Rank: Seaman D3207 Regiment: Royal Naval Reserve Parish: Beer
William Woodgate was born in Beer on 5 October 1885, (according to his Royal Naval Reserve record, although other records suggest he was in fact born in 1887), the son of Thomas Woodgate, a fisherman, and his wife Georgina.
William joined the Royal Naval Reserve on 5 October 1905, when he was fishing out of Beer on the ‘Happy Return’ (E216), and lived at 11 Highfield Terrace, Beer.
He was mobilised for war service on 3 August 1914, and although his RNR record does not show the names of any of the ships he served on, his parent unit is shown as HMS President III, which was the accounting base for men serving as gun crews on Defensively Armed Merchant Ships (DAMS).
He was demobilised on 18 March 1919, but remained in the RNR until October 1925.
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