Val d'Isère Tragedy - Allied POWs died at the Colle Galisia in 1944

I have seen this photo and the others in the collection . There was snow on the higher ground in most of them, so there is no reason to suppose that the handwiritten date on the photo sent to the Richardson family is incorrect.

Istituto piemontese per la storia della Resistenza e della società contemporanea 'Giorgio Agosti'

• Novascone Elio e Ezio
  • "Corvées in Francia, Val d'Isère. La Galisia"

Vitellino

 

Many thanks for the links to the photos Janet. A fascinating collection; alas it demonstrates the reason the majority of the bodies were not able to be identified.

Some photos show the recovery of some bodies in the gorges and the burial in the cemetery area with a description of ‘inizio estate 1945' (early summer). Both locations are snow bound.

Pictures of more recoveries in the gorges are captioned ‘Summer 1945’ and it shows that the snow had gone by then. This means that the statement from ‘A un Passo della Libertà’ that the recovery of the bodies was completed by May 1945 is mistaken as the gorges would still have snow at that time.

As for Ian’s picture I said it was not of the cemetery, but I was wrong. The background appeared to be of a valley below, at least it did to me. I should have spotted the borne (milestone). The picture is described as ‘riesumazione delle salme’ (exhumation of the bodies) which would date it as about October, the date they were reburied in Milan.

Another picture of the site has a lorry in the background so this must be near the cemetery, probably not in it as the road is too close. Again, described as an exhumation, but it appears more likely to be the burial judging by the neat grave and the priest.


Source: Archos. Metarchivi. Documento FOTOGRAFICO: La Galisia

 

A bit more digging around and I found this:

https://www.valdisere.fr/wp-content...-a-80-ans-du-col-de-la-Galise-au-Prariond.pdf

Translation of part of it (thank you Google):

So, the bodies were not initially buried at the cemetery, as the Concentration Report says, but at Les Banges, further up the road.

 

The official report is worth reading for the broader picture and for the testimomies

 

So that their names can be found by an internet search I have listed them here.

Compiled from nominal roll in WO 361/763.

From records and information available, it would appear that the under-mentioned comprise the ill-fated party which perished at VAL D'ISERE:-

6337018 L/Bdr William Thomas ANDERSON. 164 Fd Regt RA
Buried at Milan War Cemetery, Italy. II C 14. CWGC

4980344 Pte Eric Lambley BAILEY. 5th Bn. Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment).
Commemorated at Medjez-el-Bab Memorial, Tunisia. Face 24. CWGC

956607 Gnr Richard BURKE. 107 RHA (The South Notts. Hussars).
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 86. CWGC

3712896 Pte George Stanley HALDANE. 1st Bn King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster).
Buried at Milan War Cemetery, Italy. II E 3. CWGC

5256060 L/Cpl Frank LEE. 1st Bn Worcestershire Regiment.
Buried at Milan War Cemetery, Italy. II E 7. CWGC

76117 Spr Douglas Melville LEE*. 4 Fd Coy South African Engineer Corps.
Buried at Milan War Cemetery, Italy. II D 8. CWGC South Africa War Graves Project

213969 Cpl James McCallum LEE*. 7th Recce Bn South African Tank Corps
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 136. CWGC South Africa War Graves Project

75580 Spr Robert McCallum LEE*. 4 Fd Coy South African Engineer Corps.
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 140. CWGC South Africa War Graves Project

882619 Gnr Glyn PAUL. 107 RHA (The South Notts. Hussars).
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 86. CWGC

5385384 L/Bdr Walter Herbert RATTUE. 107 Bty, 27 LAA Regt RA.
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 33. CWGC

1594453 Gnr Frederick William RAYNOR. HQ, 68 HAA Regt RA
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 37. CWGC

7886257 Tpr Harry RICHARDSON. 7th Royal Tank Regiment RAC
Commemorated at Cassino Memorial, Italy. Panel 1. CWGC

1092153 Gnr Donald RIGGS. 68 Med Regt RA.
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 37. CWGC

884641 Gnr Glyn Thomas ROBERTS. 25 Fd Regt RA.
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 33. CWGC

3909259 Pte Haydn John ROGERS. 1st Bn South Wales Borderers.
Buried at Milan War Cemetery, Italy. II D 15. CWGC

2695974 Gdsm Frederick William RYMER. Scots Guards.
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 54. CWGC

6914941 Fus Ivor SAMS. 4th Bn Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 58. CWGC

4981751 Pte Frank SARGEANT. 5th Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment).
Commemorated at Cassino Memorial, Italy. Panel 9. CWGC

4543820 Pte John Campbell SHEPHARD. 2nd Bn West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own).
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 85. CWGC

6291737 Pte Horace Benstead SLADDEN. 5th Bn The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).
Buried at Milan War Cemetery, Italy. II E 13. CWGC

1515791 Gnr William Douglas STENNING. 155 Bty, 52 LAA Regt RA.
Buried at Milan War Cemetery, Italy. II D 14. CWGC

4276229 Fus John Joseph STEPHENSON. 1st Bn Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.
Buried at Milan War Cemetery, Italy. II C 12. CWGC

1088532 Gnr David Charles THOMAS. 97 (The Kent Yeomanry) Fd Regt RA.
Commemorated at Alamein Memorial, Egypt. Column 40. CWGC

* Three brothers, born in Scotland.




From the Graves Registration Reports Forms, Milan War Cemetery, with a date of death 10.11.44 and which match the Concentration Report of those originally buried in Val d’Isère and the Gorges du Malpasset:

Two Unknown British Airmen [?]. Grave: 2 C 4.
(Concentration Report only lists one ‘Unknown British’ for grave 2 C 4)
Unknown British Soldiers. Graves: 2 C 8, 2 C 10, 2 D 6, 2 D 10, 2 E 5, 2 E 9, 2 E 11 & 2 E 15.
Unknown. Graves: 2 D 2, 2 D 4, 2 D 12 & 2 E 1.
Total unknowns buried: 13 or 14. Total knowns buried: 8. Total buried: 21 or 22.
23 on list above, therefore one or two men not accounted for. If the “Two Unknown British Airmen” is an error then that is one man not accounted for. However, Janet has found another name.

5436197 Pte Cyril Evans. 1st Bn Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.
Commemorated at Cassino Memorial, Italy. Panel 7. CWGC

Also originally listed as believed to be in the ill-fated party but not listed by CWGC so therefore were not in the group.

Pte A N ANDERSON
Sgt G DINE
Pte J DUNCAN
Pte H GIBB
Pte O MUNSON (Pte O A MUNZ 327165 S.A.?)
There is a record in WO 392/21 (POWs in Italy etc) for Munz. Not enough details to find the other four names.

Survivor:
6910433 Tpr Alfred SOUTHON. 50th Bn Recce Corps

 

From memory, he is on the final list issued.

 

I am intrigued as to the reason for returning to this issue.

Could it be that an eye witness testified to the presence of 24 on the group but twenty-five names were there at the time the final decision was made to accept this number?

Richardson was included and Burke excluded on very slim evidence. These are my last words on this issue.

Vitellino

 

Interesting story........I've skied all that area in my time, all of le Fornet area, to Val dis'ere right along to Tignes Humbling to think I probably skied some of their route........hats off to these guy's gutsy thing to do.

 

It's always good to see any new interest in this topic. My grandfather was Trooper Harry Richardson. I tend to side with vitellino on the fate of Harry. My grandmother recieved a letter in early 44, placing Harry 10 miles from the allied lines, hundreds of miles away from Val D'Isere. My father spent the best part of a decade trying to find out what happened, but failed to find anything definitive about Trooper Richardson. This is despite the fact he became well versed on the incident, and made many contacts in the Italian side of the border where the escaped POWs were in hiding. I also spent some time on the subject and, until further evidence appears, believe he perished crossing the Gustav Line. The search does on, but with negligible leads.