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Funny where life takes you…

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Category: Second World War

Sergeant John William “Jack” Kearley

Shot down over Germany during a bombing run, aged 21

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour (1939-1945) January 15, 2026June 24, 2026 2 Minutes

Aircraftsman 2nd Class George Frank Valentine Killick

Killed on his first familiarisation flight, aged 29

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour (1939-1945) January 15, 2026June 24, 2026 2 Minutes

Private Leslie Albert Mann

Lost during the evacuation of Greece, aged 35

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour (1939-1945) January 15, 2026June 24, 2026 2 Minutes

Mr Frank William Ruck

A civilian killed during an air raid, aged 35

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour (1939-1945) January 15, 2026June 24, 2026 2 Minutes

Serjeant Roland H C Stewart

Missing, assumed killed in action in Italy, aged 26

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour (1939-1945) January 15, 2026June 24, 2026 3 Minutes

Private John Henry Taylor

Missing during the Dunkirk evacuation, aged 22

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour (1939-1945) January 15, 2026June 24, 2026 3 Minutes

Denis Frederick Dean Wilder

Shot down over France while on a bombing run, aged 24

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Gas Company Roll of Honour (1939-1945), Second World War January 15, 2026June 24, 2026 3 Minutes

Each Name a Story: The Lives Behind a Forgotten War Memorial

Fifteen young men, lost too soon, their names rediscovered from a forgotten Second World War memorial in Rochester. These are stories of courage, sacrifice, and the people behind the names

Natalie Mayhew 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, England, Kent Electric Power Co Roll Of Honour (1939-1945) October 17, 2025June 24, 2026 2 Minutes

A Voyage of Controversy

Black and white photograph of British minesweeper HMS Pickle during service in WW2. The ship is all dressed up with flags and members of the crew line the deck

Peter Poulton (1925–2004) sailed aboard HMS Pickle during the historic 1946 voyage that marked the end of Sarawak’s White Rajahs

Natalie Mayhew Asia & Pacific, 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, Seafaring & the Navy, Second World War June 4, 2025June 24, 2026 11 Minutes

Witness to surrender: Far East 1945-46

Peter Poulton (1925-2004) left behind photographs and letters that illuminate his wartime experiences in the Far East during and after World War II

Natalie Mayhew Asia & Pacific, 👥 Beyond the Family Tree, Seafaring & the Navy, Second World War May 16, 2025June 24, 2026 4 Minutes

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Funny Where Life Took Them
Some of the surnames on this site — click one to find stories behind it

Bailey Baker Banfield Banfield aka Wackrill Barrett Baynes Booth Bovill Bowes-Lyon Brevoort Bristow Brock Carson Chaldecott Collingwood Conway-Gordon Coolidge Cooper Cotton Courtauld Daley Dibben Dowman Down Earle Finch Fitzgerald Gordon Hall Harvey Hill Irving Kirby Krug Lane? Levens Mayhew Mayo Napier Obee Payne Poulton Rose Saumarez Sheldrake Todd Twohey Wackrill Whetten

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