Charles Victor James Leaford

1917 - 1942

• Name	Charles Victor James Leaford
  Born	1917	Romford, Essex
  Gender	Male
  War	1939-1942	Mediterranean
  	Charles was a Stoker 1st Class on the RN HMS Arethusa. The ship left Alexandria to form part of an escort for a convoy to Malta. 450 miles from port she was torpedoed by a low flying enemy aircraft. The explosion and fire took 156 lives out of 500 men on board and injured many more. Arethusa was the only casualty of Operation Stoneage and the convoy made it to Malta, effectively ending the seige there. Charles was buried at sea and has a memorial at Chatham, Kent.
  Buried	Nov 1942	At sea
  Died	18 Nov 1942	On board HMS Arethusa
  Person ID	I3297	Fidgen
  Last Modified	20 Jan 2014

  
  

  Father	Robert William Leaford,   b. 1890, Romford, Essex ,   d. 1949, Ilford, Essex
  Mother	Sarah J Wiseman,   b. 21 Jun 1891, Maldon, Essex ,   d. 1974, Havering, London
  Married	1910	Romford, Essex
  Family ID	F1119	Group Sheet

  
  

  Family	Paulina Moir Rothwell,   b. Barking, Essex
  Married	Sep 1941	Ilford, Essex
  Last Modified	20 Jan 2014
  Family ID	F1171	Group Sheet

  
  

• Photos

  HMS Arethusa with hull breach

  
  

  Documents

  Tricia's Relatives Who Gave Their Lives in WW1 and WW2 Leaford and Prater casualties.