1886571 Sapper Ernest 'Ernie' Richard CROSS, Royal Engineers: POW

Hi

I am trying to find where a male called Ernie R Cross 1886571 of 143 Field Park Troop served during the war. I know he served in Libya but limited details about his capture and service before North Africa. Also where he was a prisoner of war.
Any help would be appreciated please
Thanks

 

The only route is to apply for his service records as per your other posts.
Forum members with POW interest might be able to add more

 

Hello Coops,

Ernie was held in prisoner in camp PG 102 Aquila at some stage. His presence in this camp is recorded in a document held in The National Archives (UK), WO 392/21, released by the International Red Cross. The document is dated August 1943, but this does not mean that he was in the camp on that date, it means that it was the last Italian camp he was known to have been in.

I can't find him in the equivalent register for Germany, to where many prisoners being held in Italian camps were transferred after the Italian Armistice of 8 September 1943. I will have a look elsewhere and edit this post.

Regards,

Vitellino

Edited: He was declared missing in Cyrenaica on 07/04/41 and was subsequently sent to Germany after the Italian Armistice. Check him out here: Name: Ernest Richard Cross . Date of Birth: 1/3/1918 . Place of Birth: Doncaster . ... | The National Archives

 

Thank you for the information.

 

I've found from the National Archives he went to Stalag XIA Altengrabrow after Italy. Thanks for the help

 

You're welcome!

 

He seemingly also spent some time at Stalag 11B, Fallingbstel, Germany

Initials E R
Full Name Cross, E R
Nationality British
Resided Place Stalag 11B, Fallingbstel, Germany
Fate Prisoner of War
Information POW No. 139582
Rank Name Sapper
Service Number 1886571
Service British Army
Regiment Royal Engineers
Conflict Period World War II
Served For United Kingdom

 

Its also worth contacting the ICRC during the next research window on 27th May 2024 to see what records they hold for him there/

Requests for information about people held during Spanish Civil War or Second World War: Quarterly limit reached

 

He would probably have spent some time in Benghazi camp before transfer to Italy.

All the best

Andreas

 

I found this too in WO 392/1, the register compiled by the IRC.

However, I decided that the German Card held in The National Archives, which Coops_31 has already consulted, was likely to be more accurate:

WO 416/83/236

Description:


Name: Ernest Richard Cross.
Date of Birth: 1/3/1918.
Place of Birth: Doncaster.
Service: British Army.
Rank: Sapper.
Regiment/Unit/Squadron: Royal Engineers.
Service Number: 1886571.
Date of Capture: 09 April 1941.
Theatre of Capture: North Africa.
Camp Name/Number: Stalag XIA Altengrabow.
PoW number: 139582.
Date of Death: [unspecified].
Number of Photographs: 1.
Number of Fingerprints: 1.
Number of X-rays: 1.
Number of Cards: 4.

Could you please tell us where you found this information, Gareth? I don't recognise the format. Here I can only confirm what you have suggested above, that Ernie's Red Cross record should be sent for. That will probably information about his North African camp. However, in the meantime Coops-31, if you don't have access to ancestry.com I suggest you find someonwho does and ask them if they wouldn't mind looking for his Liberation Report, which, if he filled it in with all his details, should list the camps he was held in.

Regards

Vitellino

 

Hi Yes I have access to Ancestry. Will have a look. Thanks

 

Hi apologies but the only records I can find on Ancestry relates to the German camp listed above, how would I find his Liberation report?

 

Coops_0031, unfortunately he doesn't seem to have filled one out as I had already checked to see if he had one. Going forward if you have any others that you want to check, the collection is here: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62114/

Vitellino, I found the information on Fold3, but it also seems to tally with this PoW list: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imagevie...hsrc=MSX885&_phstart=successSource&pId=739709 and this PoW list: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imagevie...hsrc=MSX885&_phstart=successSource&pId=740935 where the camp is listed as 11B

Also this record set: https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/c...ss&count=50&f-F8007109=1886571&f-F8007109_x=1

 

Hope this helps, taken from the Doncaster Gazette 19th July 1941 page 3.regards.

 

It does the man in the photo on the left is my grandad and the one on the left is his best man. Thank you very much never seen this before

 

Hi does anyone know what these entries are?

Thanks

 

Can't help with the above, sorry.

Gareth, clicking on the links doesn't allow me to see the records as I have to sign in.

I have attached the three lists provided by the Protecting Power/International Red Cross to the Casualties section (PW), held in the WO 392 series in The National Archives. It is true that Ernie might have moved between camps as was often the case, but the first German list was compiled in September 1944 and the second towards the end of the war (either March or April 1945 - I haven't checked.) It seems to me that the German Record card is more likely to be accurate, as it would probably have been compiled when the men arrived at the camp without the information having changed hands.


Regards,

Vitellino

 

It is a strange one, hopefully the Red Cross records will help to clarify and show which camps he was in, though it would be odd to be recorded at one camp if he wasn't there.