Arthur William Carrington was born in Hemel Hempstead in March 1883 and baptised on Wednesday, 20th June of the same year at St Mary’s Church in the town. He was the fourth son of James Carrington and Ellen Puddephatt who had a family of eight children together. Arthur’s siblings were: Susan, James, Jennie (Jane), William and Alfred who were older and his younger brother Jack (John). His oldest sister Susan died in infancy in 1878 and his brother William died in 1912 at the age of thirty-seven. Two other children died young and his father died in 1912 aged eighty-one. Arthur’s brothers James and Alfred served in the Bedfordshire Regiment and survived the War.

In 1891, the Carrington family lived at Bennett’s End, between Leverstock Green and Apsley and Arthur’s father James worked as a ‘Farm Labourer’. Shortly after this date the family moved to Hemel Hempstead and set up home at 15 Cherry Bounce, just off the High Street. Young Arthur by now had left school and found work as a ‘Farm Labourer’ working for Mr Howe the owner of Handpost Farm. The farm was a few minutes walk from Arthur’s home and was located on the junction of Queen Street and St Albans Road (now Queensway and Lower Adeyfield Road). A petrol station stands on the site of the farm buildings today.

When he was seventeen in 1898, Arthur enlisted in the army joining the 4th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment a Militia unit at the time (forerunner of the Territorial Force). Arthur like many unskilled workers joined the army to supplement his farm labourers wages. He trained with the Regiment and attended two annual camps until January 1900, when he was embodied for service overseas aged nineteen. He went to Dublin where the 2nd Battalion Bedfordshires, a regular army unit, was stationed and preparing to depart for South Africa and the Second Boer War. Arthur attested and joined the Militia Reserve on the 17th February 1900 and just ten days later set sail for South Africa.

Up until this point his conduct in the army was considered to be good. But in 1901 during his active service, Arthur was subject to a number of punishments which became increasingly more serious, culminating in 56 days imprisonment. The misdemeanour is not recorded, but it was the start of what became a theme of his army career. He was disembodied in 1902 at the end of the Second Boer War and returned to England, where he was discharged from the army in 1904 his time having expired. 

Arthur married Annie Forsdick who was a native of Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire and worked for John Dickinson & Co. Limited in Apsley Mills when they met. Annie’s father Benjamin was the landlord of the Anchor pub (now a private dwelling) on Chipperfield Common near Kings Langley. Their wedding took place in ‘Marlowes Chapel’, (the Wesleyan Methodist Church), on Sunday, 10th June 1906 and they moved into 28 Cherry Bounce close to Arthur’s parents. They had two children, though sadly neither infant survived. Their first child Edward was born in late 1909 but died shortly after birth. A second child died at birth before the 1911 Census.

On the outbreak of war Arthur immediately re-enlisted with his old regiment and was posted to Aldershot for training and mobilisation. However, his time with the Regiment was remarkably short and only eight-one days after his re-enlistment, he was discharged as an ‘undesirable’ as his previous disciplinary problems in the service resurfaced. On two separate occasions he had been punished, first for using "abusive" language to the Company Serjeant Major and then at Liphook, he was accused of “improper conduct and using obscene language in billets”. No further details are known, but it was considered of such severity that an experienced soldier was discharged just when most needed.

It seems to have been a family trait because his brother Alfred was improsioned and punished on a number of occasions during his military service, once for disobeying an order and striking an N.C.O. Undeterred and probably unrepentent, Arthur sought another Regiment and in July 1915 he attested again, this time in Watford, and joined the Coldstream Guards. We have a description of Arthur at the time of his enlistment as follows: Aged "34 years and 6 months" (he was actually a year younger); "Height: 5 feet 11½ inches tall; Weight 150 lbs (10 st 10 lbs); Chest measurements: 39 inches; Complexion: Fresh; Eyes: Hazel; Hair: Auburn." Additionally, his distinctive marks are recorded as “tattoo both forearms”.

Arthur was much taller and better built than the average man at the time by a considerable margin and an asset to a Guards Regiment. Despite his less than perfect conduct record, he demonstrated a determination to enlist and fight at a time when there was no obligation for him to do so. After successfully joining the Coldstream Guards and retraining, he was posted to the 2nd Battalion as a Guardsman and sent to France. He joined his regiment in early 1916 and later in the year fought in the Somme Offensive in the battles of Flers-Courcelette and Morval. He then moved with the Guards Division to Belgium in early 1917.

He fought in the Battle of Pilckem Ridge in July and early August and it is possible that he was wounded during this action and evacuated down the line and admitted to a base hospital. This turned out to be the St. John Ambulance Brigade Hospital in Etaples and it is likely he was taken there with a view to evacuation back to England.

However, whilst at Etaples, Arthur finally succumbed to his wounds and died on Friday, 10th August 1917.

After Arthur’s death, Annie did not remarry and by 1939 she was still living at their old home in 39 Queen Street in Hemel Hempstead and was a ‘Salvation Army Worker’.

Arthur is remembered with Honour in Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais, France, where he is interred in Grave XXV. M. 15A. The inscription on his headstone, requested by his wife Annie, reads: “JESUS HIMSELF IS OUR LEADER AS WE WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY IN PEACE.”

He was 34 years old when he died.

Arthur was eligible for the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.