The War Memorial plaques in St John the Baptist Church and the Memorial Hall in Wickhamford commemorate four men who died in the Second World War. The stories of these men are presented in the article Wickhamford Men who Died in WWII. This article is a photographic record of those who served, together with a brief summary of their service records. For the sake of completeness, the four men who died are covered in this article as well.
It is possible that the number of men and women who joined the regular services during the Second World War is double the number so far described here. We are still missing information and photographs for some of the people mentioned and would welcome all additional facts and pictures. Anything received by way of extra details on those mentioned, or of additional people, will be included in revisions of this article.
The story of the Home Guard in Wickhamford is covered in the article The 4th Worcestershire (Evesham) Battalion Home Guard.
Second World War Medals
1939-1945 War Medal
The 1939-1945 War Medal was awarded to all members of the armed forces with at least 28 days service.
1939-1945 Star
The 1939–45 Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in the Second World War. The medal was awarded for operational service between 3rd September 1939 and 2nd September 1945. To qualify for this medal, members of the Royal Navy had to complete 6 months service in areas of active operations. For the Army, they had to have served 6 months in an operational command. If they were airborne troops, they could qualify by participating in an airborne operation, and had completed 2 months in a fully operational unit. Separate Stars were awarded for service in Africa, Italy, France & Germany, Burma, the Pacific, the Atlantic and for Air Crew Europe.
If the person had been a Prisoner of War then this time counted towards the medal. If an honour, decoration or Mention in Despatches was awarded, then they qualified for this medal, irrespective of the length of service. If a serviceman had been evacuated from areas such as Dunkirk, Norway, Greece etc. then they were eligible to wear the medal. The only qualification criterion was that they had entered into area of operation. For members of the RAF, if they were flying crew, then they had to complete 2 months service in an operational unit. If they were non-aircrew, then they had to complete 6 months service in an operational area.
Tom Locke and Val Harman – Article updated February 2018