WW2 History - a long shot

[powerdesal]

This may not be the best place to post but.........

 

I am trying to figure out how to further the search for info about an ancestor. We have discovered he was killed / died in November 1940 and is buried in Mouchard cemetary in the Jura (SE of Dijon, off the N83). So far, nothing unusual in that, however, he was a private in the RASC, 4 Field Bakery, attached to HQ Lines of Communication headquartered at Le Mans.

As some may know, HQLoC Le Mans was part of 2BEF which were evacuated in the summer of 1940 from ports such as St Nazaire etc. A considerable force were designated to hold the line to cover the evacuation, effectively being sacrificed in doing so. How the dickens did a single British soldier end up buried in a small village some 200+ miles EAST of the HQ ?

I suspect / assume that following the evacuation it was a case of 'each man for himself' and he headed East towards Switzerland evading capture on the way. Possibly there were a group travelling together, maybe not. We are now stymied as to how to get more info. We will visit Mouchard when next in France but I am sceptical about being able to get more info from there after all these years.

Has anyone tried ''similar'' research and any thoughts / ideas on how to proceed. I have googled for days but got no further.

[Chancer]

Steve I am assuming that you got the grave location from the Commonwealth War Graves Commision if not your first port of call will be their website CWGC.org IIRC and to type in his name.

For further information contact the in the UK (dont know where) or in Arras.

Good luck and dont be put off, some old friends dropped in to see me (pretty much the only ones in 5 years) and they had visited the memorial of his uncle who died when a RAF bomber was shot down and the vague location, after making some enquiries in the village the elderly population were able to take them to the crash site to lay a wreath.

I am amazed by the collective and passed on memories in my area from both world wars, in recent years someone stumbled on some tombstones in a strange place and managed to research enough material to write the book "In a foreign field" entirely from stories handed down and that was WW1.

[cooperlola]

I don't want to take this thread too far away from Steve's post but Chancer has a point.  We have the grave of an American soldier (the only allied death in the canton) just up the road, and as Chancer relates, there are still a few people around here who can tell you chapter and verse about his story.  You may well find, Steve, that a visit to the grave and the locale reveals more than you might imagine.

[Hoddy]

Again not wanting to move too far away from Steve's original post - I hope someone has written that story down Coops.

Hoddy

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Hoddy"]Again not wanting to move too far away from Steve's original post - I hope someone has written that story down Coops. Hoddy[/quote]He has a road named after him and every year on the anniversary of his death, a little ceremony is held in his memory so I would guess so.  However, those in the know say it was friendly fire so maybe not.[;-)]

[Tony F Dordogne]

Steve, I would send an email to the Archives Departementales for the Commune and ask them if they have any details.   Also see whether there are any local histories - Maison de la Presse is a good place to start - about WW2, surprising how much local history has been wroitten down already and as others have said, ask around, look for the olds in the village, round here they love to tell you about the war.

[mint]

Is it any good starting at the Mairie, Steve?

Last year, in our village, an English name was added to the war memorial.  He was one of the "Cockleshell Heros" and was betrayed in our village to the Gestapo.

The locals know the family of the man who was responsible for the betrayal so, as has already been said, some of these folk have very long memories.

Certainly worth a try, I think.

[powerdesal]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Steve I am assuming that you got the grave location from the Commonwealth War Graves Commision if not your first port of call will be their website CWGC.org IIRC and to type in his name.

For further information contact the in the UK (dont know where) or in Arras.

Good luck and dont be put off, some old friends dropped in to see me (pretty much the only ones in 5 years) and they had visited the memorial of his uncle who died when a RAF bomber was shot down and the vague location, after making some enquiries in the village the elderly population were able to take them to the crash site to lay a wreath.

I am amazed by the collective and passed on memories in my area from both world wars, in recent years someone stumbled on some tombstones in a strange place and managed to research enough material to write the book "In a foreign field" entirely from stories handed down and that was WW1.

[/quote]

Hi Chancer, yes we used the War Graves Commission:-  http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2686055

Your second para though??   'contact the ..?..in the UK etc'

It is possible that someone in the village may have some historical info, first port of call the Maire (or just ask to speak to Mary )

The cynical in me sometimes thinks that, as he was a baker (as was his Father and brother) he tried to convert the villagers to English bread and suffered subsequent beating with stale baguettes. [:P]

 

[Gardener]

Mystery solved!

http://www.conscript-heroes.com/Art%20Laming.html

[powerdesal]

 

Gardener, I don't know how you did that but its amazing, I can't thank you enough.

[Gardener]

My pleasure.

I am interested in WW2 airforce activity in my local area. I have learned that if you search by service number , there is more chance of getting straight to who you want to find.

[powerdesal]

Thanks for that tip, I will remember it if there is another time. Thanks again.