Hello all, Just wondering if anyone can help me locate which camps the following officer ended up in Italy having been captured in North Africa during August/September 1942: Captain Herbert Cecil BUCK [IA/1117] 1st Punjab Regt Any help, as always, greatly appreciated, Cheers Skip
I have the 1/1 Bn Punjabs war diary covering July-Dec 1942 and he's not listed in the officers field returns from July to Sept. I checked to see if there was a 1 Punjabs Bn war diary and 1/1 is the nearest match.
Cheers for the reply ... Ah that's because he was off with a sub-section of the Middle East Commando from March 1942. I know he was commanding B and D Companies of one of the Punjabi infantry regiments dug in at Derna during Feb 1941 ... From the war diaries would you know what battalion/regt this would be?
Interesting You tube films on him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i-XEP3o_rA part 1 of 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKhm1qtO8wY part 2 of 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXitWn5a6eI part 3 of 3 TD edited to add: He is also associated with Scots Guards - I do not know if this has ant relevance to your search
Cheers for posting this TD - yes, a very interesting man, one of many that I've been looking into for quite a while. With Buck I'm mainly now interested in his Italian POW experience before moving to Oflag 79 in Germany.
NAME: H C Buck RANK: Capt. ARMY NUMBER: IA/1117 REGIMENT: 1 Punjab Regt. POW NUMBER: 2655 CAMP TYPE: Oflags CAMP NUMBER: O79 CAMP LOCATION: Braunschweig (formerly O8F), Germany SECTION: Indian Army : British And Indian Officers and Other Ranks Am looking through the videos in case there is some mention of his Italy POW time TD
War Diaries have in most cases Officer Field Returns every week/month within the diary. These list all the officers with that unit. What Commando unit was he with? I may have that diary.
Cheers for the replies ... He was with the ME Cdo, sub-section being SIG (Special Interrogation Group). I have details of his movements at this time but would like to pin down, if possible, the following: 1. Which Punjab battalion/regiment he was with at Derna as a company commander in Feb 4, i.e. before any special service 2. What Italian POW camps he was in before transferred to Germany 3. Whether an IS9/MI9 debrief exists for him
Hi Skip I assume you have this TNA file: Reference: HS 9/231/9 Description: H C BUCK - date of birth not known, missing 19.10.1942 Note: Subject is believed to be identical with Herbert Cecil Buck, MC, 1st Punjab Regiment and SAS Regiment. Commonwealth War Graves Commission records date of death as 22 November 1945 Date: 1939-1946 Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record Access conditions: Closed Until 2007 Record opening date: 01 February 2007 You may need to contact Italian member vitellino as he has an extensive knowledge of Allied POW's in Italy and camps etc TD
Cheers TD. Yes, I have this - unfortunately it contains a single page from when he was posted missing in action so has been heavily redacted.
You never said he won a Military Cross ! According to the details for his MC he was with 3/1 Punjabs http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7358526
I've got a fair few of the ME Commando diaries I'll have a look through them later. To help me narrow him down do you know the months and year he was with them?
Have you looked to see if he completed a Liberation Questionnaire as a POW upon release? If not l will have a looksee. Regards, Nick
Thanks very much indeed - excuse my ignorance but does this signify the 3rd Bn, 1st Punjab Regt? Yes he won an MC for an escape he made in German uniform which led on to his forming SIG
Hello Nick - no I don't know how to do that so would be very grateful if you could check if there is one please
Ref Middle East Commando he was under them from after his escape, i.e. March 1942, until the time of being taken prisoner again, i.e. Aug/Sept 1942. I have the war diaries of this period and there is very little mention of him as he was training his German speaking men in a separate camp or on ops behind the lines. He was killed in a plane crash in November 1945.
P.S. Drew - cheers for posting the 1/3rd war diaries of his initial capture. Hadn't seen those before so useful.
Skip He did complete a POW questionnaire (WO 344/46/1 refers) and if I have done it correctly then copies will be attached! Regards Andy