Martin Marix Evans' book "The Fall of France" includes a photograph of the memorial beside the D17 Wormhout to Esquelbecq road and also that to the Norfolks massacred at La Paradis. An equally moving memorial in the same general area.
The site of the massacre is actually nearer to the town of Esquelbecq and some writers refer to it as the 'Esquelbecq' rather than 'Wormhoudt' massacre. The memorial is on the road from Esquelbecq to Wormhoudt but the massacre site itself is down a minor road a few hunded metres away. It is an incredibly atmospheric site. At the time I visited the area with my school battlefields tour in 2000 it was under danger of being redeveloped but has since been saved with a replica of the 'massacre barn' being built as a memorial. You can also see the pond at the back of the barn where Captain Lynn Allen was shot trying to escape. (In the BBC film 'Dunkirk' he is shown as being shot before the main massacre, but this does not agree with the eyewitness accounts I have read.). The most complete account of the event is 'Massacre on the Road to Dunkirk' by Leslie Aitken. A very good location map and account is given in the 'Battleground Europe' book on Dunkirk. The massacre is fairly faithfully recreated in the BBC series mentioned above, which is available on DVD. Do you have a personal interest in the incident?
The best book I have found on the massacre is by Guy Rommelaere and titled 'The Forgotten Massacre'. The ISBN number is 2-9517915-1-x in English, and en Francais est 2-9517915-0-x. It can be purchased from the Tourist Offices near Esquelbec or I think either the Warkwickshire or Worcestershire Regimental Associations should be able to help. I actually met Mr Rommelaere when I was over there in 2005 and at the time he was the Deputy Mayor of Esquelbec and a very nice and helpful person. If anyone can possibly help me locate a piece of land from May 1940 called Baeldens Land I would appreicate it. I have tied it down to a triangle between Ledringhem,Rubrouck and Esquelbec to the south of the Massacre Site. My reason for this is thats where my Great Uncle fell and I have promised my family to find it. Cheers Nige
Re the above, with the help of information supplied by the Worcestershire Regiment's archives I think I have tracked the location to the opposite side of the road to the Royal Warwickshire H.Q. south of Esquelbec. From what I can figure the British troops in that area were holding up the LSAH and other units and a JU87 Stuka attack was called in which killed many, including the C.O. and Deputy C.O. of A Company Royal Warkwickshire Regiment. Incidentally the actions of British troops in that area IMO undoubtedly helped those at Dunkirk to escape by holding up the Germans for 24 hours. Cheers Nige
I was interested to read about the 'Forgotten Massacre' and would like to obtain a copy. I visited the site with my school group in 2000, before the barn was reconstructed and the site was actually in serious danger of redevelopment. It was incredibly atmospheric, even though we were there in torrential rain. I use the eyewitness accounts, together with the BBC dramatized version, as a GCSE History source appraisal exercise.
Following on from the BBC programme on Dunkirk and having read some of the other threads on this subject, could anyone provide directions to the site. I believe it isn't actually in Wormhoudt, I have found a reference to a place called Esquelbecq. I'm about to venture on to the www but thought I'd try here first. Ali In The National Archives there is a whole File containing the Ministry Of Defence investigation Papers into Mohnkes Involvment in the Wormhoudt massacre. DEFE 38
I hope this item adds a bit to the story. On Tuesday 28 May 1940, Private Thomas John Hanna from Bushmills was reported missing in action. He was a member of A Company 2nd Battalion, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. His company were tasked to fight the rearguard in the village of Wormhout and allow the evacuation at Dunkirk to proceed. That day A Company had fought valiantly against the 2nd Bn. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). In retribution for all the casualties they sustained, the LSSAH shot the injured Warwick’s dead and escorted the 200 survivors 3km away to a barn in Esquelbecq. The LSSAH tried to kill the Warwick’s by throwing hand grenades into the barn. That was not efficient enough so they escorted the survivors out, five at a time and shot them in the head. The process was too slow so they entered the barn and machine-gunned the remainder. That evening a local farmer filled a churn with milk and went out to comfort the fifteen survivors and the dying. The milk churn remains at the scene of the massacre as a poignant memorial to the brave Warwick’s. (Rodgers, p21) For the LSSAH this was not an isolated incident. Their war record is peppered with atrocities. Their last actions included the torture and murder of eleven African-American soldiers from the 333rd Field Bn. US Army and the massacre of 130 Belgian civilians in December, 1944. Present-day wars are still throwing up people of this ilk.
We visited the Wormhoudt area in August 2008 and my family and I were deeply moved at the barn and the memorial to those who were murdered there in May 1940. I have read a bit about this and also saw the BBC documentary and it wasnt until I visited the area that I was aware that a French soldier was also murdered along with the brave, young British soldiers. This is definately for me a case of "When you go home tell them of us, for your tomorrow we gave our today" I have also wrote to the Commonwealth War Graves Commision about the grave of Private 804310 Stanley Fitzpatrick as it has a small half moon shaped piece on the left hand side which has broken away - appears to be a defective piece of headstone rather than vandalism.
I have also wrote to the Commonwealth War Graves Commision about the grave of Private 804310 Stanley Fitzpatrick as it has a small half moon shaped piece on the left hand side which has broken away - appears to be a defective piece of headstone rather than vandalism. Good on you mate. Welcome to the forum.
Following on from the BBC programme on Dunkirk and having read some of the other threads on this subject, could anyone provide directions to the site. I believe it isn't actually in Wormhoudt, I have found a reference to a place called Esquelbecq. I'm about to venture on to the www but thought I'd try here first. Ali I remember seeing this particular programme on TV. Anybody know what it was called? I'm trying to find it on youtube but it's not bringing anything up. Cheers
Here you go Marcus BBC - Press Office - Dunkirk Welcome to the forum Glen...I did a Dunkirk tour from Cassel to Dunkirk at the end of August this year too. I read the story about the French soldier that was killed nearby. There's some pictures I took on here too inc one of the French Soldiers grave. Cheers Andy
DVD is your best bet mate....I'll have a look I think iPlayer only holds programmes for a week after its shown then its removed to make room for new programmes.
Cheers Andy. This is the best I could find on youtube. Not the BBC but someones video footage of the massacre site. YouTube - The Wormhoudt Massacre site & Cemetery, France (Extended)
I've posted quite a few pictures on here of the site. I'll go look for the link It appears I posted a link to another site where I had posted them but its closed down. I'll start a thread with them on later Marcus Cheers Andy
Hi Joe90 and welcome to the forum Check out this thread on this forum. There is a location map on post #4 http://www.ww2talk.com/index.php?showtopic=147 Hi Spidge. When I click on the above link, it just takes me to the portal. Any idea where I can see an image of the massacre site location? I wanna find it on google earth. Cheers marcus.
