Between 1936 and 1947, Col Percy James Bailey DSO, OBE & Mrs Dorothy Bailey rented The Rock House from the Lord of the Manor. Of their four sons, two lost their lives during WWII.
After serving in the Royal Navy, Anthony Bailey (born 1910) trained as a civilian pilot. On the outbreak of war, he was considered too old to become an RAF pilot but was recruited into the Air Transport Auxiliary. He was killed in a crash in July 1941 at Speke Airport, Liverpool, caused by a fighter plane cutting in as he landed his bomber.
Christopher Bailey (born 1915) died of wounds in September 1942 near Benghazi. He had been taking part in sabotage operations behind enemy lines in an organisation that was the start of the Special Air Service.
The above details are extracted from Susan Brattin’s book “Stow-on-the-Wold War Memorial – A History of The Memorial and it’s Men”. This excellent book tells the history of the memorial itself, as well as looking at the lives of the 59 men from Stow who died in both world wars.
