Herbert Armistice Haylock Driver, 2093005, 287 Field Company, Royal Engineers grew up in the village of Duxford, Cambridgeshire.

He was a deliveryman for Marriott’s, the butchers, before the war so was well known in the village.

He was captured after the fall of Singapore, (13th January 1941) and died working on the notorious Burma Railway on 25th September 1943. He is buried in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Burma where the bodies of those who died locally as well as those who died along the line were reinterred after the war.

In 1939 his family was living at 1 Flower Pot Road, (now Hunts Road) and previously at Mangers Lane, Duxford. Perhaps it was the relief and joy after the “The War to end all Wars”, to which the then small village of Duxford had sent about one hundred men, fifteen of whom had not returned home, that led Albert and Ellen Haylock to give their son, Herbert, the second name of “Armistice”.

The above is an extract from a Chatterbox article written by Philip Wade – it elicited the following response, as published in The Duxford Chatterbox, March 2009, from Mary Wakefield (1912-2015) Herberts sister.

‘Dear Chatterbox, I feel I must write and thank the person for writing the article in Chatterbox about my parents Albert and Ellen Haylock and my brother Herbert Armistice Haylock. My parents heard from the War Office that my brother died at Burma and was buried in a wartime cemetery at Thanbyuzayat so this must be near the River Kwai. My brother worked for Mr Marriott the butcher and used to deliver meat to his customers, so he was well known. One of the “highlights” of his job was to take the joints of meat with the names to the Rev Browning who put the names on the meat and then my brother used to take them to the customers as a present for Christmas from the Rev Browning.

I am Herbert’s sister Mary. I am 96 and am now living at “The Lodge” in Great Shelford. I had to pack up my home as I couldn’t look after myself. I must thank you again for the trouble you have taken to remember my brother and parents.

Yours sincerely Mary Wakefield’.