David James de Radclyffe OPENSHAW (1897-1977)

David James de Radclyffe Openshaw (1897-1977) was the son of James and Mary Openshaw who were friends of the Sladden family.

David Openshaw was born at Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire, on 8th December 1897, the fifth of nine children of James Algernon de Radclyffe Openshaw, a private secretary, and his wife, Mary Alice (née Serman).  He was baptized the following month at Llanfyllin on 9th January 1898.  The Openshaws were from an old Bury family in Lancashire.  The name “de Radclyffe”, which his father gave to all the boys in the family, is probably in recognition of an Openshaw in the 15th century who was given a licence by John Radclyff, lord of Radclyff, to take an encroachment on Cockey Moor.

The family moved to Bowers Hill, Badsey, when David was about ten, when his father decided to take up farming and market gardening; they moved to Bengeworth before the war.  David was educated at a boarding school in Tenbury, Worcestershire.

In a letter of 15th November 1914 May Sladden spoke of David Openshaw going off with the Evesham Territorials, but no service record has been found for him with the Worcestershire Regiment.  At some stage he transferred to the Rifle Brigade, attaining the rank of Captain.  He first went overseas on 13th January 1916.  He was invalided out of the army on 22nd January 1919; his Silver War Badge was sent to 37 Greenhill, Evesham.

David married Isabella Mary Mulcahy in 1921 in the Marylebone district of London.  In 1922-1924 they were living at 3 Princeton Mansions, 53-54 Red Lion Street, London; by 1929 they lived at 84 Seymour Place, London.  They later divorced and in 1934, David lived at The Garage Flat, Clive House, Esher.

David later married Muriel and in 1936 they lived at The Bungalow, Walton-on-Thames.  At the time of the 1939 register, they lived at Meet House, Bruntingthorpe, Lutterworth, Leicestershire.  David was a dog breeder and horse riding instructor.

David died in 1977 in the Peterborough district of Cambridgeshire.