6396830 Pte Robert James ETHERTON, 2nd Bn Royal Sussex Regiment: PoW, Stalag VIIIB Lamsdorf

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by Hayley66, May 5, 2020.

  1. Hayley66

    Hayley66 New Member

    Good afternoon to you all,

    I'm a new member and only started researching my grandfather's history a few days ago. I am very fortunate to have known my grandfather and he was in my life until I was 18. I have some of his military documents plus a lot of photos from Stalag VIII B whilst he was a PoW. I'm not sure if anybody would like me to post those and if so, where would I post them?

    I am going to send off for his Service personnel records (I found the info on this site, so thankyou).
    Where could I get a copy of the War Diary please?
    When searching online, another serviceman has the same PoW number as my grandfather which was confusing.
    On the Army PoW list my grandfather's surname is spelled incorrectly (Etherington).
    Is there any other information I could obtain? Any advice would be gratefully received.

    From National Archives online I've found out the following information. Here's the relevant information from the record:

    Name: Robert James Etherton
    Date of Birth: 10/02/1912
    Place of Birth: Bognor, Sussex
    Service: British Army
    Rank: Private
    Regiment/Unit/Squadron: The Royal Sussex Regiment (2nd Bn)
    Service Number: 6396830
    Date of Capture: 27 May 1940
    Theatre of Capture: Hazebrouck
    Camp Name/Number: Stalag VIIIB Lamsdorf
    PoW number: 13243

    Thankyou.
     
  2. Shiny 9th

    Shiny 9th Member

    Hi, My area of research is 9th Royal Sussex, so I do not have any info re other Battalions. However, the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester have quite a good collection about the Regiment, and their website is worth a browse. They are not open at present but are usually happy to help.
    There are members on this website who can obtain the war diaries and I am sure that one of them will respond to your post. Good luck.
     
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  3. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

    Hi,

    Welcome to the forum.

    Forum members Drew Drew5233 and Lee PsyWar.Org offer a copy and look up service at NA - when it is open.

    Drew may be your best best as he is keenly interested in BEF 1940 so may already have the WD.

    You may wish to apply for his POW records from Swiss Red Cross on 25th May via this link -

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

    Check the site 8am for the online application form. If it’s not there check every 30 minutes until you see it and then fill the form in speedily as the application window usually closes after 2 hours due to the limit being processed. It’s a free service and in normal times you get a reply through the post not less than 4 months later.

    Good Luck

    Steve
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2020
    4jonboy and Hayley66 like this.
  4. Hayley66

    Hayley66 New Member

    Thankyou for your help and for taking the time to reply.
     
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  5. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Hi - I have a copy of this battalions war diary covering their time in France. It contains 219 various pages inc appendices so the cost at my 10p per page rate would be £21.90. If you'd like a copy just donate the amount to my son's charity fundraiser for RAF veterans below:

    Jacob's Dunkirk Challenge 2020

    Cheers
    Andy
     
    Hayley66 likes this.
  6. Hayley66

    Hayley66 New Member

    Hi Andy, that would be very kind of you. I've just donated. Wow, what a challenge and such an admirable young man.
     
  7. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Hi Hayley - Many thanks and I've seen the donation, thank you. I'll message you for your email address.
     
  8. Hawkeye28

    Hawkeye28 New Member

    Also captured two days later according to records at the same place was my father.
    Name: George Albert Hawkins
    Date of Birth: 23/1/19
    Place of Birth: Plumstead, London SE18
    Service: British Army
    Rank: Private
    Regiment/Unit/Squadron: The Royal Sussex Regiment (2nd Bn)
    Service Number: 6402296.
    Date of Capture: 29/05/1940.
    Theatre of Capture: Lille, France.
    PoW number: 10903 FILE WO 416/168/155
    POW CAMP Stalag VIIIB Arbeitkommando E72 Bytom Silesia. Hohenzollern coalmine
     

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