Hi I'm trying to find out more about the death of corporal Thomas Noel Spilman of the 27th Lancers, who died on 23rd October 1944 and is buried at Cesena war cemetery. He was a pupil at our school and is listed on the school memorial. The CWGC record says that he was originally buried at ref Sheet 100 -IV 546237 which I think puts him at San Pietro, just north of Cesena. The original grave contained the bodies of three 27th Lancers killed on 21/10/1944 and Spilman who died on the 23rd. I wonder if he was one of the two wounded mentioned below? I have found an account of the 27th Lancers here: Archive Content: Middle East and Italy, late 1944 to May 1945 (extract pasted below) However, it doesn't have dates or precise locations. Does anyone have the war diary for this period? It's in the National Archives but who knows when I will be able to visit? Many thanks. "We passed Citta Castella [Citta di Castello?] and moved into SAngelo. We were still on foot until we reached the Gothic line. The Regt pulled out from here and we went on the Adriatic Coast to a town called Cattolica. Most of our time was spent lazing around, cinemas, canteens etc. The Regt was off again, still on foot and making for the river Savio. Our Sqd took a small town named Cella, and from there we were supported by Canadian Tanks. Making our Pisignano, this town is almost on the Savio. We lost 5 men, 3 being killed and 2 wounded. However our platoon had to bring these men out of the line, 9pm at night 12 of us pushed forward. It was pouring with rain and there were plenty of Jerry ART and mortar fire. We couldn’t get near the men so we stayed in a farm house until the fire subsided. I fell asleep, when I woke up everybody had vanished. This was a surprise to me. I looked all around the farm but there was no sign of them. This farm wasn’t very far from Jerry and it didn't take me long to beat it down the road to where we harboured for the night. I only just managed to reach the front door before the guards upstairs in the windows realised that there was somebody out side. We reached the river the following morning found the 3 men that were killed, the other two were picked up by the N Z. Our next objective was to reach the river Ronco. We got as far as San Pietro then the trouble started. I lost my car thro a bazooka, eventually this was repaired and put into service again. We had a busy time on this river line, until the Regt moved into Ravenna"
Edit - I have checked the map again and I think the original burial was at Pisignano, which increases the likelihood of him dying from wounds received two days earlier.
Thanks for this Gary. Looking just at the 27th Lancers: The casualty return lists Tpr Jackson, Tpr Whitaker and Cpl Wing as KIA on 21st October. According to CWGC concentration reports, Cpl Wing and Tpr Whitaker were buried together, about 200 metres south of Pisignano, alongside Lt R N Riley also of the 27th, who was killed on the same day but doesn't appear on the casualty list. Tpr Jackson was buried separately, about 1km east of Pisignano (if I have the correct WM grid square) and Cpr Spilman was killed two days later and buried about 700 metres north of Pisignano. This suggests that the three casualties mentioned in the account above were Riley, Wing and Whitaker, and Spilman and Jackson were killed in separate incidents.
That's fantastic, thank you so much. It's great to be able to plot the events in such detail on a map of the town and know precisely what happened. He was buried very close to where he fell, next to a Spitfire pilot who had been shot down a month earlier. Thanks!
I have used the war diary to label a satellite view of the area around Pisignano, showing the events of 22nd and 23rd October. 27th Lancers 22nd Oct 1944 by DaveBrigg posted Feb 19, 2021 at 9:58 PM 27th Lancers 23rd Oct 1944 by DaveBrigg posted Feb 19, 2021 at 9:58 PM
Dryan67: Where could I obtain the complete war diaries of the 27th Lancers and the 12th Lancers? My father served with them in the UK from 1941 to 1943 and from 1943 to 1946 in Egypt, Libya, Palestine, Italy and Austria. Palestine was his last posting - and at that time I think he was with the 12th Royal Lancers. He was demobilized on September 13, 1946 at Barnet, Hertfordshire. Thank you!
I purchased my copy of the 27th Lancers transcribed War Diaries from the Tank Museum in Bovington. I do not have a copy of the 12th Lancers war diaries. Here is the site: Home - The Tank Museum You should try contacting them. They used to post a list of available transcribed war diaries with the cost. The costs were quite steep at the time. I am not sure if they are still offering the service. Initially, they would be print a copy of the war diary and bind it in a folder. The last one I obtained was sent in digital form on a DVD. Good luck.
I wonder if you perhaps have any clues to this query - 288086 Terence Joseph ALEXANDER, 27 Lancers, RAC And - 288086 Terence Joseph ALEXANDER, 27 Lancers, RAC Re. Terrance Alexander and the 27L ? I've found that the evidence - what there is - seems to be conclusive currently that he (Terrance Alexander) was with the 27L in Italy but that sources to that effect seem to be lacking when so many of the "current" references seem to be repeating - for some reason - that he was "with the 24L". It'd perhaps just come down to noting that yes, he does appear in the 27L war diary somewhere etc. Incidentally, re. dates - the reference in the Guardian says that he was wounded with the 27L on 23rd April 1944. All the best, Rm.
Here is the war diary for 23 April 1944. The regiment was located at Tobruk on that date. No mention of any activity on that date but a Sitrep was issued.
He is mentioned as being returned to the unit from 104th General Hospital on a form from 21 October 1944. He is again shown on AFW 3008 on 4 November 1944. TOS 7 December 1944 in further list. He is also on the March 1945 list.
