Source: Michael Doyle Their Name Liveth For Evermore: The Great War Roll of Honour for Leicestershire and Rutland.
He was the son of George Starkey, a cow keeper and haulier, born 1855 in Twycross, Leics., and his wife Elizabeth Starkey (nee Ruff, married in the 2nd quarter of 1877 in the Walsall Staffs.district), born 1850 in Ludlow, Shropshire. William was born on the 19th January 1884 in Twycross, Leics., his siblings were, Alfred, born 1878, Florence, born 1879, Emma, born 1880, George, a schoolboy, born 1881, James, a schoolboy, born 1883, Elizabeth, born 1888 and Catherine, born 1890, all his siblings were born in Twycross, Leics., in April 1891 the family home was at Watery Lane, Twycross, Leics. In March 1901 William was employed as an agricultural labourer and was residing as a servant at Court Farm, Griff, Chilvers Coton, Warwks. In April 1911 William was serving with the Royal Navy as a Stoker 1st Class aboard HMS Minotaur, his family home was at Twycross, Leics., residing there was his father, a coal carter and dealer, his mother and siblings Alfred, a farm labourer, George, a postman and Laura Cart Starkey, a schoolgirl, born 1898 in Leicester. William enlisted into the Royal Navy to serve a 5 + 7 year engagement on the 12th September 1906, and was allocated the service number SS/103684 in Portsmouth Hants. His medical examination recorded that he was 5 foot 6½ inches in height and had a chest measurement of 36½ inches, his hair colour was dark brown and he had grey eyes, his complexion was described as fresh, he gave his trade or calling as butcher. His record of service began when he joined HMS Nelson as a Stoker 2nd Class on the 12/9/06 – 7/12/06. HMS -?-, 8/12/06 – 22/5/07. HMS Hecla, 23/5/07 – 16/7/07. HMS Victory II, 17/7/07 – 17/7/07. HMS Good Hope, 18/7/07 – 20/11/07, when he was promoted to Stoker 1st Class. HMS Good Hope, 21/11/07 – 24/9/08, when he was transferred to C.S. (Continuous Service) and allocated the service number K/1498. He was now serving a 12 year engagement effective from the 25th September 1908, however his total service was still calculated from the original enlistment date of the 12th September 1906. He was re-examined and his height was recorded as 5 foot 7½ inches, his chest measurement was 36¾ inches, it was noted that he had the following tattoo’s, an eagle, horseshoe, ribbon and woman on his left arm, a body, shamrock and a rose and thistle on his right arm. His record of service continued aboard HMS Good Hope, 25/9/08 – 17/8/09. HMS Victory II, 18/8/09 – 1/9/09. HMS Euryalus, 2/9/09 – 22/11/09. HMS Victory II, 23/11/09 – 13/1/10. HMS Minotaur, 14/1/10 – 25/5/12. HMS Spartiate, 26/5/12 – 10/7/12. HMS Victory II, 11/7/12 – 30/8/12. HMS Fisgard, 31/8/12 – 27/11/12, when he was promoted to Leading Stoker. HMS Fisgard, 28/11/12 – 6/12/12. HMS Victory II, 7/12/12 – 3/9/13. HMS Queen Mary, 4/9/13 – 31/5/16, when he was killed in action at the Battle of Jutland.
The background relating to the circumstances in which William lost his life are as follows. Steaming in advance of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe’s Grand Fleet, Beatty’s battle cruisers, supported by the battleships of the 5th Battle Squadron, collided with Vice Admiral Franz Hipper’s battle cruisers in the opening phases of the Battle of Jutland. Engaging at 3.48 pm on May 31st, the German fire proved accurate from the outset. At 3.50 pm, HMS Queen Mary opened fire on SMS Seydlitz with its forward turrets. As Beatty closed the range, HMS Queen Mary scored two hits on its opponent and disabled one of Seydlitz’s aft turrets. Around 4.15 pm, HMS Lion came under intense fire from Hipper’s ships. The smoke from this obscured HMS Princess Royal forcing SMS Derfflinger to shift its fire to HMS Queen Mary. As this new enemy engaged, the British ship continued to trade hits with Seydlitz. At 4.26 pm, a shell from Derfflinger struck HMS Queen Mary detonating one or both of its forward magazines. The resulting explosion broke the battle cruiser in half near its foremast. A second shell from Derfflinger may have hit further aft. As the after part of the ship began to roll, it was rocked by large explosion before sinking. Of HMS Queen Mary’s crew, 1,266 were lost while only twenty were rescued. Though the Battle of Jutland resulted in a strategic victory for the British, it saw two battle cruisers, HMS Indefatigable and HMS Queen Mary, lost with nearly all hands. An investigation into the losses led to changes in ammunition handling aboard British ships as the report showed that cordite handling practices may have contributed to the loss of the two battle cruisers.