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Eileen Sarah Nichols
Eileen Sarah Nichols is an Old Malton war casualty .
There is practically no information available about Eileen. Her parents seem to have been Ernest and Sarah (nee Slater) Nichols who did not marry until the last quarter of 1929 in the Malton area and subsequently had two sons, George S. born in 1931 and Kenneth E. born in 1933. It seems that Eileen was born in the second quarter of 1923 as Eileen S. Slater and took the surname Nichols when Ernest and Sarah married. Ernest seems to have been from Goathland and born about 1906 while Sarah was born about 1897 and lived with her parents in Westgate, Old Malton. Ernest’s youth would mean that he could not marry without his parents’ consent until about 1927 by which time Eileen would have been about four years old.
According to the War Memorial at Elvington, Eileen was an Aircraftwoman in the WAAF based at 1667 CU (Conversion Unit) a training unit for aircrew, retraining experienced crews to fly heavy bombers especially Handley Page Halifaxes and Avro Lancasters. This unit was initially based at RAF Lindholme, then at RAF Faldingworth but finally moved to RAF Sandtoft on 18th February 1944.
Her death was registered in the first quarter of 1944 in the Scarborough area and she is buried in the Cemetery at Old Malton. Her first cousin’s daughter still lives in the parish.
Eileen was not commemorated on the Old Malton War Memorial untilthe dedication of the new plaque in 2014, but she is also on the memorial to the Yorkshire WAAF members who died in service during WW2 at Elvington.
