Eric's Q2 1922 birth was registered in the East Grinstead District of Sussex. He appears to be the fifth of seven children born to Samuel H Jackson and Elizabeth Ada (née Summersby - they married Q3 1914, registered in the Southwark district). The first three children were born in Kent and Suffolk, the second three all in East Grinstead, and the last in Kent again.

By the time of the 1939 Register, the parents were living at 15 Durnford Street, Plymouth. 55 year old Samuel is listed as "Excavating, Public Works" and 42 year old Elizabeth with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties". Some of their children were living with them, and 17 year old Eric may be behind the currently closed record: a Forces' record notes Plymouth his town of residence. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's post-war records note the parents were "of West Ewell", but that address has yet to be established.

Eric's WW2 service was in the 5th Battalion of Devonshire Regiment, which was used mainly for home defence, training or supplying the other battalions of the regiment with infantry replacement. Sadly, there is nothing in the readily available records about the particular nature of Eric's duties. His death on 22 June 1941 was registered in the Bath District.

As noted above, Eric's parents had by then moved into the Borough, and his body was brought back for burial in the Ewell (St. Mary) Churchyard Extension. However, his father seems by then to have died, since the personal inscription added to his headstone on Grave E14 reads,

"He died for King and Country. Gone but not forgotten by loving Mother and all."

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The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records note that Percy was the "son of Samuel and Elizabeth Jackson". While these relatively common names make it hard to trace the family background in the readily available records, internet searches of others' work enable us to say that Percy was born on 31 December 1906 in Old Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland - the last of 11 children born to Samuel and Elizabeth Ann (née Yates) Jackson. The 1901 Census records the parents and six children aged between 1 and 16 living at 48 Skares Row, Old Cumnock. These "Rows" were of modest terraced accommodation built by pit owners for their coal miners. This was 38 year old Samuel's occupation (as an "Under Ground Manager") and that of his 16 year old son, David (an "Under Ground Manager Roadsman").

In turn, Samuel had followed his father, David Jackson, into the pits. The 1871 Census records the mid-30s and Irish-born David and Jane Jackson lodging with the widowed Margaret Boyd at 99 Inkermann, Abbey, Renfrewshire. The 7 year old Samuel (Percy's eventual father) was the third of their eventual seven children, of whom all but the first were born in Scotland. By the 1881 Census, David and Jane's family were living in Glengyron Row in Old Cumnock. The 46 year old James and 18 year old Samuel are both listed as "Coal Miner".

By the 1891 Census, Samuel had married English-born Elizabeth Yates, and they are recorded also living in Glengiron Row in Old Cumnock with their first three children, aged between 1 and 6. After his 1906 birth, Percy is recorded in the 1911 Census as part of the family living at Bankend Cottage, Ayr Road, Cumnock. The record notes that his father remained a colliery underground manager and that, of the 11 children born to the couple over they 27 years of marriage, 3 had died.

After leaving Cumnock Academy, Percy worked at the local branch of the Clydesdale Bank. Having made the grade there, he was promoted to be in charge of the branch at Auchinleck. After three years there, he was then for a time in St Andrews but transferred to the London Midland Bank, in which he held responsible office in one of the City branches.

In Q2 1933, Percy married Kathleen M Lamb: they were both aged 26. The marriage was registered in the Wandsworth District, and it seems certain that his bride was the Emma Lamb recorded in the 1911 Census as the 4 year old first child of Joseph (a "Journeyman Carpenter") living at 59 Wayford Street, Battersea. Neither Percy nor Kathleen can be readily found in the September 1939 Register but, when Kathleen was granted probate on Percy's £1,404 estate in August 1943, their address was noted as 6 East Dean Avenue, Epsom.

Percy's WW2 service was in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. The readily available records provide disappointing little information about his time in uniform but, from his place of death he must have been stationed with the significant RAF presence in Egypt and the Middle East. Thanks to a cutting from a local Cumnock paper we know that Percy had been laid low with an attack of pneumonia and, in spite of all that an RAF hospital in the area could do, he died on 7 July 1943.

He is one of 1,789 Commonwealth WW2 casualties buried in the Heliopolis War Cemetery, in a suburb of Cairo. (This had been opened in October 1941 for burials from the many hospitals in the area coping with the wounded and sick, mainly from the Western Desert campaigns.) The widowed Kathleen took the option of adding a personal inscription to his headstone on Grave 5,E,3,

"His memory is cherished for ever 'Till all the seas gang dry my dear'. Kath."

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While George is not in the Book of Remembrance, he is listed on the memorial in the former Horton Chapel as one on the four staff members of Horton Hospital (one of Epsom's "cluster" of mental hospitals) killed during WW2.

George was born in Q2 1905 in London's Poplar, the fourth child of William James and Agnes (née Morgan). The 1911 Census recorded the family living at the now lost 34 Prestige Street, Poplar. 35 year old William was listed as an "Engine Fitter's Labourer" (annotated to indicate that this was in "Dry Dock Repairs", doubtless in the nearby docks). As usual for the time, no occupation was given for 34 year old housewife Agnes. The couple's four children ranged from 6 year old George to 11 year old William junior.

In Q3 1933 and registered in the Poplar District, the 28 year old George married 29 year old Lillian Winifred Wiggins. She had been born in Wandsworth on 9 November 1903, and the 1911 Census recorded her as an 8 year old living with her mid-30s parents - Albert (a "Cheesemonger") and Jane (née Davies) - at 33 Atheldene Road, Wandsworth, together with three younger siblings. (The parents had had two other children who had died.)

George and Lillian appear to have set up their first home in Stepney, the District in which the birth of their first child, Lillian W junior, was registered in Q3 1934. At some point, George took employment at Epsom's Horton Hospital: the birth of the couple's second child, George R junior, was registered in the local Surrey Mid Eastern District in Q1 1937, and there is an entry for George Richard James living at 21 Court Farm Gardens in a 1936 Epsom Directory.

George is not found in the September 1939 Register, presumably because he was already in uniform. And the family had by then moved from the area: the 1939 Register records the 35 year old Lillian (listed with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties") living at 328 Thrigby Way, Surbiton. Her entry is followed by two currently closed records, doubtless of their two young children.

George's WW2 service was with the 1/6th Battalion of the East Surrey Regiment. This Territorial Army unit was - as part of the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division - sent to France in April 1940, becoming part of the British Expeditionary Force ready to counter the expected German invasion of Belgium and France. As is well known, the German invasion when it came was of an unanticipated speed and ferocity. With the help of French allies, the BEF made a fighting retreat to Dunkirk for evacuation during the 17 May to 4 June 1940 Operation Dynamo. The astonishing success of that evacuation was thanks to many fierce and costly rear-guard actions.

It was during one of these rear-guard actions that George was killed in action but, as noted at the head of this article, the precise date of his death is not known. The 29-31 May 1940 window indicated there is as specified in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's main database. However, his headstone (which they commissioned) gives the wider range of 18 May to 4 June 1940. Other records are Casualty List No. 251 of 1 June 1940 which reported him "Missing believed Killed" and Casualty List No. 547 of 24 June which confirmed his being "Killed in Action".

George is buried in the Oostduinkerke Communal Cemetery, Belgium. This is near the coast about 10 miles east of Dunkirk and holds 149 WW2 Commonwealth casualties, most of whom died in the 1940 fighting retreat to Dunkirk. The widowed Lillian took the option of adding a personal inscription to his headstone on Grave A.19,

"Gone but not forgotten never shall thy memory fade. Wife, Daughter, and Son."

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists the widowed Lillian as being "of Hayes, Middlesex." In Q1 1946, she got remarried to Edward Benn, registered in the Uxbridge District, and her death in Q2 1985 was registered in the Hillingdon District.

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James is not listed in the Book of Remembrance but is remembered here because he died and is buried in Epsom.

Apart from his Pioneer Corps details and date of death, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records note only that Henry (of unspecified age) was the "son of Henry and Anne James and husband of Lottie James, of Brixton, London" and is buried in Epsom. A little devilling in the readily available records has enabled a fuller story to be told.

Henry was born on 25 August 1887 in Rotherhithe, London. He was the first of eleven children born to Henry Walter James senior and Johanna - sometimes "Anna" or "Annie" - (née Cain) who had married in St James's Church Bermondsey on 20 November 1882. The 1891 Census records the family living at 70 Bramcote Road, Camberwell. 36 year old Henry senior is listed as a "Printer Compositor). As usual at the time, no occupation is listed for his 28 year old wife ("Annie" here) who was looking after the household which, in addition to 3 year old Henry, also included 1 year old Catharine. (Catharine was actually the couple's fourth child: twins Reginald and Robert were born and died Q1 1889. A subsequent child of theirs also died in infancy.)

By the time of the 1901 Census, the family - now with seven children, from 13 year Henry junior to new-born Charles - had moved to 16, Sandhurst Gardens, Lewisham. By 1911, they had moved again, to 179 Sangley Road, Catford, Lewisham. 23 year old Henry junior had left home, but all other of the couple's surviving children are listed, the youngest being 6 year old "Schoolgirl" Letty.

Henry junior's absence is explained by finding a 14 January 1907 record of his signing up at Chatham for 12 years in the Royal Navy. This describes him as a former "Wire Worker" being 5' 5" tall with dark brown hair, grey eyes, a fresh complexion, a scar on the right eyebrow and a tattoo on his left arm. He will thus have seen naval service during WW1.

Henry's next appearance in the readily available record is in Q4 1925 when, as a 38 year old, he married 23 year old Lottie Clifford, registered in Birmingham. Lottie had been born in Aston, Birmingham on 11 June 1902 as the first child of George Clifford and Lottie (née Horton), who had married at St Lawrence's, Aston on 21 December 1901. The 1911 Census records the family living at 5 Nechells Row, Taylor Street, Aston. 29 year old George is listed as a "Wood Dealer". As usual at the time, no occupation is listed for 25 year old Lottie senior. The couple now had four children (a fifth having died in infancy), from 8 year old "Schoolgirl" Lottie junior to new-born May.

A 1935 Electoral Roll records Henry and Lottie living at 75 Clevedon Street, Birmingham but, by the time of the September 1939 Register, they were living at 149 Denmark Road, Lambeth. 42 year old Henry is listed as a "General Labourer", and 27 year old Lottie with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties". There is one currently closed record at the address, likely to be their child - and possibly the Eileen M James whose birth was registered in the Birmingham North District in Q4 1927. (It is known that the couple had another child, Marguerite, whose birth was register Q4 1930 in the Birmingham North District, but who died aged 3, registered in Birmingham Q4 1933.)

Disappointingly, the readily available records provide no useful information about Henry's WW2 service in the Pioneer Corps as noted in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records. The fact that, after his death on 7 February 1941 (which was registered in the local Surrey Mid Eastern District), he was buried in the Horton Estate Cemetery (Grave 1724A) would seem to make it certain that, either sick or injured, he had been taken to the Emergency Hospital at Horton - one of Epsom's cluster of mental hospitals that, as for WW1, had been taken over to deal with military and civilian wartime casualties. (The records indicate that he actually died at Long Grove Hospital, another one of Epsom's cluster, wards in which were sometimes used for wartime casualties when Horton was full.)

Henry was later commemorated on a "Special Memorial Headstone" in the main Commonwealth War Graves Commission war graves plot of Epsom Cemetery. As shown at the head of this article, this headstone has a superscription to note that he is "Buried in Horton Estate Cemetery".

The widowed Lottie never remarried and died, aged 86, in Q4 1988, registered in the Lambeth District - like her 1939 address.

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Most unusually, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database does not contain anything about Ronald's family background - and not even his age when he died. A Forces War record has been found that notes that Ronald was both born and lived in Surrey. It therefore seems likely that he was the Ronald H James whose birth was registered Q2 1911 in the Reigate District (GRO Reference: 1911 J Quarter in REIGATE Volume 02A Page 195) - hence the tentative age noted in the heading of this article - with his mother's maiden name being Arnold. His commemoration of the WW2 memorial of St Martin's, Epsom would seem to confirm the local residence but, sadly, we currently have too few details to pursue with any confidence this not uncommon name in the readily available records.

Ronald's WW2 service was in 390 Battery of the Royal Artillery's 27th Searchlight Regiment. It may be that he was a member of its Territorial Army precursor, 27th (London Electrical Engineers) Anti-Aircraft Battalion RE (TA). The Regiment was transferred to the Royal Artillery in 1940, with headquarters at Mitcham Lane, Streatham, SW16. In 1941, it was dispatched for service in the Middle East and North Africa and, in 1942, was formally re-designated as 27th Searchlight Regiment RA (London Electrical Engineers (TA)).

In spite of being an Axis Power, Italy was non-belligerent in the early days of WW2. On 10 June, shortly after the Dunkirk evacuation, Italy declared war on the Allies. One of its forces' first actions was the invasion of British-held Egypt from the Italian colony of Libya. British forces quickly pushed them back and, indeed, advanced into Libya to capture the strategic port of Tobruk. The Germans sent reinforcements, under Rommel, and the combined Axis forces advanced against the British with a view to capturing the prizes of the Suez Canal and access to the Middle East's oilfields. The Axis advance was halted just short of Cairo by the first Battle of El Alamein (1-27 July 1942) and, under Montgomery, then decisively reversed in the second Battle of El Alamein (23 October - 11 November 1942) - a turning point in the War as a whole.

Ronald's Battery was closely involved in the Battles of El Alamein and then in pressing the Axis forces westwards in a pincer action with Allied troops advancing eastwards (after an invasion of Morocco and Algeria). There was much hard fighting on both fronts in all this during which (as reported in Casualty List No. 1011) Ronald was killed in action on 2 December 1942 in the Tobruk area. Axis forces in North Africa finally surrendered in Tunis on 12 May 1943.

Ronald is buried in Grave 1.E.6 of the Tobruk War Cemetery, one of 2,272 Commonwealth WW2 casualties there.

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Not listed in the Book of Remembrance

Alice and her twin sister, Charlotte, were born on 31 October 1859 - the third and fourth children of Thomas Atkinson Jennings and Charlotte (née Wisedill) who had married in St Mary's, Lambeth on 11 December 1854. The 1861 Census records the family living at 15 Bird Street, Lambeth. 31 year old Thomas is listed as a "Printer Compositor". As usual, no occupation is listed for 28 year old Charlotte - who had her hands full with the 18 month old twins as well as 4 year old Emma and 6 year old Annie.

The family were still at Bird Street at the time of the 1871 Census, with three more children. By the time of the 1881 Census, the family had moved to 9 Sansom Street, Camberwell - and the couple's last child had arrived. There were now five children at home - these included the 21 year old twins, now both working as "Hat Trimmers". (Thomas is now listed as a "Printers Pressman".)

The 1911 Census recorded the 80-ish parents (with Thomas as a "Printers Pressman, Retired") living at 126 Westmoreland Road, Walworth together with the 51 year old unmarried twins - now listed as "Silk Hat Trimmers". (The return noted that four of the parents' eight children had died.)

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records note that Alice was "of 35 Coleman Road, Camberwell, London". That is where she and her twin, Charlotte, were recorded in the September 1939 Register - both now nearly 80, still unmarried and listed as "Retired".

As noted in the Commission's records, Alice was injured (by enemy action) while at home on 12 May 1941. She was taken to the Emergency Hospital at Horton - one of Epsom's cluster of mental hospitals that, as for WW1, had been taken over to deal with military and civilian wartime casualties - where she died 11 days later, on 23 May.

(If sister Charlotte was injured in the same attack, she survived - dying, aged 90 in Islington Q1 1950.)

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Henry was born in Hackney Q3 1907, the first child of William Henry and Edith Maria Jepps. The 1911 Census records 3 year old Henry living with his 34 year old father (a "Cheesemonger Assistant") and 28 year old mother at 85 de Beauvoir Road, Hackney.

In Q3 1936 Henry married Vera Ellen Gwyer, registered in the local Surrey Mid Eastern District. Henry attested for the Royal Artillery in 1938. The 1939 Register records the 28 year old Vera living alone at 7 Timbercroft, Ewell - listed with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties" but also "(Comptometer)". The couple had a daughter, Pauline, born Q2 1942 and registered in the local Surrey Mid Eastern District.

Sadly, the readily available records tell us nothing of Henry's WW2 service in the Royal Artillery. He is one of the 587 Commonwealth burials in the Brussels Town War Cemetery, most of whom died on lines of communication duties after the liberation of Brussels at the beginning of September 1944. Henry's death - on 30 June 1945 - came nearly 8 weeks after VE Day on 8 May and it is not currently known if this was the result of some wartime injury or a post-war incident.

Drawing from Shakespeare's The Tempest, the widowed Vera took the option of adding a personal inscription to Henry's headstone on Grave X.21.30,

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."

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John Jobson was born on 24 December 1912, the fourth child of James (a "Dock Labourer") and Kate (née Miller) Jobson who, with their first three children, were recorded in the 1911 Census living at 10 Mason's Court, High Street Stockton-On-Tees.

In Q4 1937 he married Violetta Jackson. She was born on 31 October 1910, the first child of George Henry (a "Coal Miner, Hewer") and Isabella Jane Jackson - in the 1911 Census, all living at 3 Monkseaton Terrace, Seaton Hirst, Northumberland.

They had both moved south from their birthplaces. Their marriage was registered in the Surrey Mid-Eastern District, and the September 1939 Register recorded the couple living at 270 Sutton Common Road, Sutton. That listed 26 year old John as a "Lorry Driver, Heavy Worker" and Violetta with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties".) The couple's first child, John, was born Q1 1939 but died later in the year. Their second child, Ronald, was born Q2 1940.

John's older sister, Mary Temple Jobson, had also moved south. In Q2 1933 and registered in the Croydon District, she had married Thomas Edward Boorer. The 1939 Register records them living at 55 Riverholme Drive, Ewell, with Thomas working as a "Gardener". It seems they had no children.

The reason for mentioning this other couple is that Thomas saw (and survived) WW2 service as a Gunner and it seems that, while he was away, John and Violetta moved in with Mary at 55 Riverholme Drive. And this is where, as the result of enemy action, John and Violetta were killed on 15 June 1944.

If John's sister Mary and son Ronald were injured in the same incident, they survived. The February 1946 Probate record (which confirmed 55 Riverholme Drive as John's address at the time of his death) notes that administration of John's £ 443 estate was awarded jointly to her and her husband "Thomas Edward Boorer gunner HM Army". And Ronald, as a 22 year old, married Evelyn M H Salter in Q3 1961, registered in the Surrey South Eastern District

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Alfred is not listed in the Book of Remembrance, but is remembered here because of his burial in Ewell which, in spite of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's post-war records noting that he was the "husband of Beatrice Marjorie Johnson, of Tooting", indicates some connection with the Borough - and, as outlined below, that proves to be the case.

The Commission's records begin by noting that Alfred was the "son of Alfred Thomas & Annie Johnson". Other records show that Alfred was born Q1 1910, the first child of Londoners Alfred Thomas Johnson and Annie (née Judge). The parents' Q1 1909 marriage was registered in the West Ham District, and they set up home at 29 Aldensley Road, Hammersmith where Alfred junior was born. The 1911 Census recorded family there, and listed 26 year old Alfred senior is listed as an "Assistant Stoker (Electricity Power Station). As usual, no occupation was given for 21 year old housewife Annie, busy looking after 1 year old Alfred junior - and who would be kept busy with the arrival of six more children over the next 17 years.

Alfred junior's next appearance in the readily available records is in Q2 1942, when this 32 year old married 25 year old Beatrice Marjorie Hewett, registered in the local Surrey Mid Eastern District. Beatrice was born in Wandsworth in Q3 1916. While she (like Alfred) is not readily found in the September 1939 Register, this recorded her widowed 57 year old mother, also Beatrice, living at 11 Green Lanes, Ewell. The only other occupant was Beatrice junior's 20 year old sister, Olive. The occupation of mother and that daughter was recorded as, respectively, "Housekeeper" and "Domestic Servant" - presumably working elsewhere.

The newlyweds appear to have moved in with the widowed Beatrice senior. The 3 September 1943 Probate record of administration of Alfred's £ 263 estate being awarded to the widowed Beatrice junior noted that he was "of 11 Green-lane Ewell Surrey". There is no record of the couple having had any children, and the widowed Beatrice junior cannot be confidently traced further in the readily available records.

Alfred's WW2 service was with the Royal Artillery, and an annotation in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's burial records indicated that this was with the 22nd Anti Tank Regiment. Sadly, this does not lead to any useful information in the readily available records about either Alfred's experiences or the cause of his death on 14 May 1943. However, as his death was registered in the local Surrey Mid-Eastern District, it seems more likely to be result of injury or illness rather than direct enemy action.

Alfred is buried in St. Mary's Ewell, Churchyard Extension. The widowed Beatrice took the option of adding a personal inscription to Alfred's headstone on Grave E.51,

"In most loving memory."

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Not listed in the Book of Remembrance

James's birth was registered in Q1 1920. He was the second child of James Johnson and Edith Agnes Mary (née Simpkin) The parents had married on 1 March 1913 at Emmanuel Church, Camberwell. James junior's Q1 1920 birth was registered in the Camberwell as were the births of his siblings: Edith Q1 1916; Doreen Q2 1924; and Sheila Q1 1927.

The September 1939 Register records the parents still in Camberwell, at 123 Warner Road. 51 year old James Johnson is listed as a "Printer's Warehouseman" and 47 year old Edith with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties", (There is one currently closed record at the address, doubtless covering one of their children.)

Not long after this, the parents moved to the Borough, enabling the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records James junior as the son of James and Edith Johnson, "of Ewell, Surrey". The address is likely to be the one at which the parents are found in 1947 1947 - namely 37 Pams Way, Ewell - together with their daughter Doreen and husband Norman Rickerby, whose marriage was registered in the local Surrey Mid Eastern District in Q2 1946.

To return to James junior, the subject of this article, he enlisted with the RAF during April 1940 at Cardington. He was commissioned Pilot Officer, from the rank of Leading Aircraftman, 16 March 1941. He was posted to 75 Squadron, part of Bomber Command, stationed at RAF Feltwell, Norfolk.

On 6 September 1941, James was the pilot of Wellington Mk 1c, X9767 which took off from RAF Feltwell for an operation against Hüls, the most northerly district of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia.

The crew were:-

P/O James Edward Johnson, RAFVR 66519 - Pilot.
Sgt. Peter Simpson Dickson Johnston, RAFVR 776002 - 2nd Pilot.
Sgt. Robert Michael Minchin, RAFVR 751355 - Navigator.
Sgt. Wilfred Bearne, RAFVR 976174 - Wireless Operator.
Sgt. Ronald Davies, RAFVR 751130 - Front Gunner.
Sgt. William John Barker, RAFVR 1378561 - Rear Gunner.

Around midnight, the aircraft was shot down by a Luftwaffe night-fighter, piloted by Oblt Emil Woltersdorf of II./NJG1. It crashed into the sea near Borculo (Gelderland), 8 km SE of Lochem, Holland, killing all on board.

Their bodies were recovered and, with the crew of another bomber lost in the same raid, were buried in the Borculo General Cemetery, which holds just these 10 WW2 Commonwealth casualties. James's family took the option of adding a personal inscription to his headstone on Collective Grave U.1-5,

"Only a step removed! / We soon again shall meet, / Around the Saviour's feet."

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Not listed in the Book of Remembrance

Kenneth's birth was registered in Q1 1923, apparently the only child of Cecil Maurice Johnson to Winifred Kate (née Warrington).

The parents were both originally from Wimbledon. The 1911 Census recorded the 15 year old Cecil (already at work as a "Shipping Clerk") living with his widowed father (a "Surveyor") and two older brothers at 11 South Park Road Wimbledon. The 1901 Census recorded the 7 year old Winifred living with her parents (her father was a "Printer & Linotype operator") and five siblings at 73, Graham Road, Wimbledon. In the 1911 Census (by which time the 17 year old Winifred was working as a "Clerk"), she and her family were living at 5 Kirkley Road, Merton.

The parents' Q1 1923 marriage was registered in the Kingston District (which extended to Wimbledon and Merton), but they appear to have made their first home in the Croydon District, where Kenneth's birth was registered in 1923. They later moved to the Borough, and were living at 78 Seaforth Gardens, Stoneleigh when, aged only 44, Cecil died in the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen's Square, London, on 19 June 1938. Neither the widowed Winifred nor Kenneth is readily found in the September 1939 Register, but that may well be the "of Ewell" address noted for Winifred noted in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's post-war records.

During September 1941, the 18 year old Kenneth enlisted in the Royal Air force Volunteer Reserve at Euston with a Service Number 1806593. No details are yet to hand about this period of service. On 27 August 1944, whilst still serving as an Aircraftman 2nd Class, he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer (new Service Number 180244) with a group of volunteers for the Glider Pilot Regiment. He became a member of the Glider Pilots Regiment's No 2 Wing He trained at RAF Tarrant Rushton, Dorset, to fly the General Aircraft GAL.49 Hamilcar glider.

WW2 gliders were nothing like the wispy modern recreational aircraft. Instead, they were substantial machines. The smallest could carry a dozen combat-equipped troops and the Hamilcar was designed to carry a light tank. These gliders were towed into the air by heavy bombers and released short of their targets to which their pilots - such as Kenneth - would then make an unpowered (and silent) descent and landing. After landing, the pilots were then expected to fight as infantry.

By March 1945, the Allied armies had advanced into Germany as far as the Rhine which was a formidable natural barrier to progress. The airborne Operation Varsity - dropping paratroops and (with the use of a total of 440 gliders) landing material behind enemy lines to support the amphibious crossing - was part of the answer.

On 24 March 1945, Kenneth was the pilot of one of the 16 Hamilcars involved in the operation, transporting M22 Locust light tanks and other heavy equipment such as anti-tang guns with their vehicles and crews. The operation was an overall success, in which the gliders' contribution was an important element. Inevitably, there were losses on the way: the gliders' slow speed and large size made them easy targets for anti-aircraft fire. And some gliders that made it to their destination had difficult landings, in a number of cases making the equipment they had brought unusable. landing point, which resulted in a number of gliders being damaged or destroyed.

The following was recorded at RAF Tarrant Rushton on 1 April 1945 :-

"C Sqn - Casualties for Operation 'VARSITY' - Lt. Graefe - Lt Kennard, D.C. P/O Hanson, G.B. P/O Johnson, K. Missing. - also N.C.Os (Army) 11 Missing, 1 PW, N.C.O's (RAF) 9 Missing, 1 PW, 1 Killed."

Although Kenneth was initially reported missing, it was later established that he had been killed in action. He and a fellow airman were initially buried at Ringeberg, north of Wesel in Nordrhein-Westfalen. On 9 December 1947, they were reinterred in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery - near the Rhine in the extreme north-west of Germany, just south of Arnhem in The Netherlands. The Cemetery was created after WW2 when burials were brought in from all over western Germany. With some 7,600 servicemen buried or commemorated there, it is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the country.

Kenneth's mother took the option of adding a personal inscription to his headstone on Grave 42.D.9,

"Every day the whole time through just awearying for you. Mother."

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Anthony's birth was registered in Erpingham, Norfolk in Q2 1920. He was the second child of Frederick Leonard Jones and Blanche Lucy (née Burrows). The family background is more than a little complicated.

His father had been born in Spalding, Lincolnshire in 1889 and, after education at Spalding Grammar School, became a Journalist and moved abroad. In 1912, he became editor of the "Malay Mail" in Kuala Lumpur. On 11 October 1915 at St Georges's Church, Penang, Frederick married Blanche Lucy Burrows, originally from Norfolk. The first child, Margaret Elizabeth, was born in in the Federated Malay States during 1917 but, as noted above, Anthony's 1920 birth was registered in Norfolk. 3 May 1921, the 32 year old Blanche - together with the 3 year old Margaret and 7 month old Anthony - sailed from London on the SS Glenluce to return to Port Swettenham, Malaysia. The manifest notes that her last address in the UK had been 8 Buxton Road, Norwich - perhaps her parents' address.

The readily available records are not clear about quite what happened next. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records note that, in addition to Anthony's being the "son of Frederick Leonard and Blanche Lucy Jones" he was the "nephew and ward of Esmond V Jarrold, of Ewell, Surrey". This must the connection which led to Anthony's inclusion in the Borough's Book of Remembrance but, as noted below, there is also some more immediate family connection.

Anthony's uncle and guardian, Esmond Vavasseur Jarrold, was born in Norfolk in 1887. In Q3 1913, he married Elsie J Burrows. They had two children: daughter Vivien J, born in Norwich in February 1915; and son David J E, born in Mutford, Suffolk in Q3 1928. The family subsequently moved to the Borough. There is an early 1930s record of them living at "Ferncote" Woodcote Side, Epsom. By 1936 they had moved to "Roxley" 87 The Green, Ewell. They were recorded there in the September 1939 Register. 52 year old Esmond is listed as "Leather Goods - Director". Both 44 year old Elsie and their 24 year old daughter are listed with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties". There is one currently closed record at the address, presumably covering 15 year old David. (Esmond was still at 87 The Green when he died on 30 August 1960.)

A reasonable presumption is that, while Anthony's father continued living and working in Kuala Lumpur (in modern-day Malaysia), Anthony had been sent back to the UK and put in the care of his uncle Esmond.

Anthony is not found in the September 1939 Register (probably because he was already in uniform). It is a surprise to find his mother and sister recorded in the Register living alone at 74 Alexandra Road, Epsom. (It is not currently known how ling they had been resident there.) 51 year old Blanche is listed with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties" and 22 year old Margaret as a "Model". On 26 September 1939, a few days before the Register was taken, Anthony's father Frederick is recorded setting sail alone to return to Kuala Lumpur (where the family's address was 88 Circular Road). The ship's manifest notes that he had been staying at 74 Alexandra Road. Blanche also returned to Kuala Lumpur, perhaps after Margaret had married Dennis B Panting, registered in the local Surrey Mid Eastern District Q2 1940. (We shall return to Frederick and Blanche - who were also WW2 casualties - at the end of this article.)

From 23 October 1939, Anthony was granted a Short Term Commission of 4 years as an Acting Pilot Officer. He advanced to Pilot Officer on probation, 20 April 1940, and that position was confirmed on 14 August 1940. He was posted to 10 Squadron, part of the RAF's Bomber Command and stationed at RAF Leeming In Yorkshire. The Squadron was equipped with the Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley - which, as illustrated below, flew in a distinctively nose-down attitude. (Until the arrival of the four-engined Avro Lancaster in February 1942, the Whitley was the RAF's heaviest bomber.)

We know of two occasions when Anthony nearly met his end. On the night of 5/6 August 1940, He was the second pilot aboard Whitley P4952 which took off from RAF Leeming at 20.48 hours on an operation to bomb the Dornier aircraft factory at Wismar. The aircraft was struck by a flak in the front turret, but the pilot was able to take evasive action which saved the aircraft from further damage. None of the crew was injured and the Whitley landed safely at Leeming 04.25 hours.

On the night of 20/21 September 1940, Anthony was the pilot of Whitley P5001 KA-S which, at 21.17 hours, took off from RAF Leeming on an operation to bomb primary targets of Hamm, Soest and Ehrang around Cologne. They dropped their bombs on railway lines at one of the primary targets around 01.00 hours in a series of three attacks. The aircraft's port wing was hit by anti-aircraft fire, but the damage was relatively slight and, at 05.15 hours, the Whitley landed safely back at Leeming where the flak damage was quickly repaired.

On the night of 5/6 November 1940, Anthony was again piloting Whitley P5001 KA-S on an operation to Milan. (Two of the other four aboard had also survived the 20/21 September flight.) They reported that the operation had been completed at 23.59 hours, but the aircraft was last heard from transmitting distress signals. It crashed into the sea about 10 miles east of Kent's North Foreland, killing all on board.

Their bodies were never recovered. 20 year old Anthony and his four crewmates (the youngest of whom was only 18) are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, among the more than 20,000 airmen and women who were lost in WW2 operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known grave.

To return to the fate of Anthony's parents, Frederick and Blanche were back in Kuala Lumpur when, on 8 December 1941, the Japanese declared war on the UK and invaded Malaya. Like other civilians, they sought to escape from the advancing Japanese Army, and managed to made their way to Singapore at the south of the Malayan peninsula. By 7 February 1942, the Japanese had advanced to the outskirts of Singapore Island and the civilians there looked for boats to take them away.

Frederick and Blanche found passage on the HMS Giang Bee. This coastal steamer was completed in Rotterdam in 1908 as the Reijnierz. In 1939, she had been sold to the Chinese-owned Heap Eng Moh SS Co and renamed Giang Bee. She was requisitioned into naval service in April 1941 for use as a patrol vessel, hence the HMS. Captain Lancaster, in command of the ship, initially refused to take civilian passengers because he saw the dangers attached to a craft designated as a warship. However, at 10 pm on Thursday 12 February 1942, the Giang Bee left Singapore Harbour with up to 350 refugees who were mostly women, children and the elderly. All her Malay crew had been ordered ashore in Singapore before she left, so that the crew consisted of a handful of RNVR. personnel and some passengers who volunteered to be stokers etc.

The Giang Bee was bombed and suffered damage during the day of 13 February, and in the evening, after a long stand-off in the Banka Strait with a Japanese destroyer, was shelled and sank quickly. The ship had only four lifeboats - with space for barely a tenth of the crown on board - and two of them had been seriously damaged by the day's bombing. Many - including the 52 year old Frederick died in the sinking.

Blanche, however, survived and was interned in the Palembang women's camp on Sumatra. Circumstances for Japanese-held civilian internees were barely less harsh than those for Prisoners of War. Blanche succumbed to the conditions and died on 8 December 1944, aged 58. With many other casualties from the camp, she is buried at Muntok on nearby Banka Island.

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Not listed in the Book of Remembrance

Arthur's common names make it hard to trace his family background with any confidence in the readily available records. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's records note that he was "of 11 Cambria Road, Camberwell, London", and that is where he was recorded in the September 1939 Register. The details in that Register are that he was born on 15 July 1886, was married and that his occupation was "Shopkeeper, Off License Grocery". Also at the address was Kathleen Mary Jones, also married - presumably to Arthur, notwithstanding the 19 year age difference (she was born on 22 June 1905). Instead of the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties", she is listed with "Paid Domestic Duties". There is one currently closed record at the address, perhaps their child.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Arthur was injured by enemy action on 16 April 1941 while at home (so presumably not in connection with his WW2 Home Guard activities). He was taken to the Emergency Hospital at Horton - one of Epsom's cluster of mental hospitals that, as for WW1, had been taken over to deal with military and civilian wartime casualties - where he died eleven days later, on 27 April.

If Kathleen was also injured, it was not fatally.

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Not listed in the Book of Remembrance

Thomas was born on 7 December 1907. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records note that he was the "son of Thomas and Mary Jones" but, with such common names, his family background cannot be traced with any confidence in the readily available records.

In Q2 1935, the 27 year old Edward married 23 year old Alice Aileen Minor. The marriage was registered in the Barton Upon Irwell District of Lancashire, but the September 1939 Register records the couple living at 25 Portway, East Ewell. Edward is listed as "Departmental Manager Accumulator Maker" (an "accumulator" being a lead-acid battery as used in cars etc) and Alice with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties". Also at the address were:

• what appears to be their only child, 2 year old Marian (whose 12 February 1937 birth had also been registered in the Barton Upon Irwell District);
• Jessie Minor, being Alice's 58 year old widowed mother; and
• 30 year old Albert Philips - as "Accounts Department Manager Accumulator Maker", presumably one of Edward's colleagues.

(The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's post-war records note that the widowed Aileen was "of Stoneleigh", but that address has yet to be established.)

Edward's WW2 service was in the Merchant Navy, as the 1st Radio Officer on SS Observer, a steam merchant of 5,881 tons. She had been built in Glasgow in 1928 and was owned by T & J Harrison of Liverpool.

In late 1942, SS Observer was partway through a voyage from Mersin in Turkey to New York, via Cape Town and Trinidad. Unescorted - but with 9 gunners among her complement of 81 - she left Cape Town on 29 November with her cargo of 3,000 tons of chrome ore. By 16 December, SS Observer was about 350 miles off the most easterly part of Brazil when she was located by U-176 which began pursuit. Observer's Master took evasive action and U-175 chased her zig-zag course for 9 hours. At 21:27 hours, the U-boat fired two torpedoes. Both scored direct hits and SS Observer sank within 30 seconds.

The Master and 65 others - including Edward - were lost. Only 14 crew members and one gunner survived, landing at Fortelaza in Brazil.

As one of the many thousands of Merchant Seamen who died during WW2 and have no know grave, Edward is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

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Not listed in the Book of Remembrance

Llewellyn (in some records, "Llewelyn") was born in June 1920, the third son of Hector Greenly Jones and Edith M (née Williams - they had married on 22 June 1911 in Llandegfan, Anglesey). The family lived at 5 Bryn Difyr, Bangor, and this is where the parents and two currently closed records are found in the September 1939 Register. 51 year old Hector is listed as "LMS Railway Parcel Porter" and 50 year old Edith with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties". While Hector is recorded as "Hector G Jones", Edith's married surname "Jones" was later amended to "Greenley-Jones", and the family surname is seen as "Greenly-Jones" in many subsequent records.

Llewellyn attended the Central School in Bangor, after which he was employed as a sales assistant at the Lotus & Delta shoe shop in Bangor High Street. However, well before the outbreak of WW2, he left the job to join the Welsh Guards. He will have been sent to France in 1940 as part of the British Expeditionary Force and, after the German invasion, evacuated from Dunkirk. As part of the subsequent rebuilding and strengthening of British forces, the 3rd Battalion Welsh Guards was formed at Beavers Camp, Hounslow on 24 October 1941 and Llewellyn was assigned to this.

In February 1943, Llewellyn married Vera Grace Keen. The marriage was registered in the Surrey Mid Eastern District which covers the Borough of Epsom and Ewell. Vera's Q3 1923 birth had been registered in the then Epsom District - as was the Q1 1923 marriage of her parents, Charles Keen and Annie L Bridger. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's post-war records note that the widowed Vera was "of Ewell, Surrey", but that address has yet to be established.

Very shortly after Llewellyn's marriage, his Battalion set sail for North Africa where they joined Montgomery's 8th Army, the "Desert Rats". By mid-April they were fighting on the Enfidaville Line about 60 miles south of Tunis. After the tide of the Desert War had been turned at the Second Battle of El Alamein in November 1942 and the near simultaneous Allied invasion of Algeria, fierce fighting on both flanks was forcing Axis troops towards Tunis. The Allies' final push for Tunis began on 6 May.

On 8 May, the Battalion was under fire outside Enfidaville. As he went to help others, Llewelyn was shot in the neck by a sniper and killed. He is one of the 1.466 Commonwealth WW2 casualties buried in the Enfidaville War Cemetery near the coast sixty miles south of Tunis. The family took the option of adding a personal inscription to Llewellyn's headstone on Grave VI.B.18,

"Though you lie far away in a land across the sea dear Llew, in our hearts you will ever be."

Four days after Llewellyn's death, the Axis forces in North Africa were finally overcome. More than 230,000 men surrendered. As prisoners of war, many were sent to camps in Llewellyn's home patch of North Wales.

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Percy was born on 14 July 1896, the second child of Thomas Henry Joy and Mary Ann (née Cozens - their Q3 1893 marriage was registered in the East Grinstead District). Percy's birth was registered in Dorset, the county from which Mary and her family came. However, the 1895 birth of his older sister, Hilda, had been registered in Epsom.

The 1901 Census records the family of four living at Stoke Villas, Burgess Road, Basingstoke, and Thomas is listed as a "Railway Clerk". By the time of the 1911 Census, the four were living in West Street Epsom. 43 year old Thomas is now listed as a "Milk Vendor", working from home - and 42 year old Mary Ann as "Assisting in the Business". 16 year old Hilda is listed as "Student Civil Service", and 14 year old Percy Franck as "School and Errand Boy". (Living with them were Mary Ann's widowed father, 73 year old Henry Cozens - listed as a jobbing gardener - and two school girl nieces.)

On 20 January 1916, the 19 year old Percy attested in Kingston for the 10th Battalion of the East Surrey Regiment with the Service Number 7014. He was 5' 6" tall and listed as a Chauffeur. While Percy was in uniform, his father died in Q2 1917. His widow continued the Dairy business as 5 West Street - at least for the next decade under her late husband's name. In the 1930 and 1934 Kelly's Directories, Mary's own name is listed as the proprietor.

At some point after WW1 - and, given his father's death, perhaps sooner rather than later - Percy joined the family Dairy business. In Q3 1925, he married Mary Harris Longhurst, registered in the Easthampstead District of Berkshire. They had two children, both born in Epsom - Mary, born Q1 1927 and Philip, born Q2 1932.

The September 1939 Register records the couple living at 136 Manor Green Road, Epsom. 43 year old Percy is listed as "Dairyman (Master)" - the family business is listed in the 1938 Kelly's Directory as "Joy's Dairy", still at 5 West Street - and 45 year old Mary with the conventional "Unpaid Domestic Duties". There are two currently closed records at 136 Manor Green Road, doubtless of their teenage children. Also living with them was Percy's older sister Mary, now-widowed with the surname Dix and listed as "Civil Service Clerk (Inland Revenue)". (Percy's mother, Mary, had also lived with them there until her death in Q3 1938.)

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's records note that, on 16 December 1940, Percy was injured (by enemy action) at Laburnham Road, Epsom, and died later that day at Epsom County Hospital.

Percy was buried in Epsom Cemetery on 19 December 1940, in the same plot (A479) as both his parents.

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