Halford, Leonard George (Len)

Age: 27
Date of birth: 10th December 1915

Parents: Albert and Edith Halford
Wife: Rose Halford (nee Lewis)
Address: 39 Charles Street, Warwick

Occupation: Worked at Dewhurst's Butchers in Regent Street, Leamington Spa

Len was born in Lambeth, London on 10th December 1915. He had one brother Albert (1913-1982) and a half sister Mary Grundy (1920-1981).

Len’s father Albert was born in Leamington in 1892 and served in the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment in WW1. He was killed in action in France in March 1918. Len’s mother Edith (1892-1938) married Sidney Grundy (1888-1951) in Warwick in 1919.

Len married a local girl, Rose Lewis, in 1938 shortly before the death of his mother. They had one daughter Sonia born in 1942, shortly before his death. According to the 1939 census Len and Rose were living at 39 Charles Street, Warwick and Len was working as a butcher’s assistant.  Rose died in 2003 aged 87.

The 1940 article from the Warwick Advertiser was part of a series featuring local men serving in the forces.

Military Service

Rank & Number: Lance Bombardier, 1550057
Regiment/Service: 27 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
Brigade/Division: 149 Battery
Date of death: 20th January 1943
Cause of death/Battle: Killed when he drove over a land mine
Commemorated/Buried: Buried in Tripoli War Cemetery, Libya. 10. E. 11.
Awards:
Commemorated locally at: All Saints Church, Emscote

Len joined the Royal Artillery in February 1940 and was initially stationed at an anti-aircraft battery in England.

Contributors

  • Unlocking Warwick Research Group
  • Warwick Advertiser excerpts courtesy of Warwickshire County Record Office
  • Cemetery photograph courtesy of Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

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