Born Holborn, son of Walter E. & Flora Papworth of Hackney. Brother of Margaret Papworth. Served in the Royal Artillery I Mountain Regiment. Buried in Sittard War Cemetery Holland.
Our colleague, Andrew Behan, adds that William Robert Papworth was born in 1920, the second of the five children of Walter Edward Papworth (1897-1964) and Flora Elizabeth Papworth née Tuffey (1898-1972). His birth was registered in the 2nd quarter of 1920 in the Holborn registration district. His siblings were: Margaret Flora Papworth (1916-1993), Walter Edward Papworth (1922-1981), Thomas Henry Papworth (1925-1987) and Joan Esther Papworth (1931-1993).
Electoral registers in 1933 and 1935 show his parents listed at 18 Southwold Road, Hackney.
He served as a Gunner the 1st Mountain Regiment, Royal Regiment of Artillery, service number 1077970, and was killed in action on 3 February 1945. He was buried in Row B, Grave 14 in the Sittard War Cemetery, Kragstraat, 6133 Sittard, Netherlands. He was posthumously awarded the 1939-1945 Star and the British War Medal 1939-1945.
He is also commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website that claims he was aged 25 years.
Credit for this entry to: Brian Longman
