Stoker 1st Class C/K66182 William Ernest Foad of HMS Orlando was born at Hougham near Dover on the 23rd of May 1907 and baptised there at Christ Church on the 3rd of May 1908 the son of John Foad and Mary Jane Goodson.

The 1911 census records him living with his family at 71, Wyndham Road, Dover. John aged 47 was a coal labourer born at Broomfield. Mary aged 45 was born at Dover. The couple had been married for twenty five years and had produced fourteen children of which five had died in infancy. Children recorded, all born at Dover, are Thomas William aged 24 a dock labourer in the coal industry, Benjamin aged 14 , a boiler cleaner with the South East and Chatham Railway, Henry aged 11, Charles aged 9, Albert aged 7, William aged 4 and Robert aged 1.

Whilst employed as a labourer, William enlisted into the Royal Navy in 1929. After training, he first went to sea on the Marlborough on the 1st of January 1930 to the 6th of May 1931. After a spell ashore he served on the cruiser Comus from the 12th of April 1932 to the 12th of May when he went on board the sister ship Ceres. On the 29th of November 1933 he went to sister ship HMS Cardiff upon which he was appointed Acting Leading Stoker on the 22nd of April 1934. From the 26th of June that year he went ashore and was promoted to Stoker 1st Class.

He went back to sea on the 10th of July 1935 when he went on board the cruiser HMS Shropshire until the 12th of December 1936 when he began a short spell ashore before going on board HMS Cardiff on the 12th of January 1937 until the 12th of May when he left the ship as his sea service had expired.

The following day he joined the RFR (Royal Fleet Reserve). His record notes that on the 11th of August 1936 he had declined re-engagement abroad.

Upon the outbreak of war he returned to Naval Service which, although brief, was to be on shore stations – HMS Pembroke from 31st of August 1939, HMS Pyramus from the 3rd of September, HMS Spartiate from the 13th of June 1940 and HMS Orlando, a shore station and gunnery school at Greenock from the 7th of December 1940 to the 23rd of April 1941 when he was invalided out; his record has written in red “Shore invalided PUNS” and below is “Disaster disability”.

He was officially invalided from the service from RN Hospital Port Edgar (HMS Lochinvar), Granton, Scotland, on the 26th of March 1941.

In the summer of 1930, he had married Annie Matilda Woolnough in the Dover district.

William died on the 2nd of September 1943. The Kent and Sussex Courier for the 10th of September briefly mentions his death and funeral. The paper notes that his funeral took place at The Mission Church on Monday and that he had been discharged from the Royal Navy “about two years ago” when he came to the village to live with his wife at Red Row Cottages, Lower Green, Pembury.