4758747 Private Frank ROBSON, 6th Yorks and Lancs: 27/09/1943, Salerno

Hi I'm looking at the story of my mum's brother, my Uncle Frank who was killed in Camarelle, Saloerno 27 Sept 1943 and trying to trace the movements of his batallion, part of the 46th Infantry. It's an interesting story as his brother in the RA was close by and was allowed to visit Frank's temporary grave and he met thr lady from whose house the sniper shot Frank. He was shot in the face trying to cross the vilage square I believe. I've seen somewhere on here that it's possible to access the war diaries of the regiment, so can anyone point me in the right direction please so I can see if Uncle Frank is mentioned or if I can work out what happened. Thanks.


https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2603897/frank-robson/
PRIVATE FRANK ROBSON
Service Number: 4758747
Regiment & Unit: 6th Bn. York and Lancaster Regiment
Date of Death: 27 September 1943
Age 36 years old
Buried or commemorated at SALERNO WAR CEMETERY
Grave Reference: I. E. 28.
Location: Italy
Additional Info: Son of Arthur and Catherine Robson; husband of Hilda Robson, of Hessle, Yorkshire.
Personal Inscription: THE LOVE THAT NEVER FALTERS, THE LOVE THAT PAYS THE PRICE, THE LOVE THAT MAKES UNDAUNTED THE FINAL SACRIFICE

 

Hi

I have two of the battalions diaries that may interest you, I'll happily send you copies of each if you'd donate my usual fee to my son's charity fundraiser.


WO 169/16333 6 York and Lancaster Regiment 1944 Apr-Jun = £4.30
WO 170/1491 6 York and Lancaster Regiment 1944 Jan-Mar, Jul-Dec = £15.90

Cheers
Andy

 

Hi he died in Sept 1943- so will they be relevant?

 

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

If you use the forum search engine for York & Lancaster Regiment you’ll likely turn up lots of information about 6 Y&L in Italy 1943.

This link may be of assistance -

6th Y&L Diary Of Events 1943 45 033 | WW2Talk

Steve

 

Thanks I'll investigate.

 

Hi my uncle Frank was killed in Camarelle 28 Oct he was with the 6Yorks and Lancs - he was shot by a sniper. He was part of the 46th/138 brigades. Do you know if there are any other diaries I can look at?

 

Mary Louise.

To be accurate, 6 Y&L were part of 138 Infantry Brigade who were themselves part of 46 Infantry Division.

Regards

Frank

 

Mary Louise.

I am going to be in Salerno CWGC Cemetery on 7 Apr 24.

Would you like a photo of Pte Frank Robson’s headstone?

Regards

Frank

 

Apologies I thought he was killed in 44. Long day.

 

I would really appreciate that. Pte Frank Robson died 27 Sept 1943. Do you need any more details? Born 1907 Hull You're very kind indeed to do this, really appreciate it.

 

Mary Louise,

The battalion was in France in April - June 1940, and North Africa, as a part of Operation Torch, from September 1943. If you contact Drew5233 he will have copies for the period in France, 1940, and may have copies for the rest of the war, if not, you may be able to get him to copy them for you at The National Archives Kew.

The African/Italian Campaign Diaries may be available on Ancestry, they are currently uploading copies. Their search engine is difficult to navigate, the transcribing is more than likely being done by those unfamiliar with military records. In my opinion, you are better off asking Drew to get copies than going this route.

Another possible avenue is the Facebook group 1939-45 War Diary Exchange Group.

 

Mary Louise.

Go to my website www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk and find the enquiries email address. Email me so that I can send the photo to your email address.

No, I know how to find him in the cemetery.

Regards

Frank

 

Photo here.
I wish the Americans would use Pte for a British Private.
Pvt Frank Robson (unknown-1943) - Find a Grave...

Edit. After posting it I saw you had commented there back in 2021.

 

Extract from WD for that day.



Extract from my casualty database showing other casualties. As you can see the '7 wounded' mentioned in the war diary wasn't completely accurate.

 

This will help pin down those grid references mentioned in the War Diary:



And here is the modern map:



Regards

Frank

 

My Uncle Frank Robson was killed by a machine gun blast 27th Sept fired from a house in the square in Camerelle and he died instantly. He was in the Yorks and Lancs. Does anyone know any more about this? I can’t find any mention of a casualty in any of the diaries I’ve read so far.

 

The 6th Y&L War Diary reports seven wounded on 27 Sept. Looking at the casualty list #1267, it shows your uncle as killed in action, and six other members of the battalion as wounded on that date; so it seems most likely that he is one of the seven reported in the war diary as wounded but that he was actually KIA. It is unusual to have private soldiers named in war diaries when reporting casualties. I've attached the relevant page of the War Diary in case you don't have it.
regards
Mike Somerville

 

Pte Frank Robson was killed whilst serving in B Company - one of the four Rifle Companies in 6 Y&L. The Rifle Companies were the ones who did the killing and, as a result, took the brunt of the casualties. Life expectancy in the Rifle Companies was not high and the conditions that they endured - digging, marching, being shelled, entering minefields and patrolling, were quite something.

At the time of his death, 6 Y&L were part of an operation to breakout of the Salerno beachhead having landed there on 9 Sep 43. They had got through the majority of the La Molina Pass (Cava di Terreni sits in the middle of the Pass) and were approaching Naples from the east.

Regards

Frank

 

This is just really lovely thank you again

 

This is so detailed and I really am grateful. I’ve looked at various accounts but not seen anything as detailed as this.