Sgt. Reginald William Spink BEM.
British Army 43rd Divisional Signals Royal Signals
from:Leeds, Southampton
My uncle, Bill Spink, was born 1st July 1908 in Leeds. He married my aunt, Rose Rouse, in Portsmouth on 30th September 1939, with his address given as Government House, Portsmouth. He was already in the army when war was declared. There was a story in the family that he was one of the men who wired up Churchill's War Rooms.
He saw service in various countries, including Norway and the Arctic Circle, but was captured at the Battle of Crete. He was initially a POW in Stalag VIIIB, Lamsdorf and then moved to Stalag 383, Hohenfels. His POW number was 21132. He is mentioned in the chapter 'Griff and Hooch' in the book 'Barbed Wire, Memories of Stalag 383' by M. McKinnon as being the radio operator in Hut Sixteen.
On 11th October, 1945, he is listed in The London Gazette as being awarded the British Empire Medal (Military Division) in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field. He died in September 2000, in Southampton.
