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Arthur Bennet Lesley, was one of 23 young men from Richmond who lost their lives in either World War I, World War II, or in the Korean War whose names were inscribed on the Richmond Cenotaph.
File photo by Chung Chow
In honour of our soldiers: Arthur Bennet Lesley
Published 12:49 PDT, Tue October 21, 2025
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In our previous series, we learned about the 56 men who gave their lives during World War I and World War II, whose names had been inscribed on the Richmond Cenotaph and had a poppy street sign named after them. Following our poppy street sign series, we moved onto the young soldiers whose names were inscribed on the Richmond Cenotaph, but did not have a road named after them. Those names are compiled of 23 young men who lost their lives in World War I, World War II, or in the Korean War.
Arthur Bennet Lesley was born on June 30, 1920 in Eburne, Richmond. He was the son of Bennet King and Nora Irene Lesley of 605 No. 6 Road, in Eburne, Richmond. He and his families occupation are unknown but his origin can be confirmed in his entry in They Shall Not Grow Old
His date of enlistment was unknown, what was known however is that he was a member of the crew of the Wellington aircraft # W5496, City of Vancouver Squadron.
On Aug. 15, 1941, their squadron was on a bombing mission when their plane was either hit or got into an accident. The plane and all those aboard crashed into the sea off Flaborough Head, England. He was a sergeant observer at the time and has no known grave.
The names of those who were on the plane were inscribed on the Runnymede War Memorial, Egham, Surrey, England.
Eight years later, the City of Richmond had written a letter to the Canadian Legion No. 5 Branch, requesting the names of the fallen soldiers that should be added to the Cenotaph. The Legion provided a list in their response letter, as well as a paragraph arguing for Arthur Lesley to be added to the Richmond Cenotaph.
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