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Dunford of Thornton Heath, Surrey during the Blitz

Home > Records > Military service records > Remembrance : Jack Dunford (1900–1940) and son, Kenneth John Dunford (1925–1940)

Edna May Dunford (1923–1941), our great grandfather Henry James Dunford (1864–1951), 1 , 2 Violet Annie Chapman (1902–1976), and Kenneth John Chapman (1925–1940); absent: John Henry James “Jack” Dunford (1900–1940), son and 9th child (of eleven) to Henry James. Photograph snapped at 48 Benhurst Gardens in Selsdon, near Sanderstead, Surrey, c.1936. Photograph held privately.

Contents :

Introduction :

The subjects of this article are John Henry James “Jack” Dunford (b.1900) and Kenneth Dunford (b.1925), husband and son, respectively, of Violet Dunford née Chapman. Jack was the 9th of eleven children born to Henry James Dunford and Charlotte Wawman (1863–1918). 3 , 4 He was a journeyman butcher by trade, and the family, including his daughter, Edna May (b.1923), lived at no. 48 Benshurst Gardens in Selsdon, near Sanderstead, in Surrey. 5 , 6 When they married, Jack and Violet lived at her parents’ house at no. 85 Whitehorse Lane in Thornton Heath. 7

1939 register :

  • John H.J. Dunford, male, born 10 April 1900, 8 married, occupation: butcher
  • Viola A.,† female, born 11 February 1902, 9 , 10 occupation: unpaid domestic duties
    Note: †The surname, Scott, was written in at a later date.
  • Edna M.‡ female, born 14 June 1923, 11 , 12 single, occupation: chemist’s shop assistant
    Note: ‡The surname, Clarke, was written in at a later date.
  • Kenneth J., male, born 27 December 1925, 13 , 14 single, at school
  • address: 48 Benhurst Gardens, [Selsdon, parish of Sanderstead], Croydon, Surrey 15

the Blitz in Thornton Heath :

From the 11th Sept. 1940 edition of the Daily Gazette of Middlesborough : 16

[…] there was an eight-and-a-half hour long blitz on what was the fourth night of successive bombing in London and environs. It happened to be the night that Buckingham Palace was also bombed. While the newspapers are silent as to specific neighbourhoods affected, in keeping with the censorship requirements, the news accounts reported the first bombs falling on garden allotments in a suburban area.

No casualties were believed to have resulted from the garden bombs but, in addition to the blitz on parts of London, “bombs were also dropped at random in many places in the suburbs and surrounding districts.” 17

However, the entry for 10th Sept. 1940 in the book, “Croydon and the Second World War,” (pg. 44) 18 stated that on the night of 9th Sept. 1940 and into the wee hours of the morning :

One of the worst raids of the month was on the night of September 9–10th, again an incendiary attack, but with heavy calibre bombs at two in the morning; the main area of loss being Whitehorse Lane and Upton Road, though a much larger area was involved. Many incendiaries were dropped over the whole length of the town. The dead numbered thirteen and the injured fifteen.”

Deaths of Jack Dunford and Kenneth, his son :

Jack Dunford 19 and Kenneth, his son, 20 were killed at Jack’s in-laws’ house, no. 85 Whitehorse Lane in Thornton Heath.

Commemoration :

Entries to commemorate the civilian war deaths of father and son were recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission : 21

DUNFORD, John Henry James, age 40. Son of Henry James Dunford, of 65 Grange Park Road, Thornton Heath, and of the late Charlotte Dunford; husband of Violet Dunford, of 48 Benhurst Gardens, Selsdon. Died at Whitehorse Lane.

DUNFORD, Kenneth John, age 14. Son of Violet Dunford, of 48 Benhurst Gardens, Selsdon, and of John Henry James Dunford, 9 September 1940, at Whitehorse Lane.

The city of Croydon raised a memorial “to the memory of the men, women, and children who lost their lives as a result of enemy action in Croydon during the Second World War 1939–1945.” 

Hilton, Christopher. Croydon Cenotaph, in the London Borough of Croydon (photograph.) Published to Geograph Britain and Ireland (accessed 11th Nov. 2023).

Footnotes :

  1. General Register Office of England and Wales. Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth. Extract: Registration district: Wandsworth, sub-district: Battersea, county of Surrey. Henry James Dunford, boy, born 29th December 1864 at 5 Princes Terrace, Nine Elms; son of Aaron Dunford, railway porter, and Charlotte Dunford formerly Loader; informant: C. Dunford, mother, of 5 Princes Terrace, Nine Elms, Battersea; registered 8th February 1865, William Griffin, deputy registrar. Copy purchased by Alison Kilpatrick, 14th April 2004 (ref. no. 264, application no. PAS 6002106, BXCA 332397). ↩︎
  2. General Register Office, England and Wales. Index of Civil Registrations of Deaths. Index entry: Henry J Dunford, 1st quarter ending 31st March 1951, Croydon RD (Surrey), vol. 5g, pg. 22. Index and digital image online at ancestry.com (accessed by subscription, 29th Jan. 2006). ↩︎
  3. England 1911 Census. Household of Henry James and Charlotte Dunford, with children: Albert George, Alice Rosina, Thomas Cyril, Arthur Charles, Dorothy Nellie, John Henry James, and Harold Nelson, in Thornton Heath, Surrey. Original record:  Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA) Series RG14, 1911. Archival ref. piece 3361, G14PN3361 RG78PN126 RD39 SD3 ED39 SN97; registration district: Croydon (no. 39), sub-district: West Croydon, enumeration district no. 39, civil parish of Croydon. Digital image online at findmypast.co.uk (extract by Alison Kilpatrick, 27th May 2010). ↩︎
  4. General Register Office of England and Wales. Certified Copy of an Entry of Death. Extract: Superintendent Registrar’s District: Croydon, Registrar’s District: North Croydon, County of Surrey. No. 364. Charlotte Dunford, female, aged 55 years, wife of Henry James Dunford, carpenter (journeyman), died 4th October 1918 at no. 47 Parchmore Road; cause of death: (1) acute aneursim, (2) rupture – cardiac failure, certified by P.W. Hamond, M.D.; informant: A.R. Dunford, daughter, present at the death, 47 Parchmore Road, Thornton Heath; registered 7th October 1918, E.M. Cornest[?], registrar. Copy purchased by Alison Kilpatrick, 29 Sept. 2020 (ref. COL554000/2020/3). ↩︎
  5. Surrey, England. Electoral Registers, 1832–1962. Extract: Register of Electors, 1936. Eastern Parliamentary Division of the County of Surrey. Polling District of Selsdon & Farleigh (V) (2 parts–part 1). Parish of Sanderstead (part). in the County Electoral Division of Sanderstead. John Henry James Dunford, no. 722, and Violet Anne [sic], no. 723, at 48 Benhurst Gardens. (pg 16.) Record held by Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Electoral Registers; Reference: CC802/53/2. Digital image online at ancestry.ca (extract by Alison Kilpatrick, 10th Mar. 2022). ↩︎
  6. England 1939 Register. Household of John H.J. and VIolet Dunford, with children, in Croydon, Surrey. Original record: 1939 Register (Series RG101), The National Archives, Kew, London, England. Archival ref. RG 101/1338G, registration district and sub-district nos. 31/3, enumeration district: CMLY, borough: Coulsdon and Purley Health District Co[—]; schedule no. 213, sub-schedule no. 1. Digital image online at ancestry.ca (extract by Alison Kilpatrick, 11th Oct. 2020). ↩︎
  7. General Register Office of England and Wales. Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage. Extract: Marriage solemnized at St. Alban’s Church in the parish of St. Alban’s, South Norwood, Surrey. John Dunford, age 22, bachelor, occupation: butcher, resident of 85 Whitehorse Lane, father: Henry James Dunford, electrician. Violet Chapman, age 20, spinster, occupation: char woman, resident of [same], father: Edward George Chapman, warehouse man. Married on 27 February 1922 according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, after banns, by the Rev. Chas. P. Bardsley, Vicar; witnesses: George Edward Chapman, Ellen Harriet Chapman. Copy purchased by Alison Kilpatrick, 22nd July 2010 (ref. no. 6, application no. 2495865/2, MSE 976069.) ↩︎
  8. General Register Office of England and Wales. Certified Copy of an Entry of Birth. Extract: Superintendent Registrar’s District: Croydon, Registrar’s District: Croydon, Counties of Croydon and Surrey. No. 30. John Henry James Dunford, born 19th April 1900 at no. 26 Thirsk Road, South Norwood, Croydon U.D.; son of Henry James Dunford, carpenter (journeyman) and Charlotte Dunford formerly Wawman; informant: C. Dunford, mother, of 26 Thirsk Road, South Norwood; registered 31st May 1900, Edwin Bailey, registrar. Copy purchased by Alison Kilpatrick, 29th Sept. 2020 (ref. COL554000/2020/10). ↩︎
  9. GRO, England & Wales, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage, op. cit. ↩︎
  10. England 1939 Register, op. cit. ↩︎
  11. General Register Office, England and Wales. Index of Civil Registrations of Births. Index entry: Edna M Dunford, 3rd quarter ending 30th September 1923, Croydon RD (Surrey), vol. 2a, pg. 551. Digital image online at ancestry.com (accessed 29th Jan. 2006). ↩︎
  12. England 1939 Register, op. cit. ↩︎
  13. General Register Office, England and Wales. Index of Civil Registrations of Births. Index entry: Kenneth J Dunford, mother’s family name: Chapman, 1st quarter ending 31st March 1926, Croydon RD (Surrey), vol. 2a, pg. 532. Digital image online at ancestry.com (accessed 29th Jan. 2006). ↩︎
  14. England 1939 Register, op. cit. ↩︎
  15. England 1919 Register, op. cit. ↩︎
  16. Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire), 11 September 1940 (pg. 1). “Nazis’ 8-Hour Bomb Orgy Over London / but damage less, fewer casualties.” Digital image online at findmypast.co.uk, per The British Library newspaper archive (transcript by Alison Kilpatrick, 12th Oct. 2020). ↩︎
  17. Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire), 11 September 1940 (pg. 1). “Nazis’ 8-Hour Bomb Orgy Over London / but damage less, fewer casualties.” Digital image online at findmypast.co.uk, per The British Library newspaper archive (transcript by Alison Kilpatrick, 12th Oct. 2020). ↩︎
  18. Sayers, W.C. Berwick, ed. Croydon and the Second World War. Croydon: The Croydon Corporation, Town Hall, Croydon, 1949. ↩︎
  19. General Register Office of England and Wales. Certified Copy of an Entry of Death. Extract: Registration district: Croydon, sub-district: Croydon North, County Borough of Croydon. John Henry James Dunford, male, aged 40 years, of 48, Benhurst Gardens, Selsdon, Croydon, occupation: journeyman butcher, died on 10th September 1940 at 85, Whitehorse Lane;‡ cause of death: due to war operations; informant: certificate receive from E. Taberner, clerk to the Croydon Council; registered 12th September 1940, Cyril E. Wilson, registrar. Copy purchased by Alison Kilpatrick, 5th May 2005 (ref. no. 178, application no. COL310175, D&YB 020617). [‡ John Dunford’s wife’s parents’ house.] ↩︎
  20. General Register Office, Englnd and Wales. Index of Civil Registrations of Deaths. Index entry: Kenneth J Dunford, 3rd quarter ending 30th September 1940, Croydon RD (Surrey), vol. 2a, pg. 1274. Digital image online at ancestry.com (accessed 20th May 2006). ↩︎
  21. Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Civilian War Dead in the United Kingdom, 1939–1945. (7 vols.) Extracts: (1) “DUNFORD, John Henry James, age 40. Son of Henry James Dunford, of 65 Grange Park Road, Thornton Heath, and of the late Charlotte Dunford; husband of Violet Dunford, of 48 Benhurst Gardens, Selsdon. 9 September 1940, at Whitehorse Lane.” John died, with son Kenneth, at 85, Whitehorse Lane in Thornton Heath.” (2) “DUNFORD, Kenneth John, age 14. Son of Violet Dunford, of 48 Benshurst Gardens, Selsdon, and of John Henry James Dunford, 9 September 1940, at Whitehorse Lane.” London: Peter Singlehurst, 1954-57. Digital image online at ancestry.ca (accessed by subscription, 22nd July 2010. Extracts available online at cwgc.org (accessed 2010-07-22). ↩︎

End notes :

Source citation for this page : — Kilpatrick, Alison. “Remembrance: Jack Dunford (1900–1940) and son, Kenneth John Dunford (1925–1940). Remembrance of their deaths during the Blitz in Thornton Heath, Surrey. Online at Arborealis, arborealis.ca/records/military/dunford-thornton-heath-blitz/

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Updated 15th Nov. 2023.

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