Denis Hartwell was born at Badsey in 1919, the youngest of three sons of John Hartwell, a market gardener, and his wife, Winifred May (née Hill). Denis grew up at 25 Brewers Lane and was a pupil at Badsey Council School from 1923-1935. He was a keen amateur footballer.
On leaving school, Denis was employed by Mr Savage, a local builder. At the start of the war, at the time of the 1939 Register, Denis was still living at home and working as a plumber. Denis volunteered in October 1939 and was called for service with the Royal Engineers (Service No 1903147) in January 1940.
According to a report in The Evesham Standard, Sapper Hartwell was killed accidentally in France on 11th May 1940, just four months after he joined the Royal Engineers. He was buried at Vignacourt British Cemetery. The following words are inscribed on his grave: “Unselfish and brave. All he had hoped for, all he had he gave”. He was aged 20 and, according to the press report, was the first person from Badsey to die in the war. (It should be noted, however, that the Hartwells’ next-door neighbours in Badsey, the Vincents, had suffered a loss right at the start of the war. Their son-in-law, Walter Cook, who never actually lived in Badsey, although had often visited, had been killed in September 1939.) As well as grieving parents, Denis left behind a fiancée, Eunice Thould of Evesham.