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The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQs
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
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Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
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Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Want to know more about 1st Battalion, Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry? There are:1334 items tagged 1st Battalion, Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Pte. Leonard Rigby 1st Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.26th of May 1944) Leonard Rigby served with the 1st Kings Own Yorkshire Light InfantryJust to keep his memory alive.
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Robert Matthew Leary 1st Battalion, C Company Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry  My father, Bob Leary and two brothers enlisted before the war and when war broke out my father was transferred to Strensall Queen Elizabeth Barracks to help make up 1st Battalion, Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
My uncle told me that he lost track of my father but met up with him some time later and was told that my father had been in London for some high up reason and had been to Holland. My father had told me that he'd been part of a group to evacuate the Dutch royal family as German paratroopers were after them.
He embarked on the Viceroy of India on 30th (or possibly 20th) August 1942 and arrived in Bombay on his birthday which was 24th October 1942.
While in Poona the regiment changed to 149 RAC squadron which was made up of A B C & D squadrons and that led to him fighting in Burma.
My aunt told me that a ship my father was on was hit and he was in the water for some time and suffered shell shock but only had two weeks leave and then had to go back to his regiment. I don't know any more details of that.
After Burma he came back to the UK on the Empress of Burma.
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Pte. George Walter "Jud" Hill 1st Batallion Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry My father, Jud Hill, died in 2012.
He was definitely in India during the war, he bought a gold ring there but when he was swimming in the sea he lost it. He always claimed that it was because the gold was not going to leave India
In Italy (I think) on 13th of June 1943, almost all of his battalion was lost due to friendly fire.
Shortly after this he was posted missing. In fact he was in a wine cellar and drowning his sorrows.
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Pte. Richard Arthur Schofield 1st Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.26th Apr 1940) Richard Schofield was my mums cousin. He was named after his uncle, Richard Markham M.M. who died in France in 1918.
Richard died, aged 19, in the Norwegian Campaign and is commemorated in the Kvam Cemetery, Norway.
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Pte. Alfred Crossland 1st Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.10th of May 1944) Alfred Crossland served with the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Light Infantry in WW2. He died 10th of May 1944 aged 20 years and is buried Beach Head War Cemetery at Anzio in Italy. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Henry Crossland of Wyke, Bradford, Yorkshire.
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Pte. Alfred Walstow 1st Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.6th May 1940) Alfred Walstow is buried in the Lesjaskog Churchyard in Norway.
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Sgt. Harold Cammidge 1st Btn. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.1st May 1945) Harold Cammidge served throughout the war. He was wounded in action in Sicily and, sadly, killed in action on 1st May 1945 in the town of Potrau near Hamburg.
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Pte. William Henry Gledhill 1st Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry  My grandfather William Henry Gledhill joined the 4th Battalion King's own Yorkshire Light Infantry Territorial Army in April 1936. He joined the regulars, 1st Battalion KOYLI in July 1936. William served in Gibraltar, Burma and in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force in September 1939 to defend the Belgian-French border. On 10th May 1940 German forces invaded France driving the British forces through Belgium and north-western France, and forcing their eventual evacuation from several ports along the French northern coastline in Operation Dynamo. The most notable evacuation was from Dunkirk. During this time William was captured by German forces and spent the rest of the war in a German prisoner of war camp Stalag VIII-B344 in Lambinowice, Poland. His POW number was 5077. William was forced to work in German coal mines until January 1945. As the Soviet armies resumed their offensive and advanced into Germany William, like most prisoners, was marched westward in groups of 200 to 300 in the so-called Death March until he was liberated by Allied forces.
In November 1945 William was medically discharged from military service with chronic bronchitis, arthritis and rheumatism of the knees and ankles.
William Henry Gledhill received the 1939–45 Star and War Medal 1939–1945.
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Pte. George Frederick Levick 1st Batt Kings Own Yorkshire Light Inf My uncle George Levick was captured in Italy on 22/01/1944 whilst serving with the 1st Battalion of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (K.O.Y.L.I) with the 15th Infantry brigade he was sent to Stalag IVB then on 29/02/1944 was transferred to Stalag IVD his P.O.W number was 270602
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John Cunliffe Jessop 1st Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry My uncle, John Cunliffe Jessop, according to notes my grandfather made, was moved to Oflag VIIB before 2 May 1941. He was in the 1st KOYLI and was captured in Norway. Before Oflag VIIB he had been in a "reprisal camp" in Poland. He was one of those moved to Moosburg (Stalag VIIa) starting on 14 April 1945. Except that he produced a number of embroidered pictures while he was there, I don't think that I have any other information. I have been told that many of these were embroidered with sock wool because someone (I think the Red Cross) was able to supply wool for darning socks. These were therefore browns and greys or whatever colours were used for men's socks. At some stage he did have a range of bright colours.
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