Death of Isle stalwart who helped to liberate Norway during WW2

Wilfred Harold Lindley grew up in Finningley, within a family of builders. He left school to work full-time in the building trade at the age of 13, developing an area around the current Lindley Road.

Wilf was an early volunteer for WW2 and transferred to the 1st parachute Battalion, that formed in September 1941. He saw service in North Africa, the Netherlands and Germany, and possessed the insignia from Hitler’s personal railway train, a cast of which stood at the entrance to his drive.

The highlight of his army career was being within the battalion that secured the liberation of Norway, for which he held a certificate addressed to Staff Sgt WH Lindley and signed by Olav, then Crown Prince of Norway.

After the war he returned to the building trade and lived in Haxey with his wife Lassie and their daughter Margaret. He built council properties in the area and claimed to have connected the first piped water supply in Haxey, with lead pipes.

Wilf served on Haxey Parish Council for 60 years until 2011 when he stepped down at the age of 95 after helping with many local projects. He remained a trustee of the Combined Charities.

His main hobbies were racing and bowls, and he was president of Haxey Bowling Club. Until recently he and his fiancée June were active members of the ballroom dancing club in Westwoodside.

The racing enthusiast was a regular at the Duke William pub in Haxey and the Queen’s Head in Epworth, along with the betting shop next door. He was a founder member of the Queen’s Head Racing Syndicate, formed in 1999 with patron Lesley Garrett.

Wilf died on July 27 following illness. He leaves a daughter, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Coun William Eckhardt said: “Wilf will be sadly missed by his loving fiancée June, who looked after him so well in his later years; he will certainly be missed by his daughter Margaret and other family members who live abroad, and by his drinking companions as well as his many other friends.”