Wyatt, Arthur Edward

It has been difficult to establish the history of Arthur Wyatt, partly because he was born in a village in Northamptonshire in which there were a number of Wyatt family households, but also because one military record gives his birthplace as Newbottle, Oxon. The most likely candidate is Arthur Wyatt, born in Q1 1888 to George and Elizabeth Wyatt. However, there is another candidate, Arthur Edward Wyatt, born in Q2 1889 to George’s brother Thomas. As the shrine slip gives Arthur’s age at death as 27, and as there appears to be a link with Henry Morby, this page gives the history of George’s son.

Arthur was born in Newbottle with Charlton, a parish near Brackley, Northamptonshire. He was baptised on 15th January 1888. He was the third child of George and Elizabeth Wyatt, with an older sister, Fanny Elizabeth (b. 1882) and an older brother (John) William (b. 1885). His younger brother, Albert Edward was born in 1890.

By the time of the 1901 census, Arthur’s mother had died and only Fanny and Albert were living with George in Newbottle. Arthur and William were living with their uncle Henry Morby and his wife Hannah at 49 Union Road (today called Lakin Road), Warwick. Also in the household were two other nephews of Henry’s: George and Joseph Fairbrother. Henry Morby was working as a road labourer for the local Board, Arthur (13) was an errand boy and his brother William (15) was an agricultural labourer. Their cousin George (15) was a hand at a sticking plaster factory. Henry and Hannah had no children of their own.

In 1911 Henry Morby was still at 49 Union Road, with his wife Hannah and Joseph Fairbrother, aged 16, but Arthur was not in the household on census night. The 1919 Spennell’s directory lists Henry Morby at 77 Union Road. The shrine slip for the inclusion of Arthur on the Warwick Memorial was submitted by Bertha Eliza Phillips, sister of John Phillips, who also died, who lived on nearby Vine Street.

In the 1861 census for Newbottle in Northamptonshire, Henry Morby (5) was living with his widowed grandfather, John Morby (55) on Charlton High Street. Also in the household are John’s daughter Roshannah Wyat (25) and her husband William Wyat (30) and their two sons Benjamin Wyat (10) and James Wyat (1). From this it is not clear who Henry’s parents were and the census for 1851 for this family has not been found. In the 1871 census Henry is recorded as Henry Wyatt.
By 1881 William and Rosanna Wyatt had had at least 9 children, including George (b.1862) and Thomas (b. 1868).
In the parish register which records Henry Morby’s marriage to Hannah Bull on 25th October 1879, Henry’s father is given as William Wyat (sic).
An 1891 census for Southam, Warwickshire records Benjamin Morby, born in Charlton-by-Newbottle in 1850. When he married in 1871, he gave his father’s name as John Morby.