4927479 Albert Gotheridge, Lance Corporal, 1/6 South Staffordshire Regiment

Hi all,
My wife’s great great uncle served as part of the 1/6th Infantry during the Battle of Normandy. He died on 23/08/1944 and as far as we can tell he was part of the 1/6th TA which made up the 177th in the 59th Battalion that fought in Caen, Noyers, then down the Orné into Thury-Harcourt before joining the push at The Falaise Gap.

What we don’t know however, is when or where he was killed and just how far into that campaign he made it. Our previous research showed that the KIA stamp on his death certificate had been crossed out to say “accident” but there was no date given. He’s buried in Bayeux British Cemetery and his death location (I believe) was listed at Bayeux.

It would be great to know just what happened and just how far he made it before/if he was transported back to the medical HQ in Bayeux.

We’re currently staying in the Falaise area and didn’t realise the 59th had in fact been involved here. After we discovered his division had liberated Thury-Harcourt last year, this recent discovery has led us to really want to discover what actually happened so we can try and trace his final movements.

Thanks for any input guys

 

You might have a problem here, similar to one I had a year or two ago.
Wiki says: the division was broken up in August 1944 and its units were used as replacements for other British divisions who had suffered heavy casualties the battalions were broken up and sent to other units.
South Staffordshire Regiment - Wikipedia

He might have died in another unit but CWGC would have used the name of his parent Regiment on their records to make him easier to trace, as the families would have had his last permanent address.
I had a Captain in a Regiment who was Killed in Action. Two days before he died he was moved to the a second Regt as they were short of officers in the same Brigade. They reduced his temporary rank of Captain to his Substantive (permanent) rank of Lieutenant on their paperwork.
He was initially buried as a Lieutenant but the CWGC reburied him in a War Cemetery using his original Rank and Regiment.
Standard Procedure apparently.
I found this out by accident when a researcher contacted me with the facts that he had discovered.
Not sure how you could check this out.
War Diaries gave the answer in this case but which ones might you need?
Officers are easier to find as they are named on a monthly list but Other Ranks are not.
Begin with the South Staffs for the day he died to see where they were then research other units in the actions fought in the area that he died if necessary.
Someone on the forum might have a copy of the War Diary for August 1944.

Hope I'm not leading you astray but it is a possibility.

 

Do you have a copy of his service records?

Also if you see fit post any docs/photos you have on here which forum members might be able to assist you with further

 

That does help. War diaries would be great. I need to dig out what we found before, I know he died before the Unit was officially disbanded but I know it was cut up before the official date it was disbanded. If my memory serves me correct he was checked in to Bayeux medical centre on 14th August ‘44 which would lead me to think he was injured on the 13th or 14th and probably didn’t get to see the liberation of Thury-Harcourt.

I’ve tried to search for specific dates but SSR and August just churns up the company being disbanded.

 

My wife has a lot of this stuff. I will try get everything together to upload here. Service records we can’t find but we did have his medical forms somewhere and death certificate etc.

 

You can order them

Get a copy of military records of service

 

I have done a considerable amount of research into 1/6 South Staffordshires. Albert was in B Company. I can send you a copy of the battalion history in Normandy written after the battalion's disbandment by the Intelligence Officer. It gives some detail about the actions B Company were in. The 59th Divisional Association still exists, run by and made up these days of relations. The last known veteran of the battalion died just over a year ago. I would very much like to hear about Albert, he is one of the names on the battalion Roll of Honour I know next to nothing about. Please email me on Dsc391@aol.com.

 

Hey mate - that would be awesome.

I’ve emailed you now

 

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2326398/albert-william-gotheridge/

 

The Casualty Lists report him as:-
List No 1548 dated 11/9/44 = Wounded 23/8/44
List No 1554 dated 18/9/44 = Previously reported Wounded now reported Died of Wounds
List No 1562 dated 27/9/44 = Corrected to Delete whole of entry (not a battle casualty)
List No 1563 dated 28/9/44 = Died as a result of accident