Villagers from near Banbury rally around to buy headstone for Second World War veteran

The villagers will hold a ceremony to unveil the new headstone for Len Gillett (1918–1998) at the burial ground in Great Bourton at 3pm on Sunday August 20, before refreshments at the Village Hall.

Open to everyone, visitors to the village hall will have the opportunity to see some of Len’s artwork, his war records, and a film made of his life in Great Bourton in the 1960s.

Len, who enlisted as a gunner in the 85th Anti-Tank Regiment at age 19 at the outbreak of WWII in September 1939, became a prisoner of war for the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942.

After returning to England once the war was over, he continued to live in Great Bourton and then Cropredy, and on his death in 1998, he was laid to rest in Bourton’s parish Burial Ground on Foxden Way.

At the time of his death, sadly, there wasn’t enough money to buy a headstone for Len, but thanks to the initiative of an old friend and neighbour and the generosity of local residents, this month a new headstone will be erected for the war hero.

Maggie MacAngus, one of the fundraisers, said: "He was an important and well-loved member of our community; donations for the fund have come from neighbours, friends, and many people unknown to Len but who felt, like me, that he went through a great deal serving his country and he deserves to have a proper headstone to mark his grave."