Biography:
1. William Hilton, the eldest son of Joseph and Elizabeth, was born circa 1812, and was baptised at the Waltham Abbey Church in 1813. He joined the Ordnance Board on the 22nd December 1830 when he was 18 according to Return WO54/575 dated the 1st April 183,. And had replaced Thomas Martin, Snr. as a Saltpetre Refiner. He was unmarried and his basic rate of pay was £33.16.0d per annum, but he was allowed to watch in turn, which gave him a total income of £39 per annum.
2. WO54/545 dated the 1st October 1831 updated his age and period of service in the April 1831 Return, with all other details remaining unchanged.
3. WO54/581 dated the 1st April 1832, updated his age and period of service in the October 1831 Return, again with all other details remaining the same.
4. Supply 5/207 dated the 8th August 1832, indicated that William Hilton and three others had been cautioned for being absent from their work for a whole day without leave, and warned that a repeat would result in their dismissal.
5. WO54/581 dated the 1st October 1832, updated Hilton's age and period of service in the April 1832 Return, confirming that he was still a Salpetre Refiner.
6. WO54/587 dated the 1st April 1833, recorded that at that date William was earning £39.0.0d annually. His period of service was given as 2 years and his age as 20, and the Return indicated that he was still unmarried.
7. WO54/587 dated the 1st October 1833, confirmed that William's details were the same as given in the previous Return, except that he had now served over 2 years and that he was 21 years of age.
8. WO54/593 dated the 1st April 1834, recorded that although William was still employed as a Saltpetre Refiner, his basic pay had been cut to £28.5.6d per annum. However, he was still allowed to watch in turn, which increased his annual pay to 33.9.6d.
9. WO54/593 dated the 1st October 1834, confirmed the information given previously; he was then 22, and had served nearly 4 years.
10 Return of Employees dated the 1st October 1839 (WO54/623) confirmed that William had been employed at the Mills as a Saltpetre Refiner on the 22nd December 1830. His annual pay in October 1839 was £39.0.0d, which included an allowance to watch in turn. He was then a 26-year-old bachelor.
11 He was described as a Labourer in the 1841 Census, living with his parents in Silver Street.
Although there was no reference to the Gunpowder Mills, William was working there in 1855 where he had become Foreman in the Granulating House (Winters, op.cit. p.112)
