William Ernest Folds, Stoker Petty Officer, P/KX 75665, was born on December 1st 1908 in St Albans, Hertfordshire. He was the son of Ernest Charles Folds, a bricklayer, and his wife Elsie Ada, née Brackstone, who died in 1914. William’s father had fought in the First World War and was invalided out of the Army in 1917. He died in 1925.
William enlisted for twelve years from February 1st 1926. He re-enlisted in December 1937, and joined HMS Dunedin on July 29th, 1939. He held the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
In the Commonwealth War Graves Archive, William’s next of kin is given as his foster mother, Elizabeth Craven, of Cowplain, Hampshire.