Photo: Derek Haynes
865713 Gunner
W.K. Teasdale
Royal Artillery
9th March 1942 Age 27
Until the day dawn
William Kitchener Teasdale was born June Q 1915 in the registration district of Sunderland the eighth of ten children to William Ebdon & May Teasdale (nee Cook) of the ten children sadly three died in infancy. William and May’s marriage was registered in the June Q 1899 in Sunderland.
Thomas born December Q 1898; Elizabeth Ebdon born March Q 1901; Pamela Proud born June Q 1903 died 23rd September 1904 aged 17 months; William Ebdon born March Q 1905 died 26th April 1906 aged 15 months; Daisy Laws born June Q 1907 died 23rd September 1908 aged 17 months; Clive Blakelock born March Q 1909; Mary A. N. C. born June Q 1912; Dorothy A. born June Q 1919; Robert W. born June Q 1926. All the above births were registered in Sunderland
Pamela, William and Daisy are laid to rest in Southwick Cemetery.
It is not known when William enlisted into the Royal Artillery (Regimental no. 865713) but we do know he served with 178 Battery 63 H. A. A. Regiment.
William cannot be found on the 1939 Register, but his parents William and May and their youngest child Robert are living at 15 Cobham Square, Southwick. It would only be a year later March 1940 that May aged 59 years died in Sunderland Municipal Hospital; she was laid to rest on the 27th March 1940 in Section P grave no 5767 of Southwick Cemetery.
In the June Q 1941 in Sunderland William married Megan Jones, at some time prior to December 1941 they had moved to Wales as the birth of their only child a daughter Margaret was registered in Anglesey in the December Q 1941.
Sadly Margaret would never get to know her father as on the 9th March 1942 when she was only a few months old William died at Westwood Institution Hospital, Bradford.
On the 28th August 1939 the hospital was informed that patients should be moved in preparation for war casualties, many of the patients who arrived there were from the blitzed areas of London. It is possible that William was one of those patients from London having been wounded while serving as an Anti – Aircraft Gunner with his regiment in the capital.
Only access to his service records would clear this up.
William’s body was returned home to Southwick, where he was laid to rest on the 13th March 1942 in Section P, Grave no. 5647 of Southwick Cemetery.
A CWGC headstone marks his final resting place.
Tragedy struck the family again in late November 1944 when William (Senior) now aged 72 years also died in Sunderland Municipal Hospital, he was buried 2nd December 1944 in the same plot as his wife in Southwick Cemetery.
More detailed research would be needed to find out what became of Megan and her daughter Margaret, the last details of where she was residing which comes from the CWGC records is Holyhead, Anglesey.
William Kitchener Teasdale is possibly remembered at Southwick on S130.15
