Arthur C R Redford M.M. P.O.W. Stalag IV-F

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by evertonsag, Jul 20, 2017.

  1. evertonsag

    evertonsag New Member

    Hello,

    Whilst researching the men from my hometown I have a query with regards to how Arthur who was in Stalag IV-F in Hartmansdorf, near to Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany, came to be buried in Overloon Cemetery in the Netherlands.

    Arthur Clare Reeve Redford M.M.

    Corps of Military Police
    Service No: 7686605.
    Rank: Serjeant.

    Missing in Action presumed captured as a Prisoner of War on the 20th of June 1942. I assume that Arthur was captured at Tobruk.

    German P.O.W NO: 228732.
    Camp: 4F.

    Died on the 22nd of April 1945. Some records state Died of Wounds.

    Originally buried at Margraten American Cemetery, Netherlands.
    Reinterred at Overloon British Cemetery, Netherlands on the 1st of May 1947.

    After reading about on various websites, I can see that Stalag IV-F was liberated by American troops on the 21st of April 1945.

    Is there a way of finding any information about how Arthur ended up buried in the Netherlands? Escaped or repatriated due to wounds maybe? Certainly got me scratching my head.

    Regards,

    Lee
     
  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

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  3. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

    Hi,

    Sorry can't help with any hard evidence but below may help.

    There was a lot of undocumented (to Red Cross) movement of POW's throughout Germany in 1945.

    I've no specific knowledge about Sgt Redford but it may be that he was moved from Stalag IV F to a camp in western Germany and his Red Cross record was not updated. There is internet mention of a column of 600 men marching out of the camp in mid April 1945 so there could have been earlier evacuations.

    He probably wasn't "repatriated" to Holland as it was not a neutral country. He may have been wounded whilst moving across Germany as there are examples of POW columns being strafed/and or bombed by Allied planes in the spring of 1945.

    Have you contacted Military Police Museum or searched for relatives in your area via local newspapers - there may be mentions in 1945 or annual mentions on the date of his death in the immediate post war years that you can use as a starting point.

    Good Luck

    Steve Y
     
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  4. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

  5. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    CMP. L/Cpl 1 Armd Div Pro Coy, BEF 1940. Following his return to England with BEF he was posted to 7 Armd Div Pro Coy in North Africa and was captured at Tobruk. He was liberated by the Americans in Holland in 1945 and was sat on a tank when he was shot by a sniper. His number in the London Gazette for the MM is 7687705 which was also the number of Sgt Albert Gordon Greenfield CMP who was commissioned LG36897, 453, 19/1/45. Inscription on gravestone: If love could have saved him thou would'st not have died. Peggy, Mother, Pamela. Stalag IVF, Hartmansdorf, Saxony.

    Citation: Military Medal Citation. France & Flanders Arthur Clare Reeve Redford was on duty during the retreat from Dunkirk. The bridge he was guarding had been rigged with explosives ready to be destroyed, and the approaching road had been mined. Radford was told of a wounded soldier in the path of the advancing Germans. He rode his motorcycle across the bridge and down the road, returning with the wounded man draped across the bike, moments before the bridge was blown. RMP Museum.

    http://www.corpsofmilitarypolice.org/soldier/23/
     
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  6. evertonsag

    evertonsag New Member

    CL1 Thank you very much, certainly explains the died of wounds part, and being in Holland. I've tried to find Arthur on the IRC website but not had luck in finding any records on there. As Tullybrone suggests his moving from Stalag IV-F may not have been recorded, so I shall contact the Museum to see if they have any more information.

    Thank you all for the replies.
     
  7. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

    Hi,

    Pleased you got a speedy result to your enquiry thanks to the efforts of forum member CL1.

    I'm not aware of a searchable IRC (International Red Cross?) website for WW2 POW's. Can you post a link please?


    Regards

    Steve Y
     
  8. evertonsag

    evertonsag New Member

    Sorry Steve my mistake its only searchable for the 1914 - 1918 war. Prisoners of the First World War | International Committee of the Red Cross - Index

    Regards

    Lee
     
  9. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

    Hi Lee,

    I thought you'd discovered a new source for us all to use....

    BTW Red Cross suspended WW2 enquiries in 2013 pending digitisation of their WW2 archive. That project clearly made no progress as they reverted to the pre 2013 enquiry system in Jan 2017.

    I submitted an enquiry early Jan and got a reply within 6 weeks but they are clearly struggling to cope with a paper based system as I applied for another one in early April and have heard nothing. They are now closed for new enquiries until 1st October 2017.

    Steve
     
  10. evertonsag

    evertonsag New Member

    Ahh typical I'll have to wait until October then to apply to the Red Cross then.

    Thanks once again to all the help you've given me

    Lee
     

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