William Henry DAVIES

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William Henry DAVIES

Postby Graham » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:50 pm

Hi, I am trying to trace the brothers of my father (deceased). I believe one brother served in the Worcestershire Regiment. From the scant details I have he may well have been William Henry DAVIES and a person of that name and the correct age of 34 (he was born in 1910) is shown as having died 29th October 1944 and is buried in Dunkirk. The Commonwealth Graves records show that Private W.H. Davies 5252593 was a member of the 7th Battalion, whereas the records on this website show the same person as a a member of the 1st. Does anyone have any information as to which Battalion he may have served in - the 1st were certainly in France in 1944. The sticking point may be that again on this website W.H. Davies same number, was a POW in 2 Camps and therefore could have served elsewhere. Anecdotally I have been told he may have been shot for escaping or alternatively been part of the 'Long March' and died during that. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks. :D
Graham
 
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Postby scully » Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:38 pm

Graham,

I have cheched the details again and corrected the POW reference on this website to read 7th Battalion (I made a mistake quoting the 1st Battalion due to the date of his death, which is somewhat strange).

Private William Henry Davies (5252593) was serving with the 7th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment and was taken prisoner of war during the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940. Records show he was taken to German POW Camps 20B and 21B. It is strange that he is commemorated on a panel at the Dunkirk Memorial (there is no actual grave!) where is death is recorded as 29th October 1944 (age 34). Therefore it is possible he escaped from a POW camp and went missing and was killed some time later. There is some uncertainty about what actually happen. The fact that his death is recorded on the panel (column fifty eight) at the Dunkirk Memorial would suggest that his identy tag was found in October 1944.

The other information I can give you is that his residence in the UK was in Staffordshire.

Regards,

Louis
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