~ Families & People ~
Wartime Memorial
LOWER GORNAL World War One ~ World War Two    •    UPPER GORNAL World War One ~ World War Two
Lest We Forget
UPPER GORNAL
The Second World War 1939 - 1945
The local men or the Parish who have lost their lives in World War II.
J. Allden A. Allen B. Clarke J. Dando J.H. Davies
L. Farmer H.B. Hammond T. Harper W.H. Harper F.E. Harrison
H. Hartill C. Howarth E. Hughes J.E. Johnson T.L. Lloyd
A. Marsh L. Nicholls D.L. Parsons J.W. Perry F. Price
F.M. Ryan R. Smith W. St. C. Stanley A.J. Watton T. Westwood
    B. Oldroyd
The memorial is situated inside St. Peter's Church, Upper Gornal - the screen at the West end of the Church.
Also the new memorial in The Parade, Upper Gornal.
John Allden
1683001 Bombardier; Royal Artillery 8 H.A.A. Regiment.
Died on 11th January 1945, age 31 years.
Husband of Olive Allden (formerly Allen) m.1939, of Upper Gornal.
[Delhi War Cemetery. 3.D.3]
Arthur Allen
4038101 Gunner; Royal Artillery, 143 Lt. A.A. Regiment.
Died on 11th November 1944, age 34 years.
Son of George and Alice Allen, of Upper Gornal.
[Ruiton Congregational Chapel. N.E. of chapel]
Benjamin Clarke
C/JX 317663 Ordinary Seaman; Royal Navy, H.M.S. Martin.
Died on 10th November 1942, age 19 years.
Son of John Thomas and Hannah Clarke, of Upper Gornal.
[Chatham Naval Memorial. 57, 2]
M-Class Destroyer, H.M.S. Martin, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-431 on 10 November 1942 off Algiers whilst supporting the invasion of North Africa. There were only a small number of survivors.
J. Dando.
Information needed.
John Henry Davies
S/1659288 Private; Royal Army Service Corps.
Died on 28th July 1944, age 27 years.
Son of Joseph and Sarah Jane Davies, of Ruiton; husband of Olive Davies (formerly Brettle) m.1938, of Upper Gornal.
[Ruiton Congregational Chapel. S.E. of chapel]
Leonard Farmer
11418652 Gunner; Royal Artillery, H.Q. 121 (4th Battalion. The Leicestershire Regt.) Lt. A.A. Regt.
Died on 23rd December 1943, age 21 years.
Son of Edward and Martha Farmer, of Upper Gornal.
[Ruiton Congregational Chapel. Opposite south door of chapel]
W.H. Harper
Information needed.
H.B. Hammond
Information needed.
E. Hughes
Information needed.
Charles Thomas Harper
2735907 Guardsman; Welsh Guards,3rd Battalion.
Died on 25th August 1944, age 27 years.
Son of Mrs. E. Harper, of Upper Gornal.
[Arezzo War Cemetery, Italy. VI.A.4]
Frederick Ernest Harrison
1877013 Lance Corporal; Durham Light Infantry, 9th Battalion.
Died on 27th June 1942, age 22 years.
Son of Alfred Ernest and Alice Maud Harrison, of Upper Gornal.
[El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt. XXIX.B.9]
Horace Hartill
FAA/FX. 93960 Naval Airman 2nd Class; Royal Navy, H.M.S. Dasher.
Died on 27th March 1943, age 20 years.
Son of Herbert Parker Hartill and Elizabeth Hartill, of Upper Gornal.
[Lee-On-Solent Memorial. Bay 4, Panel 4]
H.M.S. Dasher was an Avenger Class Aircraft Carrier.
On 27th March, 1943, on return from convoy escort operations, whilst at anchor in the Clyde Estuary, H.M.S. Dasher mysteriously suffered a major internal explosion and sank in minutes.
Dasher, an American built civilian cargo vessel, was converted to an aircraft carrier in 1941 by installing, among other things, a wooden fight deck. Opinion suggests that leaking aviation fuel stowage tanks and a build up of vapour may have caused or contributed to the explosion(s), the disaster was hushed-up by the government for obvious reasons.
Horace Hartill was among the 379 men lost.
Private Howarth.
Clifford Howarth.
5046300 Private; North Staffordshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion.
Died on 30th December 1944, age 33 years.
Son of Oscar and Jane Howarth; husband of Leah Howarth (formerly Fellows) m.1938, of Upper Gornal.
[Florence War Cemetery, Italy. VI.E.6]
Edward 'Ted' James Johnson.
4920618 Private; The Parachute Regiment, A.A.C, 2nd Battalion.
Died on 8th September 1944, age 29 years.
Son of Cpl. T. S. Johnson, M.M., and of Mrs. Johnson; husband of Edith Johnson, of Upper Gornal.
[Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, Netherlands. 6.B.11]
Thomas Lawrence Lloyd.
4928063; Lance Bombardier, Royal Artillery, Unit 4 Airlanding Anti Tank Battalion.
Died on 24th March 1945, age 22 years.
Son of Thomas and Ellen Lloyd (nee Brownhill) of No. 7 Inhedge Street, Upper Gornal.
[Reichswald Forest War Cemetery. 41.C.8]
Arthur Marsh.
5830661; Private, Cambridgeshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion.
Singapore, captured 1942, Japanese Prisoner of War.
Died on 22nd January 1943, age 24 years (DOB 16.10.1918).
Of Badger Street Street, Upper Gornal; Son of Thomas and Mathilda Marsh of 19 Eve Lane, Upper Gornal.
[Chungkai War Cemetery. 12.G. 5]
Leonard Nicholls.
Information needed.
D.L. Parsons.
Information needed.
Benjamin Oldroyd.
1084594 Sergeant; Rear Gunner, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 214 Squadron.
Died on 21st April 1943, age 22 years.
Son of Charles Henry and Sarah Ann Oldroyd (nee Pearcey), of Smethwick.
[Ruiton Congegational Chapelyard, East of church]
Rear Gunner on a Stirling bomber; Sgt. Oldroyd was killed during a mission to bomb the Heikel works at Marienheim.
Private J.W. Perry.
John William Perry.
4804907 Private; The Lincolnshire Regiment.
Died on 4th April 1943, age 25 years.
Son of Samuel and Dorothy Perry, of Upper Gornal.
[St. Peter's, Upper Gornal churchyard. N.E. of church]
F. Price.
Information needed.
Frederick M. Ryan.
Information needed.
Raymond Smith.
2666552 Guardsman; Coldstream Guards, 2nd Battalion.
Died on 20th April 1945, age 21 years.
Son of Oswald J. and Sarah Ann Smith, of Upper Gornal.
[Argenta Gap War Cemetery, Italy. IV.B.20]
Clare Stanley.
1102699 Leading Aircraftman; Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
Died on 24th June 1944, age 36 years.
Son of Thomas and Amelia Stanley, of Upper Gornal.
[Singapore Memorial, Singapore. Col.439 ]
POW death, Hell Ship (Japaneses POW transport ship), burial at sea/missing.
A.J. Watton
Information needed.
Thomas Westwood.
5258005 Private; Pioneer Corps.
Died on 18th May 1944, age 27 years.
Son of Mary Ann Westwood, of Upper Gornal
[St Peters churchyard, Upper Gornal. N.E. of Church]
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At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.
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The above named men were researched from the existing Memorial list.
Any additional comments have been researched from existing public records, published material and family members..
Any corrections, additions, pictures or stories welcomed, please contact me.
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1941: South Yorkshire Times
Despite the tragic losses of local men, many more survived the war albeit some with life changing injuries.
Many proved themselves heroes defending the Nation and our freedoms - we salute you.
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