Stockwell War Memorial

Friends of Stockwell War Memorial & Gardens

L names

George Lever

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G. Lever
Service no. G/11157
Private, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), 11th Battalion
Born in Stockwell; enlisted in Lambeth; lived in Stockwell
Died on 17 September 1916 aged 19
CWGC: “Son of G. and Annie Lever, of 151, Sparrows Herne, Bushey, Herts.”
Remembered at Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France

Information from the 1911 census

George Lever, whose father was also called George, was 14 and at school. He lived with his family at 70 Hubert Grove, Stockwell, where they occupied 5 rooms. George Lever (senior), 56, was a carpenter originally from Lovant, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. Annie Lever, 52, was from Clapham. They had had 10 children, of whom 6 survived. Four of these lived at home:
Fred Lever, 23, a Post Office sorter; Annie Lever, 21, a sewing machinist (children’s clothes); George Lever, 14; Alfred Lever, 7. All were born at 70 Hubert Grove.

John Lee

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J. Lee
Service no. PW/1826
Private, Middlesex Regiment, 19th Battalion
Born in Haywards Heath, Sussex; enlisted in Lambeth; lived in Stockwell
Killed in action on 3 October 1916 aged about 41.
Remembered at Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France

Information from the 1911 census

John Lee was born in Hayward’s Heath, Sussex. In 1911, aged 35, he worked as a road labourer. He lived in 2 rooms at 30 Lingham Street with his wife, Edith Lee, who was from Walworth. They had 2 children: Edith Lee, 3, and John Lee, 1, both born in Stockwell.

Information from British Army WWI Service Records 1914-1920

John Lee, a chimney sweep aged 40, enlisted at Lambeth on 19 April 1915. He left behind his wife Edith (née Milne) and four children aged  between 7 and 1. Another child was born in 1916. He gave his address as 94 Lingham Street, Stockwell.

At 5 foot 7½ inches and 11 stone, with a 40 inch chest (which he could expand by 3 inches), Lee was better built than many recruits and his physical development was judged to be “good.”

Lee was killed in action at the Somme. He had served 1 year and 168 days. The Army sent on his effects: letters, a purse and some photos.

Robert Were Leach

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R. W. Leach
Service no. 11233
Corporal, Wiltshire Regiment, 1st Battalion
Born in Battersea; enlisted in St Paul’s Churchyard, London; lived in Stockwell
Died of wounds at age 25 on 16 October 1916
CWGC: “Son of George Were Leach and Mary Julia Leach, of 37 Landor Road, Stockwell, London.”
Remembered at Contay British Cemetery, Contay, France

Information from the censuses

In 1911 Robert Were Leach lived at 37 Landor Road, Stockwell, where his family occupied 4 rooms. His father, George Were Leach, 42, was a railway inspector, born in Uffcombe, Devon. His mother, Julia Mary Leach, 43, was from Yeldham, Essex. Robert, 19, born in Battersea, was a clerk with the South West Gas Company; his younger brother, Lionel George Leach, born in Ockenden, Esse, 15, was a clerk for a firm of barristers; Horace Reginald Leach, 9, born in Clapham, was at school.
Ten years previously, in 1901, Robert Leach was lived with his parents, younger brother Lionel and various boarders at 52 Willington Road.
William Rochester, 39, a married grocer’s assistant from Canning Town
Frederick Rowe, 22, a grocer’s assistant from Brixton
Alfred Gregory, 30, a civil engineer from Andover, Hampshire
Arthur Grout, 29, a railway guard from Greenwich
Frederick Grigg, 20, a railway guard from Deal, Kent
John J. Fruel, 20, a railway guard from East Hendred, Berkshire
Richard Dennett, 20, a railway shunter, from Margate, Essex

Alfred Robert Lawrence

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A. R. Lawrence
Service no. 205241
Private, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), 1st Bn. attd. 1st/4th Bn.
Born in Southwark; enlisted in Southwark; lived in Lambeth
Killed in action age 27 on 28 March 1918
CWGC: “Son of Alfred and Mary Louisa Lawrence, of 65, Knowle Rd., Brixton, London.”
Remembered at Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France

Information from the 1911 census

Tentative identification
Alfred R. Lawrence, a 21-year-old signwriter, lived at 39 Burman Street, Southwark, with his parents, Alfred Lawrence, 45, a private coachman who did not know where he was born, and Louisa Lawrence, 42, a bookfolder born in Southwark. The family occupied 4 rooms. Alfred was an only child, the only survivor of Alfred and Louisa’s 2 children.

Albert John Laskey

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A. J. Laskey
Service no. 22997
Lance Corporal, Border Regiment, 1st Battalion; formerly 10696, East Surrey Regiment
Born in Lambeth; enlisted at Kingston-on-Thames; lived in Stockwell
Killed in action on 1 July 1916, aged about 22
Remembered at Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France

In 1911 Albert John David Laskey, 17, was working as an errand boy. He later became a greengrocer’s assistant, working for the Lackey family business at 6 Industrial Terrace, Brixton. However, he was let go from there as business was slack, according to Thomas Lackey, who provided a testimonial to the Army on Laskey’s good conduct. Lackey joined the East Surrey Regiment on 3 August 1913 at Kingston-on-Thames as a private.

Laskey lived with his family in four rooms at 33 Edithna Street, Stockwell. His father, William David, 46, was a “night porter (flats),” originally from Hempnall, Norfolk. His stepmother, Sarah Jane Eliza, 38, was from Islington, London. There were three half-siblings and two boarders.

The physical description of Laskey brings to mind a solid, well-built man. He was 5 feet 6½ inches tall, 10 stone, with a 34-inch chest, to which he could add 2 inches. He had a fresh complexion, with brown eyes and brown hair, a scar inside her right knee and a mile to the right of his abdomen.

There was only one misdemeanour on Laskey’s conduct sheet: at Kingston he was absent for three hours on 18 June 1915, for which he was punished with five days’ Confinement to Barracks and the loss of five days’ pay. Nevertheless, in July he was promoted to Lance Corporal.

Laskey went missing on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, when 19,240 men died during what became known as the Battle of Albert. His family now had an agonising wait to discover what had happened to him. On 19 September his wife, Florence Lily, wrote from her home at 55 Victor Road, Teddington, “I am asking if you [have heard] anything more of my husband. … He was reported missing on July 1st.” His stepmother wrote too. “Will you please let me know if you have any definite news of my son,” she pleaded on 26 March 1917. But Laskey’s body, like so many, was never found and he is remembered on Thiepval Memorial where those soldiers known only “to God” are listed.

Information from the 1911 census

In 1911 Albert John David Laskey, 17, was working as an errand boy. He lived with his family in 4 rooms at 33 Edithna Street, Stockwell. Albert’s father, William David Laskey, 46, was a “night porter (flats)”. He was from Hempnall, Norfolk. His mother, Sarah Jane Eliza Laskey, 38, was from St Luke’s, London. There were 4 children:
Albert John David Laskey, 17, born in Greenwich
Dorothy Alice Laskey, 7, born in Peckham
Jeannie Olga Laskey, 5, born in Peckham
David William Laskey, 3, born in Stockwell
There were 2 boarders: William John Rivers Willson, 50, a travelling coalman, born in Greenwich, and Ray Thorley Hepworth, 24, an actor from Leeds.

George Charles Lasham

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G. C. Lasham
Service no. 7912
Gunner, Royal Garrison Artillery, 9th Siege Bty.
Born in Brixton; enlisted at Shepherd’s Bush; lived in Lambeth, Surrey
Killed in action at age 28 on 26 August 1916
CWGC: “Son of John and Eliza Lasham of London; husband of Louisa Alice Lasham, of 7 Elwell Rd., Clapham, London.”
Remembered at Peronne Road Cemetery, Maricourt, France

Information from the censuses

In 1911 postman George Lasham, 22, lived at 137 Hartington Road, Stockwell, where his family occupied 6 rooms. His father, John Lasham, 51, was an engineer’s pattern maker, born in Lambeth. His mother, Eliza Lasham, 47, was from Lathbury, Buckinghamshire. There were 8 children in 1911 (one child had died), 6 of whom lived at home:
Louise Lasham, 26, a dressmaker, born in Kent
George Lasham, 22, a postman, born in London
Lily Lasham, 18, a needlewoman, born in London
James Lasham, 16, an apprentice engineer, born in London
Ernest Lasham, 10
Frederick Lasham, 5
In 1901 the Lasham family lived at 19 Courland Grove. This census states that John Lasham was deaf. The census includes
Charlotte Lasham, 14, born in Clapham