Leslie Claude Birch

This story and photos are shared by the Trust with kind permission from Mavis Williams, Researcher. Photos and additional information are courtesy of francescacane on Ancestry

Connections between names on the memorial are often through friendships or brothers. But this story shows a slightly different family connection. It is one is one of two stories, one for Leslie Birch and one for John Arnold, who were brothers-in-law linked by the marriage of Leslie Birch's sister, Irene, to John Arnold. But both would be killed in Normandy in 1944.

Leslie Claude Birch was born the June quarter of 1919, the youngest son of William Henry & Annie Ada Maud Birch (née Hawkes). We see Leslie Claude Birch for the first time in the 1921 census, which was taken on the 19th of June 1921, when he is living at 2, Block 2, South Side, Bective Road, Northampton, Northamptonshire with his parents and siblings, Ronald and Irene.

William Birch was working as Boot and Shoe Operator (Heeling Dept.) for Hornsley & West, Wyclift Road, Northampton. His wife, Annie A.M. Birch was 28 years and 8 months old, she had been born in Chelmsford, Essex, as had the children, and was doing ‘Home Duties.’

When Leslie was 11, his mother died. His father re-married a year later, in the September quarter of 1931, to Margaret O'Connor. By 1939 William and Margaret were living at 88 Turnberry Road, Birmingham.

A press clipping in the Leicester Daily Mail of 12 July 1944 announcing his death reveals that Leslie had got married. I disovered this was in January 1942 in Leicester, Leicestershire. They had one child and at the time of his death his wife was living at 8 Great Arler Road, Leicester. The press article says he was a regular soldier in the Army but it also states he had been in the army for 13 years which, based on his age, couldn't be right! This could well be a typo on the part of the newspaper. Should it have been three years?

Another press clipping, this time in the Leicester Evening Mail of 19 July 1944, suggests that he was working for the BTH at Rugby. BTH was the British Thompson Houston works in Rugby so he may have been serving in the Territorial Army before he was called up.

He was to find himself as a Trooper in C Squadron of the 2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons) on D-Day. The British Army Casualty List tells us that he was killed in Action on the 6th of June 1944 and the CWGC Graves Concentration Report Form tells us that he was first buried in Crépon, Calvados, probably on the day he died and then reburied on the 20th of February 1945 in the Ryes British Cemetery where he now lies.

Courtesy of Len

 

British Normandy Memorial - Additional Information

Leslie's brother-in-law, John Clinton Yaxley Arnold was killed on the 20th of August 1944 in Banneville-la-Campagne. You can read his story here.