Operation Abercrombie

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 06/04/2018 11:16:54

Having had a good look at the photo, this is my conclusion as to the names:

Walters 2620747 Gdsm. John Robert Walters, Grenadier Guards ? KIA D-Day or
873129 L/Bdr F.J. Walters

Ennis: (Probable error) ? Could it be Pte. A. Ellis?

Furlow: (No Trace, probable spelling error)

Larment: 884501 L/Bdr. Henry Larment, Royal Artillery. Also served in 3 Cdo.

Jackson: 5111228 L/Cpl. J.R. Jackson, Warwickshire Rgt
L/Cpl. Ernest Jackson
1871992 L/Cpl. A.J. Jackson, Royal Engineers

Fairless: Pte. T. Fairless

Cook: 206488 Fus. G. Cook, Royal Welch Fusiliers

Overbury 5111978 Pte. T. Overbury, Royal Warwickshire Rgt.

Middleton: 7902963 L/Cpl. Frank Leonard Middleton, Royal Armoured Corps

Rose: Sgt. Frederick Joseph Rose (?)

Veasey: 149347 Lieut. Arthur Francis Sherand "Fairy" Veasey, Worcestershire Rgt.

Bend: 7901939 Sgt. Frank William Bend, Royal Armoured Corps

Unfortunately just the surname for Walters and Jackson is not enough to go on as there are alternatives for both. The only way of narrowing it would be to find out when they joined if those records exist.

As for Middleton coming from Sheffield, hands in the air, I may have made a mistake. That information came from a sale of medals belonging to a Cpl. Frank Middleton I found on a online auction site. However, I found out last night that they probably belonged to another man of the same name who served with the Sherwood Forresters in North Africa and Italy. Great Yarmouth sounds more realistic - I had difficulty fitting in North Africa to his role in the Commandos, but I had so little to go on and in my enthusiasm, thought I 'had my man'. So apologies for any confusion.

Lord Lovat in 'March Past' devotes a whole page to Arthur Veasey, recanting how he once ate 33 pork pies in a sitting, joined 3 Commando and escaped from a prison train after being captured in Sicily. He wandered into Switzerland, found a pretty girl who he married, and then posted postcards to his comrades back in England. He sounds an absolute character.

Guy - we have sold about 400 I think. We still have not broken even on them, so every sale counts. It's all for the Dover Western Heights Preservation Society as you know.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 30/03/2022 10:29:13

Richard has emailed me and exlained that somehow the above image has been flipped horizontal and this has caused the identification problems. Check the slant of their comforters on some or the way the jackets are buttoned. I have now entered the corrected image and can see from the annotations on the back that Richard has provided that the identification is as we thought, the only exception being that the Lieutenant's surname is annotated on the rear as Veasy and not Veasley.

All can be viewed on the updated image in our gallery here : https://gallery.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/units/4/4+Cdo+patrol+April+1942.jpg.html