Kenneth Stanley Grange was born on 1 February 1925 in Stoke‑on‑Trent, Staffordshire. He was the only child of Albert Edward Grange (born 26 January 1903 in Chesterton) and Alice Gertrude Lancaster (born 28 September 1900 in Bucknall). Albert and Alice married in Stoke‑on‑Trent in the third quarter of 1924.

The 1921 Census records Alice Gertrude Lancaster living at 185 Werrington Road, Bucknall, with her father Abraham Lancaster, a pitch labourer at the Gas & Heavy Acids Harsshman Chemical Works, her mother Mary Jane Lancaster, and siblings Gilbert (with his wife Ann and daughter Ivy) and Elsie May.

In the same census year, Albert Edward Grange was living at 30 Andley Road, Chesterton, employed as a Chemical Worker, Coke Wheeler (By‑Product). He lived with his parents, John William and Lily E. Grange, and siblings Harry E., John W., Ernest, Florence, Arnold, Arthur, and Brenda.

By the 1939 Register, Albert and Alice were living at 183 Werrington Road, next door to Alice’s widowed father Abraham, her sister Elsie May, and her widowed brother Gilbert with his daughter Ivy. Albert was employed as a Public Works Foreman. A redacted entry at the address almost certainly refers to Kenneth.

Before enlistment, Kenneth worked locally for Royal Doulton, Burslem, and Calendars Cable and Construction Company Ltd.

Although the exact date of Kenneth’s enlistment is unknown, newspaper reports indicate he joined the Army around May 1943. He served with the 285th Field Company, Royal Engineers. He was recorded as a casualty on 18 October 1944, and further information confirms that he died on 11 December 1944, aged 19, at Kelpen, Holland, as the result of a motorcycle accident.

Kenneth is buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, plot XII.D.6.

Newspaper reports from The Staffordshire Sentinel state that Kenneth lived at 183 Werrington Road, Bucknall, and that before enlistment, he had been employed by Royal Doulton and Calendars Cable and Construction Company Ltd.

A 1956 Sentinel article reported that the Nijmegen Pilgrims—including Mr and Mrs Albert E. Grange of 360 Werrington Road—travelled to Holland for the unveiling of the Groesbeek Memorial on 2 June 1956. The memorial commemorates 1,103 officers and men of the Commonwealth armies who died during the advance from the Seine into Germany and have no known grave. The Duke of Gloucester, President of the Imperial War Graves Commission, performed the unveiling. The pilgrimage, arranged by the British Legion, lasted four days and cost each pilgrim £12, with assistance from Dutch authorities in securing accommodation.

The obituary for Kenneth’s father reads:

GRANGE (Albert, Edward). Treasured memories of a dear husband, who died Nov. 17th, 1964. Also, dear Son in Holland 1944, reunited. While the light lasts, I will remember, and in the darkness, I will not forget. Sadly missed. – Wife Alice.

On 18 October 1978, Alice Gertrude Grange died, aged 78.

Kenneth Stanley Grange is remembered on the Royal Doulton Burslem Memorial, and for his service, he was entitled to the 1939–45 Star, France and Germany Star, and War Medal.

He is also commemorated on the Monument of Tolerance website. The monument, unveiled on 8 March 2001, honours more than 800 soldiers of 11 nationalities who lost their lives in the Leudal area of the Netherlands during the war years 1940–1945.
 

Sources.​
 

• The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; 1921 Census Returns; Reference: RG 15/12579, ED 14, Sch 199; Book: 12579
• The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; 1921 Census Returns; Reference: RG 15/12753, ED 3, Sch 64; Book: 12753
• England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916-2005
• Birth: General Register Office; United Kingdom; Reference: Volume 6b, Page 420
• The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: RG 101/5293C
• The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; War Office: Roll of Honour, Second World War.Publication Title: Army Roll of Honour 1939-45. Soldiers Died in World War Two. (WO304); Publication Format: CD Rom; Publisher: Naval & Military Press
• The National Archives; London, England, UK; WO 417: Army Casualty Lists, 1939-45 War; Reference: WO 417/86
• https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000525/19441102/008/0001
• https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000525/19441227/008/0001
• https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000525/19560224/006/0006
• https://monumentoftolerance.com/en/mot/soldiers/detail/1610/kenneth-stanley-grange
• https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2663426/kenneth-stanley-grange/
• https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/12206919/person/13323945919/facts