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JH Halsall . British Army Royal Tank Regiment JH Halsall served with the Royal Tank Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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KS Halsall . British Army 17/21st Lancers KS Halsall served with the 17/21st Lancers British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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L/Bdr. Robert Henry Halsall MiD.. British Army 15th (Isle of Man) Light Anti Aircraft Regiment, 1 Royal Artillery from Douglas, Isle of Man (d.1st June 1941) Robert Halsall, know as Harry, joined 129th Battery, Royal Artillery with his brother John Roy Halsall. They both fought in Crete, Robert was killed in action and John was taken prisoner, he was a POW in Stalag IV-F in Harmannsdorf be Cheminitz until March 1945. Robert was Mentioned in Dispatches. He is remembered on the Athens Memorial. His twin brother, William Karran Halsall joined a different unit and survived the war.
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SJ Halse . British Army SJ Halse served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Sgt. A. L. Halsey . 102 Squadron
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FJH Halsey . British Army 50th Btn. Royal Tank Regiment FJH Halsey served with the 50th Btn. Royal Tank Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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D Halstead . British Army D Halstead served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Col.Sgt. James Thomas Halstead . British Army Border Regiment from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire Colour Sergeant James Pilkington went through World War Two without a scratch. Whilst on active service in Kenya following the war, he contracted Malaria and died within three days in October 1947. He is buried in the Military cemetery in Nanyuki Kenya.
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Sgt. John William "Jack" Halsted . South African Army Artillery from Durban, South Africa My late father, Jack Halsted, was in the Artillery and part of the South African and Rhodesian Army which fought the Italians in East Africa. After being shipped up to Beira, Mozambique. Thereafter they drove overland to engage the Italians in Abyssinia (Tanzania), pushing them back into Ethiopia. Once the Italian threat had been dealt with, the Southern African Army was shipped to Cairo where they were re-equipped and assigned to the 8th Army, effectively becoming a Desert Rat.
He was wounded at El Alamein and captured. After a short convalescence, he and many others were shipped across the Mediterranean to Italy and transported by rail up through Italy, over the Alps and into Germany. Then across Germany to Stalag VIII-C in Silesia near the current day town of Sagan.
Stalag VIII-C was directly opposite Stalag Luft III. He sold his watch to one of the Great Escapees who, unfortunately, was never heard of again.
In February 1945, he and many other POW's, were force marched 400 miles across Poland and Germany as part of the Death Marches, ending in Bad-Orb near Frankfurt. It was here that they were liberated by the Americans.
He, and many others, were evacuated to England where he convalesced for 3 months before being shipped back to South Africa. On arrival his father presented him with a new watch, which I still have.
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Douglas Halton . Royal Marines HMS Manchester Douglas Halton was present at the USO club in the States on Christmas Day 1941 with W. J. Cross also of HMS Manchester. I have a page signed from autograph book of my mother's who volunteered there that day.
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Flt Sgt. James Frederic Halward DFM.. Royal Canadian Air Force 420 (Snowy Owl) Sqd. from Cannington, Ontario, Canada (d.5th May 1942) Jim Halward served with 420 (Snowy Owl) Squadron as a wireless operator air gunner.
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DJ Ham . British Army East Kent Regiment DJ Ham served with the East Kent Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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S/L E C Hamber . RCAF 419 (Moose) Squadron S/L E C Hamber C1625 was a pilot based at Middleton St George now Teeside airport and flew Halifax's from this base for 419 RCAF Moose Squadron which included VR JP202 T
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Lt. N. Hambler . Home Guard B Coy. Workington Btn.
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JE Hambleton . British Army JE Hambleton served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Pte. Frederick Hamblett MM.. British Army 1st Btn. Welch Regiment from Oldham Fred Hamblett was a resident of Oldham, Lancashire. (His mother lived at 33 Button Green, Choldeston, Lancs). By the time Fred arrived in Sicily he had already served with the 8th Army in Africa under Montgomery.
He and his unit then left Alexandria for Crete where he narrowly escaped being captured when the Island fell to the Luftwaffe.
Only 7 officers and 161 men managed to get off the island leaving 250 dead and 400 Prisoners of War behind them.
In late 1942 a period of regrouping took place after the debacle in Crete but it wasn't long before 1st Welch was again in action against the Germans, this time it was to be against Rommel in the fierce struggles for Benghazi in January 1942. After the evacuation from Benghazi, the unit was split into its various companies which were forced to make their own way across hundreds of miles of mine and German infested desert.
One company was captured after covering only 25 miles after being surrounded by German tanks. Another group, fearing almost inevitable capture, spit up and trekked across hundreds of miles of desert before reaching safety. Some of the individual stories of these men contain epic feats of endurance and survival as they crossed over 200 miles of barren desert while enduring heat, cold, thirst and hunger.
The next mammoth task set for 1st Welch Regiment was their part in "Operation Husky" the invasion of Sicily on 9th/10th of July 1943. They trained in Palestine for the forthcoming beach landings during March and became one of the famous Beach Brick units (34 Beach Brick) which were tasked with the organisation and essential flow of men and materials required for the landings.
The landings of course were ultimately successful, partly due to the equally famous Operation Mincemeat which was the subterfuge operation which entailed the discovery of the fictitious Major Martin floating at sea with a briefcase full of secret documents which totally convinced the Germans that our real objective was the invasion of Greece and Sardinia, when all the time it was really Sicily. Operation Mincemeat was made famous by the well-known film
The Man Who Never Was.
Fred Hamblett's Citation reads:
An Immediate Award Of The Military Medal
4863129. Pte F. Hamblett was a member of a Brick Engineer working company with specific instructions to land essential R.E. Stores and takeover urgent R.E. Work. The L.C.I. which brought his company in received direct hits from shell-fire which set the craft on fire. They were landed 5 miles from their proper beach, still under shell fire, in an area heavily mined and booby-trapped. There were several casualties in Pte Hambletts Section he himself being wounded in the thigh and groin by shell splinters. Despite this, he retained his personal load of explosives and insisted, though in great pain on marching the 5 miles to the correct beach. Here he was removed to Hospital and evacuated.
His courage, endurance and devotion to duty were a fine example to all.
Pte. Hamblett and his fellow, 5342676 Private Ronald Bertie Morton, were both carrying explosives, as part of sections in transit to the beaches of Sicily. They were sailing in the Battalion HQ Landing Craft when it received a direct hit from German long-range artillery. The shell set the craft on fire, disabled the gun crew and the bridge, and led to its final sinking near the beach.
When ashore, it was fast realised that their landing had been made no less than 5 miles away from their proper beach in a place infested with anti-personnel mines and uncut wire. One of the sections was killed and another wounded by a booby trap and both Hamblett and Morton were wounded by splinters. Hamblett in the thigh and groin and Morton in the arm and body. Despite this and the shelling, the two men retained their personal load of explosives and neither made any complaint and kept up with the rest of their party during their 5 mile trek on sand to the bivouac area.
It was only with difficulty that Pte Morton was persuaded to exchange carrying his Bren Gun for a lighter rifle. On reaching the bivouac area both men were treated and evacuated to a Hospital Ship on 11th July.
The officer's report on the incident records, "...until we halted, we had not known Hamblett was hit and after a rough dressing by the Sgt Major, he pronounced himself fit for anything.
His supreme efforts merited him this Military Medal which was awarded immediately during the allied invasion of Sicily which we now proudly offer here. The award citation was signed personally by General Bernard Montgomery.
A magnificent and historically important gallantry group for The Invasion of Sicily, to a man who clearly just wasn't going to quit on his duty, no matter what the circumstances.
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Ronald Frank Hamblett . Royal Navy HMS Eagle (d.11th August 1942) Searching for the history of my dear uncle who was on HMS Eagle when it was sunk on the 11th of August 1942
His name was Ronald Hamblett from West Bromwich, West Midlands.
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Sqn Ldr. Harold Leonard "Jack" Hamblin DFC. Royal Air Force No. 100 Squadron from Eastleigh
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CPO(Cook) Philip Hambly . Royal Navy HMS Forth from Hendon, London Philip Hambly is my Great Grandfather, he was born in Looe Cornwall lived in Hendon, London. He served in the Royal Navy from 1914 to 1942 leaving as a CPO Cook.
His service records show he served on many ships, sometimes twice, and through the Royal Navy
He died in April 1960
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R Hambly . British Army South Staffordshire Regiment R Hambly served with the South Staffordshire Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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P/O Charles Hamel . Royal Canadian Air Force (d.20th November 1944) P/O Hamel was a member of the crew of a Wellington bomber which crashed in Wales in November 1944. The crew were all from the Royal Canadian Air Force and none survived. They are all buried in Chester (Blacon) Cemetery. The full crew were:
Sgt. J.P.E. Burke - wop/airgunner
Sgt. J.A.E. Groulx - airgunner
Sgt. J.L.U. du Sablon - airgunner
F/Lt. W.J. Allison - air bomber
Sgt. J.R.R. Villeneuve - navigator
P/O C. Hamel - pilot
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Sgt. V. L. Hamelink . Royal Air Force No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF from Holland On 19th November 1944 a RAF plane, a Mitchell FR167 NO-V of 320 squadron, was full hit by flak near Venlo. Sgt.V.L. Holleman managed to fly the plane back to Melsbroek and made a belly-landing. Crew OK.
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Cpl. Annie Rothwell Hamer . Womens Auxiliary Air Force from Bolton Anne Hamer moved to Honeybourne where a Canadian air crew were based. Here they had to have bikes and had to travel a few miles to mess. She was a driver and the role was taking crews to get their parachute, to the control tower, then to dispersal point, and then this sequence in reverse. These were long twelve hour days. She was stationed here when the war finished in 1945.
At Honeybourne there were always plane crashes due to the fact that it was in a valley and the planes used to crash into the trees on the hills. Anne had to go out to one where there were bodies in the trees, they used to know all the men because they would take them out to all the planes.
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CG Hamer . British Army CG Hamer served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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EH Hamer . British Army Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry EH Hamer served with the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Flt.Sgt. F. A. Hamer . Royal Air Force No. 90 Squadron F. A. Hamer survived a BK665 Stirling Mk III bomber crash and was taken to Stalag Luft 6 as a POW.
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FH Hamer . British Army FH Hamer served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Gdsm. Harold Henry Hamer . British Army 2nd Battalion Welsh Guards from Blackwood, Gwent Harry Hamer joined the 2nd Battalion Welsh Guards just before the war. He had despised working in the mines and wanted to join the police force but had not managed it. He was told that if he went into the army, he stood a better chance of getting into the police force afterwards. Little did he know what was to happen.
In May 1940 his Battalion had held Boulogne whist non combatants were taken to safety. They were under heavy bombardment from sea, air and land until they had to surrender to save civilian lives. As POWs they were marched over 200 miles to the German border to a town called Trier. They were then transported by train, each wagon holding 70 men and for the next 2 days they received no food, water or means to relieve themselves. Harry spent the next five years in a POW camp in Poland, Stalag 20B Marienburg (Prisoner of War No: 9651.) Then in 1945 the Russians were advancing and they were told to parade outside and to carry enough warm clothes (it was 36 degrees below zero). For the next 3 months they were forced to march over 600 miles, sleeping in barns, sheds and stables. If they collapsed or gave up they were shot. Many had frostbite. They finally arrived at Stendahl which is on the western side of the River Elbe. The Americans bombed this town and they were forced to march back the way they came. The sick and injured were left behind.
On this march Harry and his friend Robbo escaped from the column. They made their way back to Stendahl which took 2 weeks as the bridges had been blown. They found a greenhouse to take cover in and lived on lettuce for the next three or four days. They were then recaptured by a German patrol and put into a Gestapo prison cell for the next five days. From there they were marched to another POW camp which was full of Irish soldiers and were for the next five days were spoilt with good food. In the middle of the night they were told to get out quick and go to the cellars in town and at 2am the Russians arrived. The Town Mayor came out to declare the village open and was immediately shot dead. His daughter was part of the group with Harry and she knew that her father had died. They were all dragged out of the cellar and made to line up and it took some persuading that Harry and Robbo were British soldiers. Then they made their way back through the Russian lines. One day looking into the corner of the next field he saw a German Tiger tank which starting to fire at them. The Russians responded to this and knocked out the tank. It was whilst they were being fired upon that Harry received severe injuries which shattered his right leg. He managed to drag himself into a shed and an Irish soldier applied a tourniquet to stop the flow of blood. He lay there with no field dressings or any pain killers and was awake until the following evening. Along came a Polish family who had pinched a tractor and trailer and laid Harry on the back of a house door and put him onto the trailer. They took him on a very bumpy and painful ride to a front line Russian dressing station in Germany. There were 100s of Russian soldiers waiting to be seen and Harry had to wait his turn and in all that time the two Irish soldiers waited with him. The doctor eventually had a look and said that he had to have his leg off below the knee. The two Irish lads saw that Harry was okay and then left. They even wrote to Harry's parents when they got to Blighty and explained what had happened to their son.
His operations didn't end there as when he was taken to another field hospital further back behind the Russian lines and due to gangrene the doctor said that he had to amputate above his knee or he would be dead by the morning. Harry was then taken to Buch Hospital in Berlin and one of the things that he remembers about it was there was a lot of commotion and he later found out that Hitler's body had been brought in. Also at the Hospital, there were many dying Russian soldiers. From Buch Hospital he was airlifted to a Hospital in Poland which was Russian, in a town called Landsberg, where he received very good treatment for the next 5 months. He found it very difficult to get back home but eventually after a lot of discussions they put Harry onto a train which came down from Warsaw to Berlin. The train stopped at Landsberg and with a Russian Nurse to accompany him they travelled to Berlin. Outside the station they flagged down a British vehicle but were ignored probably due to the fact that he was wearing a Russian uniform. Along came a second vehicle and due to Harry shouting to him in typical Army language he stopped. He explained the situation and the driver took him to an ex-POW reception centre. He was treated like royalty and they gave him a tin of Gold Flake and chocolate, He was made very welcome even though at this stage they had not confirmed his identity. He was later interrogated by intelligence not only to identify Harry but for his knowledge on the Russians. He was then flown to Brussels and then Northolt in London. Whilst in the Shendley Military Hospital in Hertfordshire his two brothers, after first waving him off to war six years earlier, came to visit him. He eventually was admitted to Rookwood Hospital in Cardiff and the reason why his wound wouldn't heal was that they found a piece of khaki uniform in his stump. After this was removed his wound closed and healed. On the ward was a lovely little nurse whom he fell madly in love with and they were still together 60 years later. How romantic. And what a lovely ending to a very traumatic and disturbing experience. This Story was published in the BLESMA magazine. Sadly Harold passed away in 2006.
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S Hamer . British Army Lancashire Fusiliers S Hamer served with the Lancashire Fusiliers British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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