145827V WJ Myburgh, 6 S.A. Bde., Sig. Coy., South African Corps of Signals: 21/6/1944

I am looking for information for a relative of mine. What I have so far :

Name : WJ Myburgh
Service Number : 145827V/145827
Regiment : SA Corps of Signals
Battalion : 6 SA Bde, Sig Coy
Died : 21 June 1944
Buried : Staglieno Cemetary, Genoa Italy

Some records indicated that he was a POW in Camp 49 Italy.

But - When I track the movement of 6 SA Bde, the battle in Chuisi, Italy in June 1944 was where I thought he died. If he, however was a POW in camp 49 it places him more than 300km north of Chuisi at the time. Was he still a member of the 6 SA Bde at the time or are the records I have incorrect?

 

I am trying to trace the whereabouts of a relative of mine. But now there are conflicting records (I think)!

Name : WJ Myburgh
Service Number : 145827V/145827
Regiment : SA Corps of Signals
Battalion : 6 SA Bde, Sig Coy
Died : 21 June 1944
Buried : Staglieno Cemetary, Genoa Italy

Some records indicated that he was a POW in Camp 49 Italy.

I need more information his movements as the 6 SA Bde was involved in the battle of Chuisi, Italy in June 1944 where I first presumed he died. If he, however was a POW in camp 49 it places him more than 300km north of Chuisi at the time. Was he still a member of the 6 SA Bde at the time or are the records I have incorrect?

 

Hello Annemarie,

You say

W J Myburgh appears in the prisoner of war register WO 392 21 Kew, London. This register, compiled from information provided by the International Red Cross, is the only one you should take notice of. It shows that the last camp he was known to have been held in was PG 49, which was at Fontanellato.

Most South Africans who were held as prisoners in Italy had been taken prisoner at the fall of Tobruk in June 1942.

On 8 September 1943 the news of the Armistice which the Italians had signed with the Allies five days earlier was broadcast on Italian radio. The prisoners being held at Fontanellato all escaped - a considerable amount has been written about this - just search the web.

From then until June of the following year he would have been 'on the run' in the Appenines and may well have joined a band of partisans. It is highly likely that he met his death fighting with them.

I have just completed a book entitled 'Some Corner of a Foreign Field' , to be published shortly by Austin Macaulay, which is about prisoners of war and special services personnel who died in Italy behind the lines. Seven prisoners of war are are buried in Staglieno Cemetery but none of the others died on 21 June 44.

I will check Italian sources to find out if any major battles took place between the partisans and the nazi-fascist forces on the date he died.

Regards,
Vitellino

 

6 SA Infantry Brigade had many men captured at Torbruck in 1942.

Pow camp 49 was at Reggio Nell Emilia between Parma & Modena and is 80km from where he is buried at Genoa. This link to the life of a South African, Private Paul Randles of The Umvoti Rifles, states that on 9th September 1943 after Italy surrendered he was one of 536 pows released by the camp commandant at PG 49. He made his way 700km south on foot before being recaptured.
Pte Paul John Leonard Randles South African Army Umvoti Rifles The Wartime Memories Project

Perhaps WJ Myburgh was still at PG49 in Sept 1943, and having been released hid out locally, joined the Partisans etc. There are many possibilities, but it seems certain he was not taken to Germany as a pow after 1943.

On the CWGC it states that at Staglieno Cemetery, Genoa:
there are also 122 Second World War graves, most of them garrison burials, whilst others were brought in from the surrounding country.
Nothing in the documents attached to WJ Myburgh's CWGC record shows he was initialy buried elsewhere.

There must be an interesting tale here.

 

I have contacted CWGC to ask where Signaller Myburgh was concentrated into Staglieno from. Staglieno was not a battlefield cemetery and so he was certainly brought in from elsewhere.

There were many partisan bands operating in the area between Parma and Genoa and when I know where he was brought in from I can (hopefully) find out what was going on in that place on 21 June 1944.

Vitellino

 

Annemarie,

Welcome aboard. Others have already come along to help. Adding what you have already found can help, saves others from duplication. It depends of course how much you want to know, just one battle or campaign for an example.

I have noted the 'Other Ranks' rarely feature in Google searches unless they have been awarded gallantry medals or written their memoirs.

Searching Google will sometimes bring you back here. The site’s search engine is rather simple; two examples 53rd will bring back all mentions of 53rd; an Army unit can have after 53rd an additional official name, in one case 53rd (Bolton). You must be agile and keep going.

Please come back and tell us what you found. Scanning threads it is clear some discover the site years after your posts and add their information or request help. Good luck.

 

Annemarie,

I have re-read your post and assume that what you have posted is all you know to date.

I will continue to look for him in Italian sources but in the meantime I would send for his service records if I were you:

Vitellino

 

I am looking for information for a relative of mine. What I have so far :

Name : WJ Myburgh
Service Number : 145827V/145827
Regiment : SA Corps of Signals
Battalion : 6 SA Bde, Sig Coy
Died : 21 June 1944
Buried : Staglieno Cemetary, Genoa Italy

Some records indicated that he was a POW in Camp 49 Italy.

But - When I track the movement of 6 SA Bde, the battle in Chuisi, Italy in June 1944 was where I thought he died. If he, however was a POW in camp 49 it places him more than 300km north of Chuisi at the time. Was he still a member of the 6 SA Bde at the time or are the records I have incorrect?

 

Thank

 

Thank you - You send me now in a totally new direction. I cannot wait to see if you find some more information.

 

HI! The email address does not seem to be active/correct....

 

I have just tried it and can access it from my gmail account.
However, there is also an address and phone number

Military Records
For any queries regarding military history, contact the Department of Defence Archives at the South African Military Records Centre via email at sandfdoc@mweb.co.za. They are located at:
Schweikert Building
20 Visagie Street
Pretoria
Telephone: (012) 339-4600
Fax: (012) 339-4631

Vitellino

 

Thanks - Will try and phone!

 

Annemarie,

Here we are : from my contact at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Signaller W.J. Myburgh was brought in to Staglieno from the civil cemetery at Casali, map 1:100.000 Sheet 72, ref. 633765.

I have looked at the 1943 map and the current aerial photo but can't find the cemetery. It may well be closed now.

Casali is a hamlet in the commune of Sarmato in the Provincia of Piacenza. It is situated near the headwaters of the River Arda. There was a band of partisans with the name VAL D'ARDA operating in this valley.

Also in Staglieno cemetery is Australian John Wilson, victim of a war crime. He was shot in nearby Bardi on 4 June ''after a round up.'' Perhaps your relative was wounded in this or a similar rounding up of partisans by the occupying German Forces.

I will now look and see if I can find what action the Val d'Arda partisans were involved in on 21 June 1944. It could be, of course, that your relative was wounded and died sometime afterwards.

Vitellino

 

This could be it:

On 20 June , a partisan detachment from Bardi, with the support of some elements from the Vernasca area, attack the main barracks of Lugagnano in the centre of the valley.

Source: zone libere partigiane in provincia di Piacenza, author Meloni

The cemetery of Casali lies half way between Bardi and the town attacked - Lugagnano. Signaller Myburgh could have been wounded in the attack and taken back towards Bardi by his comrades, but may have died en route at Casali. This may/may not be borne out by his service record.

The ''Val d'Arda'' was a Division, and the Brigade belonging to it which was involved in the attack on Bardi seems to have been the 38th Garibaldi (Communist) Brigade. Unfortunately there are no casualties listed in the document I read.

Vitellino

 

Good morning from South Africa!

Thank you for all the information - every new bit is so interesting. My emails requesting the service records keep on coming back and the telephone number provided are no longer in service. I have tried other options as well and is waiting for replies. I hope that I will be able to draw a better timeline for his whereabouts once I obtain these records.

Some interesting things I found so far about my relative -
The "V" behind his service number means that he was willing to be deployed wider than our continent. In the South African context and for the period an interesting fact. Also, I have a letter WJ Myburgh wrote to my grandmother just after the battle of Sidi Rezegh dd 25 Dec 1941. He describe horrific scenes, being proud of his part in the battle and end the letter with the promise to be home soon. In modern times one would detect an element of PTSD in the writing - quite expected for the circumstances.

Once I know more and Covid is out of the way, I plan on visiting the cemetery in Genoa placing my own service medals on Signaler Myburgh's grave.

Hope I will be able to buy your book soon - can not wait!

 

Annemarie,

Try writing to them or contact DianeE on this forum via a private message as she may be able to help you .

From what you say I wonder if he was captured at Sidi Rezegh and not Tobruk.

Unfortunately he's not in the book, as it is with the publishers and I have already corrected the first lot of proofs.

I also think he may have been the victim of a war crime. There is a file in the National Archives which I haven't read as I couldn't locate the place - it's described as

WO 311/1238 Shooting of prisoners of war at Maratta province of Piacenza Italy.

I think Maratta may be a mis-spelling Morfasso and am following this up. I am going to ask for this file next Friday when I can make an on-line request to the archives.

Regards,

Vitellino

Edited to add map

 

From DianeE via PM:

Hi, as far as I know the telephone number is correct. However the e-mail has changed.
How to Obtain a Personnel Record:

Records of all South African servicemen in the Army, Navy and Air Force are held in the SANDF archives. Copies of service records can be acquired if application is made in writing.

Records cannot be sent electronically and therefore a fax number or postal address must be included in the request.

SANDF Documentation Service Directorate
(Personnel Division)
The Senior Staff Officer
Documentation Centre
Private Bag X289
Pretoria
0001
South Africa

E-mail: archive@dod.mil.za
Telephone: +27 12 339 4600
Fax: +27 12 339 4631

The last time i asked for a record was last year and it took about 6 months. It is possible that due to Covid personnel are doing other duties. At the moment I can't help due to back problems.
Diane

PS. I will post this separately on a new thread, unless there is another.