The Lord he moves in Mysterious ways...

[Verrieres]

Hi,
I was posting this under the thread Heroes at Rest but I think it would be lost in that thread because at the moment that thread is covering the air war. So I`m starting it in a new thread,
During May/June last year (2008) I visited the area around Normandy my priority was to visit my uncles grave at Bayeux,however one of the other cemeteries we visited was Jerusalem where young Jackie Banks lies.Amongst the well kept graves were two Padres attatched to the DLI no one seemed to know their story although someone did mention that they may have died as a result of the same incident.Today whilst looking through some of the photographs my son took on that day I came across the two padre`s once more and decided to dig a little in the hope that I could reveal what had truely happened to the pair.

The Rev. CECIL JAMES HAWKSWORTH,
Initials:C J
Nationality:United Kingdom
Rank:Chaplain 4th Class
Regiment/Service:Royal Army Chaplains' Department
Age:35 Date of Death:07/07/1944
Service No:90874
Awards:Mentioned in Despatches
Additional information:Husband of Diana Hawksworth, of Kingsclere, Hampshire. A.K.C.
Casualty Type:Commonwealth War DeadGrave/Memorial Reference:Row B. 2.Cemetery:JERUSALEM WAR CEMETERY, CHOUAIN
His appointment to the armed forces is contained in the London Gazette dated the 30th June 1939

The Rev. GERARD NESBITT
Initials:G
Nationality:United Kingdom
Rank:Chaplain 4th Class
Regiment/Service:Royal Army Chaplains' Department
Secondary Regiment Durham Light Infantry
Secondary Unit Text:attd. 8th Bn.
Age:33 Date of Death:05/07/1944
Service No:163330
Additional information:Croix de Guerre (France)Mentioned in Dispatches. Son of Stephen and Jane Nesbitt, of Felling-on-Tyne, Co. Durham. D. Phil.
Casualty Type:Commonwealth War DeadGrave/Memorial Reference:Row B. 1.Cemetery:JERUSALEM WAR CEMETERY, CHOUAIN
His appointment to the armed forces is dated the 30th December 1940 and appeared in the London Gazette on the 10th January 1941 Mentioned in Dispatches London Gazette 12th January 1944 Pg 12

This extract was taken from 8th Battalion The Durham Light Infantry by Major Lewis and Major English;-
Padre Nesbitt was killed today he was killed by a stray shell whilst burying the dead just behind the 9 th DLI positions. Padre Nesbitt had been with the 8th DLI since the end of 1940 and was well loved by all ranks whether of Roman Catholic faith or not his quiet manner yet very strong personality impressed all those who came in contact with him. Always cheerful and willing to help anyone in trouble, he was regarded as a personal friend by many. He was a great example of courage and fortitude and his death deeply affected all members of the Battalion. All the old officers of the 8th DLI headed by the CO went back to attend the funeral at 149 Field Ambulance…

Extract from the Faithful Sixth(DLI) by Harry Moses;-
On the 6th July the 6th Battalion the DLI suffered a real loss with the tragic death of Padre Hawksworth,the Church of England padre.He was seriously injured whilst riding a motorcycle.He was taken to 149 Field Ambulance but later died of his injuries.He had been with the Battalion since theend of the Sicilian Campaign and his loss was felt deeply by all officers and other ranks.his funeral was held later in the 50th Divisional cemetery....

So the story that they had been injured in the same incident was unfounded but both died in 149 Field Ambulance and just to add a little irony to the tale Padre G Markham (Cannon Markham)who joined 8DLI at this time stated `My first job with the DLI was to bury my predessor Padre Nesbitt who was killed by a shell whilst conducting the funeral service of another Padre who had been accidentally killed a day or so before!` they now lie together in Jerusalem Cemetery.
Regards
Verrieres

[Smudger Jnr]

Yes the Lord does indeed move in a mysterious way.
A good but sad post to read.

Regards
Tom

[Verrieres]

Hi,

The story of one `Padre` who survived ;-Chaplain Fraser McLuskey was born on 19th September 1914 in 1939 he married his German Wife Irene Calaminus.Fraser joined the Royal Army Chaplains' Department in 1942 , thus opening the door to an outstanding period of Military service. Padre McLuskey volunteered for parachute training and was eventually appointed Chaplain to the 1st SAS Regiment.
He parachuted into southern France with his squadron in June 1944, armed only with a large amount of bibles! Lots of harsh warfare followed, as the occupying German forces tried to eliminate both the French Maquis and the British troops supporting them in their disruptive tactics. Through all the tragedies and the heroisms of War Padre McLuskey ministered unstintingly and courageously to his "parishioners", describing this theatre of war with typical understatement as "a pretty wide parish!" His kindly and effective ministry to all ranks in the face of constant danger has never been forgotten by those he served.

The humanity in Padre McLusky showed through as he talked with his men about his anxieties for Irene at home and what he himself described as terrible homesickness. His admitting such feelings to his comrades built an even closer relationship with them: here was a padre not wrapped in an impenetrable saintliness but one who knew what it was to share and overcome anxiety and fear. Courage was abundant also in Padre Fraser McLuskey. In1945 the award of the Military Cross was recognition of it and was well recieved by his regiment. His citation reads;-
On 22nd June 1944 the Rev McLuskey dropped by parachute with the main body of "A" Sqdn 1st SAS behind the enemy lines. During the next three months he carried out all his duties with the greatest courage and determination. When the area was full of German Convoys and patrols, he made several long and dangerous journeys between the base and outlying patrols in a civilian car with only a driver obtaining most valuable information. His bravery, steadiness and cheerfulness in all situations, and complete disregard for personal safety served as an inspiration to the whole Squadron.
In 1945, entering Germany with the 2nd Army, McLuskey entered Wuppertal discovered that his wife`sGerman parents and other members of the family had been killed in the last Allied air-raid of the war. His war experiences fashioned in him a determination to break down barriers between people .In 1951 he related his war time experiences in his book `The Parachute Padre` which was republished in 1985 with a forward by David Stirling.Fraser McLuskey died in Edinburgh on 24th July 2005

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 29 MARCH, 1945
The Military Cross
The Reverend James Fraser McLuskey (270929),
Chaplain to the Forces, Fourth Class, Royal Army
Chaplains' Department (Edinburgh).

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 20 MAY, 1947
ROYAL ARMY CHAPLAINS' DEPARTMENT
The undermentioned from Emerg. Commn to be
granted Short Service Commns as Chapln. to the
Forces, 4th Cl.:—
Rev James Fraser McLusKEY, M A, B.D.
(270929) (C of S) (of 5 years), i5th May 1947.

SUPPLEMENT. TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, .28 NOVEMBER, 1947
ROYAL ARMY CHAPLAINS' DEPARTMENT.
Rev. James Fraser^McLusKEY, M.C., M.A., B.D.
(270929), Chapln. to the Forces, 4th Cl. (C. of S.),
from Short Serv. Commn. to be Chapln. to the
Forces, 4th CL, ist-.Oct.-1947

Regards

Verrieres

[Verrieres]

Hi,
Heres a brief tale of a priest in the German Army Father Josef Perau who was reported to have kept a detailed diary of his thoughts and service;-

On June 13, 1940 Father Josef Perau was conscripted into a medical unit as part of general call ups, as the Concordat (agreement between the Apostolic See and a government of a certain country on religious matters) between the Vatican and the Nazi state stipulated. The Unit was composed of "doctors, pharmacists, barbers, Red Cross workers, theologians, and priests."For 12 months Perau served in Danzig, Riesenburg, and Ghent, primarily in the various military hospitals in those areas

As a Priest he found life in this situation difficult he is reported to have kept adiary and recorded his feelings of oppression by his officers and wished for a posting to a combat unit where he felt he could have more impact on the frontline soldiers.
A call to Berlin for a chaplain training course in July 1941 ended this period of Josef Perau's service. At the time, he was excited at the prospect of ministering to the troops, but unaware of the hard times which lay ahead. After leaving Berlin he was posted to a military hospital in Tomaszow on the Eastern Front

. The entries during this period, immediately before his deployment to the eastern front, display a great deal about Perau's perception of himself as a chaplain, and what he thought the role of a chaplain should be. He expressed discomfort with the concept of wearing a uniform so similar to that of the SS; he clearly disliked the SS, He reacted with "discomfort and sorrow" to the fact that he could be mistaken for an SS officer His new position had its draw backs his primary objection was that the chaplain was armed and carried the title Kriegspfarrer, literally war-pastor,

Over the course of the next year Perau served at a number of different military hospitals on the eastern front, mostly in Russia and Ukraine, but also in Poland as well. In this period he was first forced to come to terms with the atrocities being committed . Perau states that when speaking to Russian families he was ashamed to be German and he often repeated his desire that other nations would know that not all Germans were Nazis , in an especially troubled entry he recounted his thoughts upon seeing a mass grave of Russian prisoners in Roslwal:
“The guard tells me there are already about 19,000 therein…I look over the edge of the grave and see many layers of tangled corpses with wide eyes and clenched hands--a terrible accusation.”
Perau continued noting the tales of epidemic disease in the camps and cannibalism on account of hunger Josef Perau certainly shared the Nazis' distaste for Bolshevism. It was, for him, a fearful concept because it was utterly Godless, a destroyer of lives and communities He was afraid that if the Russians won, then " the complete annihilation" of the church would .be complete In contrast, he had no qualms with Slavic people themselves. While in Poland Perau noted his respect for the Poles' "deeply rooted Christianity," and was impressed by the intelligence of captured Russian soldiers. Perau admired the desire of the Slavic peoples for Christianity, be it Greek Orthodox or Catholic. Perau also reported a "brotherly relationship" with Polish priests he met in the latter days of the war. For the next two years Perau moved between a number of different military units on the Eastern Front. In May 1942 Perau was assigned to the front; his initial reaction was negative, not wanting to leave the "stable life of the hospital and the mass to the chaos of war." Perau clearly now feared working at the front; He became increasingly depressed towards the end of the war. . He was exceedingly disenchanted in August 1944, when his unit suffered great losses as it retreated; Perau called these casualties "worthless blood sacrifices" and was fairly certain that Germany had lost the war He also recorded only seeing other chaplains rarely or not at all.s not surprising due to Goebbels' 1942 order that the vacancies within the chaplaincy would no longer be filled After February, 1943 Himmler and Hitler insisted that all army chaplains become grenadiers, otherwise they would be dismissed. The news filtered back to the front of the large scale executions of so called deserters and he records privately how he rejoiced when they heard the news of Hitler's death, noting that he was thankful for "that life which is newly given to us," but kept these feelings to himself as "such words were still very dangerous.Josef Perau spent a short time in an Allied prisoner of war camp at the end of the war.Father Josef Perau died in 2006


Regards
Verrieres

[Stevin]

Great thread. Very much an overlooked part of WWII. I recently got "The Man Who Worked On Sundays" by Rev Leslie Skinner (8th Arm Brig - Sherwood Rangers), because it is self-published and because they were so involved in the casualty department as well. The book gives a great insight into the work these men did....very sad and difficult at times...and dangerous....as this thread testifies to.

[Verrieres]

Originally Posted by Stevin

Great thread. Very much an overlooked part of WWII. I recently got "The Man Who Worked On Sundays" by Rev Leslie Skinner (8th Arm Brig - Sherwood Rangers), because it is self-published and because they were so involved in the casualty department as well. The book gives a great insight into the work these men did....very sad and difficult at times...and dangerous....as this thread testifies to.

The Reverend Leslie Skinner
The Reverend Leslie Skinner, a Methodist minister, was reportedly the first British chaplain to land on D-Day. He was senior chaplain to the 8th (Independent) Armoured Brigade, and was attached to the Sherwood Rangers when they landed on Gold beach in the first wave of the assault. Skinner was injured as his landing craft hit a mine but quickly started to gather up the wounded and arrange their evacuation. He used a lightweight motorcycle to pursue his personal mission of tracing members of the unit reported missing, and giving a Christian burial to those who had been killed. All were located except for one, for whom Skinner was forbidden by his commanding officer to search the battlefield.
Ken Markland who seved with the division recalled in 2000 An interesting recollection of the Rev. L. Skinner.
"Ron Copeman and I will remember him for driving us when wounded in his specially converted jeep from Pt.103 on 10th June, 1944, past some German troops on our way to the beach and hospital in England, commenting to us quite calmly as we lay on our stretchers that he felt fairly confident they (The Germans)would respect the red cross flag he was flying!."
The Rev. Skinner recalled later going down the main street of a town in Normandy where there was some German infantry being winkled out when suddenly firing broke out at both ends of the road-
“so I dived into a shop for cover. It was a barbers’ shop, so I had a haircut while waiting for things to simmer down. Only later did it strike me as somewhat unusual to have one’s hair cut while a bit of a battle went on outside.” - .Three weeks after the landings Skinner was wounded in the head by a mortar fragment but recovered and served with the Sherwood Rangers throughout the rest of the campaign in north-west Europe.a truly courageous gentleman
Regards
Verrieres

[militarycross]

This is the first look at the Padres from the other side. Thanks. I would invite more in this thread if there are stories to be told. I've read Canon Scott and Peace Time Padres, but nothing on the view from the other pew or pulpit.

[Stevin]

I have, from the Allied side

- Wings On The Cross - A padre with the RAF by P. Hamilton Pollock
- The Scarlet Dawn by Msgr. R M Hickey, Major (I think he was with the North Shore Regt)

On the German side there is

- Amazon.com: German Military Chaplains In World War Ii (Schiffer Military History Book): Mark Hayden: Books

Interesting story about the US Army chaplain at Nuremburg Prison: Army Chaplain to German War Criminals at Nuremburg

A thread Carl started at ww2forums.com: German Army & Navy Chaplains in WWII. - World War II Forums

[Verrieres]

John Frederick Olney Bown was born on March 19 1913 at Penrhiwceiber, Glamorganshire, where his father was curate. Not long after his birth the family moved to Chelmsford diocese and to a long spell in London's dockland before his father became vicar of Orsett, a few miles from Tilbury.
Young John went as an exhibitioner to King's College, Cambridge, to read History, then to Cuddesdon Theological College to prepare for Holy Orders. In 1937 he joined a team of curates at Prittlewell, the parish church of Southend.
Padre John Bown enlisted as a TerritorialArmy chaplain while a curate at Southend, and was called up on the outbreak of war in September 1939 for service with an anti-aircraft artillery unit.
After being sent to France with the BEF early the following year Padre Bown worked in a casualty clearing station after the opening of the German offensive. When the British Army fell back on Dunkirk he elected to remain with the wounded who could not be evacuated.
For the next three years he was in a total 12 prisoner-of-war camps in Germany and Poland where, as he always put it, he was "the captive of the Hun". He ministered faithfully and sometimes courageously to his fellow prisoners, and at one point narrowly escaped execution by the Gestapo through the intervention of a German army officer.
He recalled how the men in his first camp, Stalag XXA at Thorn, Poland, had made him an altar, cross and candlesticks. At first chaplains conducted services in battle dress, but later the Red Cross sent them surplices, cassocks and stoles, while choristers improvised their own surplices. The chaplains' work was much the same as at home, except that they had to submit their sermons to the camp censor.
In 1943Bownwas repatriated, via Sweden, and became chaplain of the Woolwich Garrison, where he met and subsequently married his future wife Jane Crook, an assistant matron of the garrison hospital .In 1945 he was granted a permanent commission in the Royal Army Chaplains Department, and over the next 25 years served in senior positions in many parts of the world, proving himself a born padre – friendly, down-to-earth, at ease with all ranks and always aware of the religious character of his role.
He served as a senior chaplain to North Africa and Italy. Then came a year in India with the 10th Indian Division. Two years in Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces included visits to devastated Hiroshima, and after two years at the Solent Garrison in Portsmouth he went for three years to Germany. Promotion to Deputy Assistant Chaplain General in 1953 gave him responsibility for the chaplains in East Anglia District, and in 1955 he went for the first of two postings to East Africa. These involved travelling 900 miles by land, sea and air most weeks. A unit in the Seychelles came under his jurisdiction, so that on several occasions he visited Archbishop Makarios, the Greek Cypriot leader who had been exiled for his support of the Eoka terrorist movement in Cyprus. Bown established and developed a training course for indigenous Army chaplains in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and also became a canon of Nairobi Cathedral where, during his second tour, he refurnished the garrison church in the city.
Between these postings he spent two years in England with Anti-Aircraft Command, and established a lasting link with the Royal Artillery which was to lead after his retirement to the honorary chaplaincy of the regimental association; for 17 years he conducted the annual Remembrance service at the Royal Artillery memorial in Hyde Park. Returning from East Africa in 1963, Bown was promoted to Assistant Chaplain General, I British Corps in Germany, where he remained for two years; he received a Scroll of Appreciation from the American Army for his contribution to the religious welfare of its units. His final years in the Army were spent in England, first as Assistant Chaplain General of Northern Command, then of Southern Command, becoming a Queen's Honorary Chaplain in 1967.
Padre Bown died suddenly on September 23rd 2008.


THE LONDON GAZETTE, 14 JULY, 1939

The Rev. John Frederick Olney BOWN,

B.A. 7th July 1939.,
Regards
Verrieres

[Verrieres]

The Chaplains who perished that day were;Ernest Warburton Stewart “Pat” Macdonald ,Captain David H. Youngdahl; 1st Lt. Fr. Valmore Savignac; 1st Lt. Horace E. Gravely and 1st Lt. James E. Liston. Two other chaplains were saved that day, Chaplains Ira Bentley and G. J. Whelan

Ernest Warburton Stewart “Pat” Macdonald was born on December 25, 1911 to John Ernest and Patience (Stewart) Macdonald in Boston, MA
Captain “Pat” Macdonald was on board USS Henry R. Mallory,on route to Iceland a journey that never made it to their intended destination but Captain Macdonald would do his duty in giving aid and comfort Captain Macdonald gave his life on Sunday, February 7, 1943 along four other chaplains aboard the USS Henry R.Mallory.

29 July 1943

Dear Mr. And Mrs. Macdonald:
It is with profound regret that I must inform you of the death of your son, Chaplain (Captain) Ernest W. S. Macdonald, 0-449-888, Corps of Chaplains, who died as a result of enemy action in the North Atlantic Ocean. A Telegram announcing his death was sent to his wife, Mrs. Katherine B. Macdonald, 21 Langley Circle, Wollaston, Massachusetts, who had been designated by him as the person to be notified in case of an emergency.
He was a passenger on a ship, which was attacked shortly after midnight by an enemy submarine. After the vessel was struck every effort was made to effect the rescue of those who were aboard. Such efforts were continued long beyond the period of time that human life could survive the elements in the area. In view of the compelling evidence, it has been determined and entered officially on the records of the War Department that he was killed in action on 7 February 1943.
I regret exceedingly that because of the necessity for extensive inquiry to substantiate the fact of death, it has been necessary to delay this report until every possible source of information could be checked.
It is distressing that this tragic message must be added to the burden of grief you have borne so bravely since our original missing in action report. May the thought that he gave his life heroically in action be of sustaining comfort to you.
Please accept me deepest sympathy in your great loss.

Sincerely yours,

Signed

J. A. Ulio

Major General,

The Adjutant General.

Captain David H. Youngdahl, O448376, Protestant Chaplain, US Army Chaplain Corps awarded the Purple Heart Posthumously and his name appears on a monument in Cambridge, England inscribed with the names of the men Missing in Action or Lost at Sea.

Valmore G. Savignac, the son of a policeman was killed in action on February 7, 1943 and was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. His family was notified of his missing in action status about a month after the sinking and then as per American law was declared dead one year and a day after the sinking on February 8, 1944. Padre Valmore G. Savignac, 1st Lt. Army Chaplain Corps was the first chaplain killed in action during the war from the state of Rhode Island.

James M. Liston was a native of the Chicago area and was born on 16 th September 1905 in Chicago On August 3, 1943 a letter from the War Department arrived at 6613 S. Honore St. addressed to Mr. And Mrs. James Joseph Liston informing them that their son 1st Lt. James M. Liston, O462733, United States Army, Chaplain Corps gave his life on February 7, 1943. Chaplain Liston was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously

A survivor that day was Padre Ira Bentley

On April 22, 1942 he was appointed a Chaplain in the Army Corps of Chaplains at the rank of Captain Chaplain Bentley could not know at that time that his services would be required before they even got to the battlefields in Europe. Chaplain Bentley’s first taste of battle would be in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. Once the USS Henry R Mallory had slipped from the surface of the angry waters Chaplain Bentley found himself lucky to be among the living, for now. Men were drowning and freezing all around him. He would endure the icy waters for over seven hours, until rescued by the USCGC Bibb.Father Gerald J. Whelan was the only other Padre to survive the sinking.

The ill fated USS Henry R Mallory On 7 February 1943, while en route to Northern Ireland from New York with convoy SC-118, SS Henry R. Mallory was torpedoed and sunk south of Iceland by the German submarine U-402. Of the nearly 500 crewmen, Navy Armed Guardsmen and passengers on board, over 270 lost their lives in the torpedoing or while awaiting rescue in the winter seas of the North Atlantic.

For anyone wanting more information on the History/sinking/Crew rescue then there is a lot of information here;- USS Henry R. Mallory

Regards
Verrieres