In 1939 the government requisitioned the Waterloo Road ground and pavilion and there is no record of the club playing any rugby during the war. The casualties were much higher and twenty seven members killed in action are listed on the Plaque. These include several members of the 1937-38 First XV, Messrs Halsall, High, Hollings, Kerr, Lord, Sutton, and Whitehead amongst them.

M G Cockshot
C E Evans
K Foster
D Halsall
E W Heaton
B High
G N Higham
F Hollings
L Jenkinson
D Kerr
A E Law
R E Lord
R K R Mason
I N G McCondach
J M McDonald
D W McEwen
F M Pennell
A F Riddlesworth
K C Rigby
J Roberts
J Shirm
J Sutton
A Vickers
T Wainwright
G White
H Whitehead
L Youngman

Able Seaman Charles Eric Evans, RN, died aged 33, 23rd October 1943 when his ship HMS Limbourne was heavily damaged by German torpedo boats in the English Channel off Weymouth. Commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. Son of Charles and Mary Evans, and married to Annie Evans, of Southport. Ex. KGV.

Squadron Leader (Navigator) Kenneth Jack Foster DFC and Bar, RAF Volunteer Reserve, originally with 53 Squadron (Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers) and finally with 97 Squadron (Lancaster bombers). Died aged 26, Thursday 23rd September 1943 when Lancaster Mark 111 JA708 OF-P was shot down from 16000 ft by nightfighters. The squadron operational target that night was Mannheim, Germany. Buried in Rheinberg War Cemetery. Son of Mr and Mrs J E Foster, and married to Eileen Foster. Ex. KGV.

Pilot Officer (Observer) Donald Addie Halsall, RAF Volunteer Reserve, with 254 Squadron (Bristol Blenheim Mark 1V). Died aged 21, Saturday 27th December 1941. Buried in Trondheim (Stavne) Cemetery about 500 km north of Oslo. Many airman buried here were shot down whilst attacking German shipping in Norwegian coastal waters. Son of Robert and Marie Macnee Addie Halsall, of Southport. Ex. KGV.

Sergeant (Navigator) Eric William Heaton, RAF Volunteer Reserve, died aged 21, Monday 4th December 1944. Buried at Orrell (St Luke) Churchyard, Lancashire. Son of William F. Heaton and Annie E. Heaton, of Orrell. Ex. KGV.

Sub-Lieutenant (Flyer) James Alfred Benis High RN Volunteer Reserve at the Royal Naval Air Station H.M.S. Jackdaw, Crail, Fife. Died Sunday 21st February 1943. Buried at Birkdale Cemetery. Son of James and Emily High of Hillside. Ex. KGV. Known as Benny he scored 15 tries in 1936-37 season, joint leading scorer with M M Pennell (see below), and was leading scorer with 10 tries in 1978-38.

Aircraftman 1st Class George Neil Higham RAF Volunteer Reserve, died Saturday 5th July 1941. Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey. Ex. KGV.

Flight Sergeant (Pilot) Leslie Jenkinson RAF Volunteer Reserve, died aged 29, Sunday 17th January 1943 when Lancaster Mark 1 5853C took off on a mission from RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire, and crashed near Wittmund. Buried at Sage war Cemetery, Germany. Son of Louis and Florence M Jenkinson, and married to Phyllis H Jenkinson of Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. Ex.KGV.

Pilot Officer (Pilot) Thomas Donald Kerr RAF 59 Squadron, formerly a Captain in the Royal Army Service Corps. Died aged 25 3rd June 1941. Buried at Plurien Communal Ceremony, Northern France. Son of James Rutherford Kerr, C.B.E., Ch.M., M.B., and Janet Russell Kerr, and stepson of Helen D. Kerr, of Southport.

Sergeant (Wireless Operator/Air Gunner) Albert Edward Law RAF Volunteer Reserve 115 Squadron (Wellington Mark 1C). Died Monday 24th February 1941 when Wellington Mark 1C L7810 KO-R having taken off from Marham crashed near Calais. Buried in Pihen-Les Guines War Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais. Ex.KGV

Sub-Lieutenant (Air) Reginald Eric Lord RN Volunteer Reserve on board HMS Nabob, a Ruler Class escort aircraft carrier. Died aged 26, Sunday 28th May 1944. Buried in Duke Street Cemetery. Son of Walter and Sally Lord, of Southport. Ex.KGV (Nabob was later torpedoed on 22 August 1944, while returning from a strike against the German battleship Tirpitz and sustained heavy damage)

Flight Lieutenant (Flight Instructor) Kenneth Reavley Mason RAF Volunteer Reserve, died aged 29, Tuesday 18th May 1943. Buried at Elloughton (St Mary) Churchyard Extension, Yorkshire. Son of Jackson and Ethel Maud Mason and married to Winifred L Mason L.R.A.M. (Elec) Diploma Eng Lit (Lond) of Willesborough, Kent. Ex.KGV

Sergeant (Pilot) Follett Mattinson Pennell RAF, 48 Squadron based at RAF West Thornley, Sussex from 25th August 1939 to 16th July 1940 flying Ansons and Beauforts. Died aged 23, Saturday 6th January 1940. Buried at West Thornley (St Nicholas) Churchyard. Son of Follett Montague Scott Pennell and Lilian Pennell, of Southport. Ex. KGV. His brother Montague (Monty) is shown on the 1937/38 team photograph. At the end of the 1936-37 season The Liverpool Post reported “A quite extraordinary performance is that of M.M. Pennell one of the centre three-quarters, who though playing nearly all his football for Liverpool University, scored 15 tries and dropped a goal on the few occasions which he has been able to help his club during vacation”.

Flight Lieutenant (Navigator) Allen Fairhurst Riddlesworth DFC, RAF, died aged 23 on Tuesday 25th February 1941 Buried in Duke Street Cemetery. Son of Albert and Martha Riddlesworth of Southport. Ex.KGV

Pilot Officer Kenneth Craiglaw Rigby. RAF Volunteer Reserve, 405 Squadron (Handley Page Halifax Bombers) Died Tuesday 3rd August 1943 when Halifax Mark 11 HR917 HQ-G was lost without trace during a raid on Hamburg. Commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. Ex.KGV. THE KEN RIGBY MEMORIAL CUP - this was presented to Southport before the game at Wigan which the home side won 24-12 on 25th January 2003 in recognition of PO Rigby having played a few games for Wigan as well as Southport. The Visiter reported on 31st January 2003 that “The cup is a designated War Memorial which Wigan wished give to Kens home town club having failed to locate any of his existing family”.

Sergeant (Wireless Operator/Observer) John Francis Roberts, RAF Volunteer Reserve, 46 Squadron (Bristol Beaufighters) Died aged 21, Sunday 15th November 1942. Buried ay Port Said War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. Son of Francis Hugh and May Roberts of Ainsdale. Ex.KGV

Flight Sergeant (Pilot) Alexander Jeremiah Shirm, RAF Volunteer Reserve, 3 Squadron (Hawker Hurricane Mark 11C) based at RAF Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, with detachments to Manston and Shoreham. Died aged 25, Wednesday 29th July 1942. Buried at Ouddrop General Cemetery, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands. Son of Charles William and Caroline Mary Emily Shirm of Birkdale. Ex.KGV

Sub-Lieutenant (Air Crew) Alan Vickers, RN Volunteer Reserve on board Aircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious. Died Saturday 11th March 1944. Commemorated on Lee-on-Sea Memorial, Hampshire Ex.KGV

Sergeant (Flight Engineer) Timothy Wainwright, RAF Volunteer Reserve 429 (R.C.A.F.) Squadron. Died aged 31, 26th November 1943 and is one of seven airmen buried in Carignan Communal Cemetery in the Ardennes, France. Son of Timothy and Emily Wainwright, of Southport, he was married to Enid Wainwright of Buxton, Derbyshire. Ex. KGV, Tim was in the First XV for eight years up to 1938. His family have a long association with the club going back to 1906 his father playing for the First XV up until 1913. Brother Jack played between 1934 and 1948 and was a vice-president, Chairman of the ground, match and selection committees, Club Chairman, and from 1949 a referee. Jacks wife Peggy was elected one of the first joint lady vice- Presidents in the 1970/71 season. Tim’s nephew John Timothy an ex KGV pupil was a schoolboy member at Southport between 1969 and 1971 before moving away and settling in East Lancashire where he coached his son, also called Timothy, from u-8 to u18s at Blackburn RUFC returning to Waterloo Road on occasions when the two clubs met.‘Young’ Timothy would have used the same changing rooms as his father, grandfather and great-uncle (his great-grandfather would have played at Victoria Park) now ply’s his trade at Hampstead RFC in London. The family connection also goes back to Tim’s Uncle John who played for the First XV 1908 and 1913 and Arthur Robinson (presumably his cousin?) who played for the Thirds between 1929 and 1932.

Lieutenant Harry Whitehead, RN Volunteer Reserve on board corvette H.M.S. Polyanthus. Died aged 26, Monday 20th September 1943 when Polyanthus was sunk by the German submarine U-952 using new German weapons technology about 1,000 miles southwest of Reykjavik during convoy escort duty in the Battle of the North Atlantic. Commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. Son of Edward and Clara Whitehead, of Birkdale. Ex.KGV.