Pte James Kallarn 2nd Bn Middlesex Regt 'D' Coy, died 1-2 June 1940

Middlesex Reg 2nd Battalion 'D' Company
Private James Kallarn

I am looking for any photos of my Great Grandfather and some more knowledge on his Battalion.

On his war record it only states missing in action and then presumed dead on 1st/2nd June 1940.
My Grandfather has never seen a photo of his father and I am desperate to find one.

I'm new to this forum so any help/advice would be great and if I have posted this in the wrong section apologies.

Thank you
Faye

 

KALLARN, JAMES

Rank:Private
Service No:6196705
Date of Death:Between 01/06/1940 and 02/06/1940
Age:33
Regiment/Service:Middlesex Regiment 2nd Bn.
Panel Reference: Column 116. Memorial: DUNKIRK MEMORIAL
Additional Information:Husband of Lily Maud Kallarn


England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
Name: James Kallarn
Registration Year: 1906
Registration Quarter: Jan-Feb-Mar
Registration district: Stepney
Parishes for this Registration District: View Ecclesiastical Parishes associated with this Registration District
Inferred County: London
Volume: 1c
Page: 374

Sorry - cannot find any photos on Ancestry

TD

 

Thank you this is the same information I have. I am praying someone on here may have a photo of his battalion as I have had no success in my searches.
Thanks again

 

Thank you so much

 

Here's some IWM Images of the Middlesex Regiment taken in 1939 and 1940. Some of which are named as the 2nd Battalion.

​

 

Thank you these are great photos, I haven't seen the first one before. I was reading through your war diaries for middlesex regiment 2nd Battalion which are brilliant! Do you know where I could find some 'D' company photos? Or is that just impossible?
Thanks
Faye

 

Probably rare as hen's teeth. May be the regimental museum (assuming there is one) may have some. There are some more photo's of the regiment on this forum in the 1940 section taken at Louvain IIRC, they are waiting for the enemy to arrive.

Glad you like the diary. There is also the Regiments Missing Men file at the National Archives that could be worth considering seeing as your chap has no known grave. A long shot but it may contain a witness account of how and whereabouts he died. He should be at the very least listed in the file with him being missing. I don't have a copy of this file but if you order a copy through me I'll give you a copy of the battalions war diary for free.

 

I wasn't sure if he would have been in Louvain at the time? As from what i had read it was as though D coy were always a little further out than A,B and C company? That would be great how do I go about ordering do you need my personal email etc?
Another question, sorry am new to this but if it says his grave is at dunkirk memorial.. is he actually buried there? Or is it just that a memorial plaque?

 

Faye, not the photo you are after I am afraid, but some information to help you build the picture. Your great grandfather is mentioned on two British Army casualty lists:

6196705 Kallarn Pte J
2 Bn Middlesex Regt

Casualty List No. 263 Dated 24 July 1940
Missing 1.6.1940

Casualty List No. 724 Dated 19 January 1942
Presumed KIA 1 or 2.6.1940

Also appeared on ‘List of Missing’ March 1941, this list was circulated to POW camps in an effort to trace missing soldiers in case they had been captured.

He is also reported on the GRO ‘War Deaths (Army – other ranks) 1939 – 1948’:
Kallarn, James Pte 6196705 Mddx.R Year 1940 Volume 7 Page 144

Private James Kallarn ( - 1940) - Find A Grave Memorial

Have also searched some online newspapers but no photos to be found.

Keep searching, it's out there somewhere!

 

Hello Faye,you can have the war diary from me for free. It is probably one of the most detailed ones that are out there when it comes to the B.E.F. That's Andy's aka Drew5253 words. One has to take your hat off to the Adjutant of Lieutenant - Colonel B.G. Horrocks.
If you need anything from the Regimental History then give me a shout.
Edit.. The Adjutant new how to use a type writer..
Regards
Stu.

 

Thank you I won't give up

 

Stop us if we are giving out information that you are already aware of but James and Lillian Maud are recorded in the ‘1938 Register of Electors’ for Hendon, at 27 Married Quarters, The Barracks, Bittacy Hill. In 1939 it looks like Lillian went to live with her family (Girling) in Suffolk, presumably as James was away on service.

Still no photo!

 

The memorial is a memorial with 4,500 names on to the men who died during this campaign who have no known grave. The majority of the missing men have headstones without a name on them at various locations in France and Belgium.

 

Faye, you should have received a link for the above War diaries. Its via Dropbox (400 pages in all.) Reply when you have got them.

Regards
Stu.

 

Thank you so, so much Stuart.
I am so grateful and cannot wait to show my Grandad exactly what his father was doing on the lead up to 1/6/1940.
I have a feeling he may have been on the boat which was dive bombed and mentioned at the end of the diary.
I am still looking for a photo of him but knowing exactly who was in D coy with him will hopefully help.
Again a huge thank you for taking the time to pass this diary on.
Faye

 

As he was a pre-war regular, it may well be that there is more chance of finding a photograph of him in a formal group from that time, particularly if he was in a sports or shooting team. Do you have his service record showing postings etc. ? If he went abroad during the 1930s, there will almost certainly have been photographs taken and souvenir albums retained by officers and the battalion HQ.

 

Don't forget this file, you may find the answer to your question in it WO 361/83 British Expeditionary Force, France: Middlesex Regiment; Missing Men

 

Hi Rich,
Yes this is what I was thinking. I have a photo of a copy of his record I will post below.
I am new to this but tried to look for something/anything on him in India as it looks like it was his longest posting, but I have found nothing!
It's so frustrating especially whilst I am such an amateur!
Thanks