Pte William 'Sonny' Lawson, 89750, 65th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, died on October 27th, 1917, from gunshot wounds sustained two days previously. The son of Luton Town FC trainer Billy Lawson, he had been serving as a stretcher bearer at the time.

Writing from the No 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in France, the Rev W. L. Archer said: "Your son William was brought to our hospital on the night of the 25th, very severely wounded in the legs. In spite of every care, he lived only to the 27th. I promised to write to you and say that 'Sonny sends his love'.

"We have laid his body in Lijssenthoek Cemetery, where a cross will mark his grave. I know what the loss of such a son means, but you will be very proud of his loyal and brave devotion."

Parents William 'Billy' and Susan Lawson, of 25 Brunswick Street, Luton, had been sent a telegram on October 27th saying their son had a gunshot wound that had fractured his left thigh bone. "Regret permission [to] visit him cannot be granted."

Sonny, who worked as a straw hat stiffener, had enlisted in September 1914. He had played for Luton Town Reserves on a number of occasions. A younger brother, Walter, played for Luton Town, standing in for Tempest against an Army Service Corps team from St Albans, on the day Sonny died. Walter had been discharged from the Beds Regiment.

The slideshow below includes William with his two brothers in 1915 and his father Billy Lawson, the Luton Town FC trainer, pictured by T. G. Hobbs in 1907.