11th Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by cehwillis, Sep 28, 2021.

  1. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    Hi All,

    I'm trying to find out any information I can about my father, André Graham Romain Willis, who at some point at the start of WW2 was commissioned a 2/Lt. in the 11th Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army (see attached). I would very much like to know if anyone has any information regarding the capture of this unit in the Desert (possibly near Tobruk?) and if there is any way of tracing how he was then transported to Italy where he ended up in P.G.49 at Fontanellato.

    I do know that when the prisoners were released from this camp in September 1943 after the Armistice he left the camp with I think 3 other officers in the Indian Army. These were:- Mike Goldingham, John Meares and Paddy Bruen? And that he spent some time being sheltered in the hills by the Contadini before being recaptured and placed in StalagVIIA for I think the remainder of the war.

    Many thanks,

    Chris
     

    Attached Files:

  2. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    The 11th Sikh Regiment is a multi-battalion formation and on some initial research it was the 4/11th that were in North Africa. See for the clues: Lot 1030, 4 April 2001 | Dix Noonan Webb and Long Trek to Freedom ~ Escape from Tobruk | SikhNet

    It was part of the 7th Brigade of the 4th Indian Division. From: North Africa - May 41 Till April 1942 from: 4th Infantry Division (India) - Wikipedia For a few months it served with the: 18th Indian Infantry Brigade - Wikipedia

    I cannot readily identify what happened to them, others here know the North African campaign far better. Oddly there is not a thread(s) on the battalion here.

    There is a small biography and two photos on: Officers of the Indian Army 1939-1945 -- W

    We do have some experts here on the POWs held by the Italians, they may be able to answer your questions.
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2021
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  3. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    No battalion of the 11th Sikh Regiment was captured in the Western Desert campaign. The units serving in the desert during 1942 were:

    4/11th Sikh Regiment - 18th Indian Infantry Brigade - The brigade was overrun at Deir el Shein on July 1st, 1942, but 3 officers and 370 other ranks survived to continue the battalion, which moved to 9th Army in Palestine and Syria until joining the 4th Indian Division in Italy in August 1944.

    2/11th Sikh Regiment - 25th Indian Infantry Brigade - Surrounded at Mersa Matruh on June 28th/29th and forced to break out. Later served on garrison duty in Cyprus and also later joined 4th Indian Division in Italy in June 1944.

    Though neither battalion was captured, they were both involved in the disastrous retreat to El Alamein in June and July 1942. Both suffered losses including killed, wounded and captured.
     
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  4. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

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  5. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    Thanks dryan67. I think I'm narrowing his capture down to that June/July 1942 period of the war but is there any way to trace how he might have been transported from there to Italy as I have heard that there would have been transit camps such as Chieti and Bari? It seems strange that he was the only officer in the 11th Sikh Reg. in Fontanellato but others seem to have come from 6th Rajput's, 2nd Punjab, 5th Mahratta so could have been moped up in the same retreat at El Alamein?
     
  6. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    Sorry. POW research is not my specialty though others on the forum may be able to help.
     
  7. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Officers were flown into Italy from North Africa.
    If you want to find out about a possbile presence in Bari or Chieti his service records are the only sure way forward.
    :banghead:
     
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  8. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    Oh to have an English Bank Account and a Cheque Book :banghead:
     
  9. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    The service records link above has the following information regarding payment:

    You can pay by cheque or postal order - or by banker’s draft or international money order if you’re overseas.

    Vitellino
     
  10. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

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  11. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    Thanks so much Owen. Really appreciate it.
     
  12. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945
    Name: A G R Willis
    Rank: Lt.
    Army Number: EC/1357
    Regiment: 11 Sikh R.
    POW Number: 133909
    Camp Type: Stalag
    Camp Number: 7A
    Camp Location: Moosburg (Isar), Germany
    Section: Indian Army : British And Indian Officers and Other Ranks


    Name: M J D Goldingham
    Rank: Lt.
    Army Number: EC/3512
    Regiment: I.A.C.
    POW Number: 1953
    Camp Type: Oflags
    Camp Number: O79
    Camp Location: Braunschweig (formerly O8F), Germany
    Section: Indian Army : British And Indian Officers and Other Ranks


    Name: J Meares
    Rank: Capt.
    Army Number: 662/AI
    Regiment: I.A.C.
    POW Number: 1951
    Camp Type: Oflags
    Camp Number: O79
    Camp Location: Braunschweig (formerly O8F), Germany
    Section: Indian Army : British And Indian Officers and Other Ranks

    Name: E J D Bruen
    Rank: Lt.
    Army Number: IA/1254
    Regiment: 6 Raj. Rif.
    POW Number: 133911
    Camp Type: Stalag
    Camp Number: 7A
    Camp Location: Moosburg (Isar), Germany
    Section: Indian Army : British And Indian Officers and Other Ranks

    Just using under Regiment "11 Sikh R" then:
    UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945 Results
    Results 1–20 of 636
     
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  13. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Changing the search slightly I came across this - somewhere Andre Willis is mentioned - which may explain how those captured by the Germans from the brigade survived:
    From pg.5 of a wartime diary of: Goldingham, Mike - Monte San Martino Trust Archives

    On pg. 75:
    I think Chris has made contact with the Monte San Martino Trust so will stop.
     
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  14. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    TD - I'm most grateful. As David mentions I have made contact with the MSMT in fact that is where I originally found reference to my Dad's existence in Italy and I'm most grateful to them too. From their records I have been able to identify the four you list as being together as a group after being released from PG.49 Fontanellato and I am very much hoping to be in Italy for the 80th Anniversary celebrations the Trust hope to be arranging in 2023 to mark the release of these men after the Armistice
     
  15. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    David - my thanks again and you're right I have made some fabulous contact with a number of Members of the MSMT who have been inspirational in helping me with my research. The Diaries of Mike Goldingham are priceless and whilst it was fantastic to see my dad's name in black and white after being released from Fontanellato, I hadn't dared assume that he was alongside Mike at the time of his capture in the Desert. I suppose that sparked the need to see if there was any way of finding concrete evidence of 11th Sikh Regiment movements from signing up in India, which must have involved some training - maybe at Poona? And then being shipped to North Africa and their involvement in that theatre of war prior to his capture.

    With everyone's help I'm slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together and I daresay negotiating the antiquated system of applying for his service record will hopefully fill in yet more blanks and/or confirm some of the above.
     
  16. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Chris,

    I have used the British Library resources for topics involving the Indian Army and they can be very helpful. This is their guide: India Office Records and Private Papers and check out:
    There is a facility to ask the specialist librarians for help, for India try: Question Form - LibAnswers I used this and gained more once.

    Even if your father's service was wartime it might be worth looking at the website of Families in British India Society: FIBIwiki

    A "long shot" was your father ever interviewed by an oral history project, notably the BBC? Or donate papers anywhere, e.g. his old school.
     
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  17. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    TD - a question I should have asked straight away (although I have a feeling I know the answer but I have to ask). Exactly which website did you search? And I imagine you searched on each of the four names I had identified when they left PG49 as a group in Sept 1943?
     
  18. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    David - again I am most grateful. I have submitted a request to the specialist librarians of the India Office Records and Private Papers at the British Library and with any luck they might come up trumps. I'll let you know. Chris
     
  19. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    I searched the Ancestry database UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945, which only shows POW's details for the final round of inspections from the Red Cross I think in late 1944
     
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  20. cehwillis

    cehwillis Chris Willis

    Brilliant! I'm pleased I asked for while I had the information I don't think I had got it from Ancestry and you've made me realise that you have to open your eyes to everything that is available to you with these tools rather than sticking to just the ones you know and are familiar with. Many thanks. Chris
     

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