Willie BENSON

4619283, Private. b. 1917, Bradford d. 21st March 1941 (aged 23).

A soldier whose final resting place was near to home, Willie had been brought up by his parents David and Vesta Benson at 8 Alexander Square in Clayton.

The 1939 census finds Willie, aged 22, working as a woolcomber. He was soon to leave this occupation and enlist. Willie joined the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment early on in the war as an Infantryman.

Immediately war broke out the 1^st Battalion was sent to France, where according to battalion history ‘little happened’ until May 1940, when the Germans attacked. In the ensuing retreat to Dunkirk the 1^st Battalion formed part of the rearguard covering the embarkation of the BEF.

It is unknown whether Willie was involved in Dunkirk or saw active service abroad, but he apparently died of wounds at home and was laid to rest in Clayton Baptist Chapelyard. It may have been that Willie was sent home to recuperate and died shortly after.

Some years later the CWGC documentation lists his headstone as being removed and a memorial plaque erected in place. This memorial may have been lost during the subsequent demolition of the old Church. The graveyard still exists.