Private George Sidney Austen - D Company, 8th Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs)

Hello All,

Working through my family tree and I have come across a Great-Great-Uncle who served in the 8th Battalion of the Buffs. Tragically, he was killed on the 16th November 1940 following an accident whilst undergoing rifle training; the Battalion was in the Torquay area at the time and were involved in the construction/manning of coastal defences. I'm reluctant to apply for his service records and pay the £30 admin charge as I'm not convinced that they'll give me a great deal more information than what I already have; I've found him on the CWGC site and have located a word document online (see page 3 of the attached) which refers to the incident. What I would be interested in obtaining is a copy of the Battalions war diary covering that period as I would like to try and find out more about the incident. I've also approached Devon Heritage Services to see if the incident may have been covered in some local newspapers at the time. If there is anyone out there that maybe in a position to provide some assistance with my research, I would really appreciate it if you would get in touch to discuss further.

Regards,

Mark

 

Thanks Owen; the document failed to upload as the file is too big - I didn't notice when I first tried! Page 3 contained the following text:

"Inexperience in handling weapons led to a very unfortunate incident at the Exbury Hotel billet, Torquay. On the 16th of November, 28 year old Pte Austen of D Company, accidentally shot himself in the head with a rifle. His body was taken home to Kent for burial."

Very tragic. If you're interested in reading more, the full text can be accessed here.

 

Never knew there was a cemetery at Hawkinge. Anyway I've checked the Regiments history and there isn't a lot of detail on the 8 Battalion, just the basics of formation and training etc.

 

Thanks Drew. The cemetery at Hawkinge is definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the area; it's mostly RAF aircrew but there are a number (59) of German graves there as well. It's only down the road from the Battle of Britain museum and a short hop away from the National Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne; it's a great area to come along and see if ever you fancy a Battle of Britain pilgrimage.