William Henry Dean was born in Thornton on 16 November 1894 son of insurance broker Alfred Dean and his wife Hannah, nee Bowes. At the time of the 1901 census the family was living at Tong and by 1911 they had moved to 15 Park View, Calverley, and William now had a seven-year-old sister, Lilian. He was 16 years old and a student. On 29 September 1916, the Shipley Times & Express reported: “Second Lieut W H Dean, of the Royal Field Artillery, after being mentioned in despatches, has been awarded the Military Cross for distinguished service in the field. “He is the only son of Cllr Alfred Dean and was educated at Woodhouse Grove School and the

Leeds University. “Lieut Dean, who is 21 years of age, is well-known in Calverley and played regularly with the Calverley St Wilfred’s Cricket Club. “He also played cricket, lacrosse and tennis with Leeds University teams, being one of the winners in the Tennis Tournament in June 1914.” The following week the newspaper published a picture of William and added: “The award was acknowledged by council members before their

meeting. They were proud that a young man from Calverley had had such a high honour conferred upon him and in the name of the Council the chairman offered hearty congratulations. “In response, Cllr Dean thanked his colleagues or their kind words and assured them he would pass them on to his son. “He added that he felt sure that those congratulations constituted a recognition through his son of what all our brave lads were worthy in offering even their lives for the sake of justice, honour and

freedom.” The only other mentions of William’s war is of his promotion to full lieutenant in August 1917 and short notices in the Calverley news section when he was home on brief leaves. We have to turn to the Ancestry site for some details of his life after the war. In June 1921 he married Edith Pilley and the couple had four children, Margaret, John, Hannah and Alfred. At the time of the 1939 survey they are living at Farnill, Aireborough, and William is given as a Textile Company Director. He died in the Harrogate area, in October 1980.