hello again, Sorry this is a bit a long story, I have only discovered this today… Ernest Edwin Bennett, of Alveley Bridgnorth Shropshire..( born 1915 died 1993) I am not sure how much of his story is accurate as yet, so wondering if someone could guide me and help me to discover more ? Especially interested to find out more, as he never spoke to us about this period in his life. Ernest Edwin Bennett ( known as Ted ) Joined Worcestershire regiment in 1939, later transferred to Kings & Manchester Regiment, and later Green Howard’s . In 1942 he fought in North Africa, became a POW, later moved to a camp in Germany, then onto Stalag 7 A Newburgh then later to a work camp at Forsinard ?, where he remained until they were liberated. Any help would be much appreciated
Last recorded camp (late 1944) UK, British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945 Name: E E Bennett Rank: Private Army Number: 5251704 Regiment: Green Howards POW Number: 127325 Camp Type: Stalag Camp Number: VII-A Camp Location: Moosburg an der Isar, Bavaria and an earlier of the listing
Hello Margaret, I've got quite a lot of information for you. In Italy Ted was known to have been in PG 65 Gravina in Puglia ( I will send you a private message but you will find out a lot about this camp on this forum ). This extract is from document WO 392/21, held in the National Archives, London, compiled by the International Red Cross and showing the last camp the soldier was known to have been held in ACCORDING TO THEIR RECORDS, which weren't always up to date where men held in the southern camps like Gravina were concerned. When the southern camps were cleared in the spring and early summer of 1943 I suspect, like many other POWs from PG 65, Ted was sent to PG 53 Macerata (Sforzacosta). From the camp after PG 65 it is known that he went to La Mandria, (See below - I have corrected some of the names on this list) one of the five work camps attached to to PG 112 Turin, from where, according to the account below, he escaped after the Italian Armistice. This account is held in the Borghetto Collection in an archive in Turin. The collection is made up of requests for reimbursement made to the Allied Control Commission by those Italians who had helped the escaped Prisoners of war. I am currently translating all these claims - that's how I came across Ted - I recognised his address immediately! I will look out the original and sent it to you on the private message. Compensation Claim made by Elizabetta Baietto, of Lemie, (Val di Lanzo), near Turin, on the 5 June 1945 On 16 October I met four English prisoners who had escaped from the 'La Mandria' estate and I put them up in my house and fed them; for a few days the neighbours contributed food, and from then on until the end of January their daily rations were provided by me, my brother Francesco Baietto and Alessio Versino. The prisoners were supplied with clothes - including woollen garments - and their everyday needs were provided for as if they had been my own children. All four ate with me one day, then the next day with my brother, and the day after that with Alessio Versino. They slept outside the village in a safe hut. After January 1944, the area having become dangerous due to these round-ups, the prisoners went off to join the partisans of Viù (Lanzo) of their own free will. Their names are: Thomas Lackenby 26 Grasmere Avenue, Newburn, Newcastle on Tyne, Northumberland Bertie Heard 1 Bridge Street, Six Bells, Abertillery Charles H. Griffiths Main Street, Belton, near Loughborough, Leicestershire Ernest E. Bennett 124 The Finger, Alveley, Bridgenorth, Shropshire Elizabetta Baietto Forno di Lemie, (Val di Lanzo) Of the four, Lackenby (Stalag 7A,) and Griffiths (Stalag 11A) were also recaptured but Heard managed to get across the Alps to Switzerland, arriving on 7 June 1944. The round-ups, during which Ted and the others would have been captured, were made by the Nazi-fascist troops who were occupying the area at the time. Best wishes, Vitellino
This is really marvellous. I feel really sad now, as ted ( he was one of our neighbours) died in a local old folks home in 1993, with little of his own..and is buried in an unmarked plot in the village churchyard
Margaret - I should have said that you can obtain his German Record Card from the National Archives: Name: Ernest [E] Bennett . Date of Birth: 20 November 1916 . Place of Birth:... | The National Archives However, it seems that his work camp is not mentioned. Vitellino Edited to say how sad that his grave is unmarked. Can't something be done about that at village level?
More on the help given to Ted Bennett and his mates - the compensation claim made by Rodolfo Andreini and his wife Margherita: Turin 7 7 45 I, the undersigned, Rodolfo Andreini, residing in Turin in via Giuseppe Grassi 9, would like to bring to your notice the following: Around the 10th of October 1943 I learned that a group of British prisoners of war who had escaped from a concentration camp had taken refuge near Lemie. These Britishers did not belong to any partisan group and were isolated. For no other motive than basic humanity and anti-fascist solidarity my wife Margherita and I helped the aforementioned according to what we could afford with food, clothing, cigarettes and money. Around the 10th of March a German round-up forced them to flee and we heard nothing more. Their names were as follows. Thomas Lackenby - Bertie Heard - E.E. Bennett and Charlie Griffiths The people of Valleorsera and Villa (fraction of the municipality of Lemie) can verify what I have written and these three attached notes also bear witness to the fact. Helping them was very dangerous for fear of informers and as for the ... (illegible) if they had caught us I doubt I would have been here to write this testimony! We gave them plenty of food despite its cost, and we supplied them with cigarettes on several occasions. We also gave them what money we could afford – not a lot, given that we were only workers. In short, we did not let them go short of anything. We are not looking for material rewards, we simply want to know how we might get in touch with them. My wife and I, sometimes singly and sometimes together, took turns to look after them on a weekly basis. I do not ask for any compensation, but only a moral recognition for the contribution made to the anti-fascist cause, and for the solidarity shown in moments when we were putting our lives at risk. I am happy to have assisted in the fall of fascism and this is the best reward I could ask for. 'Gappista' Rodolfo Andreini and Margherita Andreini, messenger for the partisans. A 'Gappista' was member of the partisan group GAP. These Patriotic Action Groups were small groups of partisans, set up on the initiative of the Italian Communist Party, to operate mainly in the cities. Vitellino
There is no mention of Pte EE Bennett in the Regimental history: ‘The Story of The Green Howards 1939-1945‘ (Synge). That said, it is likely he served with, either, the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th Bns Green Howards, who were all in the 50th (Northumbrian) Division. Edit: I noted the entry for Thomas Lackenby from Newburn, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland. I was intrigued, so looked up the name on CWGC and it also showed 5 x WWII casualties with that name, all from Northumberland or Co Durham. My interest is/was that there was a lad in my year-group at school (in Northumberland) for about 7 years (of my later school life) called Lackenby. He wasn’t one of my friends, but I knew him and we got along okay. I heard he’d died just after we left school; he must have been 18 or 19 years old. I had never known or heard of anyone with that surname before or since.
Thanks for this interesting information. I've found Pte. Bennett's Missing notification (WO 417/47) and his POW notification (WO 417/50, both posted below. You'll see he was in the 7 Bn and was taken prisoner on 4 June 42.
margaret sheridan How about crowdfunding for a grave marker? I'm sure his regiment (if it still exists) would chip in, as would some of the folk on here I'll bet (count me in).