British WW2 casualty Paybooks

[AB64]

908279 Roy Faulkner Newell of 321 Battery, 132nd Field Regiment RA with 78th Division - on the night 26-27/2/43 he was killed along with his officer when their Armoured OP hit a mine near Medjez El Bab at this time they were involved in repelling the German attack Operation Ochsenkopf



Also with 132nd Field Regiment was Harry Secombe who went on to find fame as a member of the Goons, in his autobiography "Arias and Raspberries" he includes elements of his diary which include the above with mention of Captain Reader and Gunner Newell being killed



The Regiments war diary entry mentions Captain Reader - its normal for officers to be mentioned but not OR's - it mentions the mine being left by the NN's which I think is the Northamptonshire's so either a British mine or one left in a dangerous place by a friendly unit

[AB64]

968197 Stanley Woolley of 5th Survey Regiment RA, as with Gunner Newell above he was caught up in the German offensive Operation Ochsenkopf and suffered fatal wounds 27/2/43 in the area of the Goubellat Plain

[AB64]

3448765 Harold Smith, Carrier Platoon of 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers of 78th Division, on 5/3/43 his battalion was in the region of Banana Ridge Tunisia, they sent a carrier patrol out on a sweep in front of their position but 2 hit mines, more carriers were sent out to check for survivors but another hit a mine and one went missing, a further carrier was sent out with stretcher bearers but again disappeared - Fus Smith was lost at some point during this activity, I believe in one of the initial mine strikes

[AB64]

4389349 Richard Hudson of 7th Green Howards, 50th Division who was killed 6/4/43 during the attack on Wadi Akarit

[AB64]

T/257536 Thomas Jack Buntin of 331 Brigade Company RASC who died of wounds near Oudref in Tunisia 11/4/43

[Paul D]

Excellent thread , thanks for posting .

[aghsmac1]

Congrats, you have an excellent and unique collection with the appropriate documentation.
aghs

[AB64]

5891655 William Moverley Harris of 1st Duke of Wellingtons with 1st Infantry Division, he died of wounds in the German attack on Banana Ridge 21/4/43

[AB64]

2734117 CSM Richard George Bailey of 3rd Welsh Guards who was killed 23/4/43 near Argoub Sellah in Tunisia - the Battalion War Diary below notes him as being killed by AA Fire, I'm not sure if this was an AA gun used in the ground role or an unlucky accident with a shell going up and what goes up must come down

[AB64]

T/10666517 Dennis Blissett of 1582 Tipper Platoon RASC, on 11/5/43 the Platoon was working in quarries around Zerizer in Algeria when Driver Blissett was fatally injured in an accident. From the other form you can see he was previously wounded 27/1/43