syston world war ii · 2018. 5. 24. · 3 dedication this memorial book is dedicated to the memory...

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Syston World War II

Book of Remembrance

2

Syston World War II

Book of Remembrance

Compiled by Cynthia Brown

Published by the Friends of

St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Syston

November 2016

3

Dedication

This memorial book is dedicated to the

memory of all the Syston men and women

who died serving their country during

World War II, in grateful recognition of the

debt that we owe them.

5

Introduction

This memorial book has been compiled as part of a project to

record the history of Syston during World War II. Alongside

new research, it incorporates information from an earlier

memorial roll produced in 2008 by Sue Blaxland, whose work

is gratefully acknowledged.

Additional thanks are due to those people, including family

members of those commemorated on Syston War Memorial,

who have also contributed information and photographs.

Where available, photographs have been included as an

appendix to the book, in alphabetical order.

The sources for individual entries are indicated in footnotes

on each page. Much of the information has been drawn from

the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

at www.cwgc.org. Its certificates are reproduced here within

the CWGC copyright terms as follows:

‘Copyright and database rights in all material on this site are the

property of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission unless

otherwise stated. This material may be reproduced free of charge in any

format or medium for personal use or for internal circulation at an

educational establishment, provided it is not altered or used in a

misleading context and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is

acknowledged as the source of the material’.

It has not been possible so far to identify four of the names

recorded on the War Memorial. These are listed on page 47

of this book, with an appeal for information.

http://www.cwgc.org/

6

Matthew Bent Corporal

1409798

Royal Air Force Volunteer

Reserve

Died 26 February 1945, age 36

Matthew Bent was the son of

Matthew and Hannah Bent. He

was born in Toxteth, Liverpool

in 1909.

He married Edna May Margaret

Geeves at Syston parish church

on 28 December 1932. His

occupation is given at that time

as a clerk, and Edna’s as a nurse.

Edna was the daughter of

Horace Geeves of Central

Avenue, Syston. In 1945 she was

living in Medway Street,

Leicester.

At the time of his death Matthew Bent was based at 54 Personnel Transit

Centre at Taranto, Italy, which was formed in September 1944. He is buried in

Bari War Cemetery, Italy.1

1 Sources: CWGC; Syston marriage register; England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and

Administrations), 1858-1966 (1945); Royal Air Force Commands Forum - www.rafcommands.com/forum/

(accessed 20 July 2016)

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/

7

Bernard Harry Bentley Gunner

1564536

Royal Artillery, 276 Battery,

68 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment

Died on 10 April 1942, age 25

Bernard Harry Bentley was the son

of Thomas and Mary Ann Bentley

of Syston, and the husband of

Gertrude Bentley of Syston. Before

joining the Royal Artillery he was

employed by Eatough’s Ltd. of

Syston.

He died during the campaign in the

Western Desert, between

Alexandria in Egypt and Benghazi

in Libya, and is buried in the

Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery, Egypt, 3. C. 3. All the graves in the cemetery

were brought in from the surrounding area, including military cemeteries at

Sidi-Barrani, Buq Buq, Fort Capuzzo, Bardia, and Minquar el Zannan.2

2 Sources: CWGC; Eatough’s Ltd. Commemoration Souvenir (1945)

8

Sidney Black Aircraftsman 2nd Class

2214634


Reserve

Died on 9 March 1943, age 22

Sidney Black was the son of

Edwin and Polly Black of St

Peter’s Street, Syston. His death

was registered in the Blackpool

district in Lancashire. He is

buried in a family grave in St

Mary’s churchyard,

Queniborough.

Sidney’s brother Private Edward

(Teddy) Black served in the

Leicestershire Regiment, and

spent several years as a Prisoner

of War of the Germans after being captured in France in 1940. He survived the

war, and in August 1945 he married Lily Gwendoline Hall of Sandford Road,

Syston.3

3 Sources: CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 21 December 1940 & 28 February 1942

9

Derrick Richard Bolton Able Seaman, Royal Navy

C/SSX 25844

HM Submarine Traveller

Died 12 December 1942, age 24

Derrick Bolton was the son of

Arthur Richard and Kate Bolton,

and the husband of Margaret

Rose Bolton of Leicester. They

were married in 1940.

He was serving on the T Class

submarine HMS Traveller N48)

when it left Malta on 28

November 1942 to patrol the

Gulf of Taranto. She was

reported overdue on 12

December 1942, and was

believed to be lost to Italian

mines in the patrol area.

He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, Panel 53, 1.4

4 Source: CWGC; Naval History - www.naval-history.net/WW2aBritishLosses05SS.htm

http://www.naval-history.net/WW2aBritishLosses05SS.htm

10

George Cecil Cherry Private

1561648

Army Catering Corps

Died on 31 July 1945, age 39

George Cecil Cherry was the

son of George and Mabel

Cherry, and the husband of

Sybil Olive Cherry of Syston.

The family had three children,

Guy, Mary and Joan, and lived

in Mostyn Avenue, Syston.

Before the war he ran a market

gardening business at the top

of Sandford Road.

His daughter Joan, who was

five when he left for the war,

recalled that he was stationed

in Weymouth for some time,

and later in Sicily. He was serving in Austria at the time of his death. The

telegram informing the family that he had been killed in action arrived on the

day of the VE Day celebrations in Syston.

He is buried in the Klagenfurt War Cemetery, Austria.5

5 Sources: CWGC; information from Joan Quinn (nee Cherry)

11

Frank Clarke Corporal

13032839

Pioneer Corps

Died 18 April 1941, age 24

Frank Clarke was the son of

Frank and Gertrude Emily Clarke

of Barkby Road, and the

husband of Lilian Rose Clarke of

Leicester. They were married in

1939. His father served in the 1st

Yorkshire Regiment in World

War I, when the family were

living in Leicester Road, Syston.

He died in an accident in

Dunfermline, Scotland. The

Leicester Advertiser reported

that he had joined up only nine

weeks before his death. His previous occupation was as a hairdresser. His wife

had received a letter from him the day before his death ‘saying how well and

fit he was’. His funeral was conducted by Rev C.O. Ward, Minister of High

Street Methodist Church, Syston.6 He is buried in Syston Cemetery, Sec. B.

Grave 116.

6 Sources: CWGC; Syston baptism register, 25 April 1917; Leicester Advertiser, 26 April 1941

12

Victor William Clarke Corporal

5576584

Pioneer Corps


Victor William Clarke was the

son of Ernest and Rose Clarke

of Syston. Before the war he

was a member of the 10th

Leicester (Syston) Scout Group,

and is commemorated on the

Scouts Second World War Roll

of Honour.

He died on active service in

India, and is buried in the

Calcutta (Bhowanipore)

Cemetery, Kolcutta, India.7

7 CWGC; Scouts Second World War Roll of Honour -

www.scoutsrecords.org/scoutsuploads/Second%20World%20War%20Roll%20of%20Honour%20A-S.pdf (accessed 22 July 2016)

http://www.scoutsrecords.org/scoutsuploads/Second%20World%20War%20Roll%20of%20Honour%20A-S.pdf

13

George Edward Corby Private

5892063

Northamptonshire Regiment, 5th

Battalion

Died 12 July 1944

George Edward Corby was born

in Nottingham in 1906. He was

the second son of George Corby

and his wife Alice (nee Ball). In

1911 the Corby family was living

in Leicester Road, Syston.

In 1930 George Edward Corby

married Eveline Grace Whelband,

and in 1939 they were living with

her parents in Portsmouth

Street, Leicester. They had five

children, the youngest born in

1943.

He was wounded in June 1944 during the Italian campaign, and died the

following month. He is buried in the Naples War Cemetery, Grave I.B.1.

14

Cyril Frederick William

Cunnington

Private

4859833

Leicestershire Regiment, 1st

Battalion


Cyril Frederick William

Cunnington was the son of

Walter and Annie Cunnington,

and husband of Ethel

Cunnington of Syston.

He enlisted in the Militia on 15

September 1939 (service

number 10103295), and served

in the Leicestershire Regiment

during the Malaya campaign in

1941 – 42.

He was killed in action in Malaya

during the retreat from the Battle of Jitra. He is commemorated on the

Singapore Memorial, Singapore, Column 65.8

8 Sources: CWGC; Leicestershire Regiment Roll of Honour - www.roll-of-

honour.org.uk/Regiments/Leicestershire_Regiment/html/c_database_95.htm; Have You a Tiger in Your Family? - www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/have-you-a-tiger

http://www.roll-of-honour.org.uk/Regiments/Leicestershire_Regiment/html/c_database_95.htmhttp://www.roll-of-honour.org.uk/Regiments/Leicestershire_Regiment/html/c_database_95.htmhttp://www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/have-you-a-tiger

15

Kenneth Jack Endwig Sailor

Merchant Navy

S.S. Goodfellow (America)

Died 25 July 1944, age 25

Kenneth Jack Endwig was the

son of Ernst and Amelia Endwig,

and the husband of Mary Eileen

Curie Endwig of Bassett, Dorset.

His connection with Syston is

not known, although there were

others with the same surname

living in the village during World

War II.

SS Robin Goodfellow was an

American merchant ship owned

by Seas Shipping Co. Inc. of New

York. The ship left Capetown,

South Africa on 16 July 1944 with a cargo of chrome ore, bound for Bahia in

Brazil, and then New York. On 25 July it was torpedoed in the South Atlantic by

the German submarine U-862 and sank. None of the 41 Merchant Mariners

and 27 US Naval Armed Guards on board survived.

Kenneth Endwig is commemorated on Part V (Ead – Fyn) of the memorial at

Tower Hill, London to the men and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing

Fleets who died in both World Wars and have no known grave.9

9 Sources: CWGC; Uboat.net - http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/3298.html

http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/3298.html

16

Guy Fernsby Leading Aircraftman

2202536


Reserve, 61 Squadron

Died 14 June 1944, age 35

Guy Fernsby was the son of

Frederick Richard Ellison Fernsby

and Emma Ellen Fernsby, and

husband of Winifred Margaret

Fernsby, of The Meadway,

Syston. His late father was the

Headmaster of Barrow-on-Soar

Grammar School from 1899 –

1926. He was educated at

Bedford Modern School, and is

commemorated on the Second

World War Memorial there to its

Old Boys. He played rugby

football for Stoneygate from 1926, and had worked for the Leicester hosiery

company Wolsey Ltd. since leaving school. He joined the National Fire Service

in 1941, and enlisted in the Royal Air Force in the following year.

He died in an accident in Lincolnshire when a RAF petrol tanker backed up and

ran over him. His funeral was held at Barkby parish church, when the bearer

party was provided by Leicester airmen. The service was conducted by Rev

T.R.J. Avery, Rector of Lutterworth and former Vicar of Syston, assisted by Rev

L.W. Watkin, Vicar of Barkby. It was attended by his widow and mother, his

elder brother Lieutenant Ronald Fernsby, and his twin brother, Rev Jack

Fernsby. He is buried in Barkby Cemetery, Section W. Grave 45. 10

10

CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 24 June 1944

17

William Harold Freer Sergeant (Wireless Operator/

Air Gunner)

1580825


Reserve,

78 Squadron

Died 15 June 1944,

age unknown

William Harold Freer was the

only child of William Freer and

Daisy (nee Bird), and was born

in Leicester in 1921. The family

moved to Oxford Street, Syston

soon after his birth, and were

living in School Street at the

outbreak of war in 1939. His

father was working as a boot

and shoe trimmer at that time.

At the time of his death in 1944 William Freer was serving as a Sergeant

Wireless Operator/Air Gunner with 78 Squadron RAF, based at RAF Breighton

in Yorkshire as part of Bomber Command. His Halifax bomber was shot down

during a raid on Douai in Northern France, and crashed onto houses in the

village of Bersee. He is buried in Bersee Communal Cemetery, in the Nord

department, France, Grave 27, along with the other members of its crew.11

11

Sources: CWGC; Le Crash de Bersee - http://aaafdm.free.fr/Fred/Le%20crash%20de%20Bersee.pdf (accessed July 2016); additional information provided by Mark Gamble.

http://aaafdm.free.fr/Fred/Le%20crash%20de%20Bersee.pdf

18

Reginald Wyatt Garland Lieutenant

142574

Royal Army Ordnance Corps

Died 18 September 1941, age 49

Reginald Wyatt Garland was the

son of Mr and Mrs Henry

Garland of Acle, Norwich, and

the husband of Marjorie Wyatt.

He served in the Royal Artillery

during the First World War, and

was Postmaster at Syston High

Street Post Office before

rejoining the Army in the Second

World War.

He died in hospital in Norwich

after a short illness, and was

cremated at Leicester Borough

(Gilroes) Crematorium.12

12

Sources: CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 27 September 1941

19

Frederick Arthur Gilbert Lance Bombardier

1122683

54 (The Queen’s Own Royal

Glasgow Yeomanry) Anti-Tank

Regiment,

Royal Artillery

Died 26 March 1943, age 31

Frederick Arthur Gilbert was the

son of Thomas and Rose Gilbert,

and husband of Iris May Gilbert

of Syston.

He is buried in Reichswald Forest

War Cemetery in Germany. This

was created after the Second

World War when burials were

brought in from all over western

Germany. It is the largest

Commonwealth cemetery in

Germany.13

13

Source: CWGC

20

William Goodwill Former Sergeant

Service number not known

Royal Air Force

Died December 1942, age 55

William (Billy) Goodwill was born in Thirsk, Yorkshire. He served for three years

in World War I with the Royal Naval Air Service. In the Second World War he

served in the Royal Air Force in France until its capitulation in 1940. After his

discharge from the RAF he was employed at British Thomson-Houston. He was

also a past Chairman of Syston Constitutional Club, and played for Syston

Cricket Team.14

He died in hospital in Epsom after what the Advertiser described as ‘a serious

operation’.15

William Goodwill was a civilian at the time of his death, and is not

commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for this

reason.

14

Information from William Goodwill’s family 15 Source: Leicester Advertiser, 5 December 1942

21

Charles Arthur Gregory Stoker 1st Class

P/KX 106658

HMS Hereward, Royal Navy

Died 29 May 1941, age 21

Charles Arthur Gregory was the

son of Charles Gregory and

Maud (nee Preston) of Syston,

and the brother of Norman

Gregory (see next entry). The

family lived in Brook Street,

Syston when he was a child. His

mother died in 1932, and in

1939 his father was living at 49

Sandford Road, Syston. He had

two other brothers and three

sisters. He is commemorated on

the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

On 29 May 1941, HMS

Hereward, an H-Class Destroyer, came under sustained air attack after

completing the evacuation of Allied troops from Heraklion. She was hit by a

bomb while heading for Alexandria in Egypt, forcing her to reduce speed. She

sank after further air attacks five miles south of Crete. Charles Gregory was

among the 76 members of the ship’s company who were killed. A further 89

were taken prisoner.16

16

Sources: CWGC; Syston baptism register; Naval History - www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-27H-HMS_Hereward.htm (accessed 17 July 2016).

http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-27H-HMS_Hereward.htmhttp://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-27H-HMS_Hereward.htm

22

Norman Gregory Private

14782463

Somerset Light Infantry (Prince

Albert’s), 4th Battalion


Norman Gregory was the son of

Charles Gregory and Maud (nee

Preston), and the brother of

Charles Arthur Gregory (see

previous entry). The family lived

for some time in Brook Street,

Syston. His mother died in 1932,

and in 1939 his father was living

at 49 Sandford Road, Syston. He

had two other brothers and

three sisters.

He was killed in action during

‘Operation Veritable’, a British and Canadian attack beginning on 8 March 1945

against German troops east of the Dutch/German border. He is buried in the

Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany, 56.D.15.17

17

Sources: CWGC; UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945; Find My Past: 1939 Register - http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/1939-register (accessed September 2016); World War II Today - http://ww2today.com/8-february-1945-operation-veritable-british-and-canadians-attack (accessed September 2016); additional information from Mark Gamble.

http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/1939-registerhttp://ww2today.com/8-february-1945-operation-veritable-british-and-canadians-attack

23

Donald Heggs Staff Sergeant

2038708

Royal Engineers

Died 1 January 1943, age 34

Donald Heggs was the son of Edward

and Annie Heggs, and the husband of

husband of Vera May Heggs of Corby. As

a child he lived with his family on Wanlip

Road, Syston.

He is buried in Corby Cemetery, Row 62.

Grave 5.18

18

Source: CWGC

24

Peter Heywood Boy 1st Class

C/JX 194739

Royal Navy, HMS Galatea


Peter Heywood was the son of

Harold and Gladys Mary

Heywood of Syston.

At the time of his death he was

serving on the cruiser HMS

Galatea. On 15 December 1941

she was returning to Alexandria

with the cruiser force of the

Mediterranean Fleet after a hunt

for an Italian convoy en route to

Libya. She was struck by three

torpedoes fired from the German

submarine U-557.

Peter Heywood was among the 469 members of the ship’s company lost in the

attack. A further 144 survived and were rescued by other British warships. He

is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, 45. 2.19

19

Sources: CWGC; Uboat.net Net - http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1225.html (accessed 22 July 2016)

HMS Galatea (http://commons.wikimedia.org)

http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship1225.html

25

Dennis Frederick Hull

Private

14552227

The Parachute Regiment, Army

Air Corps

12th (10th Battalion The Green

Howards [Yorkshire Regt.])

Battalion


Frederick Dennis Hull is believed

to be the son of Frederick

Thomas Hull, a butcher, and

Leah (nee Fasquil), of Turn

Street, Syston.

He was buried in Ranville

Cemetery, France, IA.D.18.20

20

Source: CWGC; information from Brian Panter. The name ‘Fredrick’ on the CWGC certificate appears to be a mis-spelling.

26

Joel Sarson Hunt

Sergeant

S/4854619

Royal Army Service Corps


Joel Sarson Hunt was the son of

Frank and Mary Hunt of Syston.

The family lived in Upper

Church Street when he was a

child, and later in Goodes Lane.

He served in HM Forces for 17

years before his death, the final

year in British West Africa. He

died in hospital in Takadori,

Ghana, and is buried in Takadori

European Public Cemetery,

Grave 60.21

21

Sources: CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 8 January 1944

27

William Harry Bill Iliffe Lance Sergeant

326674

Royal Artillery

153 (The Leicestershire

Yeomanry) Field Regiment

Died 21 November 1945, age 24

William Harry (Bill) Iliffe was the

son of John Cleaveland Iliffe and

Ada Goode Iliffe of Thurmaston.

The family moved to Syston from

Canada around 1937, and later

moved to Sunnyslope, Syston

Road, Thurmaston.

Before the war Bill Iliffe was

employed by En Tout Cas of

Syston. He was also a member of

the 10th Leicester (Syston) Scout

Group, and is commemorated on the Scouts Second World War Roll of Honour.

He is buried in the Sittard War Cemetery, Netherlands, L.7.

His elder brother John Cleaveland Iliffe joined En Tout Cas at the same time. He

served with the Leicestershire Regiment during the war, and was involved in

the D-Day landings in June 1940. In the autumn of 1944 he was posted missing

for three weeks after being wounded, but managed to make his way back to

the British lines and was flown to a hospital in England.22

22

Sources: CWGC; Scouts Second World War Roll of Honour - www.scoutsrecords.org/scoutsuploads/Second%20World%20War%20Roll%20of%20Honour%20A-S.pdf (accessed 22 July 2016); Leicester Advertiser, 18 Nov 1944


28

Charles Leonard

Needham Lewin Gunner

1630925

Royal Artillery

3 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment

Died 6 May 1945, age 34

Charles Leonard Needham Lewin

was the son of John Henry and

Amelia Lewin. He was employed

at H. Garner and Sons of Syston

for 14 years before joining HM

Forces.

He was reported missing in

Malaya in February 1942, and

confirmed to be a Prisoner of

War (POW) of the Japanese

several months later. He died in

Saigon while still a Prisoner of War, and is buried in Kranji War Cemetery,

Singapore. According to a report in the Leicester Mercury, his mother was told

by a fellow POW who had been present at his funeral, that he was ‘given a

funeral with flowers and the Union Jack over his coffin’.

All the Second World War graves from Saigon Military Cemetery in French

Indo-China (now Vietnam) were transferred to Kranji War Cemetery after

World War II as their permanent maintenance could not be assured in their

existing location.23

23

CWGC; Leicester Mercury, 24 December 1945

29

William Ernest Lewin Private

4862910

Welch Regiment, 1st Battalion


William Ernest Lewin was the

son of Ernest and Chrissy Ann

Lewin of Brookfield Street,

Syston. Before the war he was a

member of the 10th Leicester

(Syston) Scout Group, and is

commemorated in the Scouts

Second World War Roll of

Honour.

He is buried in Coriano Ridge

War Cemetery, Italy, VI, A, 10.

Coriano Ridge was the last

important ridge in the way of the

Allied advance in the Adriatic sector. It was taken with heavy losses by the

Allied 8th Army, in a week-long attack starting on the night of 12 September.

William Lewin died just before the attack was launched, in the last stages of

the German defence of their positions.24

24

CWGC; Scouts Second World War Roll of Honour - www.scoutsrecords.org/scoutsuploads/Second%20World%20War%20Roll%20of%20Honour%20A-S.pdf (accessed 22 July 2016)


30

Albert North Coder

P/JX 322728

Royal Navy, HMS Polyanthus


Albert North was the son of

Edward and Clara Ada North of

Leicester.

HMS Polyanthus (K47), a Flower-

class corvette, was hit by a

torpedo in the North Atlantic

while attempting to pick up

survivors from the Canadian

destroyer HMCS St Croix. She

sank with the loss of 85 lives.

Only one member of the ship’s

company survived.

Albert North is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, 77, 1.25

25

Sources: CWGC; UBoat.net - http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5489.html (accessed 23 July 2016)

http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5489.html

31

Robert Arthur Ogden Senior Ordinary Seaman

Merchant Navy, MV King Edgar

(London)


Robert Arthur Ogden was the

son of Robert and Catherine

Ogden. He is commemorated on

the Tower Hill Memorial,

London, Panel 61.

The British motor merchant

vessel MV King Edgar was part of

a convoy attacked by a German

U-boat in St George’s Channel

on the evening of 2 March 1945.

She was taken in tow, but later

sank with the loss of two crew

members, one of them Robert

Arthur Ogden, and two gunners. The Master, 32 crew members and nine

gunners were picked up by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Nyasaland and landed

at Milford Haven.26

26

Sources: CWGC; Uboat.net - http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/3463.html (accessed 23 July 2016)

http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/3463.html

32

William Orchard Private

4863406


Battalion


William Orchard was the son of

Ernest and Charlotte Orchard.

The family lived in Chapel Street,

Syston when he was a child. He

married Matilda Lewis in 1939.

At the time of his death she was

living in Sileby.

William Orchard enlisted on 24

June 1940 and served in the

Malaya Campaign 1941-1942.

He was taken prisoner by the

Japanese, and is believed to

have died of malaria. He is buried in Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore. This

was developed into a permanent war cemetery by the Army Graves Service

after the reoccupation of Singapore, and graves were moved there from

Changi and other Prisoner of War camps in Singapore. 27

27

Sources: CWGC; Syston register of baptisms, 1 July 1913; England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916-2005, 7a, 260; Royal Leicestershire Regiment: Have You a Tiger in Your Family? www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/entity/111731-orchard-william – (accessed 23 July 2016)

http://www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/entity/111731-orchard-william

33

Norman Page Private

4859906


Battalion


Norman Page was born in

Yorkshire and enlisted in

September 1939. At the time of

his death he was serving in the

Malaya campaign.

His parents had lived in Syston

but moved away before the war

started. He remained in lodgings

in the village, and was organist at

St Aidan’s church. In November

1939 the Syston Parish Magazine

makes a reference to Norman

Page, ‘with us for the Harvest Festival at St. Aidan’s. He is thoroughly happy

and enjoys the life of “togetherness” – the sense of fellowship and

brotherliness’. He is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, Column 66.28

28

CWGC; information from family; Syston Parish Magazine, November 1939; Royal Leicestershire Regiment: Have You a Tiger in Your Family? - www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/entity/112263-page-norman (accessed 23 July 2016)

http://www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/entity/112263-page-norman

34

Thomas Arthur Quincey Seaman

LT/JX 255843

Royal Naval Patrol Service, HM

Trawler Cap D’Antifer


Thomas Arthur Quincey was the

son of Thomas and Maud Ethel

Quincey, and the husband of

Marjorie Ellen Quincey of

Brighton Avenue, Syston.

He was serving with HM Trawler

Cap D’Antifer of the Royal Naval

Patrol Service (RNPS) when she

was sunk by a German motor

torpedo boat off the River

Humber on 13 February 1944.

He is commemorated on the Royal Naval Patrol Service Memorial in Lowestoft

to members of RNPS who died during 1939-1946 who have no known grave

other than the sea, or who died on shore but have no known grave.29

29

CWGC; Uboat.net - http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/6819.html (accessed 23 July 2016); England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966

http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/6819.html

35

Eric William Saich Lance Sergeant

6139650

East Surrey Regiment,

11th Battalion

Died 2 October 1941, age 29

Eric William Saich was the son of

Ernest Walter and Maud Saich of

Syston, and the husband of

Winifred Mary Saich (nee

Chamberlain).30

The Leicester Advertiser

reported his military funeral at

Syston Cemetery in October

1941: ‘Six soldiers acted as

bearers, and a bugler sounded

the “Last Post”… A lieutenant

and a Sergeant from the

deceased’s unit and four representatives of the Derby Cable Co. were also

present’. The Advertiser noted that Eric and Winifred Saich had three young

children at the time of his death.

He is buried in Syston Cemetery, Sec. E. Grave 187. He is also commemorated

on the War Memorial at St Bartholomew’s church, Sydenham, Surrey.31

30

England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Register, 1935, Lewisham Id 1192 31

CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 11 October 1941; Lewisham War Memorials - http://lewishamwarmemorials.wikidot.com/person:saich-eric-william (accessed 23 July 2016). The presence of representatives from the Derby Cable Co. suggests that the company was Eric Saich’s employer before the war, but this cannot be confirmed.

http://lewishamwarmemorials.wikidot.com/person:saich-eric-william

36

Reginald Shorter Private

5890330

Northamptonshire Regiment,

2nd Battalion


Reginald Shorter was the son of

Thomas and Gertrude Shorter of

Syston. The family lived in

Albion Street, Syston when he

was a child, and his mother was

still living there in 1944. His wife

Rosamond was a nurse in

London at the time of his death.

They were married at Wigston

Magna in 1941.

He worked at the hosiery

company of Corah of Leicester

before joining the Army in June 1940.

He is buried in Beach Head War Cemetery, Anzio, Italy, VII.G.12.32

32

Sources: CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 14 June 1941 & 1 April 1944

37

Barbara Annie Squires Lance Corporal

W/187649

Auxiliary Territorial Service

Died 17 August 1945, age 24

Barbara Annie Squires was the

daughter of Charles W. Squires

and Rose Squires of Syston. She

lived in Leicester Road, Syston.

She died after falling under the

wheel of a bus. According to the

report of the inquest at Hitchen,

Hertfordshire, she was getting

off the bus while it was still

reversing, and slipped and fell

under the front wheel.

One of the other passengers, a

Quartermaster Sergeant in the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), said: ‘he jumped off the bus

whilst it was backing. As he was walking away he saw Miss Squires on the step,

and she seemed to get off the wrong way and trip, and the wheels went over

her’. The bus driver was ‘exonerated from blame’ by the coroner’.

She is buried in Syston Cemetery, Sec. D. Grave 204.33

33

CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 25 August 1945

38

Walter Fergus Talbott Gunner

14376495

Royal Artillery, 267 Battery, 69

Light Ant-Aircraft Regiment


Walter Fergus Talbott was the

son of George Henry and Lilian

Talbott of Syston, the bakers in

Bath Street, Syston. He was the

husband of Lydia Mary Talbott

(nee Goodall), who lived at

Goodall’s Quality Store on The

Green.

His death was reported in the

Syston Parish Magazine in

December 1944: ‘It is with real

regret that we record the

passing of Walter Talbott on active service. Walter was a life-long churchman,

keen and ready to serve as best he may. We extend to his wife and family our

deepest sympathy in their sorrow and feel with them in their great loss’. He is

buried in Maynamati War Cemetery, Bangladesh, 1. F. 10.34

His daughter Jane Matthews recalled that:

‘Walter was an active member of St Peter and St Paul Parish Church, Syston, and was a

Church Warden. He was deeply involved in amateur dramatics, a keen badminton and

tennis player, and was a member of the Northfield Tennis Club. He worked for a number of

years in the family bakery, before joining his uncle, Charles Fergus Talbott, the undertaker in

Thurmaston. In January 1937 he married Lydia Mary Goodall and moved to the Fosse Way in

Syston. Lydia lived there until her death in December 2000’.

34

CWGC; information from his daughter, Jane Matthews

39

George Alan Walker Able Seaman

D/JX255432

Royal Navy, HMS President


George Alan Walker – known as

Alan - was the son of Ernest

Arthur Asling Walker and

Florence Elizabeth Walker of

Syston.

The Leicester Advertiser,

reporting that he had been

killed in action, noted that he

had been expected home on

leave soon. He had recently

become engaged to Miss Betty

Martin of High Street, Syston,

and they had arranged to have

the banns put up at the parish church, where he was a former server. His body

rested in the church overnight before his funeral, and several former members

of the Syston Scout Group acted as bearers. The news of his death ‘came as a

great shock to all’, the Syston Parish Magazine reported: ‘He was a grand

young man, regular in the service of the Church, and a loyal servant of his

Master’.

He is buried in Syston Cemetery, Sec. A. Grave 144. The inscription on his

gravestone identifies his ship as SS Soborg, as originally entered in the

Commonwealth Graves War Commission Graves Registration Report Form.

This type-written entry was altered by hand to HMS President III (18 April

1942)’. 35

35

Sources: CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 18 April 1942; Syston Parish Magazine, May 1942

40

William Frank Warren

Signalman

P/JX 159719

Royal Navy, HMS Limbourne


William Frank (Francis) Warren

was born in Cawthorne,

Yorkshire in 1922. His parents,

Arthur and Harriet (nee Hayes)

were living at 30 Brighton

Avenue, Syston at the time of his

death, and his father was

employed as a gardener.

HMS Limbourne, a Type III, Hunt-

class Escort Destroyer, was part

of a British naval force taking

part in Operation Tunnel against

a convoy of German ships along the coast of Brittany on 22 – 23 October 1943.

She was attacked by German torpedo boats off Guernsey, and sank after an

unsuccessful attempt to tow her, with the loss of 40 lives:

‘Some days later the bodies of 21 Royal Navy and Royal Marines were washed up on the

Guernsey coast… the German occupying forces decided to bury the bodies with full military

honours at Le Foulon Cemetery, St Peter Port. Islanders took the opportunity to

demonstrate their respect for the men who had died, and their loyalty to their Sovereign, by

attending the funeral. Over 5,000 out of the 20,000 islanders who had remained in

Guernsey during the war travelled on foot or bicycle to Le Foulon. They brought with them

more than a thousand wreaths, many with messages of support for the British forces…’.

William Frank Warren is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial,

76, 3.36

36

Sources: CWGC; Royal Court of Guernsey - http://www.guernseyroyalcourt.gg/article/1940/HMS-Charybdis-and-HMS-Limbourne (accessed 8 October 2016; information from family

http://www.guernseyroyalcourt.gg/article/1940/HMS-Charybdis-and-HMS-Limbournehttp://www.guernseyroyalcourt.gg/article/1940/HMS-Charybdis-and-HMS-Limbourne

41

William Norman

Westbury

Aircraftsman 2nd Class

143764951815985




William Westbury was the son of

William and Frances Victoria

Westbury of Syston.

511 Squadron was engaged in

trooping to the Middle East and

Far East until it was disbanded on

7 October 1946.

William Westbury’s Avro 685 York

C.I. aircraft crashed into the sea

with 20 casualties north of Penang on 6 October, en route to Malaya from

Dum-Dum airport in Calcutta, India. The wreckage was found by a Sunderland

flying boat from Singapore. The cause of the crash is not known.

He is commemorated on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, Panel 286.37

37

Sources: CWGC; The Indian Express, 10 October 1946

42

John William Valentine

Whenham Sub-Lieutenant (A)

Service number unknown

Royal Navy, HMS Peregrine


John William Valentine Whenham

was the son of Herbert John and

Kate Whenham of Queniborough.

He was educated at Loughborough

College, and worked as a detective

for Leicester County Police before

taking up a commission with the

Observer Fleet Air Arm in May 1939.

At the time of his death his mother

was a commercial teacher at the

Melton Technical College. He died at

Haslar Royal Naval Hospital after a

short illness, and is buried in Haslar

Royal Naval Cemetery, Gosport, Hampshire, G. 8. 14. The following is the report of

his death in the Syston Parish Magazine:

‘We were all distressed to learn of the passing of Sub-Lieut John Whenham and extend our

sincere sympathy to his mother and brothers. It is some eight months since John joined up.

He served at the Altar the Sunday before he went to Plymouth and said how pleased he was

that it was his duty to do so on the Sunday before leaving home. Many of you who may not

have known him personally must have noticed him in Church in uniform when he was home

on leave. He was buried with Naval Honours at Portsmouth on Maundy Thursday, and the

esteem in which he was held and the universal kindness with which he was treated during

his illness will soften the ache of a mother’s heart’.38

38

Sources: CWGC; Grantham Journal, 22 March 1940; Syston Parish Magazine (May 1940)

43

Norman Colin Whittington Private

6411800

Royal Sussex Regiment, 1st

Battalion


Norman Colin Whittington was the

son of Colin Arthur and Gertrude

Eliza Whittington of Syston, and

lived in Wanlip Road.

He died of wounds in the Central

Mediterranean. He had enlisted in

the Army two years before, and

was sent overseas two months

before his death. He was formerly

employed in the butchery

department of the Co-operative

Society in Syston.

He is buried in Cassino War Cemetery, Italy, I. C. 13.39

39

CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 25 March 1944

44

John Henry Willday Private

4862041

Leicestershire Regiment, 2/5th

Battalion


John Henry Willday was the

husband of Winifred Willday (nee

Stokes). They were married at

Syston parish church on 3

February 1940 and lived in

Tentercroft Avenue. Before joining

the Leicestershire Regiment he

was employed at Eatough’s Ltd in

Syston.

He died during the final stages of

the defeat of the Axis powers in

North Africa by a combined Allied force. He is commemorated on the Medjez-

El-Bab Memorial, Tunisia. The memorial, to those who have no known grave,

stands in the Medjez-El-Bab War Cemetery, where 2,903 Commonwealth

servicemen of the Second World War are buried or commemorated.

John Willday’s widow Winifred died in a road accident in foggy conditions on

23 December 1943, when a US Army truck in which she was a passenger

crashed through the wall of Cossington bridge and overturned in the River

Soar. 40

40

Sources: CWGC; Eatough’s Ltd. Commemoration Souvenir (1945); Leicester Advertiser, 6 January 1945

45

Robert Arthur Wright Able Seaman

C/JX408628

Royal Navy, HM LBV 32 (Landing

Barge Vehicle)


Robert Arthur Wright was the

only son of Ben and Gladys

Evelyn Wright of Sandford Road,

Syston, and was educated at

Roundhill Modern School. He was

employed by H. Garner and Sons,

and later by Knight and Mobbs of

Flax Road, Leicester, both

footwear manufacturers.

He was a member of Syston ARP

Messenger Service and the

Queniborough Home Guard until

joining the Royal Navy 18 months before his death. He died of wounds during

the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944.

In a letter of condolence to his parents, one of his former junior school

teachers, Mr W.H. Frost, described him as: ‘one of the kindest, sincere, really

good boys I have known in my life. I have memories of him that I shall treasure

all my life… the spirit of Bob is something that will always cheer me for it is a

spirit that nothing can ever destroy – certainly not the evil of man’.

Robert Wright is buried in Hermanville War Cemetery in Normandy, 1.H.16.

The village of Hermanville lay behind Sword Beach where HM LBV 32 was one

of the Landing Barge Vehicles deployed in the Allied landings.41

41

Sources: CWGC; unidentified newspaper cutting; letter to parents; Turn of the Tide - http://issuu.com/navynews/docs/201406_d-day_70 (accessed 8 August 2016)

http://issuu.com/navynews/docs/201406_d-day_70

46

Jack Yeates Able Seaman

D/JX155766

Royal Navy, HMS Sultan


Jack Yeates was the son of Joseph

and Margaret Elizabeth Yeates of

Syston. He was employed at the

footwear factory of H. garner and

Sons in Albert Street, Syston

before joining the Royal Navy

around 1936. He was serving as a

1st Class Torpedoman on board

the battlecruiser HMS Repulse

when she was sunk by Japanese

war planes on 10 December 1941.

HMS Sultan V was a naval shore

base in Singapore, commissioned

in 1940. Jack Yeates was among those listed as Missing Presumed Killed

following its destruction on the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese in

1942.

He is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 67. Column 1.

47

An appeal for additional information

We would be pleased to have any additional information about any of the

people commemorated in this book for a future edition.

In particular, we have been unable to trace the following people

commemorated on Syston War Memorial. Any information at all about them

would be very welcome.

BAILEY, A.

It is possible that this is Private Albert Bailey, 4860101, 1st Bn., Leicestershire

Regiment, who died on 25 July 1943 at the age of 24. He is commemorated on the

Singapore Memorial, Column 65. He was the son of Thomas William and Annie Maria

Bailey, of Leicester. However, it has not so far been possible to find any connection

with Syston.

BULL, Dor.

The abbreviation ‘Dor.’ suggests that this may be a woman whose first name began

with these letters, possibly Dorothy or Doris. A Doris Irene Bull, daughter of Charles

and Emily Sophia (nee Walton), is recorded as a civilian casualty of World War II. She

died, age 19, whilst sheltering in the cellars of Walklings Bakery, The Cut/Greer

Street, London on 17 April 1941. The death of a Dorothy Bull, born about 1923, was

also registered in Birmingham in December 1943. However, no connection between

these individuals and the Bull family of Syston has yet been made (the family

included Reuben and Hannah Bull of West Street, and their children Katharine,

Caroline, Thomas Reuben and Henry).

CARTER, S.

It is possible that this is Stanley Childs Carter, a Sergeant in the Royal Air Force

Volunteer Reserve, who was born around 1921 and died in 1942. His parents lived at

Victoria Road North in Leicester, and his mother (Nee Smart) is believed to be from

Syston. However, no firm connection has yet been established.

KNIGHT, A.

It has not been possible so far to identify any possibilities for this entry on the War

Memorial.

48

Syston men commemorated elsewhere

On the following pages are details of some

servicemen with a Syston connection who – for

reasons unknown - are not commemorated on the

War Memorial.

49

Frederick Howard Private

4860600

Leicestershire Regiment


Frederick Howard enlisted with

the Leicestershire Regiment on

15 December 1939. He married

Florence Audrey Borley at Syston

Parish Church on 29 May 1943,

when his address is given as 69 St

Peter’s Street.

He was discharged from Army

service as medically unfit in May

1946, and died at Leicester Royal

Infirmary on 4 June 1946. He is

buried in Syston Cemetery, Sec.

F. Grave 97.42

42

CWGC; Royal Leicestershire Regiment: Have You a Tiger in Your Family? - CWGC; www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/entity/98498-howard-frederick (accessed 24 July 2016)

http://www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/entity/98498-howard-frederick

50

Leonard Herbert Ledwick Corporal

117064

Technical Service Corps, South

African Forces


Leonard Herbert Ledwick was the

son of Mr and Mrs Norman

Ledwick of Barkby Road, Syston,

and the husband of Alice May

Ledwick. According to the

Leicester Advertiser, his parents

were informed of their son’s

death in a military hospital while

serving with a technical corps in a

mechanised unit.

He had been employed with the

General Motors Corporation in

Johannesburg and Pretoria

before joining the South African Forces 19 months before his death. He is

buried in Port Elizabeth (South End) Cemetery, H Extension. Grave 50N.43

43

CWGC; Leicester Advertiser, 25 April 1942; South African War Graves - www.southafricawargraves.org/search/ (accessed 24 July 2016)

http://www.southafricawargraves.org/search/

51

Kenneth Marston

Stevenson Private

90450

Royal Army Service Corps

Died 28 January 1942, age 23

Kenneth Marston Stevenson was

the son of Clement George and

Gladys Ellen Stevenson of

Leicester. He is buried in Syston

Cemetery, Sec. A. Grave 142.

His residence is given in the

National Probate Calendar in

1942 as 449 London Road,

Leicester.44

44

CWGC; England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904

52

Anthony Beresford

Tisdall Flying Officer

74693




Anthony Beresford Tisdall was

the son of Beresford Duff and

Hilda Mary Tisdall of Hendon,

Middlesex. He lived with his

grandparents in Syston as a

child, when his father was

Commissioner of Customs in

China.

He is buried in Killead (St

Catherine) Church of Ireland

Churchyard, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

His death was reported in the Syston Parish Magazine as follows:

‘Many who remember Tony Tisdall, grandson of the late C.S. Harding, Brook Street,

who, as a little fellow, lived at Syston Vicarage – his father and mother being in China

– will be sad at the announcement of his death, and yet proud of him in that he “did

his bit.” On the outbreak of war he at once volunteered. Just the sort of step Tony

would take! Over six feet in height, he was just the same “Old Tony” – just the same

boy we had known and loved. He was as lovely as he looked – fine, manly and yet

child-like! We are proud of him. May the soul of “Our Laddie” rest in peace’.45

45

Sources: CWGC; Parish Magazine, December 1940

53

Photographs

On the following pages are photographs

and other images relating to some of the

individuals commemorated in this book.

We would be pleased to have photographs

of others if available, for a future edition.

54

Bernard Harry Bentley

(Eatough’s Ltd. Commemoration Souvenir, 1945)

55

Sidney Black

(Photograph reproduced by permission of family)

56

George Cherry

Barkby Rugby Team - George Cherry, bottom row, 3rd left

(Photographs reproduced by permission of Joan Quinn)

George Cherry, middle row on the right

57

Frank Clarke

Lilian and Frank’s father, Frank Clarke Snr., in

the garden of Frank’s home in Syston.

(Photographs reproduced by

permission of Dale Stretton and

Jacqueline Wardle)

Frank Clarke’s wife Lilian who served in

the Women’s Royal Naval Service

(WRNS) in World War II

(Photographs reproduced by permission of Dale Stretton and Jacqueline Wardle)

58

Cyril Cunnington

(Reproduced by permission of family)

59

William Goodwill

William Goodwill (2nd rt.) at the wedding of his only daughter

Betty to Albert Simpson at Syston parish church in August 1941

(Photographs reproduced by permission of Val Fairbairn)

60

William Harry Bill Iliffe

(Photograph provided by Mark Gamble with

the owner’s permission)

61

Walter Talbott

Walter Talbott’s grave in Maynamati

Cemetery , Comilla, Bangladesh

Walter Talbott’s Burma Star and

Commemorative Scroll

(Photographs reproduced by permission of Jane Matthews)

62

John William Valentine Whenham

(Friends of St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Syston)

63

John Henry Willday

(Eatough’s Ltd. Commemoration Souvenir, 1945)

64

Robert Arthur Wright

(Images provided by family)

65

Jack Yeates

Leicester Mercury item on the occasion of Jack Yeates’

enlistment in the Royal Navy in October 1937

66

Additional photographs

The photographs on the following pages have

been received since the publication of the first

edition of the Book of Remembrance.

67

Stanley Childs Carter

Since the first version of this Book of Remembrance was published, the

previously unknown ‘Carter S.’ on the War Memorial has been identified as

Sergeant Stanley Childs Carter, an Air Gunner in the Royal Air Force.

(With thanks to Mark Gamble and Dave Ricketts for the information and image).

68

William Harold Freer

(With thanks to Mark Gamble and Dave Ricketts)

69

Norman Gregory

Private Norman Gregory, second left, bottom row

(Illustrated Leicester Chronicle, 3 March 1945, page 3 –

with thanks to Mark Gamble and Dave Ricketts).

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