Researching 2 men: 5503942 Pte AWT Neale, 5512938 Pte P Hayler, Hampshire Regiment

Help my 90 y o uncle to find the soldier he saved fron nazi in Italy

Hello i m looking for those soldiers ot some news imprisonned in Italy during WWII and saved by my uncle 5503942 neale awt rank pte unit hamp 35383051 rank pte unit hamp mr charles e ringler main street grafton west virginia 5512938 mr p hayler 9 linton road aoklands park petersfield england mr hough william s 1130 n courtland kokomo indiana. thank you ylenia

 

Thanks could you suggest me in particulary where i can research them?

 

Hi Ylenia, welcome to the forum.

P. Hayler has 4 entries in the Casualty Lists on Find My Past.
One entry has no date but from Italy, 2 entries are from 1943 and the other from 1944.

Neale is similar, 4 Casualty entries
A. W. J. Meale 1943 (surname transcribed wrongly).
2 list the correct name AWJ Neale from 1943 and 1944.
The final one just states Italy, no year, but the initials are AWT on this one.

There are people here who have a findmypast account. They will likely look this information up for you.

I found the above just searching the service number in the military section.

 

Wow thank you so much!!!i will appreciate it...my uncle will be very happy

 

Oh so sorry but thanks! I just found William s Hough he is dead too. And what about P. Hayler? I can t find anithing.

 

Buongiorno Ylenia,

I have read the letter in written Italian. l am English, bilingual, and live near Livorno. I was in Viterbo ten days ago.

The letter mentions that your Uncle helped the prisoners between February and 10 June when Viterbo was liberated. This means that the year is 1944.

On 28 January 1944 a train carrying recaptured prisoners of war from Camp 54 Fara in Sabina was bombed at Allerona. Many prisoners escaped and I think that is how these four men arrived in Viterbo - they travelled south from Orvieto, possibly via Acquapendente and Lake Bolsena. They were making their way south to try to cross the Allied lines but decided to stay in hiding, which is how you Uncle came to help them.

I have found the two Englismen on a prisoner of war list held in London in the National Archives. This means they were prisoners in Italy before the Armistice on 8 September 1943. They would have escaped at the armistice and would have been recaptured, sent to PG 54 and then and put on the train. When the American troops arrived at Viterbo they would have presented themselves, and would have been interrogated and so there might be an interrogation report for each of them, called an Escape and Evasion Report, in the National Archives in London.

The two Americans are not listed as prisoners of war in the American Archives. This is because they would have been captured at the front line, possibly at Venafro, just a few weeks before they were put on the train and there wasn't time for them to be registered as prisoners, though they would have been listed as missing.

How can you contact them?

For the Englishmen, their families might be on Ancestry.co.uk. someone on this website who has a subscription will look them up for you.

For the Americans, try Facebook with the surname and town.

If you need any help in understanding what I have written send me a private message and I will send it again in Italian,

Best wishes,

Vitellino

Edited: Update on Ringler and Hough see below:

 

According to Charles E. Ringler's Find A Grave page he had a brother:

Arthur Ray Ringler was the son of the late Ralph C and Minnie E Gerken Ringler.
A member of Church of the Covenant (Lutheran-Presbyterian).
He served in the U.S. Navy and later retired from the U.S. Army, having had 29 years of service in the military. During his career, he served in World War ll, Korea and Vietnam and as a special agent in the U.S Army Intelligence Corp. He was a VFW life member in Grafton, DAV life member, NCICA Life member and a former employee of Bartlett Funeral Home and State ABC store.
Twice married, he is survived by his wife of 28 years, Mary D Parrish Ringler, whom he married on March 9, 1973. one step son Eric P Randall and wife Lenora of Las Vegas, two stepdaughters Janet Moore and husband Don of Colorado and Sue R Pride of Morgantown, nine step-grandchildren, several step-great-grandchildren and two sisters, Ellen M Ringler of Belington and Mary Jane Ringler Bott of Copley, Oh.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Isabel Wallace in 1972, two brothers, Charles E Ringler and Ralph Victor Ringler, one sister Estella Wolfe and two step sons, Kent F Randall and Eugene Simpson.
Interment in the Woodsdale Cemetery.

I would look for the families of brother Ralph Victor Ringler and sister Mary Jane Ringler Bott of Copley, Oh. on Facebook


Vitellino

 

5512938 Pte P Hayler 5th Hampshire Regt
Missing North Africa 26th Feb- 2 March 1943
Missing now confirmed as PoW
Held Campo 66
5512938 Pte P Hayler no longer PoW
Relevant FMP Docs below

Kyle

 

5503942 Pte A W T Neale 5th Hampshire Regt
Missing North Africa 26th Feb- 2 March 1943
Missing now confirmed as PoW
Held by Italians no camp listed
Now not a PoW
Relevant FMP Docs below ( 1 and 2 same as Hayler)

Kyle

 

15080025 William S. Hough, United States Army Air Corps.

I thought I recognised his name and in fact have written about him in my book The Long Trail Home pub.Lulu.com

He wasn't on the train but was shot down on 17 April at Attigliano, not far from where Ylenia's uncle was living at the time. He was the navigator on B-25 Mitchell 42-64655 MACR no. 4193.

Vitellino

 

The MACR can be found here:

http://57thbombwing.com/321stHistory/321_BG_1944-04.pdf

Vitellino

 

Update on 35383051 Staff/Sergeant Charles E. Ringer. He too was an airman. He may or may not have been on the bombed train.

On 15 January 1944 his plane 42-24364, 429 Bomb Group, was hit by flak 40 miles north of Terni and the crew bailed out.
Quote from another crew member in the MACR ( no MACR number given in this article)

“Ringler said he would not try to walk back to our lines but would wait for the Allied troops to come to him. We said our farewells and went our separate ways.'

Why do I still think that Ringler may have been on the train? The MACR gives his status as POW rather than evader. I know that some of the pows were in Camp 54 for only a few days before being put on the train so his capture can't be excluded

Enough of the history I think.....Ylenia is trying to find the four men's families.

Vitellino

 

5512938 Pte Percy Hayler 5th Battalion Hampshire Regiment
19th March 1910 Portsmouth - 19th November 1991 Petersfield, Hampshire
He was still living at the 9 Lynton Road address in 1991.


5503942 Pte. A.W.T. Neale 5th Battalion Hampshire Regiment
Possibly :
Alfred William Thomas NEALE 1914 Paddington, London
Aldwyn William T. NEALE 1909 Plymouth - 1976 Hackney, London

 

Thank you all for the help so far..my uncle will be very satisfied...but do you think is possible to find some photos?

 

Charles Edward Ringler died in 1980. Charles Edward Ringler (1913-1980) - Find a Grave.... William S. Hough died in 2001. William S Hough (1916-2001) - Find a Grave.... Sgt. Ringler was with the 2nd BG; 429th BS; shot down 16 Jan 1944. 2Lt. William S. Hough was with the 321st BG; 448th BS; shot down 17th April 1944

 

Patti,

Welcome aboard. I don't know what bought you here; every week we have members who join after online research find them here. If you hover over each member's name it will show you when they last logged on, so for e.g. Ylenia was last here November 2019. I have not looked at others who posted.

 

The crash point and some debris of Lt. Hough's B-25 has been found by Italian Researchers. In Hough's "return" Statement he mentioned that he met up with Sgt. Ringler; and 2 other U.S. Airmen while being aided by Partisans. The 2 other Airmen were 319th BG; 428th BS; B-26 Pilots shot down on 29 Feb 1944. Lt. Leon J. Schroeder
Leon James “Lee” Schroeder (1921-1999) - Find a... and Lt. Ralph W. Walker 1LT Ralph W Walker (1922-1944) - Find a Grave.... I was trying to gather more info for my contact of aircrashpo.com Mr. Agostino Alberti. Since they are all in Italy perhaps they can contact Ylenia Pedica directly and share their info. My Goal is strictly to Honor our WWII U.S. Veterans. God Bless. Patti