Sgt. Gerald Bendle . British Army Intelligence Corps Royal Welsh Fusiliers from Neath My father, Gerald Bendle, enlisted in 1940 and was sent to Northern Ireland before sailing to India in 1943 on the SS Orontes. He was a sergeant in the Intelligence Corps and told me little about the war except that he was incredibly lucky. He learnt Hindi and travelled around India "gathering intelligence" on a motor bike. He was hospitalised in India twice once with pneumonia and once with a broken leg and on both occasions he missed postings from which no one in the battallion returned.
He returned to the UK in March 1946 and was unable to disembark immediately because there was illness on board and they had to fly the yellow flag.
Sadly he died on 3rd January 2013 and I suddenly regret not having found out more about this part of his life.
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Pte. Charles Molotja Bene . South African Army Native Military Corps Charles Bene was captured in the Desert Campaign. He was previously at camp 85. He survived the train wreck on the Orvieto North railway bridge at Allerona, Italy, with a fractured left leg and was went to Stalag 344 Lamsdorf.
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Pte. Vincent Benedict . United States Army from Bryn Mawr, PA He was captured by Nazi troops in the Battle of the Bulge and endured four months as a prisoner of war.
He was drafted into the Army in 1944. That year, he was serving in the Ardennes just before Christmas when he and about 100 others were captured by German soldiers while distributing ammunition.
He spent the remainder of the European war in three prison camps. During that time he developed pneumonia and lost 40 pounds. He said the food was atrocious, noting that the prisoners were given only boiled grass, dirt and roots to eat.
The last thing he remembered when he was captured was a German officer saying to him in French "For you, the war is over". He was liberated on 26th April 1945.
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Walter L. "Benny" Benedict . United States Air Force 409th Bomb Group I seek contact with any surviving members of my late husband's crew. He was Walter L. Benedict (Benny to crew). They were 490th Bomber Group in England 1944/45
flying bombing missions to Germany (Dresden?) etc. The captain was Bill Gamble,(wife Bessie) from Merkel, Texas. Other recalled crew members were Bud Becker,tail gunner,(wife`s name Bonny) who moved to Tallahassee FL., Don Winters, and George Miller (wife Twyler) who visited us in Surrey, England.
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Sgt. George D. Benedum . United States Army from Harrisburg, PA, USA
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S/Sgt. John Oliver Benett MID.. British Army from Birmingham
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Charles Edmund "Boy" Benfield . British Army 1st Btn. Dorsetshire Regiment from Alderney, Channel Islands My father, Charles Benfield never spoke about the war. The first my family knew was when the people of Alderney Island were asked to put their name forward if they had taken part in the D-Day landings. Only then did our mother tell us that dad had been on Gold Beach. The veterans were presented with a medal from France to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day. My brother received it on behalf of my father, as he was not well enough to make the journey.
I researched dad’s army history, contacting the Keep Military Museum in Dorchester, which put me in touch with Christopher Jary, and I got dad’s army papers from the Ministry of Defence. I was amazed at the places he had been, and what he had done in his short army career.
Dad had taken part in the three assault landings. Then he was wounded by mortar splinters on the 14th June, when the Dorsets were attacking through woods. He was bought back to the UK then, back to his home in Alderney, and he never returned to his regiment.
After Alderney was liberated from German occupation, Dad worked on the land for a few years. Afterward, he was the manager for a grit and gravel company. Dad was happily married for 49 years and had 9 very proud children.
I have emailed some photos to Christopher Jary to put in the Museum, and I am looking forward to visiting the Museum sometime this year.
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Gnr. LeRoy A. Benfield . United States Navy from Perkassie, PA Leroy Benfield served with the US Navy in the Pacific during World War II as a PT boat torpedoman and -50-caliber gunner.
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Pte Ernest Benfold . My Father, Ernest Benfold was picked up in Dunkirk and spent 5 years in a Prisoner of War Camp in Czechoslovakia. The family who looked after him at the end of the war wanted him to marry their daughter. He was promised to my Mother so refused their offer and returned home. He subsequently married my Mother, Dorothy Atherton and had 4 children. He worked as a miner until he was 62 and then worked in a factory until retirement. He always thought he was a lucky man and lived until he was 91 years of age.
He was and will always be the hero of our family.
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Pte. Norman John Bengough . British Army 13th Btn. Warwickshire Regiment from Harbourne Norman John Bengough was my uncle. He was born in Birmingham and enlisted on the 27th July 1940, he was serving at home until 10/3/43. He was then sent to India via the Liverpool Docks. While serving Norman was shot in the thigh on the 27th Nov 1944 (a battle accident) and was transfered to the Somerset Regiment and sent home. He was always a very shy man but never wanted to talk about his time in India. My wife sent for his Army record and we found that Norman was transfered to Bellsdyke Miltary Hospital in Scotland. We found that Norman was found to be suffering from mental dullness, we are a little unsure of the term but we have been told it was caused by the events in India when he was serving in Bombay. Norman remained at Bellsdyke for a period of two years nine months. So it seems his mental state of mind was not good. We have been told that his mother, Florence, did not know of his condition and did not know where he was, she felt he was "missing" but a family member found him and brought him home to Birmingham when he was well enough. I can remember Norman as being a kind loving man, but we could tell that he was suffering a little all his life with the strain of his mental health, he was killed in an accident at work in 1966, he is sadly missed.
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Pte. Arthur James Benham . British Army 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment from Birmingham Arthur Benham served with 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment.
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Marjorie Benham . Land Army This is a picture of my aunt Marjie (was Marjorie Benham, now Macdonald). She is the one at the front right-hand side of the attached picture. The lady to her left in the white shirt/blouse was Helen Clixby. She would love to make contact with anyone who remembers her from those days in Devon. She now lives in Essex.
Anyone wishing to make contact can do so by contacting me first and I will pass on their details so she can make contact with them direct. She is not on the Internet herself. I have given her the 0800 phone number to call with regards to the WLA commemorative badges.
Thanks,
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Armand Benjamin . United States Marine Corps
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Pte. Eric Benjamin . British Army 3rd Training Regiment from Derbyshire My great uncle Eric Benjamin was automatically signed up, he couldn't hack it and absconded in 1945 and a clip was in local paper saying he had been caught and was in custody waiting to escorted back. Siblings of Eric have told me this is definitely him.
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Pte. John Henry Benjamin . Australian Army from Australia
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Pte. Vernon Alfred H. Benjamin . Australian Army
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A Sig William David Benjamin . Royal Navy
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Bill Benlen . US Red Cross driver Bill Benlen was a driver with the US Red Cross at Dunkeswell 1944/5
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Frank Henry Bennet . Army Coldstream Guards My father was a prisoner of war we think in Italy. I would like to find out which camp he was in. We think it was from 20/06/42 until 1944 when he escaped to Switzerland. His army no. is 2658732.
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Ordinary Seaman Sidney Walter Bennet . Navy HMS Cape How My uncle was Ordinary Seaman Sidney Walter Bennett. He lost his life on 21st June 1940 on board HMS Cape Howe. I think he had only been in the Navy a matter of months.
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Ordinary Seaman Sidney Walter Bennet . Navy HMS Cape How My uncle was Ordinary Seaman Sidney Walter Bennett. He lost his life on 21st June 1940 on board HMS Cape Howe. I think he had only been in the Navy a matter of months.
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P/O. R C Bennet. . RAF 626 Sqd. My father, Pilot Officer Bennet R.C. served at Wickenby from April to August 1944 on 626 Squadron.
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Pte. Albert Ernest Gerald Bennett . British Army 2nd Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment from Abingdon (d.30th May 1940) Albert Bennett is buried in Wulverdinghe Churchyard along with Five other soldiers of WW2. He was killed in the defence of Dunkirk in May 1940.
He is remembered on the Abingdon War Memorial.
Son of Lillian Hart of Abingdon.
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Ldg.Sea. Alfred "Wiggy" Bennett . Royal Navy HMS Acasta from Liverpool, England My father, Alfred Bennett, was in the Royal Navy during WW II having served aboard a number of ships. He was just 19 years old. His job was "higher submarine detector" and his first ship was the "Acasta" then the "Coventry" and many more. He was aboard the "Coventry" when it was bombed on New Year's Day, 1940. The Germans dropped bombs alongside the ship and it sprung a leak. From there they went to the south of England for repairs. He told me of being on board the HMS Havock when it was shelled by a battleship two miles off the coast of Gibraltar. He said he swam to shore and was taken by the Vichy French to a POW camp. They were taken to Tunis across the Atlas mountans to Algeria. He said that they were taken by train over very steep mountains. "You could look right over the edge of the tracks straight down". His Royal Navy papers record him as "missing presumed interred - H.M.S. Havock." Then there's a little note that reads "now safe in the U.K." He also told me of a game that they played during free time called "Tom Bowler". I wish that I had paid more attention or had asked more questions so that I could pass this part of our family history on to future generations. If your veteran is still alive, I hope that you can take the opportunity to talk to them about their experience in the war(s).
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L.Sea. Alfred "Wiggy" Bennett . Royal Navy HMS Havock from Liverpool, England My Dad, Alfred Bennett was a lead submarine detector. He served upon many ships during the War. He told me of the time he was aboard the Havock when it was torpedoed off the coast of Africa. He swam to shore and was taken prisoner by the Vichy French. He was taken by train to a prison camp, over some very steep mountains. He said you could look straight down from the train, it was so steep. I have a copy of some of his service records that show that he was reported missing, now found and safe in the U.K. He didn't tell me much about the camp. I wish now that I had asked him more questions and that I had recorded our conversations about his time in the Royal Navy and as a Prisoner of War.
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Sgt. Alfred Stephenson Bennett . Royal Australian Air Force No. 407 (Demon) Sqdn. Royal Canadian Air Force from Elizabeth Bay, NSW, Australia (d.21st June 1942)
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Pte. Alfred "Benny" Bennett . British Army 12th Btn. Highland Light Infantry from Glasgow (d.21st October 1940)
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Arthur William Bennett . British Army My Uncle Arthur Bennett was captured as a prisoner of war in Crete, and held in Stalag 383. I have 2 photos of him he was known as Barbed Wire Bookie.
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Pte. Arthur James "Little Benny" Bennett . British Army 8th Army Arthur Bennett was my uncle. He volunteered to join the Army in WW11. He was a driverand mechanic and served in the 78th Division of the 8th Army 1942-1946, but he was often moved about wherever troops were needed.
When meeting some of his regiment for the first time at the station, all standing at 6ft, they were far taller than him, hence they nicknamed him ‘Little Benny’. He was sent to El Alamein where, at just 19, he was shot through the arm. Only a whistle recalling the enemy at the last minute saved him from being killed or captured while he was trying to hide in the undergrowth. He served with the Royal Warwicks, Ox & Bucks, Essex Regiment and RAOC.
He was recalled to the Army as a reservist and sailed to Korea in 1951. He served in the No. 1 Commomwealth Division and survived some of the heaviest and ferocious fighting including the Battle of the Imdin River returning home in 1953 on the troopship Georgic which docked in Liverpool.
Arthur passed away 28th February 2018 aged 93. A quiet, kind, humorous man, we think he had a lot of untold stories.
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Flt Sgt Bert Bennett . Royal Air Force from Wallingford Flight Sergeant Bennett was my uncle who I only saw a photograph of. He was my mother's brother and all I know was he was killed in a crash landing near Abingdon returning I believe from a mission over France. I am not even sure of his first name it was either Bert or Reg, my Mother is long dead so I have no further details other than a childhood memory.
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