6285440 Sgt. Frank Herbert CHESSON, 10 Parachute Regiment: 19/09/1944, pre-war Palestine

Hi, Can anyone give me some information on my great uncle Sgt. F.H.Chesson 6285440 4 para 10th Battalion. Did his training in Palestine.

Previously he was up the desert & Italy.

Frank was KIA 19-09-1944 at the 6km marker outside Arnhem.

Picture 1/ Although there are only seven crosses, the Graves Registration records show nine bodies were recovered from this spot.

Picture 2 shows Frank.

Picture 3 , The Graves Registration records show nine bodies were recovered from this spot. Only 4 of which could be identified. Sgt F H Chesson, L Cpl W R M Secrett, Pte A Lishman who were all of the 10th Parachute Battalion and Sgt B Huxley of B-Sqn, G.P.R. after being ambushed with a 20mm cannon. You can see the damage the 20mm cannon did to 6km marker.

Thanks Shaun.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum....I've heard that the records from No 4 PTS are at Brize Norton but not easy to access.....I will check to see if he went through Ringway also...the men from the No 4 PTS for reasons that are not clear were felt not to be up to scratch and so went round again....In theory there may be some books out on the 10th Btn later but the only real one at the moment is the Tenth by Bramall...this may give you some background info.....Regretfully there are not many vets left around from the 10th who may recall your great uncle.....But I'll ask....

 

Thank you very much, much appreciated.

Frank is on the airborne assault web site where I borrowed the 1st & 3rd pictures. Is it polite to add a link back?

Apparently Franks medals can be seen at Airborne Assault - The Museum of The Parachute Regiment Airborne Assault is situated within the Airspace Hanger of the Imperial War Museum Duxford. They used to be at Aldershot.

Search | ParaData FH Chesson

Thank you once again for your help

Shaun

 

Shaun,

Thanks...I act as a volunteer helper for Duxford and numerous articles on Paradata have been done by me....Paradata is well known to many here and I think a link back may be useful in one respect in straight to his page but not so for the 'anoraks'.....!!!!!

 

From the Sanguinius set on Flikr.

 

Thank you airborne medic

I am quite amazed how people manage to find things out. All I have managed to do so far is find more questions than answers LOL

All The information I have is on another post on this site under the heading: Did any of your family serve during ww2, if so what did they do? page 40.



Thank you once again

Shaun

 

Thank you Ramacal

Very nice picture. Is it ok if I save it to my computer please

Thank you once again

Shaun

 

I don't have a problem Shaun.

Here also are Lishman, Secrett and Huxley that you mentioned in your first post.

Regards - Rob

 

Thank you Rob

 

Frank Chesson was on Para Cse 22 which commenced on 11/2/43 at Kabrit.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Arnhem

 

Yes it does Arnhem.

Thank you.

Shaun

 

Frank Chesson was on Para Cse 22 which commenced on 11/2/43 at Kabrit.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Arnhem

I have very little confirmed information about Frank, most of it is just what the family think

I have been looking for several years and found very little out about Frank, I have probably found out / been sent more information on this site than anywhere else.

I am very grateful to you all for your help

Shaun.

 

I have a bit more information. Frank was in 4 Platoon, A Company along with his best friend Sgt. Frank Bennett who was killed at DZ Y along with Lt. Patrick Mackey.

Frank B & Frank C were apparently known as Barmy Bennett & cranky Frankie

I am still trying to draw all the threads of my mother & fathers family’s together.

I think there is a book amongst all this.

My father was a young lad of about 7 at the time of the battle of Britain, they moved 3 times during the war.
His father Sida (George) was too old for army service plus had a reserved occupation (much to his disgust) appears in Doddingtons home guards photos although he was not a member of the home guard. Sida did however disappear for a week or so at a time.

My Father Tony & his elder brother Donald used to have a look at all the stuff Sida had hidden around the farm.... Churchill’s army?

They were under the flight path of the Germans when they were bombing Detling. ME109 shot down and glided down into a turnip field, dad and his mates stood talking to the pilot who sat on the wing & smoked a cigarette & said Kaput run out of fuel.

Later in the war Moirés camped in the farms back yard (Pleasant Place), Then POW worked on the farm.

Then there was Len Chesson who had a less than conventional view of the Army.

Sorry for rambeling on

 

Hi Shaun,

Please forgive me if this is old news to you but there is a book due out later this year (hopefully) about 10 Para, by a guy named Grahame Warner.

All the best

 

Thank you for the heads up Paul, I will have to buy the book.

I was thinking more of my Fathers war. That is why I need to find out / be as factual as I can about the family's.

 

Hiya ,
My great uncle, I belive was in the buffs before the war & was a policeman in Palestine, is this possible?
Also he joinded 4 para in Palestine in 1942.
Did he keep his origin buffs number 6285440 or was he given another one?

I can find information about Arnhem but very little else. What i know is he was Sgt. F. H. Chesson and jumped on the second day. He was a squad leader and was killed near the pumping station. His and 8 other bodys were moved round to the 6 mile arnhem marker. There is a picture in one of the German propaganda leaflet Das Searchlight & It never snows in September.
If it helps with the TANK BIAS, he was up against SS 10th Panza

 

Hiya ,
My great uncle, I belive was in the buffs before the war & was a policeman in Palestine, is this possible?
Also he joinded 4 para in Palestine in 1942.
Did he keep his origin buffs number 6285440 or was he given another one?

I can find information about Arnhem but very little else. What i know is he was Sgt. F. H. Chesson and jumped on the second day. He was a squad leader and was killed near the pumping station. His and 8 other bodys were moved round to the 6 mile arnhem marker. There is a picture in one of the German propaganda leaflets Das Searchlight & the book It never snows in September.
If it helps with the TANK BIAS, he was up against SS 10th Panza

Thank you for looking at this thread.

 

Have spoken to Mods in an attempt to delete one of your threads as they are both the same

To find out more about your relation you really need to obtain his service records before you go any further, and these records can ONLY be obtained from the MOD the forms are here Request records of deceased service personnel

TD

 

Wounded 1942: