspaper photographs of Bill including him in Lord Mayor’s robes, alas the company was no longer trading and had disposed of them all but they were still available to download thankfully..

Ancestry, London Gazette and Wills all helped piece together a reasonable biography, but surprisingly very little on newspaper archives.

A man who survived the hardships of a brutal imprisonment in the Far East and worked on the most infamous railway in the world, who went to achieve high civic office is now remembered and his archive kept together for posterity.