RIFLEMAN WILLIAM HOYLE
LONDON REGIMENT, THE RANGERS
26TH SEPTEMBER 1917 AGE 24
BURIED: DUHALLOW A.D.S. CEMETERY, BELGIUM
These are the first two lines of a hymn written by Bernard of Cluny in the 12th Century and translated by the English hymn writer, J.M. Neale, in 1858.
Brief life is here our portion,
Brief sorrow, short-lived care;
The life that knows no ending,
The tearless life is there.
And where is 'there', where 'grief is turned to pleasure' and 'shadows shall decay? 'There' is the 'sweet and blessed country' where 'short toil' is turned to 'eternal rest' - in other words, heaven.
There, God our King and portion,
In fullness of his grace,
We then shall see for ever,
And worship face to face.
William Hoyle was killed on the opening day of the Battle of Polygon Wood (26 September - 3 October 1917) in which new tactics were employed and the weather for once favoured the attackers resulting in the British capturing and holding some strategically significant high ground. His mother signed for his inscription, William was the oldest of her nine children.