Harris William Hoy was born in 1894 on Mersea Island, the fourth child of Henry and Ruth Hoy of Haycock's Farm, East Mersea. He was always known as William. He was one of ten children born to the couple and was baptised 14 September 1894. The 1911 Census shows him employed as a Cowman on a farm.

Harris joined the 5th Essex Territorials in 1914 and after training, was transferred to the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. February 1917 the Corp were in the line south of Ypres and on 17th they were in an area known as Ridge Wood. The enemy commenced a violent bombardment of the reserve line and redoubts in Bois Carre and caused severe damage. Casualties suffered by the Corps that evening were 7 killed, 14 wounded and 5 missing. One of the seven killed was William Hoy, who was buried in Klein-Vierstraat British Cemetery, Belgium.

This account is based on that in Not Just a Name by Roger Bullen - there is more detail in the book.
Mersea Museum also has a Notebook and an Army Prayer Book carried by William Hoy in WW1.

Many letters from William Hoy to his sister Ivy 1916-1917 have been carefully saved by Ivy's family - they give a touching view of life in the trenches, and tell us just how much time they spent yearning for the life at home. Willie does say "if we meet again" as if he was not sure he would ever be back home. The are listed below and are all available online. The dates are not clear on some letters and they may not be in the right order.