Royal Air Force, 244th Squadron, Service no. 1000747
Born: 11th July 1919. Killed in Iran: 8th June 1943, aged 23
Story
William was the son of William Lavin (19.07.1883 – 1960) who was a veteran of the First World War, and Emily Ellis (25.01.1885- 1972). His parents were both originally from Great Preston. William was living with his parents at 18 Cliff Crescent before the War, and had been employed as a Clerk on Garforth Urban Council. He was also a keen cyclist, and attended Castleford Grammar School. He joined the RAF in 1940, and became Captain of his overseas station football team. His sister Annie married Percy Gummerson who was a Prisoner in the Second World War.
William’s commander informed his parents that William had been killed instantly in a plane crash, in which he was a passenger, and that he had been buried, along with three of his comrades, in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s cemetery. His parents were sent a series of photos of the funeral.
William was reinterred at the Tehran War Cemetery, 2. D. 10.
Kippax Roll of Honour 