Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment
Born: 14th January 1914. Died: 1975
Story
William’s parents were George Edward Stead (1886-1963) and Emma Heckingbottom (1885-1948), and they lived at 8 New Street. William’s father, was a coal miner, and served at Gallipoli in the Great War in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was mentioned in Dispatches during the landing at Dardanelles.
William followed his father into the military, and was in the reserves before the War, and served in India. At the outbreak of War, he saw King George VI whilst serving in the Maginot Line. William was part of the British Expeditionary Force, and won the Military Medal for bravery during an incident in Belgium before the Dunkirk evacuation: the first such award to a Soldier from Kippax in the Second World War. He was among the last to leave Dunkirk, as he missed the last ship, so with five other colleagues he commandeered a small boat, and set out to cross the Channel. After seven hours, William and his pals were picked up by a Destroyer of the famous Dover Patrol, known as the ‘Rescue Regatta’.
On 3rd October 1941, it was reported, William had travelled to Buckingham Palace to be awarded his Military Medal by King George VI. The King noticed William was wearing the North-West Frontier (India) medal ribbon from his early days of service, and after shaking his hand, had a talk with him about India.
On 11th June 1943, it was reported that William was based in the Middle East, and had met up with a number of other soldiers who lived in Kippax, including George Jeffs and George Watson. After the War William married Ada Cheesbrough (1908-1978) in Kippax on 30th March 1946. William passed away in 1975 at the age of 61.
Kippax Roll of Honour 