Dennis Roy Worsdale

1864592, Flight Sergeant (Wireless Operator), 500 Squadron. Royal Air Force (VR)

Killed In Action on the 16^th April 1945 aged 20.

Flight Sergeant Dennis Roy Worsdale

Dennis was the son of James & Lizzie Worsdale who lived at 57 Ellis Avenue. He was educated at the Letchmore School and volunteered for the RAF in 1943 and trained as a Wireless Operator.

He joined his Squadron in the autumn of 1943 and began performing operational flight bases in Egypt and Italy. On a day in which should have begun a weeks leave in the newly liberated city of Rome the Baltimore aircraft in which he was flying failed to return from a reconnaissance mission. In a quirk of fate his crew had replaced the one scheduled for the operation.

At the end of April 1945, a few weeks before the end of the war, his Squadron Commander wrote to his mother saying, " There is some hope that he is a POW as the flight was not unduly dangerous and was unlikely to be disastrous for any of the men" . He could not have been more wrong. The cause of the loss is unknown.

Dennis is buried in the British War Cemetery in Padua, Italy. (4.F.8)

Crew of BALTIMORE FW799 -U

Number	Rank	Name	Age
158734	F/O	Lawrence Michael MATTHEWS	21
162218	F/O	Douglas Eric PALMER	22
1864592	F/SGT	Dennis Roy WORSDALE	20
591964	F/SGT	Roger Henry NELSON	21

Donald Sam Wright

2/Lieutenant, 8th Bedfordshire Regiment, ( Formerly PS/8241 19th Royal Fusiliers ).

Died Of Wounds on the 25^th April 1917 aged 21.

Second Lieutenant Donald Samuel Wright

Donald Wright was born on the 25^th June 1895 the son of Samuel Eustace Wright, a local mineral drinks manufacturer. He was educated at Caldicott school and later at Bishop Stortford college.

He enlisted in the Army on the 13^th July 1915 just a few weeks after his 20^th birthday and served as Private 8241 in No.14 Platoon, “D” Company of the 19^th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. He was posted to France on the 8^th January 1916 and joined his Battalion in the field on the 17^th January. He then served on the Western Front for exactly four months and on the 18^th May 1916 was posted England to undertake a cadetship at No.6 Officer Cadet Battalion. The Battalion was located at Balliol College, Oxford and he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on the 25^th September 1916.

Donald was posted to the Bedfordshire Regiment on the 20^th October 1916 and embarked for France on the 10^th November. He joined the 8^th Battalion on the 27^th November 1916 and served with them on the Western Front throughout the winter of 1916/17. On the 16^th April 1917 the Battalion moved into Front Line positions at Loos. A few days later, on the 19^th, they were involved in bitter fighting in the area and were subjected to heavy artillery barrages and grenade attacks. Donald Wright received serious shell wounds to his right eye, face and chest and was evacuated to No.18 Field Ambulance. Later that day he was moved to No.33 Casualty Clearing station at Bethune, where he remained for six days. The nature of injuries must have been quite serious as he was moved to No.35 General Field Hospital in Calais on the 25^th April where he died at 11pm that night.

Donald is buried in the Calais Southern Cemetery, France.

Headstone Inscription: "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This"

Medal Entitlement: British War Medal & Victory Medal

Ronald Wright

1576483, Bombardier, 126 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. (9th Middlesex Regiment). Royal Artillery.

Died 17^th December 1945 aged 28.

The grave of Bombardier Ronald Wright in the Munster Heath War Cemetery, Germany.

Ronald was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, on the 28th June 1917, the son of John & Florence Wright. The family later lived at 114 Letchmore Road, Stevenage. He was a member of the St. Johns Ambulance Brigade and worked as a wood machinist prior to joining the Army.

He married Eileen Hepworth in 1943 and at the time of his death she was living in Lupset, Yorkshire.

Ronald died on the 17th December 1945 as a consequence of uraemia, caused by chronic kidney disease.

He is buried in the Munster Heath War Cemetery, Germany. (1. A. 21.)

Headstone Inscription: "Sweet Is The Memory, Silently Kept, Of One We Loved And Will Never Forget"

Ronald George Wright

203281, Private, 6th Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers.

Private Ronald George Wright

Killed In Action on the 26^th July 1918 aged 19.

George lived at 36 Basils Road, Stevenage and had previously been employed at ESA.

On the 26^th July 1918 the Battalion were in the front line at Meteren. The Germans made a determined raid on the British positions but had been driven off. Heavy shelling also took place and Ronald Wright and several comrades were killed when a shell fell into their trench. He was buried the next day with two of his comrades, Lance Corporal Lennox Blyth Fenton aged 31, and Private Arthur Whiteley aged 30.

Ronald and his comrades are buried in the La Kreule Military Cemetery, France. (3.B.1.)