Signalman/2nd Lieutenant - Royal Corps of Signals - Service No. 2597000
Donald Landells Locke was born on 13th May 1913 in Gravesend, Kent. His father was Donald Adam Locke, a Marine Engineer, and his mother was Greta (née Goransson) born in Sweden. The first school that he attended was the Gravesend Proprietary School.
In 1925 Donald Locke joined The County School for Boys – now known as Gravesend Grammar School. The Head Master at that time was the Reverend Samuel Lister. The County School for Boys was located in Darnley Road, Gravesend close to the Railway Station (now the Victoria Centre for Education). In 1938 the School moved to brand new premises in Church Walk, Milton, Gravesend opposite to Milton Church.
The School’s Admission Register lists Donald’s address as Penwyllt, Dashwood Road, Gravesend.
In 1930 Donald left the School and started work in the Test Department for Research & Wireless Manufacturers in Sidcup. In the 1939 Census his occupation is listed as Radio Engineer, and he was living in Longlands Road, in the Chislehurst & Sidcup area. He married Lille McEwan Shaw in 1940.
Donald enlisted in the Royal Corp Signals as a Signalman, 2nd Lieutenant, Service Number 2597000, during World War Two. On 8th October 1941, age 28, as a result of an accident, Donald Locke was killed. He is buried at Wavenden (St Mary) Churchyard, Buckinghamshire.
There are links below to Newspaper Clippings and Photographs from the Gravesend Grammar School Archives.
Below are links to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website and a few other websites that might be of interest:
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2706744/locke,-donald-landells/
http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Buckinghamshire/WavendonStMary.html