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Battle of Gazala
The Battle of Gazala, named for a village located about 35 miles west of Tobruk along the northeastern coast of Libya, was part of the Western Desert Campaign and was fought from 26 May to 21 June, 1942. It pitted German General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps, which had been advancing eastward across Libya, against the British Eighth Army under the command of General Sir Claude Auchinleck. Although the British force was larger than the German one, the bitterly fought battle resulted in a decisive Axis victory due mainly to clever German offensive tactics and ineffective coordination of British units. British losses in men and materiel were very heavy, while Axis losses were comparatively moderate, enabling Rommel to continue pressing the attack. On 14 June, the Eighth Army began to withdraw from the Gazala sector and attempted to halt the German advance eastward toward Tobruk through a series of rearguard actions. These failed, and Tobruk fell to Axis forces on 21 June 1942.
22nd May 1942 In Action
23rd May 1942 Reorganisation
26th May 1942 Cover
27th May 1942 Attack
28th May 1942 Hasty withdrawal
28th May 1942 Waiting
29th May 1942 In Action
30th May 1942 In Action
31st May 1942 Standing by
1st Jun 1942 Shellfire
1st Jun 1942 Patrols
1st June 1942 Into action
3rd Jun 1942 Observation
4th Jun 1942 Enemy Column
5th Jun 1942 In Action
5th Jun 1942 In Action
7th June 1942 Operation Albumen
10th June 1942 Operation Albumen
14th Jun 1942 On the Move
15th June 1942 Italian convoy attacked
16th June 1942 Withdrawal to Egypt
18th June 1942 Back into Egypt
22nd Jun 1942 2nd Camerons Captured The 2nd Camerons were captured at Tobruk on the 22 June 1942, 24 hours after their Brigade command had capitulated. Some men were able to escape but the majority were marched into captivity led by their pipers, an awesome sight to the enemy and fellow prisoners alike.
A Royal Artillery officer was witness to the arrival of 2nd Camerons to the POW cage:
"We heard, although we could scarcely believe it, the skirl of pipes. There, in the brilliant sunshine, marching down the centre of the road from the escarpment, came a long column of men. The Jerry traffic was brought to a standstill or forced on to the verges. A strange awed murmur went up from the cage: "The Camerons!"
In columns of threes they marched with a swing to the tune of their pipers - 'The March of The Cameron Men' - each company led by its company commander, just as though they were on parade. It was a supremely moving sight, although some of us could only see it hazily through our tears.
Even the Jerry sentries sprang to attention as the battalion neared the gates. There, the Camerons halted. Their Colonel reported to the Brigadier, saluted, and dismissed his men, who had held out for twenty-four hours after the surrender order had been issued."
22nd Jun 1942 2nd Camerons Captured
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Those known to have fought in Battle of Gazala during the Second World War 1939-1945. 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,
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Want to know more about Battle of Gazala? There are:24 items tagged Battle of Gazala available in our Library
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Cpl. Brinley Norman "Bryn" Williams Royal Engineers   I knew very little about Dad's wartime experiences - he died when I was barely out of my teens. He had told stories of being in Palestine during the war and I know he was a POW - but he never talked about that.
I do recall seeing a newspaper cutting from 1945 when he returned from the war (my grandmother had kept it). It said he was very sick, and that POWs had been so hungry they had eaten grass.
When I began to research my family history I got Dad's military records from the MOD. What a revelation - they told me so much about this young man who joined up in 1939 - about his education, his previous employment (and what he earned) and his physical appearance. The records also told me that Dad was captured at Gazala in North Africa and ended up in Stalag VIIIb, in what is now Poland, from September 1943 until liberation in April 1945. Research then told me about the Death Marches - and the fact that the starving prisoners ate grass.
An elderly cousin of my father was able to tell me about the impact his capture and imprisonment had on his family - his sister and parents - and that helped me understand a lot about family relationships in later years. As a teenager, she remembered Dad's return and how very weak and ill he was.
I have just come back from a visit to the remains of Stalag VIIIb and the Prisoner of War Museum at Lambinovice (Lamsdorf). I stood on the railway platform where Dad would have arrived, and saw the entrance to the camp. Very little remains there, but there is an exhibition of daily life in the camps and a reconstruction of a hut where Russian POWs were held (and treated very badly).
Lamsdorf became a prison camp in 1870 during the Franco Prussian War - and was used as such until the late 1940s. Hundreds of thousands passed through those gates - and tens of thousands died there. It saw almost a century of misery.
Today there are beautifully kept POW graveyards in peaceful surroundings, filled with birdsong.
The visit has really inspired me to make sure that Dad's name is recorded and remembered. His wartime experience was instrumental in forming the man he became. His lifelong involvement in the British Legion is testimony to that.
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CSM. John Grasby 4th Btn. East Yorkshire Regiment  My Father Jack Grasby's Citation reads,
CITATION LS/4798694 C/Sgt GRASBY J E YORKS
C/Sgt Grasby first enlisted in the Territorial Army in 1927 and served until 1935, rejoining in 1939 and being mobilized on the outbreak of war with the 4th Btn. East Yorks Regiment.
He went to France with his regiment and was evacuated at Dunkirk. In 1941 he went with his Regiment to Africa and joined the 8th Army and was taken prisoner in 1942 at the battle of Knightsbridge.
He went to a POW camp in Italy and in July 1943 succeeded in escaping and being unable to get back to the UK, he joined up with the Partisans in Italy and stayed with them until 1945 when he reported to a S African unit in Turin.
He returned to the UK in 1945 and served there until going to Malaya in 1948 as C.Q.M.S. with the Green Howards.
In 1952 he returned from Malaya and served in Austria and Germany and in 1956 he got back to his own regiment and came to serve on ERE appointment in Germany. On 31 August 1957 Her Majesty the Queen saw fit to honour him with the award of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
He was born in 1911. He first enlisted in the Territorial Army in 1927 and served until 1935. He re-joined in the Regulars in 1939 and then being mobilized on the outbreak of war with the 4th Bn., East Yorkshire Regiment.
On re-joining in the Regulars it was established on his recruitment to the Regulars that he had excelled at school and became a school teacher in-between serving at the end of Territorials and re-joining the Regulars so he was offered a commission but he declined. My father was a bit of a man's man and liked to be one of the lads
He went to France with his regiment and was evacuated at Dunkirk. In 1941 he then sent with his Regt to Africa and joined the 8th Army and was taken prisoner in 1942 at the Battle of Knightsbridge. He was taken to POW Camp P.G. 53 Sforzacosta Italy
He succeeded in escaping in July 1943 and being unable to get back to the UK; he joined up with the partisans in Italy and stayed with them until 1945. He learnt to speak fluent Italian and he already spoke fluent German.
When, at last in 1945, he managed to report to a S African unit in Turin he then returned to the UK in 1945 and served there until going to Malaya (Now Malaysia) in 1950 as C.Q.M.S. and later as R.Q.M.S. with the Green Howards.
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L/Cpl. Bernard Charles Cooper 4th Battalion Green Howards My Dad, Bernard Cooper was in the 4th Battalion of the Green Howards and must have signed up after Dunkirk. The Green Howards were lifted off the Dunkirk beaches after that unsuccessful mission and then the next time they appear, after being brought back up to strength (when Dad must have signed up or been conscripted) is in the desert in 1942 which is where Dad’s story begins. I remember what little he did say about his time in the desert was that they were forever digging trenches and then moving somewhere else! This is borne out by the facts that I now know. The whole story of the desert war from Jan to June 1942 is about moving and relocating around the desert to the west of Tobruk.
By 1942 Rommel was in charge of the Afrika Korps and moving slowly eastward towards Cairo and the Suez Canal. There wasn’t much action until the middle of May and then it was all over in a matter of 4 days. The 4th and 5th Battalions of the Green Howards, plus a battalion of South Africans and Indians made up 150 company that fought at the Battle of Gazzala from 28th of May 28th to 1st of June. They were surrounded and squeezed into an ever smaller area as the Germans advanced and they stayed put! Sounds as if they were buying time so that a larger force around Tobruk could dig in (Desert Rats) and hoping for reinforcements that never came. Eventually they ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender and taken POW. Some of the fighting was brutal and there mentions of bayonet charges etc.
I always had the impression that dad was never involved in any action and never shot a rifle, which I guess was a pretty stupid thing to think and the British army never just surrenders without putting up a fight! But he never spoke about what happened. So now I know and am content that I do know what he did! After being captured, large number of PoWs including my Dad were transported through Italy to Mascerate on the east coast of Italy before eventually ending up in Germany where we can pick up his story again. After the war the 4th battalion of the Green Howards was never revived.
So it clear that Dad did see violent action and was lucky to have been captured unharmed as many of the battalion were killed and badly injured. Not quite the story that I think he told us!
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Gnr. Thomas Devlin Royal Artillery Unfortunately, dad, Thomas Devlin who was also a Dunkirk vet passed away when I was quite young.
One story, he told me, was about his capture, which was at the Battle of Gazala in 1942. Dad was delivering dispatches on his motorbike, during a massive German attack. On rounding a corner, dad was confronted by a platoon of German motorized infantry. He slowed down and raised his hands, the German officer then said, 'for you Tommy the war is over', and dad said (being a bit of a wit), 'how did you know my name was Tommy.
Dad was always impressed by the German soldiers, how well they looked after the prisoners, with food and medication, in contrast to other Axis military.
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Pte. Slater Worcestershire Regiment My dad was a POW in Stalag 4c from 1943 to 1945 after being in camps CC55 and CC70 in Italy. He was taken prisoner in 1942 by the Italians and Germans at the Battle of Knightsbridge (south of Tobruk).
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Pte. Terry Gorman 5th Btn. Green Howards Private Terry Gorman served with the 5th Bn the Green Howards. He was probably taken prisoner as were most of the 4th and 5th Battalions (part of 150th Brigade) when ammunition ran out against Rommel's forces in the Gazala Line. Most went to prisoner of war camps in Italy.
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