Alfred John Hoy was born on the 25th October 1885 and raised in Ilford. In 1901 he was living with his parents at 6 Clyde Cottages in Ilford, and was working as a butcher’s assistant
By 1911, according to the census, he was an Able Seaman. He was also now going by his middle name John and appeared on the census as John Hoy rather than Alfred John Hoy as he had been in 1901. John married Jessie Harriet Taylor in the spring of 1914. They lived at 50 Elgin Road, Seven Kings, according to John’s army death records.
On 15th October 1915, John was on board HMS Hawke when it was stuck by a single German torpedo. John’s decision to change his name lead to some confusion for his family, who were waiting for news of who had survived the torpedo attack, as among the list of survivors was the name ‘J. Hoy’ [John should have been recorded as A. J. Hoy].
Alfred’s body was never recovered, but his name appears on the Chatham Naval Memorial.
Research by Redbridge Museum
Sources:
Ilford Guardian, 23rd October 1914
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Ancestry.com