Was my grandad really one of the first into Belsen?

And more

 

That's everything I have here...apart from the maps

 

Hi Steve, I have looked through all the documents you have posted. This is what I have found. anything with a question mark is a guess on the word !

17/12/42 - 26/1/1946 Posted with General Service Corps
27/1/43 Transferred to the Royal Artillery and posted to Survey Wing
Inter posted from No 2 Troop? Battery to Larkhill Depot Battery W.E.F. (With Effect From) 22/3/43
Posted to 7th Survey Regiment R.A. Larkhill W.E.F 18/5/43
Embarked to Europe 18/6/44 with 7th Survey Regiment
Disembarked North West Europe 25th/26th 6/44
1/1/1945 made a None Commissioned Officer, unpaid and paid Acting Lance Bombardier
Embarked to UK 4/9/1945
Disembarked 6/9/1945
Posted to Dept? of R.A. FIELD. reclassified Class 1A (Rank D) 15/1/1946 UK
Posted to 92 A/J Regiment (Gunner) 3/2/46 UK
Posted to HS this? unit from 92 'B' Battery R.A. (Gunner) 3/2/46 UK
S.O.S (Struck of Strength)? "Struck off strength" is army speak for having a soldier's name taken of the nominal roll of a unit)) and posted to 288 Field Battery R.A. 14/4/46
S.O.S on posting to 24 R.A. Training Regiment 9/7/46 There is a mention that he was a Junior None Commissioned Officer during this time 11/10/46

During his time in North West Europe relates to 7th Survey Regiment with some reference to XII Corps which Timuk has already mentioned. "Liberation" of Belsen relates to VIII Corps.

Regards, Damion

 

Answer would be no then just family embellished history as with many others

 

Ours is my Grandfather was a Featherweight boxing champion during his service ! ! !

 

Thankyou for so much hard work in all your digging through everything for me .
As I said originally, it was due to wanting to know the truth as to whether this passed down story was true or a fable and as all everyone's digging around has found ...its a no
Many many thanks

 

This is a coloured photocopy of the original map

 

As promised

 

It is so difficult to comprehend the scale of the atrocity. As mentioned, on this thread, it seems the whole british army passed through Belsen.
It was certainly, a ‘destination’ of service personnel to see first hand the site.
My grandfather, a commercial signwriter, serving with the 113th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment made and painted the famous twin gate signs (one in English and one in German) plus all the signs to mark the mass graves. Consequently I have an archive of the signs and all manner of personnel including RAF and Navy seemed to have visited the site and had their photos taken there.

Subsequently, I believe, many service personnel have said they were ‘at Belsen’, which was almost certainly true albeit the dates of their visit is often cloudy.

From Durham Record Office:
On 12 April 1945, following the successful Rhine crossing by the British Second Army, the 113th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, The Royal Artillery received orders to move to Belsen. In the words of The Regimental Journal of The Durham Light Infantry [volume 4, number 23, October 1946, page 80], 'the wrong map reference was given, no-one had heard of the place, and it appeared to be about 250 miles away inside enemy held territory'.

Nevertheless, the Regiment moved 100 miles to Osnabruk, west of Hanover, Germany, where their task was confirmed: to take over and administer the concentration camp at Belsen, near Celle, Germany, where the electricity and water supply had failed, food was scarce and disease raged.

A truce was negotiated with the local German Army Commander, who wanted to prevent the spread of disease from the camp, and the Regiment arrived at Belsen on 18 April 1945.

 

I think your right, I definitely think word got around about Belsen. Here's a extract out of 220 Battery War Diary (112th Wessex).

“I spent three hours on the 22nd April 1945 amongst 50-60,000 beings who appeared and who were sub-human; three ghastly unnerving hours amongst piles of mutilated, terribly emaciated, rag strewn corpses; amongst huts where dead and living lie thickly together; where the majority, starved in the extreme are more dead than alive; amongst thousands of other worldly, remote men, women and children who without surprise, with all hope gone, from white, hollow eyed faces – totter in filthy rags over the befouled mud past naked, foul corpses; where the air is full of the smell of death.

 

Very apt..thanks for taking the time to post

 

Many thanks. So we have five of 1SAS, including as ever a Canadian!, in the camp. Moreover, Reg Seekings, in clunking the SAS, and then Tonkin commanding the situation, take control, it is Reg who liberated Belsen! Until that point nobody had bothered to tell the bastards to stop doing it.

 

Celle, which is central to the story, became a key airport for Luneberg Heath. Belsen was slap bang on the path 11th Division were taking. The whole division almost literally drove past it.

 

Of the 1SAS recce screen, it was Lt John Randall and his driver Cpl Brown who made the first appearance, approx 30mins later to be followed by another jeep with Major Tonkin and Sgt Seekings. Sgt Duncan Ridler and Johnny Cooper arrived later still as did units of 63rd Anti-Tank Regmt, from which OC Lt Col Taylor took temporary command and had the Camp Commandant Josef Kramer placed under arrest.

According to GHQ Liaison Regmt War Diary, presence of the Camp was notified by high ranking German Officer at 159 Bde HQ on 12 April 1120hrs. A negotiated cease-fire then followed. Further note at 2020hrs 13 April records that “Belsen Camp is not yet captured”.
The following 14 April, POW camp at Fallingbostel with allied prisoners was also located.

Earliest organised entry into the camp was made on 15 April at 1615hrs, with Capt JW Gray GHQ Liaison Regmt, Maj J Tonkin 1SAS Bgde & Brigadier Glyn Hughes, Assistant Director Medical Services, making a specific inspection of the hutted camp area.

 

Hello, My Grandfather was in the RAF but worked on the ground in a 'Recce Car' as he called it. This would tie in with others mentioning a Reconnaissance Party arriving first? Around 1997, we went on a walk together and I was telling him that in the summer, I had visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. He had never mentioned it before but he began telling me that his unit had been the first group into Belsen. He described to me what he saw and said that many others arrived after them. I don't know the name of his unit though, only his number. He said he never spoke to my Grandmother about it because she found it upsetting and had never told my Dad or uncle about it either. I would love to find out more about his Unit but not sure where else to try.

 

Welcome to the forum

If you want further info you need to apply for his service records link here Get a copy of military service records
Date of Birth
Death Cert
£30

This would give you more of an idea of his journey during WW2
If you are in the States not sure how easy it is using the link Get a copy of military service records

if you have his service number you might like to post it here or even share his name.Forum members might be able to add further
use this link to start a new thread Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy

 

Thankyou for your help. I will definitely try your suggestions. Thanks again.

 

My Grandad, Capt Alec (Alexander) Roach was in the LAA who were at Belsen. He died in the early 70's but I've seen faded photos from the camp that my Nan had kept plus I've got a load of documents etc from his army career - having only just stumbled across this forum I'll make the effort to post what I've got at a later date. However my interest is in his role at Belsen - my Mum told me that he helped set up an orphanage or school for the children - I'm pretty sure that I've seen a copy of an old newspaper article from 1945 about it from Buxton, where he lived. Would love to know if there is anyone on here who has ever come across his name at all.

 

Hello Stuart, yes, your grandfather "Uncle Capitan" gets a mention in this Sunday Post newspaper article from June 1945.

 

That's the one!!! Well done GeorgyB! I knew I'd seen it somewhere!