255332 SAPPER ALFRED WAGG ROYAL ENGINEERS
Alfred was born in Hanley, Staffordshire on the 7th May 1895 to parents Thomas Walton Wagg born Hanley 7th February 1865 and Elizabeth Ellen nee Shufflebottom born Hanley, Staffordshire on the 15th August 1870. Thomas and Elizabeth were married at Northwood Holy Trinity on the 11th February 1894. Alfred was christened on the 7th June 1895.
The 1901 Census shows us Alfred as a 5 year old living with his mother and father at 56 Mynors Street, Hanley. Thomas is a Potters Printer and Elizabeth an Artware Paintress.
The 1911 Census shows us Alfred living with his parents and now a 5 year old sister Maria at 56 Mynors Street, Hanley. Alfred is a 15 year old Office Boy, Thomas a Potters Printer, Elizabeth a Potters Finer and Marie who was born on 29th October 1905 at Hanley.
Alfred joined the Army on an unknown date but we see from his Medal Index Card he was entitled only to the British War Medal Medal and Victory Medal so we can say with certainty that he did not enter a theatre of war until on or after the 1st January 1916.
He was allocated service number 255332 with the Royal Engineers and was in France at the time of his death on the 11th December 1918, a month after the Armistice.
His death is recorded as accidental and this is supported by a Staffordshire Sentinel newspaper report of the 1st January 1919
ACCIDENTALLY KILLED.
Mr. and Mrs. Wagg, of 56, Mynors-Street, Hanley, have been officially notified of the death of their son, Sapper A. Wagg. Royal Engineers, which occurred on December 11th on active service. He was formerly employed by Messrs. Doulton and Co., Burslem. In a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Wagg, an officer, says that Sapper Wagg was fatally injured in a collision between two motor trollies, being thrown down an embankment with a trolley and its contents upon him. He died shortly after admission to hospital. The officer adds that Sapper Wagg was greatly esteemed by all his comrades in the section for his trustworthiness and personality.
His family were awarded a military pension of 7 shilling and 2 penny from 1st July 1919.
The 1939 Register has only Thomas and Elizabeth still at 56 Mynors Street, Hanley, both retired from their previous pottery jobs.
Marie is found in the 1939 register married to Harold Robert Tew a Window Cleaning Contractor, Marie is a Wholesale Drapers Assistant. They are living at 59 Mynors Street, Hanley.
He is buried in the Chocquers Military Cemetery in France grave ref III.B.27.
He is also remembered on the Royal Doulton Kilngate Memorial and the Hanley WW1 memorial.
He was entitled to the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
We have found that Alfred's family posted a memorial into the Sentinel Newspaper every year on the anniversary of his death from 1920 until 1937.
WAGG.-In loving memory of our dearly loved and only son Alfred, killed in France on December 11th, 1918, aged 23 years. Remembrance is a flower that never fades. From Father, Mother, and Sister.
WAGG.-In loving memory of our dear and only son, Alfred, killed in France on December 11th, 1918. Deep in our hearts is a sorrow unseen, When we think of the days that might have been. Ever remembered by his Father, Mother, and Sister, 56 Mynors-street, Hanley.
WAGG.-In memory of Sapper Alfred Wagg, R.E., dearly-loved and only son of Mr. and Mrs. Wagg. 56, Mynors-street, who was killed in France on December 11th, 1918 "Sweet are the memories left behind to those who knew his worth." From Father, Mother, and Sister Marie.
Parents Thomas Walton Wagg died in the last quarter of 1941 in Stoke on Trent and his mother Elizabeth Ellen Wagg Died 5 April 1942 in Stoke-On-Trent. Marie his only sister died in 1987 in Stoke on Trent.
Sources:
Thomas Walton Wagg birth. Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Elizabeth Ellen Shufflebottom. FreeBMD. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Parents Marriage. Indexes created from Anglican Parish Registers held at Staffordshire Record Office; Stafford, Staffordshire, England
Alfred christening , Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Christening Index, 1530-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008.
1901 census: Class: RG13; Piece: 2602; Folio: 124; Page: 34
1911 census: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
1939 register The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/5287I
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000347/19190113/069/0004
Forces War Records, UK, WWI, Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 (https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/publication/1019/uk-wwi-pension-ledgers-and-index-cards-1914-1923 : accessed 9 Apr 2026), database and images, https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/publication/1019/uk-wwi-pension-ledgers-and-index-cards-1914-1923
Forces War Records, UK, WWI, British Army Medal Roll Index Cards, 1914-1920 (https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/publication/932/uk-wwi-british-army-medal-roll-index-cards-1914-1920 : accessed 9 Apr 2026), database and images, https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/publication/932/uk-wwi-british-army-medal-roll-index-cards-1914-1920
Forces War Records, UK, WWI, Daily Reports: Missing, Dead, Wounded and POWs, 1914-1918 (https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/publication/1352/uk-wwi-daily-reports-missing-dead-wounded-and-pows-1914-1918 : accessed 9 Apr 2026), database and images, https://uk.forceswarrecords.com/publication/1352/uk-wwi-daily-reports-missing-dead-wounded-and-pows-1914-1918
Sentinel Newspaper.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/167309/alfred-wagg/
Principal Probate Registry; London, England; Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England
General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 30; Page 1592.
