War Graves of Pudsey Cemetery
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was established by Royal Charter in 1917 as the sole organisation charged with commemorating the Commonwealth forces who died during the two World Wars.
As such the CWGC are responsible for the graves and memorials of over 1.7 million fatalities in more than 150 countries and territories. In the UK we commemorate over 300,000 service men and women in over 12,300 cemeteries, and burial grounds.
Most but not all of our Service personnel either buried or remembered in Pudsey Cemetery are registered with the CWGC.
The plots associated with the memorials naming those lost or buried abroad, and those not yet recognised by the CWGC,
are cared for by the volunteers of the Friends of Pudsey Cemetery & Chapel.
Our Second World War burials have been photographed and recorded to mark the 75th Anniversaries of VE and VJ Day.
The following page rememberers those who gave their lives in the service of the Nation.
As such the CWGC are responsible for the graves and memorials of over 1.7 million fatalities in more than 150 countries and territories. In the UK we commemorate over 300,000 service men and women in over 12,300 cemeteries, and burial grounds.
Most but not all of our Service personnel either buried or remembered in Pudsey Cemetery are registered with the CWGC.
The plots associated with the memorials naming those lost or buried abroad, and those not yet recognised by the CWGC,
are cared for by the volunteers of the Friends of Pudsey Cemetery & Chapel.
Our Second World War burials have been photographed and recorded to mark the 75th Anniversaries of VE and VJ Day.
The following page rememberers those who gave their lives in the service of the Nation.
|
|
|
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/search-results/?CemeteryExact=true&Cemetery=PUDSEY%20CEMETERY&Size=100&Page=1
Burials from the Second World War
Corporal Ronald PaceyB129, Consecrated.
Corporal Ronald Pacey aged 23 died on 4/26/1943 Service number 2126638 unit: Royal Engineers 16 Bomb Disposal Company Ronald Pacey was born in September 1919 in Easington, Durham, his father, William was 38 and his mother, Elizabeth, was 34. He had seven brothers and one sister. |
|
|
Gunner Arnold Jessop
B380, Consecrated.
Gunner Arnold Jessop aged 22 died on 7/23/1941 Service number 952029 unit: Royal Artillery 37 Signals Training Regiment The 37th STR were based in Scarbourough during WW2. Arnold Jessop was born in July 1918 in Bierley, Yorkshire, only son of Mr and Mrs H Jessop. He had lived at 31 Longfield Mount, Pudsey. |
|
|
Petty Officer Stoker Jim Walden
F388, Consecrated.
Petty Officer Stoker Jim Walden aged 30 died on 7/31/1945 Service number 'P/KX 83817' unit: Royal Navy H.M.S. Bahamas Son of John George & Polly Walden, Jim died in an accident whilst on active duty. |
|
|
Sergeant Stanley Coates
F022, Consecrated.
Sergeant Stanley Coates aged 22 died on 8/15/1942 Service number 1043403 unit: RAF Volunteer Reserve 57 O.T.U Best friend of Ronnie Muir who is buried next to him. Second son of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence William Coates, of 3 St James Crescent Pudsey. Stanley was awarded a City and Guilds 1st Class Certificate and was a noted model builder & skilled mechanical engineer, his work was even featured in Pathé newsreels - see below video. He was training with 57 Operational Training Unit at RAF Hawarden, Flintshire, qualifying on Spitfires when he died in a crash landing at Carmel Farm, Holywell in North Wales. He was given a service of remembrance at Pudsey Parish church, his funeral was attended by the local ARP sections and Home Guard - the Last Post being played by a Home Guard Bugler. |
|
Best friends Stanley and Ronnie buried side by side
|
Flight Sergeant Ronald Muir
F457, Consecrated.
Flight Sergeant Ronald Muir aged 20 died on 7/28/1941 Service number 643697 unit: RAF 90 Squadron Best friend of Stanley Coates whom he is buried next to. Born 1921 in Troqueer Parish, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. Ronnie had moved to Pudsey with his sister after the sudden death of his mother. He was to work at Appleyards garage in Leeds, and joining the RAF in 1939 was sent to test flight high altitude missions with the elite No90 (B) Squadron based at Royal Air Force Station Polebrook, Northamptonshire. Serving as a Wireless op/gunner, Ronnie and his crew died in a flying accident onboard Boeing B-17 Fortress Type 1. WP.E. “E-Easy” AN534. |
|
|
Private Arthur Varley
F466, Consecrated.
Private Arthur Varley aged 39 died on 3/26/1943 Service number 13108115 unit: Pioneer Corps Son Of Isaac And Isabella Varley; Husband Of Ellen Varley, his wife and daughter lived at 34 The Marsh. Arthur died in hospital following an accident, formerly he worked at Messrs Cohen's of Stanningley. |
|
|
Gunner Joseph Heaney
F545, Consecrated.
Gunner Joseph Heaney aged 32 died on 4/15/1942 Service number 1641839' unit: Royal Artillery 84 Searchlight Regt. Joseph Heaney was born on 6 October 1908 in Pudsey. His father, Michael, was 36 and his mother, Sarah, was 34. He had two brothers and two sisters. He died on 15 April 1942 in Rotherham, Yorkshire, at the age of 33 - his date of death may have coincided with the German Baedeker raids on Sheffield. |
|
|
Sergeant (Pilot) Ronald Minke
A753, Unconsecrated
Sergeant (Pilot) Ronald Minke aged 22 died on 6/26/1944 Service number 1520914 unit: RAF Volunteer Reserve 4 Elementary Flying Training School Born in Barnsley, son of Arthur and Lucy Minke, lived at New Street Gardens, Pudsey. Ronald died whilst serving with No 4 Elementary Flying Training School, at RAF Valley in Angelesy. |
|
|
Sub-Lieutenant (A) John Richard Heyworth Huggan
C329, Unconsecrated.
Sub-Lieutenant (A) John Richard Heyworth Huggan aged 22 died on 5/19/1942 unit: Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve H.M.S. Heron. Son of William and Edith Dorothy Huggan, of Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire. John died in an air accident whilst piloting Fairey Fulmar serial number BP813, also killed was Air Mechanic 2nd class John William Longson. Also named on the same plinth is his brother; Lieutenant William Huggan Service N°: 121702 Aged 27 Royal Army Ordnance Corps died on 11/08/1942, buried at Heliopolis War Cemetery Egypt. |
|
|
Lance Corporal Robert Garnett
in tD145, Unconsecrated
Lance Corporal Robert Garnett aged 34 died on 12/18/1941 Service number 546482 unit: Corps Of Military Police Son Of James And Catherine Garnett; Robert was husband of Mary Kathleen Garnett and lived at Radcliffe Terrace, Pudsey. He had been in the regular Army before rejoining and had also worked for the Pudsey Coal depot of the Leeds Coop. Robert died in a motorcycle accident whilst on active duty in Northern Ireland. |
|
|
Private Squire Briggs MM
D146, Unconsecrated.
Private Squire Briggs MM aged 48 died on 10/10/1941 Service number 13001006 unit: Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regt. 8th (Home Defence) Battalion. Son of Squire and Frances Briggs; Dearly beloved husband of May Briggs, they lived at 2 Grangefield Houses, Stanningley. Squire was awarded the Military Medal during WW1 and served with the 3rd West Yorks training Battalion but also must have seen serious active Service later in the War to have been decorated. At the start of the Second World War, the 8th (Home Defence) Battalion of the QORWKR was raised in 1939, and consisted of men with previous military experience, along with younger soldiers. Presumably they were based on the South Coast in preparation for the anticipated German invasion. Squire joined the Home Guard, and in recognition of his previous service was sent South to this important unit. However two years later, Squire fell ill and was sent back home, he passed away on P Ward of Seacroft Hospital. The Home Guard platoon in the BBC series Dad's Army wore the cap badge of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regt... Dad's Army was based partly on co-writer and creator Jimmy Perry's experiences in the Local Defence Volunteers (later known as the Home Guard). Perry was only 17 years old when he joined the 10th Hertfordshire Battalion. When the TV series came to be recorded, the now World famous platoon was portrayed as part of the 8th (Home Defence) Battalion Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment that Squire Briggs had served with. |
|
|
Aircraftwoman 1st Class Dorothy Whiteley
D147, Unconsecrated.
Aircraftwoman 1st Class Dorothy Whiteley aged 22 died on 4/1/1944 Service number 472395 unit: Womens Auxiliary Air Force 199 Sqdn. Born April-June 1921 and daughter of Lewis Whiteley and Maud Dalby. Dorothy lived at 25 Garfield Terrace, Stanningley before joining 199 Squadron at RAF Lakenheath with the WAF. Dorothy died whilst serving, in Ely Hospital of causes unknown, and has the distinction of being the only woman named on Pudsey Cenotaph. |
|
|
Troop Sergeant Major Stewart Cooney
G Unconsecrated.
Troop Sergeant Major Stewart Cooney aged 95 died on 6/9/2016 Service number 3/4/4318 unit: Royal Artillery Stewart was originally trained as a lacemaker. He fought at the notorious Battle for Monte Casino with the Royal Artillery. He worked in the textile mills of Farsley after demobilisation and was married to Betty. Stewart passed away alone in a care home in Bramley, lost to his own family. Thanks to the dedication of the staff at the care home and the Co-op Funeral Directors, Stewart was given the public send off that he deserved, and was finally found by his sister and family. |
|
|
Private Lawrence Tidswell
H153, Unconsecrated.
Private Lawrence Tidswell aged 50 died on 3rd Aug 1944 Service number '13013496' unit: Pioneer Corps United Kingdom Lawrence Tidswell was born on 6 January 1894 in Pudsey and lived just around the corner from The Kings arms pub. His father, Alfred, was 41 and his mother, Louisa, was 41. Lawrence married Lydia Spiers on 14 November 1920 in Old Ford, Middlesex. Lawrence died on 3 August 1944 in Shorne, Kent, at the age of 50, whilst serving with the Pioneer Corps as part of the DDay support operations. His older brother Archie was killed at the Battle of Arras in 1917, and is also named on Pudsey Cenotaph. Archie is buried at the CWGC Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery. |
|
|
Private Samuel Beaumont
H262, Unconsecrated.
Private Samuel Beaumont aged 35 died on 7/11/1945 Service number 13010603 unit: Pioneer Corps Samuel Beaumont was born in 1910 in Pudsey, and lived at 63 Littlemoor Road. Son of Arthur and Alice and one of four brothers. Both parents were members of the Mount Tabor congregation on Waterloo Road. Samuel died on active duty 7 November 1945 at the age of 35, and is not named on Pudsey Cenotaph. Also buried here: His father Arthur served in WW1 with the Royal Field Artillery, enlisting aged 28 on 13th April 1915 at Leeds and trains at Wetherby. Joins 155th B Battery, discharged 1st July 1919 with 14-15 Star, War Medal, Victory Medal. Died on 8 Apr 1920 from Vascular Heart Disease aged 33, his wife Alice was declined the pension. Arthur is also named on the Cenotaph and the Fartown Parish Church Sunday School. Also buried here: Albert Edward Beaumont, sadly drowned at Littlemoor Dam 26 July 1916 aged 7. |
|
|
Private Alfred Henry Caygill
H396, Unconsecrated.
Private Alfred Henry Caygill aged 42 died on 7/25/1942 Unit: Home Guard 2nd Battalion West Riding (Bradford) - one of 4 Home Guard Battalions in Bradford and their area of operations also covered Pudsey. Alfred Henry Caygill was born on 21 January 1900 in Pudsey, his father, Alfred, was 42 and his mother, Mary, was 39. He married Clara Johnson in July 1922 and they lived at no2 Inn Street, Stanningley. |
|
Burials from the First World War
Private Robert Wade - Pudsey's first WW1 casualty, and our first war grave to be restored for his centenary in September 2014.
