John Thorley
John Thorley was one of the seven children of William Thorley and his wife Betsy nee Milner. He was born in Erdington in Birmingham and baptised at the church of St Barnabas there on 24 May. His father was an agricultural labourer. By the age of 23 he was lodging in Dordon near Polesworth, and was a police constable. The following year, on 4 October 1892, he married Maria Wallbank in Polesworth.
John was transferred to Nuneaton before the birth of his first child in 1893, and stayed there until mid-1901, when his work took him to Bishop's Tachbrook. The family came to Stoneleigh in 1905 when the children were registered at Stoneleigh School. John and Maria had six children altogether, three girls and three boys; their son
Samuel Ernest died in Cairo in 1915 after being wounded at Gallipoli and is commemorated along with
Maria at
E 14.3. Their daughter
Ida, who died young, is buried at
E 14.2.
John became well-known as Stoneleigh's village policeman, living at various times at the police house in Birmingham Road and at Tantara Lodge. He died on 20 March 1924.