Obituary

WWII Normandy veteran Roy ‘Smudger’ Smith from Sittingbourne in Kent died in hospital on Friday 23 June, he was 97. Roy Smith is survived by his two daughters, Linda Harvey and Teresa Rising, five grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. Roy was born in November 1925 in Sittingbourne, Kent, the second youngest of seven children. From…

In September 1944, at the age of 19, Frank Ashleigh was the youngest airman to take part in Operation Market Garden. Frank Ashleigh from Kingsbury, who served in WWII with the Glider Pilot Regiment died on 18 June 2023 after a short stay in hospital, he was 98. Frank is survived by his wife Mavis…

100 year old WWII veteran Tommy Parkinson from Gospel Oak died on 2 June 2023. WWII Veteran Tommy Parkinson was born on 6 March 1923 and celebrated his 100th birthday this year. Tommy volunteered for Air Crew when he was 17. Having passed his health and aptitude tests but failing his maths, he joined the Rifle…

The Taxi Charity was saddened to hear that WWII veteran Alexander ‘Alec’ Campbell Borrie, who served with 1st SAS had died in Darent Valley Hospital. WWII veteran Alec Borrie, 98, died in Darent Valley Hospital on 21 May. He was one of the last surviving members of the 1st SAS. Alec Borrie volunteered for the…

Born on 21 June 1924, WWII veteran Robert ‘Robbie’ Larnach from Lybster near Caithness in Scotland died on 26 February 2023 aged 98. One of seven brothers he was conscripted  in 1942  and served with the 25th Field Regiment Royal Artillery. He landed on Sword beach on D Day +15 on his 20th birthday and…

WWII naval veteran Len Hobbs, 98, died peacefully at home on Monday 31 October with his daughter Elizabeth at his side. Born on 1 August 1924, Len Hobbs from South Woodham Ferrers, near Chelmsford, joined the Royal Navy in 1943 and after completing his basic training at HMS Ganges was sent to the Isle of…

WWII veteran Danny McCrudden, 98, who served with the Royal Navy’s Pacific Fleet on the Destroyer HMS Queenborough died on 22 October 2022 aged 98. WWII Veteran and entertainer Danny McCrudden from Dagenham was married to his beloved wife Ruby for seventy years. Due to ill health Danny had recently been living in Blenheim Care…

WWII veteran John Clarke MBE, from Ware in Hertfordshire died on Wednesday 5 October aged 98. Born 19 April 1924, John was just 17 when he volunteered for the Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment. When he was old enough to go to war he travelled widely fighting in  North Africa, Italy and Greece. In Italy,…

WWII Veteran Albert Wiltshire, who served with Combined Operations in the Royal Navy in WWII died on 16 September at the age of 99. Albert Wiltshire 99, from  Rotherhithe was married for fifty years, before losing his wife in 2012, they had two children, four grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Conscripted as a wireman (an…