I'm currently trying to find any information on the above soldier, POW number 70691 at Stalag XII-D. I believe he was 5th Battalion East Lancs Regt but I can't confirm this. I think his service number gives him a joining date of approx late 1942 and he should have been 17/18 years old at this point. Any signposting to information on Pte Thomas Viner, his capture or confirmation of his unit and their activities in 1944 would be appreciated.
That's awesome thank you. I suspected he was 5th Battalion but couldn't remember why I'd thought that or where I may have seen it. Thank you very much Ozzy
So, I've found that the 5th East Lands were in action around Caen during July 1944 and on the 16th-17th specifically, were engaged on Op POMEGRANATE near Vendes. Wiki (not the greatest source I know!) states that the 5th moved to the objective and by 0800 had captured part of the village, but by 1430, the Germans had counter-attacked and overran one company whilst forcing the rest back to the start line. Does anyone have any detail on this engagement? does anyone know which company was overrun? does anyone have any casualty lists from this operation? Thank you in advance
For general info UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945 Name: T H Viner Rank: Private Army Number: 14571993 Regiment: East Lancashire Regiment POW Number: 70691 Camp Type: Stalag Camp Number: XII-D Camp Location: Waldbreitbach, Rhineland-Palatinate If you use the site search engine then there could be other threads on the specific battles you mention, the other route would be perhaps to also obtain the War Diaries for that Regiment which possibly has details of which companies were where. Those WD's sometimes have appendices that have names listed for various reasons TD
