Rank:
Airman 3rd Class
Service No(s):
55650
Regiment:
Royal Flying Corps
Unit:
Returned:
No
Place of birth:
1 Park Street, Islington
Occupation:
Clerk
Date of death:
23/03/1917
Cause of death:
Not known
Grave or panel reference:
125.30438
Name of father:
Charles Thomas Norton
Name of siblings:
John Charles, Ada Emily, Rosina, Albert Edward
Name(s) of children:
Died:
Yes
Date of birth:
04/03/1879
Place of enlistment:
Whitehall
Event:
Farnborough, Hampshire
Age at death:
38
Cemetery or memorial:
Highgate
Other memorial:
St. Mellitus Church
Name of mother:
Adelaide Norton (née Kingston)
Name of spouse:
Gertrude Isabella Norton (née Stevens)
Address:
69 Shaftesbury Road, Crouch Hill, Middlesex
Biography:
Airman Arthur William Norton was born on 4 March 1879 at 1 Park Street, Islington and baptised that month at St Andrew’s Church in Barnsbury. He was the middle of five children of Charles Thomas Norton and Adelaide Norton (née Kingston), with an older and younger brother, John Charles and Albert Edward, and older and younger sisters, Ada Emily and Rosina respectively.
By the time of the 1881 Census, the Nortons were living at 2 Corbyn Street, just a few minutes’ walk from New Court Congregational Church, and they moved even closer, to 32 Marriott Road, where they are listed in both the 1901 and 1911 Census. Charles’s occupation is given as a retired builder and Arthur worked as a stationer’s clerk. Adelaide had died in 1893. On 31 May 1913, Arthur married Gertrude Isabella Stevens, a Canadian, at New Court and they lived at 69 Shaftesbury Road, just off Crouch Hill.
Arthur enlisted in June 1916 but did not receive his call-up until the following year. On 25 January 1917, he joined the Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force and he served in Farnborough, Hampshire, in the lowest rank of Airman 3rd Class. However, his stint proved brief and he died at the Royal Connaught Hospital on 23 March. No cause of death is recorded and he is buried at Highgate Cemetery. Gertrude and his sister Ada are listed among the members of New Court Congregational Church in the 1921 manual, but two years later Gertrude returned to live in Canada.
Also see Arthur’s ‘Meet the Soldier’ blog post