Somerset Light Infantry 2nd Battalion World War 2

I am a little confused - are you after his WW1 or WW2 service records ?? - WW1 are available via Ancestry if they survived the bombing of the records office in the 1940's - WW2 however are only available from the MOD as mentioned above


TD

 

Richard.

Once you have his Service Record, all will become clear.

Regards

Frank

 

Hi all and apologies for a thread resurrection and what might be a complicated query.

I have been researching my family history, my great uncle (by marriage) Private Willian Edwin Sayers served with 2 SLI in Italy and was killed on 15 September 1944. I've managed to read the Unit War Diary (at the Somerset Archives), this revealed that on 9 Sept Bn moved up to S. Giovanni? (965840), then on 13 Sept Bn moved to 917837 Sheet 109/IV. The diary records that the plan was for 2/4 Hants and 2 Kings to cross the River Marano, capture Patrignano (?), 2 SLI to pass through to capture another ridge due west of these two features NE of Cerasolo. On 15 Sept Bn moved to 88688, C&D Coys were ordered to assembly area W of Ospedaletto (852892) prior to attacking Camelhair (825894). The diary then records that D Coy SLI attacked at last light, whilst forming up at 19.30 D Coy was shelled and took 6 KIA and 2 WIA

I guess that the last point refers to how/when he died, from the CWGC website it seems that the only 7 (seven) 2 SLI killed on that date are now resting in the Coriano Ridge Cemetery, which is where my great uncle is. He was brought to Coriano in September 1945 as a result of concentrating casualties into larger cemeteries, his initial burial was with a Private Percy Hill and seems to have been at SH101 901936, 4 of the others appear to have been buried at Coriano virtually immediately (although seemingly moved within the cemetery in June 1947) and the seventh was buried elsewhere (SH101 907933). So my questions are;

1) Would this spread of casualty locations be normal or just part of the 'fog of war'
2) Could an alternate answer be that some survived and then were buried besides whatever medical facility they were taken to (and if so who?), or
3) No-one knows and its just one of the unanswered questions found whenever you research your families history?

Any help, comments, thoughts gratefully received

Many thanks

Adrian