Captain Benjamin Charles Winter-Goodwin POW Arnhem

Gents,

Currently research Capt BJ Winter-Goodwin who served with 250 Company at Arnhem (thanks Gren) he was I believe wounded at captured at some point during the operation.

I am drawing an absolute blank on him in any of my books here, Middlebrooke nothing or the history of the RASC at arnhem seems to not mention him.

He didn't attend any reunions after the war, he finished as a Lt Col in the RAOC.

Any assistance would be fantastic.


The war diaries indicate he was responsible for unloading on the 2nd lift..

5) Remainder of 2nd lift.

(a) Land LZ 'X' in 2nd lift.

(b) Each glider load is responsible for clearing LZ as rapidly as possible and for its own local protection while doing so.

(c) RV with 2 i/c at Rd Bridge under Rly at Pt 665805.

(d) Move in single convoy under direction 2 i/c to DMA.

(e) Unload trailers and await further instrons.

(6) HAMILCARS.

(a) After off-loading in DMA, Capt Winter-Goodwin will arrange unloading and clearance to DMA of stores in Hamilcar gliders landing in 2nd lift on DZ 'X'.

(b) Crews of Hamilcars will remain as a guard on the gliders until tpt arrives to clear the contents.

(7) Clearance of Compo - 2nd lift. After off-loading in DMA, Capt. Winter-Goodwin will arrange collection of Compo Packs from gliders landing on LZs 'X' and 'S' in second lift.

(8) Vacation of LZs. It is imperative that LZ 'X' and if possible LZ 'S' should be completely vacated by within 6 hrs of the landing of the 2nd lift.

(9) Jettison Drop. There will be no Jettison Drop.

 

You might have better luck if you search under his real name which was Benjamin Charles Winter-Goodwin. He joined 250 Coy in March 1943 and appears on the list of Officers on Strength until August 1944 when it is believed that he was attached to HQ 1st Airborne Division

 

Thanks for that he was in later life B. C. WINTER - GOODWIN . Managing Director . Book Centre Ltd. , North Circular Road , Neasden , N.W.10

 

Personal Number: 265678
Rank:
Name: Benjamin Charles WINTER-GOODWIN
Unit: Royal Army Service Corps ; Royal Army Ordnance Corps


London Gazette : 17 March 1950
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/38863/supplement/1345/data.pdf
ROYAL ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS.
The undermentioned Capts. from Short Serv. Commns. to be Lts., 18th Mar. 1950:—
Benjamin Charles WINTER-GOODWIN (265678) from R.A.S.C., with seniority 3rd Mar. 1941.

London Gazette : 14 April 1950
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/38884/supplement/1801/data.pdf
ROYAL ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS.
The undermentioned Lts. to be Capts., 18th Mar. 1950, with seniority 1st July 1946:—
B. C. WINTER-GOODWIN (265678).

• Benjamin Charles Winter-Goodwin (1916-2006) -...
• Name: Benjamin Winter-Goodwin . Date of Birth: 02/02/1916 . Place of Birth: London . ... | The National Archives

Reference: WO 416/397/472
Name: Benjamin Winter-Goodwin.
Date of Birth: 02/02/1916.
Place of Birth: London.
Service: British Army.
Rank: Captain.
Regiment/Unit/Squadron: [Royal Army Service Corps].
Service Number: 265678.
Date of Capture: [unspecified].
Theatre of Capture: [unspecified].
Camp Name/Number: Oflag IX A/H Spangenberg.
PoW number: 2118.
Date of Death: [unspecified].
Number of Photographs: 0.
Number of Fingerprints: 0.
Number of X-rays: 0.
Number of Cards: 1.​

 

Hello everyone,
I am reaching out to this community because I am the direct grandson of Captain Benjamin Charles Winter-Goodwin. I stumbled across the discussions here regarding his service at the Battle of Arnhem, his wounding, and his subsequent time held as a POW at Oflag IX-A/H (Spangenberg Castle).
As his grandson, i am incredibly proud of his legacy, but our personal archive of his life is non existent. I am trying to find any photographs of him in uniform, unit group photos of the 250th Company, or specific mentions of him in the RASC War Diaries from Operation Market Garden.
If anyone has uncovered document scans, camp arrival records, or further details during your research, I would be deeply grateful if you could share them. I am also happy to verify details for fellow genealogists tracing the 250th Company where I can.
Thank you so much for keeping the history of these men alive.

 

Welcome Michael,

Not an uncommon request. I will drop a Private Message (PM) to the three members who posted, all of them are active and logged in recently.

PM explanation

If you hover over the name of the member in their avatar it will show a new text box and within is the date of their last logged visit. Some members "flag" their interest in a thread, which means they get a system alert. Once you have posted five times - a measure to stop spam - you can send a private message (PM) to members using 'Start a private conversation' accessed via your avatar. Such messages depend on their email given at registration is still valid. You can receive and reply to a PM already.

This is the only thread here about him. There is one other thread on his unit that may be of interest: 250 (Airborne) Coy RASC

No photos readily found.

Might be worth adding a request for help to this open Facebook group The Parachute Regiment & Airborne Forces Memorial Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1971688963054688/

For his unit's timeline, looks like it is based on their War Diaries (WO 171/2416). See: 250 (Airborne) Light Composite Company, RASC

An online search with: "250" + "light composite" + "airborne" + "company" + "RASC" site:ww2talk.com id'd a small number of threads about the unit.

Using: "250" + "light composite" + "airborne" + "company" site:ww2talk.com id'd a few more and duplicates.

Airborne & RASC are not my focus.

Final comment: We always recommend applying for the subject's full service record (except the Scots Guards). Yes, it may take a year to arrive - either from the MoD or National Archives (TNA). It is not available online and is the definitive record. There is nothing you can do about the wait. The records were never intended to be read today. See: Get a copy of military records of service

Officer's records have not been transferred to TNA yet.

This is a useful explanation of the choices offered by TNA for service records: National Archives Service File Applications - Pre Feb 2026 v Post Feb 2026 Process

Good luck.

 

Hi Michael,
I have an amount of information I can send you, I will pm you. This includes some nice images.

 

Check my 250 Company files, but don't have a photograph of him, nor a officer group photo with him on it.

 

There is a POW Camp photo of the 1st Airborne's officers, minus him though, but the listing has him and his POW Number as 2218. It has him as:

From: Aftermath

An odd webpage has his home address in 5/3/1954:

Which is in in the village of Normandy, Guildford, Surrey.
From: https://normandyhistorians.co.uk/downloads/mss144-1953.pdf

Have you ever found any letters about attending post-war regimental / corps events? Sometimes the events appear in regimental journals with photos.

 

Michael, I can recommend Peter Green's book "The March East 1945: The Final Days of Oflag IX A/H and IX A/Z". There is no specific mention of your Grandfather (nor mine), but it provides an interesting perspective of life in the camps for officers, including some captured at Arnhem.

 

Simon,

Michael has not logged in since 18/5/2026, so is unlikely to see your post. You have access to the Private Message (PM) option after five posts (explained below), drop his a PM asking him to return.

PM explanation

If you hover over the name of the member in their avatar it will show a new text box and within is the date of their last logged visit. Some members "flag" their interest in a thread, which means they get a system alert. Once you have posted five times - a measure to stop spam - you can send a private message (PM) to members using 'Start a private conversation' accessed via your avatar. Such messages depend on their email given at registration is still valid. You can receive and reply to a PM already.