Ronald William Craddock and Gwendoline Betty nee Sturgess
Ronald William Craddock was the son of
Thomas James Craddock and his wife
Mary Ann nee Wardell (
B5.14). He was born on 1 April 1926, the third child of four. He was baptised at Stoneleigh on 23 May.
Ron began his life in a cottage in Church Lane, next to his grandparents, before the family moved to North Lodge and then to 10 The Bank. After leaving Stoneleigh School he went to work for a sheet metal firm. During the war he joined the Fleet Air Arm and was stationed at Royal Naval Air Station Stretton (HMS Blackcap), near Warrington, Cheshire, where he was a mechanic assembling American aircraft ready for test flights.
Ron married
Gwendoline Betty Sturgess on 2 October 1950, after meeting her at one of the Stoneleigh dances in the old village hall. Ron and Betty lived in Stoneleigh, moving into a cottage two doors away from Ron's mother not long after they were married. They were very involved in village life enjoying the village dances and Ron ran the Scouts, whilst Betty helped with the Cubs and later they both helped with the Youth Group. It was when running Scouts that Ron found a set of handbells that Lord Leigh had given the village and he put them into use again, with the help of Betty, who wrote out the music so the children could easily understand, and were playing at the Church and other events. Ron joined the Village Hall Committee in the 1940's and remained a valuable member of the team until his death.
Ron died on 4 January 2009, aged 82 and was buried on 16 January.
The youngest of 8,
Gwendoline Betty Sturgess, known as Betty, was born in Kenilworth on 18 November 1931, to William John Sturgess and Winifred Gwendoline nee Bennett. Betty had very strong connections with Stoneleigh. Her paternal grandmother was Lizzie Florence Sturgess nee Walden; John Goode, the local blacksmith was her uncle and the Waldens owned the village sweetshop.
Before marrying Ron, Betty was an apprentice dressmaker to a firm in Leamington Spa. She would cycle there from her home in Kenilworth. Betty made her own wedding dress and Betty used to tell the story of how Lord John Leigh came to their home with a pile of shirts over his arm, asking her to turn the collars.
Betty's nimble fingers didn't stop with the sewing needle. She had learned to play the piano by ear from a young age, and was sent to have piano lessons at the age of nine. Betty had a new piano about the same time and her mother gave the old one to the POW camp in Rouncil Lane, Kenilworth. Betty played keyboard in the Stoneleigh Dance Band and was involved with the writing music for the Stoneleigh Handbell ringers.
Betty died 21 June 2013, aged 81 and was buried with her husband on 8 July.
Ron and Betty gave so much to Stoneleigh and enjoyed every minute of it. They had a long history of past generations living in the village and were proud of it.