Aberystwyth War Memorial SWW Surnames K-Z

The following men from the Aberystwyth area died in active service. With thanks to Steven Joh

  • Ivor Martin Kendall, Aircraftman 2nd Class, 1470879, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of Ivor J Kendall and Sarah Kendall, of Ponterwyd. Served at the Apprentices Training Unit, RAF Halton. He died on actice service at Aylesbury on 10 January 1942, aged 19. Buried at Yspytty Cynfyn (St. John The Baptist) Churchyard.
  • David Richard Doughton Lewis, Seaman, LT/JX 205200, Royal Naval Patrol Service. Son of Edward Thomas Lewis and Elizabeth Sarah Ann Lewis, of Aberystwyth, husband of Frances Rowlands Lewis, of Aberystwyth. Served aboard the minesweeper HM Trawler Orfasy, sunk by a German submarine on 21 October 1943 near Freetow, Sierra Leone. The ship exploded and its entire crew were lost. David was 31 years old. Commemorated on the Lowestoft Naval Memorial, Suffolk.
  • Dennys Markham Lewis, Able Seaman, Merchant Navy. Son of Edward Thomas and Elizabeth Sarah Anne Lewis of Aberystwyth. He served aboard SS Empire Heron, sunk by a German submarine with the loss of 42 of its 43 crew on 15 October 1941, while crossing the Atlantic on route to Manchester with a cargo of sulphur. Dennys was 23 years old. Commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London.
  • George Daniel Lewis, Sailor, Merchant Navy. Son of William and Margaret Lewis, of Aberystwyth. Served aboard SS George H Jones. The ship was sailing in a convoy from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Scotland with a cargo of fuel oil when it was ordered to make for the Azores after developing engine trouble. On 11 June 1942 the ship was sunk by a German submarine but most of the crew were rescued, including Trevor Evans and Jack Sweeney of Llanon. Dan and a gunner were lost in the sinking. Dan was 24 years old, and is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London.
  • David Mann, Engineman, LT/KX 125167, Royal Naval Patrol Service. Born in Pwllheli in 1921, son of Richard Mann and Catherine Mann (nee Roberts), of Pwllheli. He married Florence Parry of Aberystwyth in 1942. Served aboard HM Trawler Birdlip, an anti-submarine trawler which was sunk by a German submarine on 13 June 1944 while on patrol off Greenville, Liberia. David was 23 years old. Commemorated on the Lowestoft Naval Memorial, Suffolk.       
  • John Powell Middlehurst, MID, Flying Officer, 41605, Royal Air Force. Son of Richard Foster Middlehurst and Dorothy Elizabeth Middlehurst, of Aberystwyth, husband of Joan Middlehurst. Served in 113 Squadron and was mentioned in despatches. In summer 1941 the squadron was based in north Africa, flying the Bristol Blenheim to strafe enemy convoys and bomb airfields and harbours. John died, aged 21, when his aircraft was lost on a mission on 2 July 1941. Commemorated on the Alamein Memorial, Egypt.
  • Kathleen Miller, Third Officer, Women's Royal Naval Service. Daughter of Henry and Jane Anne Miller, of Englefield Green, Surrey. Born in Llanbadarn, Aberystwyth. Served aboard HMS Cormorant, a receiving ship which moored at Gibraltar. Kathleen died at sea on 19 August 1941, aged 34. Commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire.
  • Ronald Henry Morgan, Leading Aircraftsman, 1381382, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of Henry George and Mabel Morgan, of Birmingham. On 16 May 1941, Ronald was flying in a Tiger Moth when it hit a balloon cable and crashed at Walsgrave. Both Ronald and his pilot were killed. Ronald was 28 years old, and was buried with full military honours in Aberystwyth Cemetery.     
  • John Daniel Parry, Stoker, LT/KX 125170, Royal Naval Patrol Service. Husband of Rhoda Lilian Parry, of Gorleston, Norfolk. Served aboard HMS Southern Flower, an anti-submarine trawler. On 3 March 1945, it was sunk by German submarine U-1022 off Reykjavik, Iceland. John was 23 years old when he died that day. Commemorated on the Lowestoft Naval Memorial, Suffolk.
  • Gareth Pryse-Howell, Sergeant, 1282866, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of John P Howell and Phyllis P Howell, of Aberystwyth. Killed on 12 October 1942, probably while part of the crew of a Bristol Beaufort. He was 22 years old. Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey.
  • Gwilym David Rees, Private, 14415287, Welch Regiment. Served with the 4th Battalion, Welch Regiment, which was the Carmarthenshire TA battalion and attached to the 53rd (Welsh) Division. In June 1944 the division landed in Normandy, and later took part in the drive through northern France into the low countries. Gwilym was killed, aged 19, in the fight to capture s’Hertogenbosch on 23 October 1944. Buried in Uden War Cemetery, Netherlands.
  • Eric Charles Roberts, Gunner, 907348, Royal Artillery. Son of John T and Jennie Roberts of Aberystwyth. Served with 146 (Pembroke Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery. Reformed as field artillery, the Pembroke Yeomanry's Cardiganshire Battery became a separate regiment on the outbreak of the Second World War, numbered the 146th Field Regiment. It landed in Suez in September 1942, joining the Eighth Army in time for the battle of El Alamein. Converted to medium artillery in England, the regiment landed in France in July 1944 and took part in the drive through northern France into the low countries. Eric was killed on 2 November 1944, aged 25. Buried in Venray War Cemetery, Netherlands.
  • Gerald Brinley Roberts, Sergeant, 651715, Royal Air Force. Son of William Evan and Ercilla Roberts. Served as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner with 77 Squadron, which carried out reconnaissance and security patrols in the early months of the war. Gerald was killed when his aircraft was shot down over Germany on 28 June 1941. He was 24 years old. Buried in Hamburg Cemetery, Germany.
  • Thomas Glyn Roberts, Gunner, 1717208, Royal Artillery. Son of William and Priscilla Roberts, husband of EM Roberts, of Aberystwyth. He served with 239 Battery, 77 Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, which was a TA unit raised in South Wales. Thomas was captured by the Japanese in Java when Java capitulated in March 1942. He survived over two years in captivity but died as a prisoner of war on 8 November 1944, aged 33. Commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, Singapore.
  • William Glyndwr Roberts, Gunner, 1133737, Royal Artillery. Served with 4 Regiment, Royal Artillery. The regiment served in the North African campaign before returning to England to train for the invasion of Europe. William was killed during the fighting to break out of the Normandy beach-head on 17 July 1944. He was 21 years old. Buried in Tilly-Sur-Seulles War Cemetery, Calvados, France.
  • Evan John Stephens, Sergeant, 967065, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Served with the 335th Fighter Group, based at RAF Steeple Morden, in Cambridgeshire. Evan was reported missing, believed killed on active service, on 24 August 1940. He was 20 years old. Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey.
  • Bryan Robert Thomas, Sergeant, 1051799, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Son of Edward Campbell Thomas, of Briarley, Iorwerth Avenue, Aberystwyth. Served as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner with 142 Squadron. In 1941 the squadron flew the Vickers Wellington on night bombing missions. Bryan was killed, aged 29, when his Wellington was brought down over northern Europe on 21 October 1941. Buried in Sage War Cemetery, Germany. The bodies of many airmen lost in bombing raids over northern Europe were brought from other cemeteries and rebuired in this cemetery after the war.
  • Harold Thomas, Chief Officer, Merchant Marine. Son of Captain Thomas and Sarah Ann Thomas, of Aberystwyth. Served aboard SS Ocean Crusader, a British-registered Liberty ship sunk off Newfoundland by a German submarine on 26 November 1942. The Liberty ship had been making its maiden voyage from Portland, Maine, to Avonmouth, England, when heavy weather separated it from the rest of its convoy. All hands were lost. Harold was 43 years old, and is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London. 
  • Edward Hammond Whitehouse, Flight Lieutenant, 42035, Royal Air Force. Son of Wallace Edward and Mabel Whitehouse, of Aberystwyth. Served as a Pilot with 264 Squadron, which was reformed on 8 December 1939 at Martlesham Heath to bring the Boulton Paul Defiant fighter into service. In March 1940 the squadron started convoy patrols. After initial successes the Luftwaffe soon realised that the Defiant was vulnerable to frontal attack, and the squadron started losing many aircraft and crew. Edward was killed when his Defiant Mark I was downed by a Messerschmitt Me109 on 28 May 1940. He was 24 years old. Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey.
  • Kenneth Jarratt Wilkinson, Bombardier, 927666, Royal Artillery. Son of Charles Richard and Florence May Wilkinson, of Aberystwyth. Served with 146 (The Pembroke Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. The 146th was raised in Cardiganshire and joined the Eighth Army in time to take part in the Battle of El Alamein. Afterwards it became part of the 7th Armoured Division, taking part in the advance to Tripoli. The regiment fought with the Desert Rats until the fall of Tunis in May 1943. Kenneth was killed there on 8 May 1943, aged 21. Buried in Massicault War Cemetery, Tunisia.
  • D. Edwin Williams, Merchant Navy.
  • David John Williams, OBE, Master, Merchant Navy. Son of David and Annie Williams, of Aberystwyth. A long serving Mariner, he had been awarded the Lloyd's Medal for lifesaving at sea and been created an Officer of the British Empire. Served as Master of SS Empire Tower, which was sunk by a German submarine on 5 March 1943 while travelling from Huelva and Gibraltar to Middlesbrough. Among the 38 dead was David, aged 38. Commemorated alongside his crew on the Tower Hill Memorial, London.
  • George Henry Wynne, Sergeant, 847519, Royal Air Force (Auxiliary Air Force). Son of Edward Price Wynne and Emma Gertrude Wynne, of Trefechan, Aberystwyth. Served as a Navigator. George was one of three men who died in an aircraft accident while training at RAF Lossiemouth on 4 August 1942. He was 30 years old. Buried in Lossiemouth Burial Ground, Scotland.