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In
Loving Memory of our Fallen
THE FALLEN OF THE SECOND
WORLD WAR
Surnames N
to Z
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NORRIS, J. C.
John Cyril Norris was born in Newport Pagnell on 5 May 1915.
He was the son of Augustus Harvey James Norris and his wife, Florence
Fanny, née Sedding. The couple had married in 1913.
In 1939 Mr Norris, born 5 August 1884, was at 56 High
Street, where he was a master tailor and also a special constable. Mrs
Norris, born 5 September 1880, is recorded at Tree-tops, Park Way, on
unpaid domestic duties.
John became a Sergeant, 896155, in the Royal
Artillery, 135 (The Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment. His
occupation was recorded as a clerk when he became a PoW on 15 February
1942, and his address as 56 High Street. He died from abdominal wounds
as a result of air action, probably a bombing raid. He was buried at Wat
(temple) Koke Nor, Nong-Pladuk, where a sign bore the words "Foreign
Officers and Soldiers Permanent Sleeping Land". He was reburied on 19
Mary 1946 at the Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand, grave 9 L 13.
Memorial - SPi, SPo
Mr Norris died in 1962, aged 79, in the Nottingham
area, and Mrs Norris in 1953, aged 71. |
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PINKHAM, H. C.
Howard Cyprian Pinkham was the son of Herbert Mansfield
Pinkham and his wife Alice May, née Bickley, born 28 December
1881. Both had been born in Devon, and had married in 1905 in the
Greenwich area. In 1911 they were in Durham, with Mr Pinkham recorded as
a master mariner and his wife as a passenger. With them was
four-year-old Doris Irene, who had been born in the Lewisham area. Mr
Pinkham would die there at the age of 57 in 1935.
Howard, born in 1920, became a third officer in the
Merchant Navy. He was 24 when SS Sampa hit a mine while returning in
convoy from Antwerp, and sank in the North Sea. Chief Officer John
Allerton received an MBE for his courage and leadership for rescuing
many of the injured crew, 24 of whom were removed by stretcher, and
safeguarding the vessel and preventing it fouling shipping lanes.
Howard died the day afterward the explosion, aged 24,
and is buried at the Hither Green Cemetery, south east London, Section
E, Grave 58.
Mrs Pinkham died in 1960, aged 78, in the Lambeth
area
Memorial - SPi, SPo
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PRICE, H. A.
Henry Anthony Price was born on 2 October 1915, the son of
John Anthony Price, born 29 January 1879, and his wife Helen Beatrice, née Whiting,
born 22 June 1884. The couple
had married the year before Henry was born. In 1939 they were living at
The Close, Lakes Lane, with Mr Price working as a corn merchant.
Henry was educated at Berkhampstead, and then joined
his father as partner in the corn and forage business. He joined up in
September 1939, and was reported as missing in 1942, and later as having
become a PoW on 15 February 1942. He was serving as a Captain,
99375, with the Royal Artillery, 419 Battery 148 (The Bedfordshire
Yeomanry) Field Regiment, when he died on 12 September 1944. He
had been aboard the Rakuyo Maru, which was transporting PoWs, when she
was torpedoed by USS Sealion.
He is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, Column 35.
Mrs Price died in 1974, Mr Price in 1953.
Memorial - SPi, SPo, SPp (organ), SPp
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PURYER, G. F.
George Frederick Puryer, PO/X 15811, was born on 28 November 1891 at
Newport Pagnell. He was the son of Frederick Puryer and his wife Martha
Emma, née Knight, who had married in 1878. He had two older
sisters, Frances Mary, born 1887 (possibly 15 April), and Florence May,
probably born on 1 August 1889, and a younger sister, Kate Annie, born
on 22 March 1895. He also had a brother, Frank, born on 23 October 1879.
Mrs Puryer died in 1898 at the age of 39, and in 1901 Mr Puryer, a
bricklayer, was living with his children at Tyringham with Filgrave.
Frances was acting as housekeeper for her father. Sadly, Frances herself
died the following year. The family had also lost another child.
On 3 October 1911, George enrolled with the Royal Marines Light
Infantry, having been previously working as a shop assistant. He was
five feet five inches tall when he joined; he would grow to five feet
eight inches. He is described as having a dark complexion, blue eyes,
and brown hair, and he had tattoo marks on both his forearms; on the
right a lion and a union jack, and on the l eft
a Japanese girl. He passed a swimming test at Deal on 29 May 1911. His
home address was 28 Mill Street.
He served through the Great War and in April 1918 was awarded £8 18s 3d
prize money for the destruction of enemy submarines while serving in HMS
Privet. He received other awards, including a prize bounty of 79s 5d for
the destruction of U34. His 1914-15 Star and the British and Victory
medals were sent for him to the Columbo where he was then serving. He
was discharged on 1 November 1931, that date being the termination of
his second period of engagement, with a character of Very Good.
He began service again before WWII, and for part of the time may have
been stationed in Lerwick with HMS Fox. He died from natural causes on
24 March 1944 at the RN Hospital, Haslar. His relatives arranged for him
to be buried in the Newport Pagnell cemetery. At the foot of his
headstone at grave 69 are the words, "Not lost but gone before".
Memorial - NPi, NPo
Notes:
Frank Puryer served as 48110 in the 1st Garrison Battalion,
Northamptonshire regiment and was previously in the Bedfordshires as
6652.
Florence Puryer was in 1939 a cook at Westbury House, Wolverton Road.
Kate Puryer died in 1977. |
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RAYNER, S. G.
Sidney George Rayner was the son of Edwin Rayner and his wife
Ellen Jane, née Smith, born 28 Feburary 1880. The couple had
married in 1906 in Northampton, and in 1911 were living at 25
Shakespeare Road with two children, Eric Edwin, 4, and Ellen Grace, 18
months. Mr Rayner, born on 4 September 1866, was working as a
warehouseman in the shoe trade.
On 8 October 1912 another son, Frederick, was born,
and in 1916 Sidney joined the family. In 1939 Sidney married Cecily
Violet Brawn. That year his parents were living at 38 Gray Street,
Northampton; his brother Frederick was still at home and was a repairer
of wooden shoe and boot lasts.
Sidney became a Corporal, 6022851, in the Army Air
Corps, HQ 1st Airborne Division, Defence Platoon. He was 28 when he was
killed on 10 May 1945, and is buried in the collective grave 1 E 1-8 at
Oslo Western Civil Cemetery, Norway. At the foot of his gravestone are
the words, "Love lives beyond the grave".
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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SPINNER, L.
Lucy Spinner was a civilian casualty, losing her life on 22
October 1942 at the High Street, Deal, Kent, during an air raid. She was
66 and the wife of Charles Tigwell Spinner of Walmer,
Kent. The couple had married in 1923 in Kent.
Lucy, born on 21 April 1876, was the daughter of
David Markham and his wife Susan, née Hall, who had married in the
Newport Pagnell area in 1875. The family were in 1881 living at 115 High
Street, Newport Pagnell, where Mr Markham was a blacksmith. His father,
a former blacksmith, was also there.
Mr Markham's first wife, Eliza, née
Hall, had died in 1874, aged 29. The couple had married in 1869, and
Eliza had left three daughters behind;
Mary Sarah, born about 1870, Emily Ann, born about 1872, and Catherine
Eliza, born 1874. Eliza, born about 1843, and Susan, born 1849, were
probably sisters, the daughters of Thomas and Anne Hall from Chicheley.
All the Hall children had been born in Warrington, Buckinghamshire.
A younger sister for Lucy, Rosa, was born in 1879.
She was followed by Susan, born 1881, and Fanny, born in 1885. The
following year, David Markham died at the age of 39, and Mrs Markham,
still at 115 High Street, is recorded in 1891 as being the blacksmith.
She had moved to 1 Bury Street by 1901, and become a sweetshop keeper; a
grandson, Harry Tole, Mary's son, was with her as well as Fanny and
Susan. In 1911 Edith Markham, her granddaughter, aged 3, and born at
Marylebone, London, was with Mrs Markham as well as Susan, and Harry,
who had become a compositer. Mrs Markham may have died at Potterspury in
1915.
Lucy Markham spent her working life in service. In
1891 she was at Grove Hill Road, Camberwell, London, in the home of
Augustus Grohmann and his family. Mr Grohmann was an importer of china
and glass works of art; Lucy was a nursemaid for his three young
children. By 1901 Lucy had moved to Kings Norton, where, at The Limes,
Albert Road, Harborne, she was a cook in the household of William
Shakespeare, a solicitor, who kept five servants. Ten years later Lucy
was at 36 Bruton Street West, St George Hanover Square, London, cooking
for George Hastings, a medical practitioner, and his family. He kept
seven servants.
In 1939 Lucy was living with her husband at Walmer
Place Lodge, Liverpool Road, Deal. Mr Spinner, born on 26 December 1880,
was a head gardener.
A short report, under censorship, in the Dover
Express of 23 October 1942 notes: "A South-East Coast town was bombed on
Thursday soon after breakfast time. According to reports, they also
machine gunned the town, and one of the bombs is said to have bounced
from an open space over high buildings, demolishing a house in another
street. One bomb fell on a shopping centre, shops being wrecked and
other buildings being damaged. People were buried, and work went on all
day clearing the debris. There were a number of fatal casualties.".
Lucy was one of fourteen people who died in Deal
during that air raid, which began at 9am. The youngest was 15 months,
the oldest 80 years. A child of 3 died three days later from his
injuries. All but two of the fatal casualties are buried at the Hamilton
Road cemetery, Deal, Lucy included.
Memorial - none |
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 STAPLETON, C.
Cyril Stapleton, born about 1925, was the son of Leonard
Stapleton and his wife Beatrice Evelyn, née Bennett, who had married in
1924. He was the nephew of
Cyril Stapleton,
his father's brother. In 1939 the family were living at 20 London Road,
Newport Pagnell, with Mr Stapleton working as a blacksmith. There were
five children in the family; Cyril was followed by Alan 1926, Brian 6
May 1930, Evelyn M, 1932, and Derek F, 1936.
Cyril became an Air Gunner Sergeant, 1874338, in the
RAFVR, 207 squadron. He died along with six others when his aircraft
crashed over France. He is buried in the Creil Communal Cemetery,
France, Plot
1, collective grave 371B. At the foot of his headstone are the words,
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember him".
The grave, right, is in Newport Pagnell cemetery. The
stone reads, "In memory of a dear son, Sgt Cyril Stapleton, RAF, killed
in action July 3rd 1944, aged 19 years. Also Leonard Stapleton, March
11th 1978, aged 75 years. And his beloved wife Beatrice Evelyn, April
18th 1983, aged 81 years".
a photo of Cyril is available
Those who died with Cyril were: John Horsburgh Wilson, Charles Morton
Firth, Jeffrey Matthews, Henry George West, Albert Derrick Roper, and Clement Arthur Hallett
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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TAYLOR, A. L.
Alan Linnell Taylor was the son of Francis William Taylor and
Annie, née Linnell, who were married in 1888. He was the brother
of Francis Maurice
Taylor and a great-grandson of William Taylor, the founder of the
mustard and mineral water business. Born on 28 June 1899, he was
educated at Chesham Road, Berkhampsted.
He became an automobile engineer, and on 22 April
1930 he married Nancy Franklin Weston, born 29 March 1905, at St
Leonard's, Yardley Gobion. She was the daughter of farmer Charles Weston
and his wife Annie Gertrude of Moor End Manor, and in 1939 the Taylors, probably
with their two daughters Sarah G, born in 1931, and Sheila J F, born in
1938, were with Nancy's family.
Alan became a Lieutenant, 119327, in the Royal Army
Ordnance Corps. He died on 2 May 1941 and is buried at the Suda Bay War
Cemetery, Greece, 4 C 6. At the foot of his headstone are the words, "In
thanksgiving to God for the life of Alan".
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Alan Taylor is also commemorated on the
memorial at St Leonard's, Yardley Gobion, and inside the
chapel. |
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a photo of Alan Linnell Taylor is available
 Note: Nancy Taylor died on 29 April 1970; she is buried at Yardley Gobion
just a few graves away from her parents. Her grave is in the front,
left. Her mother died on 10
October 1967, aged 94, her father on 17 November 1968, aged 97. Their
grave is the flat headstone, front row, right.
Memorial - SPi, SPo, SPp
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TOMPKINS, W. J.
William John Tompkins was born on 24 June 1904, the son of
John Tompkins and his wife Florence Jane, née Barker. The couple had
married in 1902. In 1911 the family were living at 4 Riverside, with Mr
Tompkins working as a domestic gardener. William was then the middle
child of three, having an elder sister, Annie Eliza, born 1902, and a
younger brother, Walter Cyril, born 1905. Another two daughters
followed; Winifred V in 21 September 1914 and Dorothy J on 5 February
1920. In 1939 Mr and Mrs Tompkins were living with Winifred and Dorothy
at 34 St John Street.
In 1924 William married Doris Stewart, born 24 November 1903. They had
two daughters; Stella F L born about 1925 and Vera M in 1926. In 1939
the family were living at 4 Riverside, with William working as a timber
labourer. A son, Barry Albert John, joined the family in August 1940.
William became a driver, T/276030, in the Royal Army Service Corps, 18 Div
Transport Company. He died on 4 October 1943, and is buried in the Thanbuazayat War Cemetery, Myanmar, B6 E 12.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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 TYSOE,
W. T.
Walter Thomas Tysoe was born in 1922, the son of Frederick
Thomas Tysoe and his wife Emma Carol(ine), née Juffs, who had married in
1920. There may have been seven children in the family, six sons and a
daughter.
Walter died on 30 November 1944, serving as 1145714,
a Private in the Pioneer Corps. He is buried in Newport Pagnell
cemetery, grave 2. At the foot of his headstone are the words, "Many a
silent heartache, often a silent tear, always a beautiful memory of a
son we loved so dear".
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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UMNEY, A. C.
Arthur Charles Umney was born 24 Jan 1907, the son of Charles
Umney and his wife Lilian, formerly Baines or Barnes, born 30 September
1886. They had married
in 1906. In 1911 the family were living at 53 Priory Street, with Mr Umney working as a general labourer. There were three children at home;
Arthur or Charles, his younger sister, Dorothy, then 2, and Mr Umney's
stepdaughter, aged 9, Gertie Baines. Probably several other children
were born subsequently. In 1939 Mr Umney and his wife were living at 58
Priory Street, with Mr Umney, born 4 April 1875, working as a cemetery
caretaker.
In 1933 Arthur married Mabel Maud Bason, born 12
December 1909, and in 1939 they were living next door to his parents, at 60 Priory Street, with
Arthur working as a housepainter.
Arthur became a Lance Corporal, T/266498, in the
Royal Army Service Corps, attached to the Royal Artillery. He was
captured at Garoet, Java, and became a prisoner of war. Suffering
from illness and exhaustion he died at a hospital on 18 June 1945. He is
buried at the Labuan War Cemetery, Malaysia, grave R B 11. At the foot
of his headstone are the words, "In loving memory of my dear husband.
Rest in peace".
Arthur was the nephew of
John Umney;
Arthur's father Charles was John's brother. Arthur is also believed to
be the cousin of Cyril, below, as their fathers, Charles Umney and
Thomas Umney respectively, were probably brothers.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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UMNEY, C. W.
Cyril Winston Umney was born on 21 September 1910. He was the
son of Thomas Umney, born 15 March 1876, and Rhoda Elizabeth, given as born 21 February
1871. In 1911 the family were living at 2 Paggs Court, with five
children. Thomas Corell was born in 1902, Walter Frederick in 1904,
Muriel Violet M in 1906, Phyllis Irene on 27 June 1908, and Cyril was the
youngest, born at North Crawley. Mr Umney was working as a general
labourer. It was probably difficult to make ends meet, as on a number of
occasions between 1901 and 1915 Thomas Umney was summoned an fined for
trespassing in search of rabbits or game or actually taking them..
In 1921 the Umneys were at 1 Church Passage, and by
1924 at number 6. By 1939 they were at number 5, with Mr Umney then
working as a gasfitter's labourer.
Cyril married in 1938 Ivy Primrose Bowden, born 23
November 1911. In 1939 they were at 11 and 13 Western Road, Tring, with
Cyril working as a garderner and houseman and Ivy as a cook, probably in
an educational establishment. In 1941 they probably had a son, Rodney T
H in Wales, Rhoda's address would later be at Penarth, Glamorgan.
Cyril became a Gunner, 1094002, in the Royal
Artillery, 61 Anti-Tank Regiment. He died of wounds on 29 August 1944,
aged 33. He is buried in the St Désir War Cemetery, France, II B
7. At the foot of his headstone are the words, "To live in the hearts of those who loved me is not to die".
Mrs Rhoda Umney probably died in 1952, aged 83, and
Thomas Umney in 1955, aged 78.
Cyril was the nephew of
John Umney.
Cyril is also believed to be the cousin of Arthur, above, as their
fathers, Thomas Umney and Charles Umney respectively, were probably
brothers.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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WALDEN, F.
Frederick Walden was the son of Fred Walden and his wife
Beatrice Mary, née Hensman. The couple had married in 1906. In
1911 they were living at 16 Greenfield Road, with Mr Walden working as a
butcher. With them were their sons Fred, 3, and John (Cyril John), 1.
There were probably subsequent children; Margaret E in 1913, who died in
1917, and Jack, about 1916.
In 1931 or 1936 Frederick married Gladys Victoria
(possibly Wright), who later lived at Barking, Essex. He served as a
Private, 6012908, in the Army Catering Corps, attached to the Royal Army
Service Corps. He died on 16 February 1945, and is buried in the Lille
Southern Cemetery, France, plot 5, row C, grave 7. At the foot of his
headstone are the words, "Gone from us but not forgotten. Wife and family".
Mrs Beatrice Walden died at the age of 32 in 1918.
Memorial - None
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 WILLIAMSON, D.
David Williamson was the son of John Williamson and his wife
Elizabeth. They may have been living at Oak Lodge, Silver Street, in
1939, with Mr Williamson working as a foreman wood machinist.
In 1941 David married Noreen Phyllis Clarke. He served as a Lance
 Serjeant, 5387286, in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, 7th
battalion. He died on 21 January 1944, aged 25. He is buried in the
Minturno War Cemetery, Italy, II, H, 1. At the foot of his headstone are
the words, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends".
Mrs Williamson probably died in the Portsmouth area in
2003.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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WOODGATE, S. W.
Samuel William Woodgate was born in Suffolk, the son of Henry
Woodgate and his wife Alice, formerly Rush. They had married in 1906. In
1911 the couple were living at Spexhall, near Halesworth, Suffolk, with
Mr Woodgate working as a farm labourer. With them were three children;
Maud Rush, 8, George Rush, 6, and Samuel, then 2. Also living with them
was Samuel Woodgate, a widower of 66, who was also a farm labourer.
Samuel the younger became a Leading Seaman, C/J 112080, in the Royal
Navy. He was serving on HMS Martin when she was torpedoed off Algiers on
11 November 1942. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial,
panel 52,3.
Memorial - SPi, SPo |
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 YOUNG, H. O.
Harold Oliver Young, 190583, was a Navigator in the RAFVR, 24
Squadron. He was 24 when he died on 30 August 1945 after a military
plane crashed near Vaison La Romaine, Vaucluse, France. He is buried in
Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles, France, plot 11, row A, grave 20. At
the foot of his headstone are the words, "In God's keeping".
The son of Harry Young and his wife Lilian, née Sacre,
who had married in 1919, Harold was born in 1922 at Charndon Lodge Farm,
Charndon, Buckinghamshire. He had two sisters, Violet, born in 1920, and
Doris L, born in 1928, and a brother, Clarence S, born in 1924.
Mr Young died in 1933, aged 44. In 1939 Harold's
widowed mother, born on 26 September 1887, was living at 42 Caldecote
Street, Newport Pagnell, and was a boarding house proprietress. she
later moved to Gillingham, where Harold too lived for a short while.
Harold attended Wolverton Technical College for two
years with his friend Ron Groom; the two "went everywhere together".
Harold had been engaged to be married to Ron's second cousin when he
died.
Memorial - none
In the air crash fourteen people died.
Including Harold, they were Lt Daniels, Lt Lee, Lt Francon, Mrs S M
Collett, Mrs Stratford, Mr Henley, Mr Gibson, Mr Cafful, Mr Champion, Mr
Kennedy, Mr Jenkins, Mr Bennett. The identification of the 14th was at
the time uncertain.
Bob Higgins, Bob Mills, Harold Young, Ron Groom, and Len
Chapman were friends. They were keen to be pilots and volunteered early.
Ron became a Wireless Operator, the others all fliers. Of the five
friends, only Ron survived the war. |
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