Leslie Tyler was born in 1922 to parents George and Sarah Tyler (nee Cartwright).

Leslie’s parents had married in 1914, and they had three children together before George’s tragic passing in 1926, when Leslie was just four-years-old. 

Leslie’s siblings were an elder brother, also named George, who was born in 1921 and a younger sister named Betty, who was born in 1923.

Three years after Leslie’s father’s sad demise, his mother remarried to a gentleman named G.H. Humphries. Rather confusingly, the letter ‘G’ in the name of the children’s new step-father, also stood for George!

As step-father to three young children, George Humphries had a huge responsibility, one that mother Sarah clearly helped him shoulder.

The 1939 Register confirms that the family lived at number 52 Farfield in Kidderminster and at this time, all three Tyler offspring's had found gainful employment; George was a machine worker, Betty was a ‘picker’ in one of the town’s many carpet mills and Leslie was a driver for Brinton’s Carpets, Kidderminster's largest employer.

In the language of the time, Leslie’s occupation was more accurately described in the 1939 Register as “Petrol lorry driver.” Leslie’s prowess ‘behind the wheel’ would see him selected for driving jobs in the future, once he'd donned the khaki…

As was common in the second world war, new recruits were often assigned to those regiments whose need for reinforcement was the greatest, irrespective of geography or any personal preferences.

Leslie served with the 6th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) fighting in North Africa, Libya, Sicily and mainland Italy before returning to the UK as part of the troop build-up prior to the invasion of north-west Europe.

Lessons learned in each of the theatres of war that Leslie had already fought in, would have given him valuable experience for the invasion of north-west Europe, indeed, he’d already taken part in two sea-borne landings on enemy held territory.

The War Diary of the 6th Battalion provides details of Leslie’s movements having completed, his third sea-borne landing, hitting the beach on D+12 (twelve days after the initial D-Day landings).

The main body of his battalion had landed on D-Day and had already taken considerable casualties as they moved forward, attempting to break-out of the beachhead.

On the day that Leslie caught-up with his battalion, they’d had a good day, having completed what the War Diary describes as: “…by far the most successful attack made by the battalion during five days of hard fighting and its effect was reflected in the magnificent spirit of the men…”

The men’s spirit was probably raised even further by a fact also confirmed in the War Diary, that: “70 reinforcements joined the battalion.”

Throughout the rest of June, the battalion was busy sending out fighting patrols, probing enemy defences and killing the enemy wherever and whenever they came across them. It wasn’t one-way traffic however, they were constantly mortared and came under frequent heavy artillery bombardments – and as was always the case in Normandy, they were regularly losing men to sniper-fire.

This was Leslie’s introduction to Normandy; a baptism that having already survived Libya, Sicily and Italy, may not necessarily have unsettled him too much. But this was different – the terrain which favoured the defenders and the tactics employed by the Germans ensured that comrades were lost every day.

For the month of June, from the beaches to the bocage, the War Diary confirms the battalion casualty figures as:

“Officers - 1 missing, 18 wounded (3 died later from wounds) : Other Ranks – 62 killed, 17 missing, 239 wounded (8 died later from wounds)”

By now Leslie would have started to realise that the rolling fields and tight hedgerows of Normandy were indeed a killing ground for those on the offensive. At times throughout the campaign, the casualty rates in this most attritional battle, matched anything seen in the Great War.

At the start of July, Leslie would have welcomed the battalion’s relief as they were withdrawn from the front to provide a counterattack role in support of the 2nd Hampshire Regiment and their own sister-battalion, the 8th DLI.

During this period, Leslie would have undertaken further training, based around the lessons already learnt by the battalion since its arrival in Normandy. As the War Diary confirms:

“5th of July 1944: Company training commenced. Chief subjects were weapons training with particular attention to PIAT and 2” mortar and (secondly) fieldcraft and use of ground. It has been brought out during operations of the past month that these subjects need punching up generally”

The Diary also confirmed that:

“A tank hunting squad was formed in each Company. Best methods of tank hunting to be found by trial and error and to be carried out as a drill.”

On the 6th of July the battalion received orders to relieve the 2nd Dorsets in an area south of Lingevres.

Throughout the month of July, Leslie would have been involved in numerous aggressive patrols by day and night – continuously taking the fight to the enemy, wearing them down and helping to extend the British perimeter, whilst under constant bombardment and sniper fire. At the end of July, the Battalion War Diary recorded:

“Total casualties incurred by the Battalion from ‘D’ Day (to) 31st July 1944: Officers killed 1, missing 1, wounded 22 (of whom 3 later died from wounds – other ranks killed 77, missing 19, wounded 306 (of whom 10 later died from wounds).”

In August, the fighting continued and just nine days into the month, the battalion had already lost a further 2 officers killed and 2 wounded along with 7 other ranks killed and 53 wounded (of whom 3 died).

On the 21st of August the battalion was tasked with clearing a wood in the area of Vorché. No contact was made with the enemy although “fair numbers of dead were found.”

Also on the 21st the War Diary records that:

“On the track from Ocagnes to Vorche, Captain L. Attenborough and his driver in Jeep, were blown up by a prepared charge. Two further charges were found by 505 Field Coy. Royal Engineers in the same area…” 

The captain and his unnamed driver were the only recorded 6th Bn. DLI casualties on the 21st of August 1944; the day that it is known, Leslie died. His prowess ‘behind the wheel’ had gotten Leslie the job of driving his captain forward to assess the situation in the woods outside of the village of Vorché in the commune of Bailleul in Normandy...

On September the 9th 1944, Leslie’s local newspaper, the Kidderminster Shuttle, published the following report:

“KILLED IN ACTION – Mrs. Humphries, 52, Farfield, received the sad news last Friday that her son, Pte. Leslie Tyler (22) was killed in action in France in August.”

"Pte Tyler joined the Army on Jan. 15, 1942, and spent six months in training in this country. He then went to Africa and fought all through the African campaign, gaining the Africa Star.”

The newspaper continued:

“After serving through the Sicilian campaign, and landing in Italy, he returned to England until a week after D-Day when he went to France.”

“An old boy of Lea Street School, Pte. Tyler was employed as a driver at Messer’s. Brinton’s Ltd. before he joined the army. His elder brother George Tyler (23) had served as an AC2 in the R.A.F. until his recent discharge. Private Arthur Taylor (18) his younger brother, is serving with the army somewhere in England.”

Today, Leslie rests at peace under a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) headstone in the Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery.

For the most part, the men buried in this cemetery were killed (as was Leslie) in the fighting which took place between the second week of July 1944 (when Caen was captured) and the last week in August (when the Falaise Gap had been 'closed' and the Allied forces were preparing their advance beyond the Seine).

The cemetery contains 2,170 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 140 of them unidentified. One of those in this cemetery that Leslie would most definitely have known, is another DLI man from Kidderminster - Fred Mucklow (10th Battalion – 26 year-old Fred had died just two days before Leslie).

Back in Blighty, young 22-year-old Leslie is commemorated on the Kidderminster War Memorial, which is situated to the front of St. Mary and All Saints Church. Below the names of the fallen on the Kidderminster War Memorial, the following epitaph is inscribed:

“THESE DIED THE NOBLEST DEATH A MAN MAY DIE ~ FIGHTING FOR GOOD AND RIGHT AND LIBERTY ~ AND SUCH A DEATH IS IMMORTALITY”

Rest In Peace Leslie Tyler – your service, your bravery and your sacrifice will be remembered, For Evermore

Acknowledgements: This story could not have been told were it not for the wonderful team at the Kidderminster Museum of Carpet; most especially Geoff, Jill and Jean. Very many thanks to you all. www.museumofcarpet.org.uk

Also, the highly informative website entitled normandywarguide. Without this website the story of Leslie Tyler could not have been told in such detail. www.normandywarguide.com