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1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry were serving in
India when war broke out in September 1939. They remained at their post in the India until 1941 when they were ordered to Iraq to face a potential threat to the Middle East. In May 1942 they were sent to Egypt and went into action in Battle of Gazala, suffering huge losses. Some 150 survivors regrouped and covered the withdrawal, but only eleven men returned to England. The 1st Battalion was reformed from men of the 6th Battalion. They took part in the preparations for D-Day, but remained on home duty until the end of the Second World War.
Sep 1939 War Declared in Europe
17th May 1942 On the Move
5th Jun 1942 On the Move
5th Jun 1942 In Action
5th Jun 1942 In Action
25th August 1943 Orders
28th August 1943 Orders
1st September 1943 Exercise
17th September 1943 Location change
If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here.
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Those known to have served with 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Cotter Edward Patrick Pierce. L/Cpl. (d.4th July 1942)
- Hemming Norman Dudley. Cpl.
- Howorth Harry. Sgt.
- Latham Leonard Cecil. Pte. (d.25th Dec 1944)
- Loam Francis Joseph. Pte.
- Ray Thomas Wilfred. Pte.
- Solomon Ernest Orlando.
- Sumpter Sidney Walter. Cpl.
- West Richard Eric. Pte.
- White John Richard. Pte. (d.13th Feb 1944)
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please
Add a Name to this List
Records of 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry from other sources.
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Want to know more about 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry? There are:1327 items tagged 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Pte. Leonard Cecil Latham 1st Btn. Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (d.25th Dec 1944) I'm trying to find out as much as possible about my great great uncle, Leonard Cecil Latham. Uncle Len was a private in the Duke Of Cornwall's Light Infantry (1st Battalion), which saw heavy losses in Italy; we think he was eventually sent to Stalag IVB, although we have no firm evidence to confirm this (all paperwork being lost). We do know that he was killed on Christmas Day 1944 after the camp he was in was bombed by allied planes, and is now buried in the Prague War Cemetary. If anyone can shed any further light on Uncle Len, or help confirm details, my family would be so very grateful.
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Cpl. Norman Dudley Hemming 1st Btn. Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry Norman Hemming served with the 1st Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry I am just starting to research my father's service in 1942 to 1944.
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Sgt. Harry Howorth 1st Btn. Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry Harry Howorth joined the war in 1941, going around Africa, stopping off in Cape Town, landing in Iraq. He fought all through the war (Middle East, Crete, Sicily, and Italy) with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and was one of the few who survived. He never married or joined anything again. Harry wouldn't say much about what he saw, I have a few stories, but he told me he wouldn't even join the chocolate club after that, and he loved chocolate!
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Cpl. Sidney Walter Sumpter 1st Btn. Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry I understand that my father Sidney Sumpter joined the DCLI in 1936 and served in India. Then he was sent to Egypt or that area, then to Gibratar and then to the UK. I didn't talk to him in any depth on his military history but his role after that was home based.
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Ernest Orlando "Solly" Solomon 1st Btn. Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Near as Dammit!
We were going to the middle east now that the war in Europe had finished. I was not looking forward to it one bit. I knew that I was going to be miserable all the way because the sea did not agree with me at all. I suffered enough coming across the English channel on the boat from Ostend to last me a lifetime. We had a great welcome in Southampton docks, flags and bunting everywhere, a band playing and the salvation army were there with tea and buns, a right old do.
I had a wonderful fourteen days leave but it was a job to get used to it after sleeping rough. The leave went quickly and I was soon back in the army again, training for the middle east. Not happy traveling all that way by sea. The next thing we heard was that the Atom bombs had been dropped, nobody had a clue what was going to happen next. We were sent home for another leave which was great, but before long we had orders to go to Palestine.
We boarded a 24,000 ton liner called the ‘Strathmore’ it had an Indian crew and they kept a very clean ship. I thought I may just be alright on this one. No such luck, I was feeling bad all the way to Port Said. I could hardly go below decks, the chaps used to bring food up to me. The ships bread was really something and monstrous helpings of peaches and cream kept me going.
I was really pleased to be back on terra firma, but the ordeal right after that was shocking. We tramped across the desert late at night for miles, pitching our tents in the dark in this god forsaken place, with not even a cup of tea on hand, we just had to put up with it until morning. We went through this for a week and even then the ordeal was not over. We travelled on the train to Haifa. We did have a meal at El Basasan that wasn't too bad. It was a very trying journey, the train travelled at 20 miles per hour and the heat made it almost unbearable. The remainder to Acre was done by truck.
It wasn't a bad camp, we had wooden huts to live in for six months that we were going to be staying here. We were doing demonstrations with live ammo for the middle of infantry school. When the six months were up we would be doing security work.
The time came for us to start the demos. I was in charge of three ‘Wasp’ flame thrower tanks. They carried 100 gallons of flame liquid and 2 gas bottles, besides the normal petrol for the engines. When it was pressured up it was a very dangerous fire bomb! If you were the crew you could hear it singing.
I had five men, six if you include me, two on each Wasp, three drivers and three operators. We had done several demos together and had managed very well with no casualties.
The last demo did not go to plan right from the start. I told my driver ‘Johnson’ that I had a bad feeling but he just laughed. I was a man short and Sergeant Major ‘Buggie’ Row from Lostwithiel volunteered to help us out so I told him what needed to be done. He had to use the mortar and fire out smoke bombs.
The day came for our performance, we were parked under some olive trees under a bit of a hill out in the desert. At exactly 11am 25 pounders would open up firing smoke shells over our heads, between us and the target which was an old Matilda tank. The first salvo hit the olive trees hanging just over our heads breaking off branches and dropping debris on top of us. The next salvo was no better, one of the shells dropped between his spread eagled legs. He was lucky, that smoke canister only missed him by 2 inches! We could not see anything for smoke but could still hear the mortar being fired so Sergeant Major was not hurt. I shouted to the rain man to get the artillery to life the barrage, he got scared and moved out of the way.
Time to go. I sent a flare up into the sky, time to move, the wasp had already been pressured up so away we go across the desert at about 40 miles an hour, banging and clattering towards the target. Near the target we put 20 gallons along the ground and started to run through it to make it more spectacular.
Then the wasp engine stopped!! Johnson tried frantically to start it but it was no good! We were stuck in the middle of flames five feet high and on top of that fuel had leaked onto the floor. Our boots and the bottoms of our overalls were on fire. We had a company of solders walking up behind us firing live ammo some bullets whizzing past us, some hitting the wasp. I had told them before that we were not the target but it did no good. We had a choice of burning to a cinder or jumping out and risk getting shot.
“Bale out!” I shouted to Johnson “Over the front!” He did not need telling twice. We both landed on our faces in the burning desert, bullets were thudding around us but we managed to crawl a few feet with the smoke choking us.
The wasp was well alight, the 40 gallon tank exploded and it flew up into the air. The good lord saved us, the flare in the bin of the wasp went off, it flew up into the air with a loud hiss. The shooting stopped immediately because that was the signal for ‘demo over’ We weren't in very good order, both Johnson and myself had lost the hair on our heads, eyelashes and eyebrows. Our overalls were burnt like cardboard, touch it and pieces would fall off. Our boots were burnt beyond repair and our socks. My beret was burnt to a cinder but I managed to salvage my badge. Johnson had three inches shot off the rim of his steel helmet and he wouldn't part with it after that. The chaps poured water over us from their flasks and that helped. The wasp was still burning and would be for some time, still clouds of smoke around.
We were very lucky, if that flare had not gone up I don't know what would have happened. We would o had it! It was near as dammit!
I had not ordered anything else but an ambulance came bumping through the smoke, we thought it was Sir John Mills like it was in the film ‘Ice cold in Alex’ We laughed but we may have needed it!
A fortnight later I was on C.O. orders. I thought “here goes, I am going to get torn off a strip for losing a Wasp!” But the brass congratulated us on a splendid demo.
The demonstrations with wasps were never used again as they were too dangerous.
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Pte. Francis Joseph Loam 1st Btn. Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Joe Loam was my uncle and I was told that he escaped from a prison camp in Italy and made it to Switzerland. Military records show that he was reported missing and later brought home, but I cannot find any information on his service or place of capture. Records show that he was held in POW Camp 53 Sforzacosta, Macerata, Italy.
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Pte. Thomas Wilfred Ray 1st Btn. Duke of Corwall's Light Infantry My father, Thomas Ray, joined the DCLI in 1935 and was stationed in India when the war broke out. He volunteered as a signaler for detached duty in Eritrea during 1940 and rejoined his unit in time to be stationed in Iraq. In 1942 the 1st Battalion joined with the forces defending Egypt and my father was captured in June 1942. As a POW he was sent t0 Italy where he escaped and was on the run for six months. By that time he spoke fluent Italian but was picked up by the Germans who thought he was an Italian deserter. He was sent to Germany where he was put into a straffe lager, or punishment camp. Eventually he was imprisoned in Stalag 11B and was liberated by American forces in April 1945.
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