DETAILS
OF SERVICEMEN FROM ECCLES
SECONDARY SCHOOL WHO DIED
FOR THEIR COUNTRY
FIRST WORLD WAR
ALDRED, FRANK Able-seaman, SS Willingtonia.
(Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve)
Died
23/07/1918, aged 20, in Deal
Hospital
Buried at Peel Green Cemetery, Grave J,NC 13170
Son
of Mr W. Aldred, Oakwood Brackley Road, Monton Green, Eccles.
BRITAIN,
CLIFFORD THOMAS
Private, 15th London Reg. (Prince of
Wales Own Civil Service Rifled) 1st/5th Bn, (Battle
at Cambrai)
Died 23/03/1918
aged 19,
Bay
10, Arras
Memorial. No of Identified casualties 34734.
Son of Walter
and Marion Britain, Holly Bank Cottage, Station Bridge,
Eccles
MARTIN, FREDERICK JAMES Private, Machine Gun Corps (Inf)
Died in Hope Hospital
on 16/11/1918, aged 19. No of identified Casualties 93.
Son
of Frederick and Minnie Martin, 116 New Brook Rd., Over Hulton,
Bolton.
Born
at Eccles.
FOOTSOY, JAMES ROBERT Private Cheshire Regt, Training Reserve
Battalion.
Died at Battle for Corzeaucourt, on 28/09/1918, aged 19,
Panel
16, Vis-en-Artois Memorial.
No
of identified casualties 9820.
Son
of Thomas and Margaret Footsoy, 9 Paradise St., Eccles.
SECOND WORLD WAR
AGNEW, KENNETH LEE Flying Officer (Navy) Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve, 550 Sqdn.
Died 14/01/1944
aged 22,
16.G. 7. Hanover War Cemetery.
Son
of James Nuttall Agnew and Doris Agnew of Whitefield,
Lancashire.
ALLEN, JAMES ERIC Flying Officer (Pilot) Royal Air
Force Volunteer Reserve.
Died 7/12/1941
aged 28
Buried St Marks
Worsley Grave No 554
Son of William
and Sarah Agnes Allen and
Husband
of Vera Margaret Allen of Monton Green, Eccles.
BANNING, WILLIAM ALBERT LAMBERT Lieutenant (A) Royal Navy Reserve,
HMS Victorious
Died 17/05/1945
Bay
6, Panel 2, Lee-on-Solent Memoral.
Son
of William Henry and Emily Banning of Eccles, Lancashire. B. A. Hons.
BLEARS, NORMAN Sub-Lieutenant (A) Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve,
HMS Victorious
Died 19/11/1944
Bay 6 Panel 2,
Lee-on-Solent Memoral
Son of Frederick and Florence
Blears of Monton, Lancashire.
BOARDMAN, H - Flight Sergeant Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve, 353 Sqdn.
Died 14/04/1944
aged 30
Delhi War Cemetery 2. F. 9.
Son
of Fred & Olive Edith Boardman of Manchester,
Husband of Marian Boardman of Davyhulme, Manchester.
BROWNBILL, ALBERT EDWARD Sergeant (Pilot) Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve, 106 Sqdn.
Died 5/07/1941
17. C. 1 Reichswald Forest War
Cemetery
BUTTERWORTH, DONALD HOLT Sub-Lieutenant Royal Naval
Volunteer Reserve
Died 28/05/1944
Panel 93,
Column 1, Plymouth
Naval Memorial
COLLIER, WILLIAM Sergeant - Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve, 428 (RCAF) Sqdn.
Died 29/04/1943
Panel
145, Runnymede Memorial.
Son of John
William & Edith Collier of Swinton, Lancashire
COOKE, ALFRED Sergeant (Air Gnr) -
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 514 Sqdn.
Died
31/03/1944, aged 19
Coll grave 11. E 11 13 Rheinberg War Cemetery
Son of Percy
& Ann Jane Cooke of Walkden, Lancashire
COOPER, KENNETH JOHN
Not enough
information.
DAY, GEOFFREY (HAPPY) Flying Officer (Navy) Royal Air
Force, 418 (RCAF) Sqdn.
Died
13/01/1945, aged 23
Plot B, grave
83, St Johns Pendlebury
Son
of Ellen Day and Stepson of James LEE, East Lancashire Road, Swinton.
More: Geoffrey was killed
in a flying accident somewhere in the U.K. Before the war he worked at Lancs. Electric Power Co. Walkden. Believed to be a very good athlete.
DICKENSON, PERCY EDWARD Flying Officer - Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve.
Died
19/06/1944, aged 31
Panel
10, Manchester
Crematorium.
FARE, ROBERT Sergeant (Navy) - Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve.
Died
17/08/1944, aged 21
2. C. 6. Nicosia War Cemetery
GORICK, NORMAN Flying Officer - Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve, 428 (RCAF) Sqdn.
Died
31/10/1943, aged 21.
Grave 666, St
Marks Worsley
Son
of William & Edith Rachel Gorick of Eccle, Manchester.
GUNTER, GEOFFREY IAN Pilot Officer (Naval U/T) - Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve.
Died
31/03/1943, aged 27
Grave
2119, Caernarvon Cemetery.
&
GUNTER, RICHARD IVOR Sergeant (Air Bomber) - Royal Air
Force Volunteer Reserve, 44 Sqdn.
Died 20/12/1942
Section H,
Grave 242 South Lincoln (Newton)
Cemetery
Sons of John
Henry & Noah
Gunter of Monton Green, Eccles, Manchester.
On http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/search.aspx they have spelt Richards last name without
the r on the end.
HALLSWORTH, JOHN Sergeant (W. Op/Air Gnr)
- Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 47 Sqdn.
Died
15/01/1943, aged 33
7. F. 3. Benghaji
War Cemetery
Son
of John & Edith Hallsworth of Eccles, Lancashire.
HARKER, LESLIE KENDRICK Lieutenant Royal Engineers
Died
08/04/1944, aged 37
U.D 12 Caserta war Cemetery
Son
of Frank & Edith Ellen Harker, Husband of Mona
Longworth Harker of Worsley, Lancashire.
More: He worked as a
Mining Engineer & Surveyor.
HARRISON,
DENNIS HIGHAM
Sergeant - Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 218 Sqdn.
Died
21/06/1941, aged 29
Panel
44, Runnymede Memorial.
Son
of John & Elsie Harrison of Eccles, Lancashire.
HAYNES, LAWRENCE CHARLES Pilot Officer - Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve,
124 Sqdn.
Died
26/05/1943, aged 20
North
Weald Bassell (St Andrew) Church yard.
Son
of Charles William & Frances Alice Haynes of Pendlebury,
Lancashire.
HICKLING, KENNETH RUSHTON Leading Aircraftman (Cadet Officer) -
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died
08/10/1942, aged 22
Grave
1086, St Marks Worsley.
Lived at Hazelhurst Cottage, Hazelhurst Road,
Worsley.
More: my information
states that he played Lacrosse for Worsley.
JACKSON, DARRELL Flight Sergeant - Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve 50 Sqdn
Died
05/01/1945, aged 21.
Panel
271 Runnymede Memorial.
Son
of Walter & Sarah Elizabeth Jackson of Eccles, Lancashire.
JARVEY, CYRIL Private The Kings Regiment (Liverpool)
Died
13/11/1944, aged 18
Grave 213 St Augustine of Canterbury,
Pendlbury
Son of Fred
& Mary Alice Jarvey of Pendlebury
JOHNSON, HARRY Warrant Officer - Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve 355 Sqdn
Died
17/05/1945, aged 27, Killed in operations in the Far East.
Column 449, Singapore
Memorial
Son of Richard
& Maria Johnson, Husband of Florence
A Johnson of 11
Harrowby Road, Swinton
More: He left an 18 month
old son; his employment before joining up was with the Manchester Oil Refinery and he played
football for Hope FC.
KAY, ALBERT HARRY Petty Officer (Pilot) Royal Navy, HMS Pursuer
Died
09/08/1945, aged 20
Bay 6 Panel 1,
Lee-on-Solent Memorial
Son of Percy
Harry & Elsie Edith Kay of Eccles Lancashire
KELLY, ARNOLD Flight Sergeant - Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve 524 Sqdn
Died
26/11/1944, aged 31, report missing 25/11/1944
PANEL 219, Runnymede Memorial
Son of
Frederick & Elizabeth Kelly, Husband of Emma Kelly of Flixton,
Lancashire
KEWLEY, GEORGE DOUGLAS Flight Officer (Pilot) - Royal Air
Force Volunteer Reserve 626 Sqdn.
Died
22/03/1944. Killed in air operations over Germany.
12.
G. 7 Hanover
War Cemetery
Of
Westbrook Drive,
Swinton.
More: employment before
joining up as a Policeman
KING-MEGGOTT, JOHN RICHARD Flight Sergeant - Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve193 Sqdn
Died 04/02/1944
Panel 219 Runnymede Memorial
On http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/search.aspx they have spelt his surname King-Meggat
KINSEY, WILLIAM NOEL Flight Sergeant Royal Air Force 7th
Sqdn
Missing
presumed killed 24/11/1943, aged 28
Panel
137 Runnymede Memorial.
Son
of John & Margaret Kinsey of Chorley
Road, Swinton. Husband of Doris Eileen Kinsey
(Spence) of Brixton, London.
More: He was member of St
Peters Church Choir. Employment before joining up was with
Glovers Cables Ltd, Trafford
Park.
MARSHALL, MICHAEL JOHN Leading Airman Royal Navy HMS Condor
Died
15/08/1944, aged 20
Bay 5 Panel 2
Lee-on-Solent Memorial
MATTHEWS, HAROLD Second Officer Merchant Navy SS Hindpool (West Hartlepool)
Died
08/03/1941, aged 22
Panel 57 Tower
Hill Memorial
Son of Arthur
& Jennie Matthews of Winton, Lancashire
OGDEN,
RONALD Leading
Aircraftman - Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died
05/08/1945, aged 38. Killed in an accident.
7. B. 16. Ramlem
War Cemetery
Son of Charles
Frederick & Lucida Ogden and husband of Ruth Mary Ogden of Swinton
More: Played cricket for
All Saints and Christ
Church teams. Was
employed as Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Agent
PEARSON, STANLEY Flying Officer - Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserve 37 Sqdn
Died
06/02/1943, aged 22. Missing after operations in the middle
east.
Column 268
Alamein Memorial
Son of Frank
and Gladys Pearson of Stafford
Road Swinton
More: A cross country
runner and Athlete, worked Yates Bros, Chemists, Swinton
QUINN, JAMES Flying Officer (Pilot) - Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve 165 Sqdn
Died
05/01.1945, aged 23 during air operations.
Plot 23 Row 2
Grave 4 Brugge
General Cemetery
Son
of William & Dinah Quinn of Eccles, husband of Dorothy Quinn of Monton, Eccles.
SAVAGE, WILLIS ARTHUR Sergeant (WOP/Airgnr)
- Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 75 Sqdn.
Died
16/12/1945, aged 20, while returning from operational flight.
Plot C, Grave
84, St Johns Pendlebury
Son of Richard
Willis & Edith Annie Savage of Swinton
More: before war worked
for Chartered Accountants, Walker & Son, Manchester
SLATER, HARRY KENNETH Sub- Lieutenant - Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
HMS Indefatigable
Died
24/06/1944, aged 21.
Bay 5 Panel 6
Lee-on-Solent Memorial.
Son
of James Henry and Gertrude Sybil Slater of Monton
Eccles.
TURNER, FRANK GREENHALGH Squadron Leader Royal Air Force
(RAFO)
Died
01/05/1944, age 29
4.
E. 4 Fajara War Cemetery
Son
of Herbert and Hannah Turner, husband of Winifride
Turner of Stretford Manchester.
WALPOLE,
SIDNEY HERBERT Flying
Officer - Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 489 Sqdn
Died
09/04/1943. aged 30
Panel 130 Runnymede Memorial
Son of Sidney Robert & Florence Miriam Walpole of
Bolton-le-Sand, Lancashire (BA Manchester)
WILLIAMS, JOHN THOMAS Sergeant (W.Op/Airgnr)
- Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 70 Sqdn
Died
04/12/1942, aged 24.
1. H 3. Torbruk War Cemetery.
Son of John
& Florence William of Flixton, Lancashire
Some of the
information on this page can be found in Remembrance Recollections of a Wartime
Childhood in Swinton by Dorothy Tildsley
USEFUL LINKS
http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/search.aspx
Help
to identify Squadrons
http://www.raf.mod.uk/squadrons/h7.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h37.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h44.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/squadrons/h47.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h50.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/squadrons/h70.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h75.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h106.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h124.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h165.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h193.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/h218.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h353.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h355.html
http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn411-420.htm
http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/h428.html
http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn485-490.htm
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h514.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/h524.html
http://www.550sqn.theraf.co.uk/
http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn621-650.htm
SHIP INFORMATION
SS HINDPOOL, 4,897grt. Torpedoed and sunk by U-124
on the 8th March 1941 in Convoy SL-67 sailing from Pepel to Middlesbrough via Freetown with a cargo of iron ore. 28 crew killed
HMS VICTORIOUS, She was hit by a Kamikaze on 9 May 1945 - no
damage. On July 1945 an 849 Squadron aircraft from HMS Victorious located and
scored the first bomb hit on the Japanese escort aircraft carrier Kaiyo (or Kayo), which was seriously damaged by the FAA
aircraft in Beppu Bay, Kyushu, on 24 July 1945. HMS
Victorious served with the BPF until the end of war on repatriation duties for
former POW troops, 1945-47
HMS
PURSUER remained as a
"Fighter Carrier" from 1943-1945, operating in the Atlantic 1943 - 5
and in Norway.
She provided fighter cover during Operation "Tungsten" in April
1944. On 3 April 3 1944, the German battleship Tirpitz lying in a Fjord
in Arctic Norway was attacked by a strike force of Fairey
Barracuda torpedo-bombers from HMS Furious and HMS Victorious. They were
accompanied by escort aircraft of Grumman Wildcats, Hellcats and Vought
Corsairs from the escort carriers Searcher, Fencer, Pursuer, and Emperor.
Subsequently, she supported the D-Day
Normandy landings in June 1944, as well as operations leading to the invasion
of southern France
1944, and Aegean 1944. Later Pursuer joined the British Pacific Fleet and was
operational following arrived at Colombo
25 July 45. Assigned RN designation R309 circa 1945 for service in the Pacific,
but probably not redesignated.
After the war in the Far
East was officially over on 15 August the main activity for both
British fleets was to accept the Japanese surrender in the numerous islands and
areas of coast were they had been in control. In many cases there was still the
risk of continued resistance, particularly in Malaya.
On 9 September Operation Zipper, the recapture of Malaya,
was put into effect, but without a previously arranged air and sea bombardment.
Over 100,000 troops landed at various points escorted by HMS Nelson, Richelieu,
Nigeria, Cleopatra, Royalist and Ceylon, with the escort carriers Hunter,
Stalker, Archer, Khedive, Emperor, Pursuer and Trumpeter with 15 destroyers.
HMS Pursuer was returned to the USN on 12
February 1946 and scrapped.
H.M.S. INDEFATIGABLE - http://www.btinternet.com/~t.briggswww/index1.html
HISTORICAL
INFORMATION ABOUT WAR GRAVES
Many of the graves in HANOVER WAR CEMETERY were brought in from prisoner of war camp
cemeteries, small German cemeteries and from isolated positions in the
surrounding country. The cemetery contains 2,403 Commonwealth burials of the
Second World War, 62 of them unidentified. There are also 39 non-war burials
and ten war graves of other nationalities, most of them Polish. Hanover War Cemetery adjoins Hanover Military
Cemetery, a substantial
post war cemetery of more than 3,000 burials.
LEE-ON-SOLENT - During the Second World War the Fleet Air Arm
served in almost every theatre. In a reconnaissance role they supported land
operations in France, the Netherlands, North Africa,
Italy, and the Far East. Operating from aircraft carriers (seven of
which were lost during the war), they were one of the
chief weapons against the U-boats in the Atlantic
and in support of the Russian convoys. In November 1940, Fleet Air Arm
Swordfish biplanes carrying torpedoes undertook a night raid on the harbour at Taranto,
resulting in disaster for the Italian navy. Aircraft from HMS Victorious and
Ark Royal took part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismark
in may 1941 and in February 1942, when the
Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz
Eugen attempted a daring dash along the English
Channel from the Altlantic to the relative safety of
the North Sea, they were attacked by Swordfish
of the Fleet Air Arm. The principal base of the Fleet Air Arm, Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, was chosen as the site for the memorial
to almost 2,000 men of that service who died during the Second World War and
who have no known grave
DELHI
WAR CEMETERY was created in 1951
when graves from many cemeteries in northern India were moved into the site to
ensure their permanent maintenance. Among them are graves from cantonment
cemeteries in Allahabad, Cawnpore, Dehra Dun and Lucknow. There are now 1,022 Commonwealth
casualties of the Second World War buried, or commemorated by special memorial,
in this cemetery together with a number of war graves of other nationalities,
mostly Dutch. In 1966, 99 First World War burials were moved into the cemetery
from Nicholson Cemetery,
Kashmir Gate, Delhi,
so that their permanent maintenance could be assured. A special memorial
commemorates one casualty whose grave remains in Nicholson Cemetery.
Delhi War
Cemetery also contains the DELHI 1914-18 MEMORIAL, commemorating 153 casualties
buried in Meerut Cantonment Cemetery
where their graves could no longer be maintained. More than 25,000 servicemen
of the forces of undivided India died during the Second World War in
non-operational zones, for example while serving with regimental depots or with
other static units. Their remains were accorded the last rites and disposal
required by their various religions and their names are commemorated at
memorials in the capital cities of India
and Pakistan.
The DELHI 1939-45 WAR MEMORIAL forms the
entrance to Delhi War Cemetery
and an identical memorial stands in Karachi
War Cemetery.
No names appear on the memorials but a Roll of Honour
at each site, one in Hindi, the other in Urdu, record the names of those
commemorated.
REICHSWALD
FOREST WAR CEMETERY was created
after the Second World War when burials were brought in from all over western Germany and is
the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the country. Some of those members of the
land forces buried there died in the advance through Reichswald Forest in February 1945. Others died
crossing the Rhine, among them members of the airborne forces whose bodies were
brought from Hamminkeln, where landings were made by
the 6th Airborne Division from bases in England. Some of the airmen buried
in the cemetery lost their lives in supporting the advance into Germany, but most died earlier in the war in the
intensive air attacks over Germany.
Their graves were brought in from cemeteries and isolated sites in the
surrounding area. There are now 7,580 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second
World War buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 162 of the burials are
unidentified. There are also 79 war graves of other nationalities, most of them
Polish
PLYMOUTH NAVAL
MEMORIAL - After the First World
War, an appropriate way had to be found of commemorating those members of the
Royal Navy who had no known grave, the majority of deaths having occurred at
sea where no permanent memorial could be provided. An Admiralty committee
recommended that the three manning ports in Great
Britain - Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth
- should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an
obelisk, which would serve as a leading mark for shipping. The memorials were
designed by Sir Robert Lorimer, who had already
carried out a considerable amount of work for the Commission, with sculpture by
Henry Poole. After the Second World War it was decided that the naval memorials
should be extended to provide space for commemorating the naval dead without
graves of that war, but since the three sites were dissimilar, a different
architectural treatment was required for each. The architect for the Second
World War extension at Plymouth was Sir Edward Maufe (who also designed the Air Forces memorial at Runnymede) and the additional sculpture was by Charles
Wheeler and William McMillan. In addition to commemorating seamen of the Royal
Navy who sailed from Plymouth, the First World War panels also bears the names
of sailors from Australia and South Africa; the governments of the other Commonwealth
nations chose to commemorate their dead elsewhere, for the most part on
memorials in their home ports. After the Second World War, Canada and New
Zealand again chose commemoration at home, but the
memorial at Plymouth
commemorates sailors from all other parts of the Commonwealth. Plymouth Naval
Memorial commemorates more than 7,000 sailors of the First World War and almost
16,000 from the Second World War.
The AIR
FORCES MEMORIAL AT RUNNYMEDE commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who
were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western
Europe, and who have no known graves. They served in Bomber,
Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came
from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued
to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force. The memorial was designed by Sir
Edward Maufe with sculpture by Vernon Hill. The
engraved glass and painted ceilings were designed by John Hutton and the poem
engraved on the gallery window was written by Paul H Scott.
NICOSIA
WAR CEMETERY was established by
the military authorities during the Second World War for the burial of
servicemen who died while on duty in Cyprus. A number of graves were
also moved here from small civilian cemeteries in villages in different parts
of the island. There are now 215 Second World War casualties, two of whom are
unidentified and four non-war casualties commemorated in this cemetery. Within
the cemetery stands the NICOSIA
CREMATION MEMORIAL, which commemorates 73 soldiers of the army of undivided
India who died in Cyprus during
the Second World War and whose remains were cremated in accordance with their
faith. Also in this cemetery is the CYPRUS
(NICOSIA) MEMORIAL which commemorates the officers and men of the Cyprus
Regiment and the Cyprus Volunteer Force who died in Cyprus during the Second World War
and were buried in village cemeteries in various parts
of the island. Some lie in family or collective graves where it was not
possible to commemorate them with the usual Commission headstone.
BENGHAZI was an important goal for both Allies and Axis
forces during the Western
Desert campaigns of 1942
and 1943. There are now 1,214 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War
buried or commemorated in Benghazi
War Cemetery.
163 of the burials are unidentified. Special memorials commemorate two
casualties buried in Barce War
Cemetery, whose graves
could not be located
CASERTA WAR CEMETERY - On 3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the
Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the
Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side. Allied objectives were
to draw German troops from the Russian front and more particularly from France, where
an offensive was planned for the following year. The Royal
Palace at Caserta
served as headquarters for the Allied armies in Italy
for the greater part of the duration of the Italian campaign and the 2nd General Hospital
was at Caserta
from December 1943 until September 1945. Some of those buried here died in the
hospital, others as prisoners of war before the Allied invasion. There are also
a few burials from the October 1943 fighting on the River Volturno,
which lies not far away to the north. Caserta War
Cemetery contains 768
Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.
SINGAPORE MEMORIAL - Before 1939 the Kranji
area was a military camp and at the time of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, it was the site of a large ammunition magazine.
On 8 February 1942, the Japanese crossed the Johore
Straits in strength, landing at the mouth of the Kranji River within two miles of the place
where the war cemetery now stands. On the evening of 9 February, they launched
an attack between the river and the causeway. During the next
few days fierce fighting ensued, in many cases hand to hand, until their
greatly superior numbers and air strength necessitated a withdrawal.
After the fall of the island, the Japanese established a prisoner of war camp
at Kranji and eventually a hospital was organised nearby at Woodlands. After the reoccupation of Singapore, the
small cemetery started by the prisoners at Kranji was
developed into a permanent war cemetery by the Army Graves Service when it
became evident that a larger cemetery at Changi could
not remain undisturbed. Changi had been the site of
the main prisoner of war camp in Singapore and a large hospital had
been set up there by the Australian Infantry Force. In 1946, the graves were
moved from Changi to Kranji,
as were those from the Buona Vista prisoner of war
camp. Many other graves from all parts of the island were transferred to Kranji together with all Second World War graves from
Saigon Military Cemetery in French Indo-China (now Vietnam), another site where
permanent maintenance could not be assured. The Commission later brought in
graves of both World Wars from Bidadari
Christian Cemetery,
Singapore,
where again permanent maintenance was not possible. There are now 4,458 Commonwealth
casualties of the Second World War buried or commemorated at KRANJI WAR CEMETERY. More than 850 of
the burials are unidentified. The Chinese Memorial in Plot 44 marks a
collective grave for 69 Chinese servicemen, all members of the Commonwealth forces,
who were killed by the Japanese during the occupation in February 1942. First
World War burials and commemorations number 64, including special memorials to
three casualties known to have been buried in civil cemeteries in Saigon and Singapore, but
whose graves could not be located. Within Kranji War Cemetery
stands the SINGAPORE MEMORIAL,
bearing the names of over 24,000 casualties of the Commonwealth land and air
forces who have no known grave. Many of these have no known date of death and
are accorded within our records the date or period from when they were known to
be missing or captured. The land forces commemorated by the memorial died
during the campaigns in Malaya and Indonesia or in subsequent
captivity, many of them during the construction of the Burma-Thailand railway,
or at sea while being transported into imprisonment elsewhere. The memorial
also commemorates airmen who died during operations over the whole of southern
and eastern Asia and the surrounding seas and
oceans.
The SINGAPORE (UNMAINTAINABLE GRAVES) MEMORIAL,
which stands at the western end of the Singapore Memorial, commemorates more
than 250 casualties who died in campaigns in Singapore
and Malaya, whose known graves in civil
cemeteries could not be assured maintenance and on religious grounds could not
be moved to a war cemetery.
The SINGAPORE
CREMATION MEMORIAL, which stands immediately behind the Singapore Memorial,
commemorates almost 800 casualties, mostly of the Indian forces, whose remains
were cremated in accordance with their religious beliefs.
The SINGAPORE
CIVIL HOSPITAL GRAVE MEMORIAL stands at the eastern end of the Singapore
Memorial. During the last hours of the Battle of Singapore, wounded civilians
and servicemen taken prisoner by the Japanese were brought to the hospital in
their hundreds. The number of fatalities was such that burial in the normal
manner was impossible. Before the war, an emergency water tank had been dug in
the grounds of the hospital and this was used as a grave for more than 400
civilians and Commonwealth servicemen. After the war, it was decided that as
individual identification of the dead would be impossible, the grave should be
left undisturbed. The grave was suitably enclosed, consecrated by the Bishop of
Singapore, and a cross in memory of all of those buried there was erected over
it by the military authorities. The 107 Commonwealth casualties buried in the
grave are commemorated on the Singapore Civil Hospital Grave Memorial. Kranji
War Cemetery
and the Singapore Memorial were designed by Colin St Clair Oakes. Adjoining Kranji
War Cemetery
is KRANJI MILITARY CEMETERY, a
substantial non-world war site of 1,378 burials, created in 1975 when it was
found necessary to remove the graves of servicemen and their families from Pasir Panjang and Ulu Pandan cemeteries.
RAMLEH WAR CEMETERY - The cemetery dates from the First World War,
when Ramleh (now Ramla) was
occupied by the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade on 1 November 1917. Field
ambulances, and later casualty clearing stations, were posted at Ramleh and Lydda from December
1917 onwards. The cemetery was begun by the medical units, but some graves were
brought in later from the battlefields and from Latron,
Sarona and Wilhema Military
and Indian Cemeteries. During the Second World War,
this cemetery was used by the Ramla Royal Air Force
Station and by various Commonwealth hospitals posted in turn to the area for
varying periods. This cemetery contains 3,300 Commonwealth burials of the First
World War, 964 of them unidentified. Second World War burials number 1,168.
There are also 891 war graves of other nationalities from both wars, and 525
non-war burials, many from the RAF and garrison stations that were at Ramleh in the inter war years and until the end of the
British Mandate in Palestine in 1948.
Within Ramleh War Cemetery
will be found:
The RAMLEH
1914-18 MEMORIAL, erected in 1961 to commemorate more than 300
Commonwealth, German and Turkish servicemen of the First World War who lie
buried in cemeteries elsewhere in Israel where their graves could no
longer be maintained. Only 74 of the casualties are named.
The RAMLEH
1939-45 MEMORIAL, commemorating 28 Jewish and non Arab servicemen of the
Second World War, and six non-war casualties of the Palestine Police Force, who
lie buried in cemeteries elsewhere in Israel where their graves could not
be maintained in perpetuity.
ALAMEIN
MEMORIAL - The campaign in the
Western Desert was fought between the Commonwealth forces (with, later, the
addition of two brigades of Free French and one each of Polish and Greek
troops) all based in Egypt, and the Axis forces (German and Italian) based in
Libya. The battlefield, across which the fighting surged back and forth between
1940 and 1942, was the 1,000 kilometres of desert
between Alexandria in Egypt
and Benghazi in Libya. It was a campaign of manoeuvre and movement, the objectives being the control of
the Mediterranean, the link with the east through the Suez Canal, the Middle
East oil supplies and the supply route to Russia
through Persia.
The Alamein Memorial forms the entrance to Alamein War
Cemetery. The Land Forces
panels commemorate more than 8,500 soldiers of the Commonwealth who died in the
campaigns in Egypt and Libya, and in the operations of the Eighth Army
in Tunisia
up to 19 February 1943, who have no known grave. It also commemorates those who
served and died in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq
and Persia.
The Air Forces panels commemorate more than 3,000 airmen of the Commonwealth
who died in the campaigns in Egypt,
Libya, Syria, Lebanon,
Iraq, Greece, Crete and the Aegean, Ethiopia, Eritrea
and the Somalilands, the Sudan,
East Africa, Aden and Madagascar, who have no known
grave. Those who served with the Rhodesian and South African Air Training
Scheme and have no known grave are also commemorated here.
EL
ALAMEIN WAR CEMETERY contains the
graves of men who died at all stages of the Western Desert campaigns, brought
in from a wide area, but especially those who died in the Battle of El Alamein
at the end of October 1942 and in the period immediately before that. The
cemetery now contains 7,239 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, of
which 814 are unidentified. There are also 102 war graves of other
nationalities.
The ALAMEIN
CREMATION MEMORIAL, which stands in the south-eastern part of El Alamein War
Cemetery, commemorates more than 600
men whose remains were cremated in Egypt
and Libya
during the war, in accordance with their faith.
BRUGGE GENERAL CEMETERY
- The British Expeditionary Force was involved in the later stages of the defence of Belgium
following the German invasion in May 1940, and suffered many casualties in
covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk.
Commonwealth forces did not return until September 1944, but in the intervening
years, many airmen were shot down or crashed in raids on strategic objectives
in Belgium, or while returning from missions over Germany. The Commonwealth
plot in Brugge
General Cemetery
contains 81 Second World War burials and one Dutch war grave. The Belgian
military plot contains one Commonwealth burial of the First World War.
FAJARA WAR CEMETERY - During the Second World War the four territories
in West Africa - including Gambia
- became bases for recruiting and training men for the armed forces and their
ports and harbours were of great value to convoys
bound for the Middle East, India,
South Africa and South America. By the end of 1942, coastal defence artillery had been installed and manned in all the
principal West African ports. Bathurst (now Banjul) became a naval
base. Fajara
War Cemetery
contains 200 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, one of which is
unidentified. There are also nine non-war service burials and three war graves
of other nationalities. The cemetery also contains a Memorial Tablet
commemorating 33 of the men of Gambia
who served in the Royal West African Frontier Forces who died whilst serving in
West Africa and whose graves are not known or
cannot be maintained.
TORBRUK WAR CEMETERY - Tobruk is a
Mediterranean port with an excellent deep water harbour.
During the war it was important to Allied and Axis
forces alike, for the reception of supplies and reinforcements. In January
1941, it was taken from the Italians by General Wavell's forces, and after the
clearance of the demolitions in the harbour the port
was usable and proved invaluable. When Rommel commenced his drive across
Cyrenaica towards Suez
it was deemed essential that Tobruk be held, and the
resulting siege lasted from 11 April to 10 December 1941, when the Axis forces
were driven back. They recovered far more quickly than was expected and by
early February 1942, it was the Allies turn to fall back towards a line running
southwards from Gazala to Bir
Hakeim. Again orders were given to hold Tobruk, but it fell to Rommel on 21 June. It was retaken
five months later by the Eighth Army in their final sweep along the North
African coast into Tunisia.
Tobruk
War Cemetery
incorporates the burial ground used during the siege and the memorial erected
there at the time by the Australians has been replaced by a permanent memorial
of similar design. Many battlefield graves in the desert have been brought into
the cemetery. There are now 2,282 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World
War buried or commemorated in Tobruk War
Cemetery. 171 of the
burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate a number of
casualties known or believed to be buried among them. The cemetery also
contains 171 war graves of other nationalities, most of them Polish.