Oakham Town WWII
The War Memorial in the churchyard of All Saints, Church, Oakham
1939 – 1945
B H COPE W GOODWIN R S DENNISON G MEADWELL M FORD J W H NEALE R A GREGG D OLDFIELD 
1939 - 1945
C PADMORE H B SMITH H POPE R W E SMITH C RAWLINGS K SNOW J A SHARPE R F WAKEFIELD C P WORMALD 
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The Fallen from WW2
Benjamin Harry COPE Corporal, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, 1st Airborne Division. Army no. 4913728 He died in action on 17 September 1944 which was the day of the airborne assault on Arnhem. He was 29 He was the son of Henry Tickney and Harriet Cope of Oakham and the husband of Dorothy M Cope of Lincoln. He is buried in grave 1 B 8 Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery Additional information I suspect that the CWGC record errs. 19 is a very young age to be a full Corporal in the Parachute Regiment, or so I am informed! Plus the parents' names of Benjamin Harry Cope are Harry and Harriet and they married in Oakham in 1914 and lived in Oakham after WW1 until they died in 1951 and 1953. Should this be incorrect, please tell me Raymond Stuart DENNISON Captain, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment seconded to 46th Battalion, King's African Rifles. Army no. 180120 He died on active service on 9 February 1945 in Burma. He was 33 He was the son of Joseph Samuel and Kate Mary Dennison of Oakham He is remembered on face 8 of the Rangoon Memorial Additional information He attended Oakham School 1924-1928 as a Day Boy The King's African Rifles were part of the 14th Army, the Forgotten Army under the command of Viscount Slim. This Army invaded Burma from the north and, whilst fighting in appalling conditions and with serious logistical problems steadily defeated the Japanese in Burma. Morgan FORD Sergeant (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner), 106 Squadron, Royal Air Force. RAFVR no. 956103 He died on active service on 30 June 1941. He was 28 He was the son of George H and Mary Ford of Oakham He is buried in Coll grave 1 E 7-9 Sage War Cemetery, Near Oldenburg, Germany Additional information He attended Oakham School as a Day Boy 1924-1929 Morgan Ford was killed in action with 106 squadron on 30 June 1941. Hampden I, AD895 took off from RAF Coningsby on a mission to Bremen. It was shot down by the night fighter of Obit Reinhold Eckardt of 11/NJG 1. The aircraft crashed at 02.55 hours on 30 June 1941 near Utersen, 23 kilometres from Hamburg. All of the crew were killed: Pilot Officer Murray R F Baker, Sergeant Morgan Ford, Sergeant John H Bevans and Sergeant George E Smith Raymond Alfred GREGG Private, 2nd/5th Battalion, The Queen's Royal (West Surrey) Regiment. Army no. 6106372 He died on active service on 7 December 1943 in the fighting at the Gustav Line. He was 21 He was the son of George and Mary Ann Gregg, of Oakham He is buried in grave I F 22 Minturno War Cemetery, Italy Wallace GOODWIN Gunner, 153rd (The Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. Army no. 318520 He died on active service on 2 July 1940. He was 22 He was the son of Doris Elizabeth Goodwin of Oakham, He is buried in grave 4 Kilcommon Erris Church of Ireland Churchyard Belmullet, Ireland Additional Information One of the very rare cases of the loss of a military transport occurred on 7 August 1940, when the Mohamed Ali el-Kebir, carrying 732 naval and military personnel, supplies and equipment, from Avonmouth to Gibraltar, was torpedoed and sunk by a U-boat. The destroyer Griffin, the sole escort saved about 740 including 2 naval officers and 59 ratings, 20 army officers and 505 other ranks, leaving 120 presumed lost. http://mohamed.ali.el-kebir.freewebspace.com/The%20Sinking.htm George MEADWELL Private, 12th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). Army no. 4982619 He died on active service on 16 August 1944. He was 30. He was the son of John William and Eveline May Meadwell of Oakham He is buried in grave 2 A 4 Imphal War Cemetery, India Additional Information He was involed in the training of troops in jungle warfare John William Henry NEALE Gunner, Royal Artillery. Army no. 999582 He died on 27 February 1941. He was 31 He was the son of Earnest A and Florence M Neale He is buried in grave 8, Compartment 75 Oakham Cemetery His death in recorded in the Civilian Registrations (Exeter 5b 319 Mar 1941) which implies that he had left the army as a result of his health. Dan OLDFIELD Telegraphist, HMS Foxglove, Royal Navy. RNVR no. P/WRX 555 He died on active service on 9 July 1940. He was 28. He was the son of Robert and Mary Jane Oldfield of Oakham He is buried in grave E 52 17 Haslar Royal Naval Cemetery Additional Information HMS Foxglove was an Acacia-class sloops which survived WW1 and saw service in WW2. She was dive-bombed and badly damaged by German aircraft off the Isle of Wight on 9 July 1940. She remained afloat, and was converted into an accommodation and base ship. 20 of the crew died Cyril PADMORE Gunner, 223 Battery, 75 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. Army no. 1594594 He died on active service on 30 January 1944. He was 29 He was the son of Thomas and Louisa Padmore and the husband of Hilda Elizabeth Padmore of Oakham. He is buried in grave 6 G 7 Habbaniya War Cemetery, Iraq Hugh POPE Second Lieutenant, 2nd/5th Battalion, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment. Army no. 113783 He died on active service on 27 May 1940. He was 22. He was the son of Arthur C and Mary B Pope, Bank House, Oakham He is buried in grave plot 2 row H grave 2 Carvin Communal Cemetery Additional information He attended Oakham School, boarding in School House, 1926-1936. He was a Prefect, Captain of Cricket Team. After Oakham, Hugh Pope attended Sidney Sussex, Cambridge and gained a BA. He had intended to take Holy Orders. In the retreat to Dunkirk, there was a British counter-attack by the 50th Division, who took up positions along the canal on a line from La Bassée to Carvin. The canal crossings were held and a German attack which had caused the French North African troops to fall back on Carvin was checked on 26 May 1940. Charles Wilfred RAWLINGS Private, 2nd Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment Army no. 6286243 He died on active service on 16 September 1942. He was 21 He was the son of Cecil H and Kate Rawlings of Oakham He is remembered on face 8 of the Rangoon Memorial Additional Information He was a Chindit John Arthur SHARPE Sergeant (Flight Engineer), 218 Squadron, Royal Air Force. RAF no. 527639 He died on active service on 21 August 1942. He was 27 He was the son of Herbert and Margaret E Sharpe and the husband of Joan M Sharpe of Downham Market, Norfolk He is buried in grave 2 J 1 Kiel War Cemetery Additional information He attended Oakham School as a Day Boy 1926-1930 218 Squadron was equipped with Stirlings in February 1942. In July 1942, the unit re-located to RAF Downham Market. Stirling Mark I, BF338, HA Q took off at 20.15 hours on an operation mine laying in the Cadet Channel in the Baltic and crashed at Hoffnungstal Marietal. He was buried initially at Schiewig and later moved to Kiel. One of the crew was taken prisoner. Those who died were: Flight Sergeant Leonard Hartley, Sergeant John A Sharpe, Sergeant Norman Podmore, Pilot Officer Isaac C Newell, Flight Sergeant Colin H Barrow and Sergeant George E S Wren. 4 other Stirlings from 218 Squadron were lost on this operation. Harold Bertie SMITH Private, 1st/5th Battalion, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment. Army no. 4859156 He died on active service on 23 April 1940. He was 20 He was the son of Harold Bertie and Edith Annie Smith, of Oakham. He is buried in grave I E 1 Lillehammer Northern Civil Cemetery Additional Information The Allied forces were rushed to Norway to repulse the German Invasion. The campaign lasted from 9 April to 10 June 1940 and it was not successful. Lillehamer was a key battle ground in late April Ronald William Edward SMITH Ordinary Seaman, HMS Versatile, Royal Navy. RN no. C/JX 409541 He died on active service on 26 January 1944. He was 18. He was the son of Harold Bertie and Edith Annie Smith of Oakham. He is remembered on panel 76 1 Chatham Naval Memorial Additional Information The records show that he was missing presumed killed. At the time this Destroyer was on Convoy Protection duty for Convoy HX275 which sailed from New York and Halifax to Liverpool K SNOW The only likely candidate is Kenneth John SNOW but I am not convinced Guardsman, 4th Battalion, Coldstream Guards. Army no. 2665301 He died on active service on 30 July 1944. He was 21. He was the son of Leonard Horace and Mary Snow. He is buried in grave V D 7 St. Charles De Percy War Cemetery, Calvados, France Additional Information He was killed in the major thrust made from Caumont l'Evente towards Vire, to drive a wedge between the German 7th Army and Panzer Group West Robert Frederick WAKEFIELD Private, 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment, Army no. 14292600 He died on active service on 3 September 1944 as the Allied Forces captured Rimini. He was 23 He was the son of James P and Nellie Wakefield of Oakham He is buried in grave I B 6 Gradara War Cemetery, Italy Charles Patrick WORMALD Lieutenant, 5th/7th Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders. Army no. 180329 He died on active service on 5 November 1942. He was 22 He was the son of the Revd. Charles Octavius Richard Wormald MA, and Ada W C Wormald of Oakham Vicarage He is buried in grave XI H 25 El Alamein War Cemetery Additional Information He is also remembered on the Great Ballard School Roll of Honour in the Church of St Margaret Eartham, Sussex see: http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Sussex/Eartham.html |