On a list of British casualties collated after the war by the civilian authorities in Hamminkeln, Germany, I found the name of Lt. Edward William Sandercombe, Royal Signals, Service No. 289251. His grave was reported to a US Army (?) official in Borken who was with 606 QM Gr Coy - from the context of the document it can be gathered that the Americans were informed in April 1946. Lt. Sandercombe was buried in an isolated field grave, nor far from LZ P - his date of death is given as 28 March 1945. That is four days after Operation Varsity - by then the fighting had moved on to areas further east and the area where he was buried would have to be considered as fully secured. The question arises whether he served in 6 AB Div. Neither the concentration sheet nor the other entries in the CWGC database suggest that he was attached to a unit of 6th AB Div. He is not on the roll of honour in Pegasus Archive. Is there a way of finding out which unit he was attached to or what his function was? I also wonder how in January 1947 - when he was exhumed - it was determined that he died on March 28th, 1945. As stated before, in that area there was no fighting at that time. The only explanation is that he died by an accident, by a mine or by unexploded ammunitions. Can anyone help me to find out what might have happened to L. Sandercombe and which unit he might have belonged to?
In the event of an accident several days after the end of hostilities, I would assume that he would have been recovered and taken to a collection point. After the end of the fighting, usually search operations were undertaken, during which isolated victims were found. Without knowing the exact circumstances of the death, the date of discovery was then given as the date of death. I know of several such cases myself, and the Volksbund confirmed this was common practice at the time.
for info LIEUTENANT EDWARD WILLIAM SANDERCOMBE Service Number: 289251 Regiment & Unit/Ship Royal Corps of Signals Date of Death Died 28 March 1945 Age 30 years old Buried or commemorated at REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY 54. B. 15. Germany Country of Service United Kingdom Additional Info Son of Edward Oliver Castle Sandercombe and Alice Louie Sandercombe; husband of Doris Margaret Sandercombe, of Widley, Hampshire. Personal Inscription IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY DEAR HUSBAND WHO GAVE HIS LIFE TO SAVE MANKIND https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2014/240/56037987_1409345977.jpg
The CWGC did not adopt this method ,if a soldiers death date was unknown the last date he was confirmed alive /posted missing to the day his body was located would have been used not the date his body was discovered. ie 10 May 1940 -3 June 1941 The CWGC also record K/A not `died` or `D/W` so they have evidence to suggest his death occurred on the 28th ? Kyle
Hello Kyle, thanks for the additional information. Yes, it does say K/A - however, this does not at all fit in with the tactical situation in that area. Four days after the drop I doubt that any isolated German stragglers were still around. Alternatively, one could imagine German artillery fire or strafing by the odd German plane? Best Alex
or standing on a mine? Perhaps the casualty lists in Findmypast will reveal more perhaps the unit he was attached too? He lived at 15 Park Avenue, Purbrook,Portsmouth his Probate Date was 11 Aug 1945. Kyle
I suppose we have no way to find out about the circumstances of Lt Sandercombe's death. Still, does anyone know how to find out whether he was with the 6th AB Div? Or which other unit he was attached to? Thank you!
Service records is the best option unless someone, somewhere has a personal diary that records him or he appears in War Diaries, - have you tried the Royal Corp of Signals museum/Archives ?? TD
W/Lt Edward William Sandercombe's name was reported in Casualty List No. 1722 Dated 4 April 1945 as 'killed in action' 28.3.45. No other mention suggesting that he was missing or wounded.
Thank you Tony56. To add some context: After being approached by local German authorities a US-soldier called Ralph D. Heath opened graves in March 1946 - as stated in his handwritten note below. He found a USAAF casualty named Herrin and - in a different location - Lt. Sandercombe whom he identified as British. So E W Sandercombe's death was confirmed as early as April 4th 1945 - that was the time when British Graves Registration Units started their work on the battlefield of Operations Varsity and Plunder. Basically, what I understand now is that in 1946 it was a matter of finding all the isolated field graves to allow the removal of bodies to the Reichswald cemetary. My main question is still: Which unit could he have served in?
Sandercombes death was confirmed on the 28th March 1945 as per the casualty list. There was no doubting he was dead,never missing and when he was reburied they likely found his temp grave marked . When the grave was opened the tags around his neck simply confirmed the identity of the graves occupant . Confirmation of his death recorded ,his body buried locally (either marked with his ID or unknown)was then concentrated into the established cemetery when possible. Still doesnt answer your unit question and unless someone can recall him in a units diary the service record may be your only way forward. Even the service record might be lacking on this occasion though ? Kyle
Can I get a service record without being a relative? Would it include the information I am looking for i.e. unit at the time of death?
1800 - Main build-up party arrive. Switch from Air to ground scale begins. 3 CVs complete with sets took over immediately. 27th 28th 29th March spent removing sets from trailers etc and mounting in CVs. "A" Comd now entirely C 52 and worked well. This is all I could find of any relevance. I think it’s basically the time the Signals guys scoured the LZ’s for equipment getting everything set up and mounted in jeeps and trucks ready for the advance. So perhaps this chap did find a booby trap whilst searching a glider?
Looked at your post again to see the map. The little Farm there is Olly Manshof which was used as rear Div HQ. They had to abandon that position due to enemy fire and hardly any defence (will have to check exactly when) and move down to the Kopenhof with Main Div HQ. Perhaps he was a casualty there and his body found on the 28th? Just a guess at this stage.
I would think that all of this happened on March 24 around Oly-Möllshof. Actually, I was not aware of the fact that this farm was rear HQ. Thanks for the information!
Actually, Sandercombe's grave was located by a house on Bislicher Strasse. The "Hamminkeln List" says that there were two graves at Tebbe-Tühl. So probably Sandercombe was buried next to US airman S/Sgt Harry Herrin. Both ar mentioned in the hand written note. Tebbe-Tühl was a smallish semi-professional pub run by the family...
Alberk Request records of deceased service personnel if you scroll down you will come across this Application part 1 form: General enquirer's form (v6.1) (PDF, 106KB) or General enquirer's form (v6.1) (MS Word Document, 134KB) you would also need to fill in Part 2 service specific form: for use by all applicants. Complete the relevant service form. Royal Navy/Royal Marines part 2 (PDF, 56KB, 1 page) or Royal Navy/Royal Marines part 2 (ODT, 15.5KB) British Army part 2 (PDF, 28.2KB, 1 page) or British Army part 2 (ODT, 11.2KB) Royal Air Force part 2 (PDF, 43.6KB, 1 page) or Royal Air Force part 2 (ODT, 18.2KB) TD
