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Those known to have served with 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Compton Sidney George. Sgt.
- Ford William Thomas. Pte
- Gamble Sidney Alfred. Rflmn. (d.12th Jun 1942)
- Glover John Robert. Rfn.
- Greed George Alfred. Rflman.
- Guttridge Thomas Reginald. L/Cpl.
- Murray James. Rifleman
- Snape Alban. Rflmn.
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please
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Records of 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade from other sources.
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Want to know more about 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade? There are:1392 items tagged 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Sgt. Sidney George Compton 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade Sidney Compton was my father. Originally he was from 13 Skelbrook St., Earlsfield, London, SW 18. When this was bombed, the family moved to a prefab in Clapham Common.
He served with the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade in WW2 and was a Desert Rat in the Middle East from 25th of September 1941 to 9th of September 1943; in North Africa from 10th of September 1943 to 5th of January 1944. Dad returned home (he had been injured) from 6th of January 1944 to 3rd of June 1944, then fought in Northwest Europe from 4th of June 1944 (participated in D-Day landings) to 13th of April 1945.
He was discharged permanently unfit for service on 13th of April 1945 to Dunmail Drive, Carlisle, the home of Mrs. Sylvia Harrison and Mr. Will Harrison, where his wife Peggy and daughter Jeanette were residing.
He was awarded 5 medals, including the Africa Star and Damy Clasp; 1939-45 Italy Star; France and Germany War Medal 1939-45; S.W. Arm (B.C) 19th of July 1944 (NW Europe) (not sure if the latter is a medal).
He was wounded twice, patched up and sent back to the front because, as he said, they were short of sergeants. He said that in the desert they would capture German soldiers and send them back to their lines in the morning because it was too much trouble to keep them. He remembered using water from the jeep's radiator to shave with and then returning it to the jeep.
My father didn’t speak much about the war. I think he was a very troubled man due to his experiences. He never wanted to go abroad for holidays until we, as a family, took him to the Algarve in his late 80s. Up until then he said abroad was dirty. But he really enjoyed the holiday and said it was the best he had ever had.
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Rflmn. Alban Snape 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade Alban Snape was captured a few days after D-Day and taken to Stalag VIIIC, then sent to a Sugar Beet Factory as part of a working party before the long march west during the winter of 44/45. He wrote a book about his experiences called Ersatz Krieg.
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Rflman. George Alfred "Greedy" Greed 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade Before the war he was in the Territorial Army, George Greed lived in Poplar London, Tower Hamlets, but am not sure of his unit, either Poplar or Bethnal Green, or the dates he was enrolled. He signed up with the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade, not sure of the dates. I think he trained in the Thetford forest area at Dixon’s camp? The following is what I have discovered, but not sure if it is accurate.
2nd Armoured Brigade Left UK on 28th of September1941 (perhaps from Felixstowe) Arrived Suez 29th of November 1941. In Egypt until 20th of December 1941. In Libya January 1942 to 16th of June 1942 then withdrew back to Egypt.
7th Armoured Division, 22nd Armoured Brigade, 19th of June 1942 onwards. In Egypt 12th of November 1942 then Libya until 10th of Feb 1943. To Italy September 1943 to December 1943 (he mentioned Salerno). In
January 1944 return to UK. June 1944 to France, landed Gold Beach, he was captured at Villers Bocage 13th of June 1944 when he was a half-track driver. He was a P.O.W 13th of June 1944 to 18th of April 1945, Prisoner No. 70132 at Stalag VIII-C Sagan, Germany (now Konin Zaganski Poland).
Dad would never speak much of his time in the war, he did tell me he was dive-bombed by Stukas in the desert and received shrapnel wounds in his legs. He mentioned he was at Mersa Matruh and El Alamein.
He was lucky not to be killed at Villers Bocage as he was a driver of one of the Half Track vehicles, which were all destroyed by Michael Wittmann’s Panzers. He was a prisoner at Stalag 8c and he worked at the Maulsh sugar factory in Poland. He told me that when he was a POW in Stalag 8C he used to feign illness to get into the sick bay, where he managed to get some bread from a kind orderly, and sneak it back to his hut. I remember him telling me he was on work parties loading sugar for the German troops on the Eastern front, and of course they used to sabotage as much as they could by relieving themselves in it and worse!!
At the end of the war when the Russians were advancing West, he managed, with a few others, to escape from a work party, they were eventually rounded up by the advancing Russians, who lined them up to shoot them as they thought they were Germans. He told me that a French, or French speaking woman managed to persuade the Russians that they were British soldiers, and she kissed my Dad and hung a cross around his neck, which saved their lives. I still have that cross.
Now here I become confused. I have read reports about the forced march from POW camps across Germany. But my Dad told me he was forced to march by the Russians, and that eventually he ended up in Odessa, where he was eventually shipped back to the UK.
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L/Cpl. Thomas Reginald Guttridge 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade I persuaded my father Tom Guttridge to write a detailed account of his war memories. These have been published as a book Behind the Wire: Everyday Life as a PoW and also includes pre-war army memories and many of the photographs that my father brought home from the war including pictures of his seven pre-war years in the Rifle Brigade, the battle wreckage at Calais in 1940 when he was captured, the journey to Poland and life in the three camps in which he was a PoW in Stalag VIII B and Delbruick mine shaft camp in Poland, 1940 to 1942 and Stalag 383 from 1942 to 1945.
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Rflmn. Sidney Alfred Gamble 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade (d.12th Jun 1942) Sydney Gamble was the son of Ernest William and Caroline Gamble, husband of Olive May Gamble.
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Rifleman James Murray 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade The stories I know of my uncle Jimmy Murray are through my mother, his sister.
All I know is that he was serving in France, was captured by the Germans, POW in Stalag 20b, Marienburg / Malbork Poland. He had a tooth missing due to being hit by a German with the butt of his rifle.
He managed to escape. Walking through the woods one day he found a large hole in a mound. He quickly got inside so he could rest for a while, but noticed it was warm inside. When he looked out of the hole, he saw in the distance walking away from the hole a wild boar. (I don't think he stayed long in that hole).
While in the woods one day he was swilling his face in a puddle when a cigarette packet hit his shoulder. He thought that was the end of his escape. When he looked at the packet he noticed it was an American packet of cigarettes. This was the beginning of his journey home.
That is all that I know of my uncle Jimmy. If anybody has any information, however small, I would be very grateful for the chance to build a bigger picture of him and his time during the war years.
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