Private William Mallendar was born in 1919, the son of Edward and Lily Mallender of Waleswood. He served with the infantry of 1st Leicestershire Regiment. A Worksop Guardian article of 6th November 1942 appealed for information:
Mr. and Mrs. E. Mallender, Waleswood Hamlet, would be grateful for any news of their son, Pte. Willie Mallender, of the 1st Leicesters who was posted missing last March in Malaya. Mr and Mrs Mallender have not had any news for over 18 months. Pte. Mallender had been in the army for 3½ years and was drafted to India on his 21st birthday 3 years ago.
It was later confirmed that William had dies on 2nd February 1942. He is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, Kranji War Cemetery which records the names of over 20,000 allied service personnel with no known grave. He is also remembered on the Wales Square memorial.