Died after Dunkirk

[colin6789]

A possible relative of mine is listed by CWGC as being buried in Lille Southern Cemetery, he died on 24th July 1940, as this was over a month after Dunkirk, so was he a POW?. He was a serjeant in the Royal Artillery. The CWGC history details have no details of POWs being buried there, but how else would he have got there.
Anybody got any ideas or information.

[carolegif]

He could have been injured and died later of his injuries, but I thought a lot of prisoners were shot by the Germans. Of course, that could have been what happened to him. I don't think the WWII records are online yet, only the "unburnt files" from WWI.
Look on the National Archive site or on the BBC Family History site for the links to military records.

Good hunting!

carolegif

[4GS]

Some allied POW's were shot by the S.S however, most wounded soldiers who were taken prisoner by the German Army recieved humane treatment, some of those wounded would have died of their wounds and been buried in military cemetarys, perhaps this is what happeneed to your relative?

[123everton]

There were instances of P.O.Ws being shot but these were isolated (I can only think of 1 maybe 2 recorded) so I doubt that was it (thankfully) there could be any number of causes for his death. Try getting in touch with the regiments or their museum, I'd imagine they'd have hid details, pay book etc.

[Peter Pedant]

No the Germans (Huns) did NOT massacre large numbers of Tommies. They put a large number in POW camps of which my father was one.

?wounded and died of his wounds ?

My father was in the RAMC and over a certain number of wounded - 6 - I think a doctor was left with them. They were then cared for in emergency hospitals by the British doctors and Germans.

His first POW camp was Spangenburg however he arrived there sort of later in the summer 1940. I have to say he didnt worry too much where they buried the dead.

Massacres around Dunkirk?
The famous one is Wormhout
We hanged the general responsible at the end of the war.
I can't think of another one.

[Peter Pedant]

I think the book that deals with Wormhout is:

Barbed-wire Doctor: One Doctor's War (Hardcover)
by Brigadier Crook (Author)

vanity printing - I bought it for �10 but I understand eek the Americans were demanding �110 !

The other is:
Safer than a known way - Pip Newman

Very difficult to track down AND watch out !
yes there are two pip newmans
and they BOTH wrote books called - eek - safer than a known way !!!! - One is in a German POW camp and one is in a Japanese POW - and yeah I bought the wrong one.

[123everton]

Wormhout I think was the one were the troops were held in a barn I'm thinking of another one were they were lined up and shot against a wall but in all fairness I'm happy to concede that they might be one of the same.

[jno]

two Pip Newmans writing books with the same title... it's that kind of gift for organisation that won us the war, Peter.

here's another book - I can't swear it's in English, or good English anyway

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/user/30/u63 1630.shtml

[gksandpiper]

27th may 1940 was a massacre of 97 men at Le Paradis and the day after was a massacre of over 90 men just north at Wormhout. Both perpertarted by the elite SS Adolf Hitler batallion. The men who escaped from Dunkirk owe their lives to these very brave men who were told to "fight to the last man and bullet".

God Bless