6350974 Private Charles William NORRIS, 1st Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Reg): 4/2/44

Remembering Today

Casualty
Private NORRIS, CHARLES WILLIAM
Service Number 6350974
Died 04/02/1944
Aged 27
1st Bn. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
Son of Alfred Cecil and Lilian Norris, of New Cross, London; husband of Dorothy Norris, of New Cross.
INSCRIPTION: GONE FROM OUR HOME BUT NOT FROM OUR HEARTS. YOUR DUTY NOBLY DONE. AT REST
Buried at ANZIO WAR CEMETERY
Location: Italy
Number of casualties: 1038
Cemetery/memorial reference: I, U, 2.

 

Battle of Anzio - Wikipedia

 

UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945
Name: Charles Norris
Given Initials: C W
Rank: Private
Death Date: 4 Feb 1944
Number: 6350974
Birth Place: London N
Residence: London N
Branch at Enlistment: Infantry
Theatre of War: Italy
Regiment at Death: Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding)
Branch at Death: Infantry

TD

 

Name: Alfred Cecil Norris
Marriage Age: 24
Birth Date: abt 1889
Marriage Date: 2 Mar 1913
Marriage Place: Christ Church, Camberwell, Southwark, England
Father: Stephen Thomas Norris
Spouse: Lilian Grove

Rollins Street, Deptford, 1937:



1939 REGISTER TRANSCRIPTION
44 Rollins Street, Deptford, London
NAME DOB OCCUPATION
Alfred C Norris 13 Apr 1889 Fitter Lifts Escalators
Lilian Norris 01 May 1889 Unpaid Household Duties
Charles W Norris 10 Jun 1915 Food Manufacturers Bye Products
Herbert F Norris 29 Dec 1917 Paper Packer
Bertie R Norris 20 Feb 1921 Heavy Labourer Paper M?
Lilian E I Best (Norris) 08 Apr 1923 Packer Of Ebonite
Sorry, this record is officially closed.
Eric J Norris 02 Nov 1929 At School


Marriages Mar 1941
Norris Charles W Gatty Camberwell 1d 1261
Gatty Dorothy Norris Camberwell 1d 1261

1 son, born 1943.



Wounded:


KIA:

 

His brother was also KIA:



First name(s) Herbert Francis
Last name Norris
Birth year 1918
Age 26
Death year 1944
Death date 19 Oct 1944
Number 6915601
Rank Corporal
Unit 8th (2nd Bn. The London Rifle Brigade) Bn
Regiment Rifle Brigade
Grave reference III. D. 5.
Cemetery or Memorial Venray War Cemetery
Burial country Netherlands
Additional information Son of Alfred Cecil and Lilian Norris; husband of Rose N. Norris, of New Cross, London.

 

Clive, may I take this opportunity to thank you for remembering Private Norris. I have discovered just this week that he was married to my cousin (who I never knew), Dorothy Gatty, which led me to your post.

Dorothy’s own brother, George Gatty, was also killed, at Argenta Gap in April 1945. I recently also “discovered” George, again a cousin I never knew or even knew I had. I speak of him here:

6099827 L/Cpl George James GATTY, 1st Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment): KIA 13 April 1945

Thanks too to all of you who contributed here. I have not yet looked any further into Charles’ family history so did not know of his brother Herbert, nor that Charles had been wounded in 1943 with the 1st West Kents (presumably at Peter’s Corner/Cactus Farm).

I wonder if he transferred to the Duke of Wellington’s Regt immediately after recovering from his wounds as clearly he was not with the West Kents when he was killed. His records will reveal all, of course, but I have a few other family records to obtain first. I may well drop a line to the Duke of Wellington’s RA as I see they have a research facility.

Anyway, thank you all for this thread.

Martin

 

Martin.

I have worked out the whole story of how LCpl Gatty was killed on 13 Apr 45. The battalion was tasked with capturing two bridges on the Fosse Marina as part of the break into the Argenta Gap.

One Company was very, very badly mauled on landing from the Lake in Buffaloes whilst trying so capture the Fosse Marina bridge and hamlet of Cassa Di Bando and the other was beaten up as it secured and then held on to the bridge further to the south.

A bad day for 1 Buffs. Most of the soldiers and almost all the junior officers came from 99 LAA Regt RA when they were disbanded to fill the empty infantry ranks across Eighth Army.

Regards

Frank

 

Thank you for looking into it for me Frank, that’s very good of you. I have read this account on the BBC People’s War collection and wondered if George was killed in the very action described here:

BBC - WW2 People's War - Action on Lake Comacchio, 13 April 1945

 

Well, well, I would never have known about any such code, Owen, so kudos indeed to Geoff. Certainly very worthy and moving threads.