Lt.Col. George Hew Fanshawe (Serv. No. 13054), The Queen's Bays, 2i/c 3rd Armoured Brigade 1942

I am hoping to get help with some information regarding Lt.Col. George Hew Fanshawe, who was O.C. The Queen’s Bays, from 2 November 1939 until 7 October 1940. He was later appointed 2i/c of the 3rd Armoured Brigade. At some point in 1942 he was captured by the Italians which I assume was during the retreat in April of that year.

The Prisoner of War records on FindMyPast show that he was ‘wounded and a prisoner of war’, and that he was held at P.o.W. Camp 29 at Vernon (Piacenza). Later reports show he was ‘previously reported wounded and prisoner of war in Italian hands now in neutral country (Switzerland)’.

Hoping that wasn’t too much of a wander through the bushes, my actual question is: can anyone tell me when and where he was captured?

 

Hi BFBSM

You've really set a tough one for the forum !

I confess immediately to never having heard of the chap but, as a result of your query, I've been searching the internet to see if I could help in any way but with no joy other than an increased knowledge of the man. He certainly does pop up in the unlikeliest of places
Castello di Vincigliata - WikiVisually

I'm sure you've done your homework and I've come to the conclusion that your best bet is a study of the Queen's Bays War Records of the relevant period.

Best regards & good luck with your research

Ron

 

Hi, should you hit any German language documents from Italy or Switzerland pls. send me a PM and I try my best.
Stefan.

 

Thanks for your reply Ron. Unfortunately, at the time of his capture he was not actually serving with The Bays who were part of 2nd Armoured Brigade, but with the 3rd Armoured Brigade. And after searching the War Diary and the Regimental History there is nothing contained within them.

I guess I should look at the 3rd Armoured Brigade War Diary.

Mark

 

He is confirmed as POW on the WO391/21 listing, with the same details you have Camp 29 etc.

 

Try here 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards The Welsh Cavalry - Regimental Comrades Association Their archivist may be able to help.

I wonder if he was related to the the other George Fanshawe - (G.D. Fanshawe D.S.O., O.B.E., R.A) who commanded 86th Hertfordshire Yeomanry in North West Europe?

 

Short Bio here: www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/queensbaysgeorgefanshawe.htm

 

Just for general info:

George Hew Fanshawe
Birth: 16 Jan 1899 - India
Death: Jun 1974 - Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Marriage: 15 Sep 1926 - Bengal (West Bengal), India
Spouse: Mary Holme Wiggin
F: Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe
M: Anna Paulina M Wood


TD

Looks as though they had at least 2 sons:
Hew D Fanshawe Oct-Nov-Dec 1927 Cheltenham Shropshire

Peter D Fanshawe Jan-Feb-Mar 1930 Chelsea London

 

Thought you might like sight of his entry on the WO391/21 listing:

 

I have added to the title in the hope someone may be a 3rd Armoured Brigade aficionado.

Mark

 

With everyone's help above, this is what I have managed to put together:

George Hew Fanshawe (16 Jan 1899 – 1974) was the son of Lieut-Gen Sir Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe KCB KCMG and grandson, on his mother's side, of Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood. His elder brother was Maj. Gen. Evelyn Dalrymple Fanshawe CBE DL who commanded the Queen's Bays from 1934 to 39. George was educated at King’s, Canterbury and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst (1916) and served with the 19 Hussars in 1916 as a Lieutenant. George later served in the Queens Bays, excelling at polo, being part of the team that won the inter-regimental polo tournament in 1931, for the first time. He commanded the Queen's Bays from 2 Nov 1939 and took the regiment to France in May 1940. But on 31 May he was injured in a motor accident and had to be evacuated to England. The regiment returned to the UK in the summer of 1940 and on 7 Oct that year George's position of Commanding Officer was handed over to Lt-Col G.W. Draffen. He was taken prisoner while serving as the second-in-command of the 3rd Armoured Brigade in North Africa in 1941 and held at P.O.W. Camp 29 Veano (Piacenza), subsequently escaping to Switzerland in 1943/44. He attained the rank of Brigadier and invested as CBE in 1954. He was married to Mary Holmes Wiggin in Kashmir in 1926. They had at least two sons, Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe (1927 – 1990) and Peter Douglas Fanshawe who was born in 1930.
​

Thank you, all for your help. If anyone finds anything more definitive on his capture I would appreciate an update.

Mark

 

I have completed a little more digging and have written this:

George Hew Fanshawe born 16 Jan 1899, in the Madras Presidency, India, he was the son of Lieut-Gen Sir Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe KCB KCMG and grandson, on his mother's side, of Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood. His elder brother was Maj. Gen. Evelyn Dalrymple Fanshawe CBE DL who commanded the Queen's Bays from 1934 to 39. George was educated at King’s, Canterbury and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst (1916) and served with the 19 Hussars in 1916 as a Lieutenant. George later served in the Queens Bays, excelling at polo, being part of the team that won the inter-regimental polo tournament in 1931, for the first time, along with his brother Major Evelyn Fanshawe, and Captains Draffen and Barclay.


He commanded the Queen's Bays from 2 November 1939, vice Lieutenant-Colonel W. R. Beddington[ii], and took the regiment to France in May 1940. But on 31 May he was injured in a motor accident and had to be evacuated to England[iii]. The regiment returned to the UK in the summer of 1940 and on 7 October of that year, George's position of Commanding Officer was handed over to Lieutenant-Colonel G.W.C. Draffen.


During the retreat by the 3rd Armoured Brigade on 7 April 1941, which was extended a great distance, its forward elements near Derna, and the tail (which included most of the tanks) as far west as Slonta, a column of approximately 107 kilometres. Brigadier Rimington, Commanding Officer of the 3rd Armoured Brigade, and Fanshawe were travelling to Derna when the Command Vehicle fell down a steep bank delaying their arrival at a conference with Lieutenant-Colonel Drew, Officer Commanding 5 R.T.R., arranged for the next day. In an attempt to by-pass the traffic, the southern desert route was taken, resulting in both Rimington and Fanshawe being taken prisoner, Rimington had been mortally wounded.[iv]


Fanshawe was held at P.O.W. Camp 29 Veano (Piacenza), subsequently escaping to Switzerland in 1943/44[v]. He was appointed an Officer of the British Empire on the 22 March 1945[vi]. He attained the rank of Brigadier, appointed a Commander of the British Empire on 1 January 1953[vii] and invested in 1954.


He was married to Mary Holmes Wiggin in Kashmir in 1926. They had at least two sons, Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe (1927 – 1990) and Peter Douglas Fanshawe who was born in 1930.


The London Gazette, 26 October 1916, p.10406 (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29803/supplement/10406/data.pdf)

[ii] Beddington, W.R., A History of The Queen’s Bays (The 2nd Dragoon Guards) 1929…1945, Warren & Son Ltd. 1954 p.9

[iii] Beddington, W.R., A History of The Queen’s Bays (The 2nd Dragoon Guards) 1929…1945, Warren & Son Ltd. 1954 p.23/24

[iv] Maughan, Barton; Tobruk and El Alamein:Australia in the War of 1939-1945, Australian War Memorial, 1966, p.95

[v] British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945 (Trace your Family Tree Online | Genealogy & Ancestry from Findmypast | findmypast.co.uk) [Accessed 4 February 2020]

[vi] The London Gazette, 22 March 1945, p.1541 (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36994/supplement/1541/data.pdf)

[vii] The London Gazette, 1 January 1953, p.7 (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39732/supplement/7/data.pdf)
​

Once again, thank you all for the assistance.

Mark

 

Newspaper report of C.B.E from the Nottingham Journal - Thursday 01 January 1953