British Field Graves of the men who were Buried close to where they fell in 1940

Discussion in '1940' started by morrisc8, Jan 30, 2016.

  1. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    France, somewhere along the route of 29. Infanteriedivision
    Orig-Foto-Grab-englische-Soldaten-in-Frankreich-1940.jpg
     
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  2. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    Regarding the photograph of the aircraft prop wreckage.Is there a number of some sort on the general wreckage of the aircraft in the background?

    If it could be recognised it might lead to the aircraft being identified.
     
  3. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    Unfortunately there´s no number
    The original has 6 x 9 cm...would say even the inscription on the wooden cross was illegible
    Inscriptions reads:
    Grave 3 english flyers at the Lux. Belgian border at Abus (France)
    Image51.jpg
    EDIT:
    A quick search on Google maps makes me suspect that with ABUS actually ATHUS could be meant. Then it could be 142 Sqn Fairey Battle L5578
    Accident Fairey Battle Mk I L5578, 10 May 1940
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2020
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  4. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    One more from my collection. J Mills kia 28/5/40.
    Keith
    kia J Mills 28 5 40.jpg kia J Mills 28 5 40. close up.jpg
     
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  5. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    I wonder if this is the same casualty.

    Driver James Mills with a CWGC recorded death of 21 May 1940.

    Casualty Details | CWGC
     
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  6. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    Looking at No 142 Squadron's Battle L 5578. Bill Chorley references this aircraft as said with the whole crew lost.

    F/0 F S Laws... Pilot
    Sgt R F Miller....Observer
    AC1 L M Langton...Wireless Operator/Air Gunner

    One of two AASF squadrons based at Berry au Bac,the other being No 12 Squadron which was initially based there in September 1939 in the area of the Great War battlefield,north west of Reims.
     
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  7. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    The crash site at Rodange is in south-western Luxembourg. It lies next to the border with Belgium and across the town of Athus/France.
    This coincides with the location description on the photo.
     
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  8. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    One from epay.
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
  9. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Here's an interesting one. A grave alongside a French soldier marked as 'Engl. Flieger' (English Flyer)...The name is clearly readable as John Tudor Webber.

    John Tudor Webber.jpg


    The only John Tudor Webber that I can find though is a Driver RASC buried at Oye Plage.

    Casualty Details | CWGC

    He was though attached to 6 Anti-Aircraft Section. Did they misread something from his paperwork ?
     
  10. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    I didn't see this one when you posted it, Keith. A Norway KOYLI casualty.
    Casualty Details | CWGC
     
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  11. Tony56

    Tony56 Member Patron

    John Tudor Webber, 66643 as per CWGC, was reported in the April 1942 Army list of missing that was circulated to POW camps.

    In the casualty lists:
    List No. 284 Dated 17/8/40 Missing, Expeditionary Forces France, date not reported although the list contains many, many others with casualty dates of 10/5/40 - 16/6/40
    List No. 589 Dated 13/8/41 KIA At Sea
    List No. 668 Dated 13/11/41 KIA At Sea
     
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  12. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    Graves on the beach Dunkirk near the police station.
    Keith
    dunkirk graves on beach 1a.jpg
     
  13. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    I've never heard of a Police station before along the beaches.
     
  14. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

  15. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    Could that be the plane number N6230 ?

    Type: Bristol Blenheim Mk. IV
    Serial number: N6230, XD-?
    Operation: Sedan
    Lost: 14/05/1940
    Pilot Officer James O. Power, RAF 40850, 139 Sqdn., age unknown, 14/05/1940, missing
    Sergeant Douglas T. Stuart-Harris, RAF 580593, 139 Sqdn., age 20, 14/05/1940, missing
    Aircraftman 1st Class Walter Parker, RAF 625250, 139 Sqdn., age unknown, 14/05/1940, missing
    Airborne Plivot. Lost without trace. They are all commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
     
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  16. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    Most likely
    Unfortunately, there is very contradictory information on this:
    According to Arnaud Gillet, the machine was shot down by flak. It is said that two pilots were seriously injured and parachuted out, but later died. After that, their trail disappeared. The third crew member is supposedly buried at Villiers, but instead two Fairey Battle pilots from 103 Sqn are buried there.....
    Edit: And one unknown.
    Again Gillet wrote the Fairey only had TWO crewmembers...?
    Accident Fairey Battle Mk I L5516, 14 May 1940
    Remilly-et-Aillecourt Communal Cemetery
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2021
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  17. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    The round parts on top of the grave are a broken Vickers G.O. Magazine
     
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  18. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    Fairey Battle (allegedly in Luxembourg) I interpret the date on the grave cross as "15.5.40"
    The identification letter on the fuselage in picture 2 is certainly an "M", the other one(?) I cannot see clearly.
    s-l1600.jpg s-l1601.jpg s-l1602.jpg
     
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  19. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    No details I'm afraid, looks like a Bren barrel stuck in the ground at the foot of the grave muzzle up

    IMG_20210207_0002.jpg
     
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  20. Kiwi REd One

    Kiwi REd One Junior Member

    Looking up the squadron ID codes for the AASF Battle squadrons "PM" is for listed for 103 Squadron, none of the other AASF squadrons have a squadron code using the letter "M"

    Luckily 103 Squadron has a website which deals with all their Fairey Battle aircraft lost during the Battle of France.

    From the middle photo I would say that the photos Itdan has kindly posted are of Fairey Battle I L5516 flown by P/O Vernon A Cunningham with AC1 Joseph Johnson as Wireless Operator/rear gunner which was shot down by flak during an attack on the bridge at Remilly-Allicourt on 14 May 1940 (as opposed to 15 May 1940 on the temporary grave marker): 103 Squadron - Op Sedan bridges - 14/05/40 - P/O Vernon A Cunningham

    If you compare the tail of the Battle shown in Itdan's centre photo and the one at the top of the page in the above link, I think that the damage to the mostly missing rudder looks exactly the same, with only the trim tab remaining.

    P/O Cunningham was a New Zealander serving in the RAF. Ironically he was born in Wellington, close to where I live.

    Cunningham and Johnson are buried in Remilly-et- Aillicourt Communal Cemetery. You can see a picture of their CWGC headstones and a bit more detail about P/O Cunningham by following this link:Vernon Allan Cunningham

    This is the same aircraft as Itdan refers to in post #156 above.

    RIP
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2021
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