Margaret Hayter (1923-1943): only Commonwealth War Grave to a woman who died on service in World War Two

In the Commonwealth War Grave section of Sherborne Cemetery can be found the only war grave in Sherborne to commemorate a woman who died on service during the Second World War.

The grave belongs to Margaret Hayter (1923-1943), and the inscription on her headstone reads:
2069687 CORPORAL
M.F. HAYTER
WOMEN’S AUXILIARY AIR FORCE
24TH JULY 1943 AGE 20
‘OF SUCH
IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN’

Margaret Frances Hayter (1923-1943), Commonwealth War Grave, Sherborne Cemetery. (Photograph taken by  Rachel Hassall)

Margaret Frances Hayter was born at Sherborne on 26 January 1923, the only child of Harold William Hayter (1891-1958), a master draper at the Sherborne Drapery Stores on the corner of Half Moon Street, and Mary Margaret Hayter (née Ogden) (1892-1971), of 4, Sunnyside Terrace, North Road, Sherborne. Margaret’s parents had married at Sherborne on 9 April 1921.

Sunnyside Terrace, North Road, Sherborne, where Margaret Hayter was born in 1923. (Photograph taken by Rachel Hassall)

Margaret was educated firstly at Sherborne Council Primary School and then at Lord Digby’s School (now The Sherborne).

On 29 September 1939 a Register was taken of the civilian population of the UK. The information was used during the war to produce identity cards, ration books, and to administer conscription. In the 1939 Register Margaret stated that she was ‘seeking work’, but she later found employment with her father as a draper’s assistant at Phillips & Son (formerly the Sherborne Drapery Stores and now the Melbury Gallery) on the corner of Half Moon Street, Sherborne. On the afternoon of Monday, 30 September 1940, Phillips & Son’s shop was badly damaged during an air-raid, however, the shop managed to reopen on 4 November 1940. This must have been a terrifying experience for Margaret and her father.

The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) had been established by King George VI on 28 June 1939 for duty with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in time of war. In December 1941, when the conscription of women was introduced, Margaret joined the WAAF and served as a corporal (service no. 2069687) with 73 (Signals) Wing Fighter Command based at Easthorpe Hall in Malton, Yorkshire.

Margaret became ill during Spring 1943 and she died on 24 July 1943, aged 20, at the Dorset County Home in Bournemouth Road, Parkstone, Dorset. Her cause of death was given as pulmonary tuberculosis.

The Western Gazette (30 July 1943) carried the following report of Margaret’s funeral, which was held at Sherborne Cemetery on 27 July 1943:

‘DEATH OF CORPL. M. HAYTER, W.A.A.F. The townspeople’s deep sympathy has been expressed with Mr and Mrs H.W. Hayter, of 4, Sunnyside Terrace, North Road, in the death of their only child, Miss Margaret Frances Hayter, aged 20, who died on Saturday. She was a corporal in the W.A.A.F., having joined the Service about twenty months ago. She was educated at the Council School and then at Lord Digby’s School. Prior to joining the W.A.A.F., Miss Hayter was on the staff of Messrs. Phillips & Son, and she had a large circle of friends. The funeral on Tuesday was conducted by the Vicar (Canon J.P.W. Lovett). Principal mourners were: Mr and Mrs H.W. Hayter (father and mother), Mr and Mrs G. Carver and Mrs G. Guppy (uncle and aunts), Mrs G. Hayter, Wimborne (cousin), Mrs Cooke, Mrs and A.C.W. Upshall, W.A.A.F., Mrs R.G. Stubbins, Mrs G. White (Parkstone), Mr D. Betten, Mrs Brake, Mrs N. Bradley, Miss Dew and Miss Whitworth.  Also present were: Mr W.G. Watson (director) and Mrs Proctor, Mrs Fincken, Miss  Westcott, Miss Framp, Miss Heath, and Mr F. Fox (representing Messrs. Phillips & Son), Miss Winnie Ryall and Miss Joan Dunford (representing the Old Girls of Lord Digby’s School), Leading Fireman W. Farthing, and Leading Fireman Headford, and Fireman Gould (representing the Sherborne N.F.S.). There was a profusion of beautiful flowers.’

A tribute to Margaret appeared in the December 1943 issue of the Lord Digby’s School Magazine:

‘It is with very great regret that we record the deaths of two Old Girls, Margaret Hayter and Peggy New… Margaret, who was serving with the W.A.A.F.’s, died after an illness of only two or three months. She was an Old Girl of whom the School was proud. Her cheerful and happy disposition and her spirit of willing service had endeared her to us all, and it was always a pleasure to see her outside the Staff Room door, where she never failed to appear whenever she was on leave. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the parents of both.’

Margaret Hayter’s name is also inscribed on the Sherborne Town War Memorial in Half Moon Street. The memorial commemorates those who died on service in the First and Second World Wars, and Margaret is the only woman named on the memorial.

The Sherborne town war memorial in Half Moon Street, includes the name of M.F. HAYTER, W.A.A.F. (Photograph taken by Rachel Hassall)

Rachel Hassall
20  September 2025

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