4th Bn KSLI casualties at Antwerp, 4 september 1944

Discussion in 'Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy' started by vestingjager, Nov 30, 2021.

  1. vestingjager

    vestingjager Well-Known Member

    Hello all,

    I am doing some research about the grave of the 'first British casualty' in the battle for the Stadspark (City Park), that used to be in the park itself.

    My best guess is that it has to be a soldier in A Company (most probably 7th or 9th Platoon) of the 4th KSLI, as these units fought inside the park.

    I have narrowed the research to 5 or 6 most probable cases, all buried in Schoonselhof / Antwerp Cemetery, but I'm in the dark how to proceed from here, to try and narrow it further.

    The details came from the book 'First Into Antwerp', but there is no mention of the KIA's in it, unfortunately.

    Thanks for any assistance.

    Names of the fallen from 4th Bn /KSLI at Schoonselhof:

    Hughes Thomas
    Hill Norman
    King Alfred George
    Shelton Thomas John (drowned in the Albert Canal (?)
    Clarke Harry Kitchener
    Edwards Albert Leslie
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2021
  2. vestingjager

    vestingjager Well-Known Member

    Up!

    I got in contact with the nephew of Thomas Shelton, he was in an ambulance that got hit on a bridge and he drowned, that must be the Albert Canal crossing, so he's no likely candidate to be in the field grave at the park.

    I'll take him off the list.
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2021
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  3. vestingjager

    vestingjager Well-Known Member

    I have the war diaries now, without success. No extra info found in them.

    I guess I'll have to find some family members or local historians in Britain....
     
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  4. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    Did you try CWGC grave concentration files? Suppose you did...
     
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  5. vestingjager

    vestingjager Well-Known Member

    There aren't any for Schoonselhof. Victims were buried there as they were transported....row after row.
     
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  6. vestingjager

    vestingjager Well-Known Member

    Well, we have some more news about my quest:

    We were able to pinpoint where the body was in the City Park, it was near the Southeastern corner, close to the Quinten Matsyslei and the pond.

    What makes it more difficult is the fact that it's halfway between the positions of 8th Platoon, A Company and the positions of C Company. From an old Newspaper article we know that the British soldiers carried the body to that spot.

    Now, in the great book 'First into Antwerp', there are many eyewitness accounts, and the fact that C Company was the first to attack via the Quinten Matsyslei and got pinned down by enemy fire almost on the exact spot, makes it a good candidate, although the accounts never state any KIA's in that Company during the fight.

    Later on, 8th platoon, A Company was on the southern end of the park, facing the pond and firing in support of 7th and 9th platoons, A Company attacking from the Southwest over the bridge of the pond. I am certain these 2 platoons had casualties.

    We are also certain, thanks to the newspaper article, that the picture was taken on September 4, 1944, which makes the casualty a member of 4th KSLI.

    I have been trying to get in contact with the families of the 5 soldiers still 'in the running', but without any success, as I have no account at a genealogy site that might point me in the right direction. I have contacted the Shropshire museum in the hope that they have other eyewitness accounts on the events, that might shed some other light on the matter.

    So, a lot of new information, but no clear link to the actual casualty.....
     
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  7. vestingjager

    vestingjager Well-Known Member

    Myself doing what I love to do best: giving a lecture about the men I admire the most, together with another ww2 guide: Anthony.

    This time at the Stadspark, Antwerp, at the exact spot where the first British casualty fell during the attack on the parc.

    I was there on invitation of the MAS-museum of the city of Antwerp, in the project of 'Open Huizen' or 'Open Homes', where people come listen to the stories of ordinary people, at the spot where it really happened, this is a project from 'Antwerpen herdenkt' or 'Antwerp Commemorates'

    My search for the identity of the first casualty is an ongoing project, Any help would be greatly appreciated. Still need somebody to look into their miltary files.

    It's a very odd and humbling feeling to stand at the exact spot where it happened, talking about it to interested people, while others are just strolling past, leasuring inside the parc itself, for that is what the purpose of a city parc is all about.....

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    Pictures: Ricky van Dyck
     
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