Three Unknown Foot Guards Officer Graves South of Dunkirk

I was reminded about these chaps from another thread on here. I suspect this would have been done before in the past but I wonder how close we can get to identifyig them?

All are in Warhem Cemetery south of Dunkirk and would have most likely died defending the canal perimeter. I suspect they would have been from the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards and 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards. I would not rule out other battalions as they may have been within the 1st Guards Brigade HQ or Brigade Anti-Tank Company who moved from Hondschoote to Les Moeres to Uxem at the end of May.

Wareham Cemetery



Captain Grenadier Guards


2nd Lieutenant Grenadier Guards


2nd Lieutenant Coldstream Guards

 

reynell pack was killed in Belgium, during the Nicholls VC action by a stick grenade thrown into his carrier, he has no known grave but it is IMPOSSIBLE for him to be buried as unknown in Warhem

 

there are several candidates for these but I need to dig the info out

Boscawen EFV, mentioned by MOOSE above, was buried at Pecq as UNKNOWN LT GRENADIER GUARDS, His parents corresponded about him with the CWGC until the 60's but REYNELL PACK is also missing, the CWGC re-examined the case in 1989 and the identification was based on an eppaulette with two elongated garter rank stars in brass, the full original exhumation report was studied and it was concluded that it was in fact Lt BOSCAWEN of the COLDSTREAM GUARDS and a new, named headstone was dedicated om May 8th 1990. His capbadge had been removed after his death by his batman and returned to the family

 

ok, found it, bear with me, tell me what you think ?

3rd Grenadiers Missing 21-5-40 MAJOR WRJ ALSTON-ROBERTS-WEST killed Pecq
and noted as buried at Pecq.

Missing 21-5-40 LT REYNELL PACK killed in his carrier at Pecq

At Pecq are 10 unidentified amongst the Grenadiers, one is a GRENADIER GUARDSMAN
one is a GREANDIER OFFICER, this was based on the 1946 exhumation which based this on an officer's shirt. 14 including these 2 officers are listed as missing in this action. I have these names in addition to the officers

Brown G, Bradbury S, Button G, Cattermole A, Daniels M, Dexter H, Grandfield L, Hawkins H, Riches D,

NOW FOR WARHEM ??

Captain E L GIBBS 2nd Coldstreams June 1st June 1940 Dunkirk Memorial

LT R T COMBE 2nd Coldstreams June 2nd June 1940 Dunkirk Memorial

LT R D E SPEED 2nd Coldstreams June 1st June 1940 Dunkirk Memorial

BURIED WARHEM 2nd Coldstreams Major McCorquedale ( originally buried as
unknown and identified as mentioned above ) 1- 6 -1940

2nd Coldstreams Lt BLACKWELL C A 1-6-1940

Buried Dover 2nd Coldstreams Major WYATT E T 2-6-1940

1st guards brigade war diary June 1st 1940

during the afternoon 2nnd battalion suffered further casualties LT E L GIBBS co No1 Coy was killed as was 2nd LT CA BLACKWELL REG SIGNALS OFFICER at 2100 news arrived that MAJ MCCORQUODALE CO NO 3 COY and 2N LT RDE SPEED last Officer in NO1 COY had been killed, LT JM LANGLEY had been wounded and only CAPTAIN BOWMAN survived, on the beach a shell killed several men of HQ COY and MAJOR WYATT AND LT R T COMBE were mortally wounded.

Therefore even though LT R T COMBE is missing he is still buried on the beaches, or as unknown in a cemetery near the beaches. Another report says that LT R T COMBE was killed at once and that LT HON G L HAMILTON RUSSELL of Guards HQ and WYATT were wounded and both died aboard ship, HAMILTON RUSSELL is buried in the U.K.

I would submit that GRENADIER GUARDS OFFICERS SHOULD BE COLDSTREAM GUARDS OFFICERS following the PECQ precedent and that 2 of the 3 officers are in fact :

SPEED & GIBBS, both of whom are known to have been killed in this location along with BLACKWELL buried here and MCCORQUDALE buried here previously UNIDENTIFIED.

It CANNOT be COMBE

only the 2nd COLDSTREAMS were in this area at this time, and were the ONLY GUARDS unit in this area, the 1ST AND 2ND GRENADIERS WERE IN BELGIUM AT FURNES, it is NON SENSICAL that a GRENADIER OFFICER could be fighting in this location at this date

The graves are dated MAY 1940 wheras in fact they were killed on JUNE 1ST 1940, this is easily explained away by whoever buried them, germanss or locals simply classing all recovered, injured and de-composing casualties as "MAY 1940" losses.

 

do you think so ? There are many unidentified graves in Warhem and most of the 2nd battalion Coldstream casualties from the action are on the Dunkirk memorial, anonymous tommies with no insignia buried by the unknown, the uncaring or the overwhelmed, the officers would have stood out somewhat, McCorquedale fought in full Service Dress and was seen dead still creased, polished and gleaming, obviously the other dead officer's stood out more than the Khaki mass of other ranks and were buried as Officers, we even have the correct ranks

 

Have you checked the Guards Officers listed on the 1st Brigade HQ and Brigade Anti-Tank Coy Field Returns for May? These could have had officers within the Brigade who's battalions were in 7th Guards Brigade. This may explain why there are Grenadier casualties in the area.

 

no drew, there has to be a flaw in my theory somewhere or surely the MCCORQUEDALE identification would have had other results ??!!

 

Done some more checking of my stuff cross referenced with Geoff's engine and I can come up with NO missing GRENADIER or COLDSTREAM officers that could fit these graves other than GIBBS and SPEED

I would tend to say that

the COLDSTREAM LT at WARHEM is RONNIE SPEED

the GRENADIER CAPTAIN at WARHEM is GIBBS actually of the COLDSTREAMS

the unidentified GRENADIER LT is wrongly identified and is a private of the COLDSTREAMS or an officer of 1 E LANCS, 5 BORDER, or 1 DWR ??

I shall take a look at these on the engine but obviously the CWGC with any original burial reports would need to be looked at

what think you ?

 

no candidates from the regiments adjacent to the Coldstreams that I can find, sounds grim but has happened with other graves, could Ronnie Speed have been found in two sizeable pieces and buried as two officers ??

Usually an airmen thing I know, viz alban thomas has a grave in the Netherlands and what is believed to be his lower half in another cemetery miles away in the same country

 

I've been following this thread with great ineterest; I have a great granddad and an uncle who have no known grave. I think you may indeed have the answer to at least two of the three unnamed officers.

Questions:

1. Why hasn't the CWGC already undertaken this exercise, after all 'we shall remember them'; and

2. What happens next?

Best,

Steve.

 

Interesting Gibbs is a Captain in CWGC. He's a Lieutenant in the war diary and not mentioned in the London Gazette to confirm his rank.

 

really drew, everything I have read about evan gibbs calls him a captain ALTHOUGH your LT mention dings a bell about a dunkirk guide book I have somewhere one of the thing paper cover "battlefield" series ? Its buried in amongst my 1940 Tommy kit as I took it with me on the march last year.

Should look up Welsh and Irish guards officers out of curiosity, there is a welsh guardsman in Warhem ?

 

He's a Lieutenant in the Dunkirk guide by Pen and Sword. I have all the headstones in Warhem and there is a WG'man in there. They withdrew through the area on the way to Dunkirk.

 

no welsh guards, no irish guards candidates,

I'd say one simply HAS to be poor old Ronnie Speed, last seen looking cold and miserable up to his waist in water in a trench and ordered NOT to fall back only to be killed where he fought in the next attack with the remnants of his Company driven back.

I always think of them as we tramp past there, foot sore and shagged on the Dunkirk Commemorative march but we KNOW we have a boat home when we get to Dunkirk with no chance of staying in France for ever

 

thats the book Drew, I think its the only one I've seen that mentions him as a LT

so do we all have any more thoughts on this one chaps ?

 

Gibbs is a Lieutenant in Dunkirk fight to the last man too.