Hi, Can anybody help me with any information on the following officer who was killed in Greece during the civil war in 1945. He is buried in the cemetery in Athens so I presume he was killed in that general area. I know that due to the sensitive nature of the civil war that many documents and citations for awards that were made during the period seem to no longer exist at the National Archives. Having said that I suspect it is highly likely that they never got there in the first place. Any help with this would be gratefully received. Cheers Arnhem
Hi Lt Keane was killed on 4th January 1945 whilst spearheading an attack with a platoon of C Coy, 4 Para Btn when ELAS petrol bombed his bren carrier on cross roads MEGALOU/PLATAION. 16 others wounded in operation, 2 in same carrier. Extracted from RSR War Diaries January 1945 (WO 170-4825) Hope this helps Gus
UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945 Name: Peter Keane Given Initials: P J Rank: Lieutenant Death Date: 4 Jan 1945 Number: 226354 Birth Place: Hertfordshire Residence: Hertfordshire Regiment at Enlistment: Royal Corps of Signals Branch at Enlistment: Royal Armoured Corps Theatre of War: Balkans and Greece Campaign, 1944/45 Regiment at Death: Royal Armoured Corps Branch at Death: Royal Armoured Corps Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Name: Lieut Peter John Keane Death Date: 4 Jan 1945 Cemetery: Phaleron War Cemetery Burial or Cremation Place: Athens, Regional unit of Athens, Attica, Greece Has Bio?: N Lieut Peter John Keane (Unknown-1945) - Find A... TD
That's interesting - It looks like a Regimental Number error whilst (maybe) transferring from written form to type form. Larnder's Regimental Number was 968498 (which would mean the way these 5s were written were read as 8s)
I have Larnder's tracer card and the x list record of his hospitalisation Greece Royal Artillery 968498 Larnder 779 Gnr (Dvr Mechanic) R.D. Bty Raid Support Regt 4.1.45
I’ve just seen this. My father was Bombardier Cecil (known as Jim) Holdsworth who was sat next to Lt Keane when the Bren carrier was petrol bombed. It’s one of the few war time stories he shared. I seem to remember that dad referred to Lt Keane as KP. In 1971 on a family holiday he visited the cemetery outside Athens and Lt Keane’s grave. Dad held him in high regard.
I mentioned above that my father Cecil (Jim) Holdsworth 1507073 served with Lt Keane. My dad spoke little about his war years. He told me he was in the RSR and about his injury in Athens but little else. I’d welcome any suggestions about the best way of finding out more. Thanks Bob
Hi Bob. I am researching for a book on the troubles. My father was there at the same time. He didn't talk about his time in Greece either. To assist me with this, I have a spreadsheet detailing every death and wounding that I can trace. If you are happy, could you clarify you fathers injuries so I can add it to my spreadsheet. And if you have any details about your fathers recovery. Was he treated at a hospital in Athens or evacuated to Italy perhaps? And when did he rejoin the RSR? If at all. Like wise if there is anything I can help you with just ask. Regards Gus
Hi Gus I’m not sure I’ve much to add to the thread above. I know dad was burned on his legs and lower torso. I didn’t know he’d broken a leg until I saw the extract above. That fits though as mum told me he was on crutches towards the end of his recovery. He was in a temporary camp in Richmond Park near the Kingston Gate when he completed his rehabilitation. Ironically I moved there in the 90s and dad remembered the Albert pub near our house that he used to aid his recovery! Unfortunately I have very little other information about his injury and treatment. He tipped himself out of the Bren carrier when the petrol bomb hit. Others came to his aid and used a door as a stretcher. They’d seen the house from where the petrol bomb was thrown and in dad’s words went in and cleared it out. I’ve gone to the government website to request dad’s service record. Have you any other suggestions about where to start? Best wishes for the book. Bob
Gus I should have added that yes dad was a member of the RSR. I don’t know when he joined but the SAS Regimental Association confirmed he was part of the RSR. I still have his wings, cap badge and knife. Bob
Hi Bob Thanks for this. This is most helpful You are right to apply for his Service Records (SR) via the MOD. They are very busy at the moment so it may take a while. As he was in the RA there is some information about your father on line. This only gives a snapshot of your fathers time. His SR should have lots more information. Here is your fathers RA attestation from FMP suggesting he joined in 1938. He was put on the Z list (war reserve usually just prior to final demob) on 17/4/46. There is another number (10028452) so he may have re-enlisted into the RA some time after the war ended. You are lucky as his tracer record is on Ancestry too. Looks like he was employed in Searchlight Regiments (SL) initially. As he has no record of any previous wounding (that I can find in FMP) the x-list entry (hospitalised) on 17/01/44 is probably due to sickness in Middle East (ME). He was in British North African Forces (BNAF) until 04/08/44. This also has him being hospitalised (entry x-list(II) on 04/01/45) whilst part of Central Mediterranean Forces (CMF). This ties in with the War Diary entry and the British Army Casualty record below. He recovered somewhere in CMF (Greece or Italy probably) and was available to return to his unit (Y list) on 15/03/45 You will see that this casualty record in FMP has Search Light Regiment as his unit. This suggests the casualty department at the War Office probably hadn't updated your fathers record to say he was in the RSR. He is in the regiment depot on 01/12/45 probably awaiting redeployment or return to UK. I believe the RSR was disbanded not longer after the end of the war. Hope this helps Gus
Hello Bob, There's a brief overview on The RSR in the thread here (if you've not seen it previously) RSR - Gallantry Medals - Greece 1944/45 There are other Raiding Support Regiment related threads on WW2Talk too. And, as you've already discovered, Gus is very much the go to guy on the subject. Good luck with your searching, always, Jim.
Hi Arnhem, My father Andrew (Jock) Skinner was wounded in the same action. First bullet hit him in the wrist, spinning him round, the second hitting him in the knee, taking him down. I’ve attached the sitrep report from that action. He’s also mentioned a couple of times in the book “I was in Noah’s Ark” which I have a copy of. Cheers, Andy
