Address / Local links: 18 Selwyn Crescent Welling
Family / Relatives: Son of Frederick and Priscilla Prudence Hawkes of Welling
Other Information: Son of a Policeman
“Died 13/05/1945 on war service” is one piece of information we know about Leslie Hawkes from his Probate record; “Effects £188 19s 9d to Priscilla Prudence Hawkes widow”
This is intriguing, as the war in Europe actually ended the week before his death, so did Leslie die of injuries or illness? We do not know for certain.
He was buried in the Hamburg Cemetery, Germany
“Hamburg Ohlsdorf Cemetery (Friedhof Ohlsdorf) is the biggest non-military cemetery in the world. There are 3 Commonwealth War Graves plots located within Hamburg Ohlsdorf Cemetery:- Hamburg Cemetery Ohlsdorf 1914-1918 / Hamburg Cemetery Ohlsdorf 1939-1945 / Hamburg Cemetery Ohlsdorf Post War.
History information
During the First World War, Hamburg Cemetery was used for the burial of over 300 Allied servicemen (of which 52 were Commonwealth) who died as prisoners of war. These original 52 graves are now in Plot 1, Row A, Row B and part of Row C. In 1923, it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries. Hamburg was one of those chosen, and burials were brought into the cemetery from 120 burial grounds in Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, Hanover, Saxony, Brunswick and Westphalia. The majority died as prisoners, but a few were sailors whose bodies were washed ashore on the Frisian Islands. There are now 708 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated in the Commonwealth plot at Hamburg. This total includes special memorials to three casualties buried in Parchim Prisoners of War Cemetery whose graves could not be found, and 25 unidentified sailors whose remains were recovered from HM Submarine E24, which was sunk by a mine off Heligoland in March 1916, when the vessel was raised in July 1974.
The Commonwealth section of the cemetery also contains 1,466 Second World War burials, mostly of servicemen who died with the occupying forces, or airmen lost in bombing raids over Germany. There are also 378 post Second World War graves and 14 war graves of other nationalities”.
GONE FROM US
BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
NEVER SHALL THE MEMORY FADE
GOD BLESS YOU
Appears to be the inscription on his headstone…
Leslie had been serving with the 67th Company of the Royal Army Service Corps
The 67th Company of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was one of several companies that supported the 22nd Armoured Brigade Group in May 1942. The RASC was responsible for transporting supplies, including food, water, fuel, and clothing, to the British Army. The RASC was also involved in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen and the occupation of Germany, so it’s possible that Leonard was involved in these historic aspects of the last months of the war?…
Or, another possibility (taken from British Expeditionary Forces records from the time of Dunkirk in 1940 which states HAWKES, Dvr L 183488 Previously reported missing/now not missing) is that he was captured and served the rest of the war as a POW?
Sadly, at present, we cannot know…
Leslie Hawkes Leslie was born in 1919 in Deptford. In 1921 the family were living at 5, Senegal Road, and his father – Fred – was a Metropolitan Police Constable. Fred (1880-1939) died in January 1939 and is buried in Bexleyheath Cemetery.
He’d married Priscilla (nee Bassett 1882-1957) in Croydon in 1904; Priscilla died in 1957, and was also buried in Bexleyheath Cemetery, and the burial register listed her address as 18 Selwyn Crescent Welling.
(Besides Leslie, they had three more children – Ronald, Gladys and Mabel – Leslie was the youngest).
Selwyn Crescent, the Hawkes’ family home, was built in the late 1920s and they seem to have moved there in the late 1930s. as you can see from the map (pictured) it is just a stone’s throw from the Welling War Memorial where Lesslie’s name was to be found…
Other pictures show the RASC badge, the Hamburg Ohlsdorf Cemetery, Leslie’s name on the Welling War Memorial, and Bexleyheath Cemetery where his parents are buried.
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If anyone is able to add any extra information, provide more family details, or suggest any corrections, please let us know – also, if anyone has any more photos of this individual listed on our memorials, please get in touch. Thank you.
Commemorated
- Welling War Memorial
- Hamburg Cemetery, Germany
This story has been researched by volunteers. We have taken every effort to ensure its accuracy. If you are related to Leslie Hawkes, or if you have any further information, please do get in touch.