Born: 5th November 1898. Died: 1974.
Story
On 18th August 1915, John Rhodes was one of 150 men from Kippax listed by the Castleford and Pontefract Express as having enlisted, although the Regiment was not listed and has not been found, so it is not certain whether he saw active service. However, the only John Rhodes living in Kippax at the time was baptised on 4th December 1898, and he was the son of George Rhodes (1873-1902) and Mary Jane Tiffany (1874-1946), and they lived at Park Place, Kippax. After John’s father passed away when John was 3 years-old, his mother re-married William Brookes, who was nineteen years her senior, and they continued living at Park Place. After the War, John married Florrie Bickerdike in Kippax on 19th August 1922, and the couple lived on 15 Leeds Road, Kippax, with their four children, Betty, Enid, Mary and George. John was a general labourer and passed away at the age of 75.
Airman William Mitchell Rhodes
Royal Airforce, Service no. 189764
Born: 11th February 1900. Died: 21st October 1967.
Story
William was the son of Victor Rhodes Clayton (1870-1947) and Emily Mitchell (1865-1945), and was born at Goodbine Place, Kippax, before the family moved to 36 West View, Robinson Lane. William’s parents had a difficult marriage, and had separated 1896, however despite their words in Court, they continued to live together, and had William in 1900, and another son Cecil in 1903.:
On 13th November 1915, William’s father was assaulted by two brothers, William and George Webster. Victor was beaten to the floor, punched and kicked in the eye and back after a dispute the previous day in the pub about change. William Webster denied charges but was fined.
William Rhodes joined the Royal Airforce on 28th May 1918. He was 5 ft 5½ inches tall, and was working as a motor mechanic. After the war, he ran his own Garage, and lived at Geldersyde, Tatefield Place with his wife Annie Easby, whom he married in Kippax on 1st September 1926.
By this time, William had become a pioneer of Kippax bus services, and during the Second World War, William also served as a Special Constable in Kippax. He passed away aged 67, and was buried in Kippax. His death was also noted in the press:
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