Hi, Can anyone please point me in the direction of more info regarding the likely action in which Lance Sgt. Keith Armistice Theobald Haimes (great name eh?) was killed? He served with the 5th Btn. Wiltshire Regt. He was killed 2nd October 1944 and is buried in Groesbeek Canadian Cemetery, nr. Nijmegen, Holland. That's about all I know. Thanks.
Clive, The 5th Wilts from memory part of the 43td Wessex Div and they remained in the area between Nijmegen and Arnhem for several weeks after Operation Berlin. It's possible there may be some basic information on the 5th Wil;ts in the Battleground Europe book called The Island...think it's by Tim Saunders but might be wrong....
Because there is nothing written, i has little bearing on what actions they were took oart in. very often some pretty horific battles or actions took place but there was no one there to report it....simple as that. My lot were never mentioned in Normandy, all reference and reports about us were forbidden to be reported. Why? for no other reason that the Germans had not mentioned our mob in their list of known units in Normandy. The 43 Wessex div Great fighting div,the Wyverns. raised in my area of the Country,It was the Dorsets that the men out of Arnhem. Sapper
Page 214 of the book "The Fighting Wessex Wyverns" details a vicious fight on that day. "By 1400 hours 2 October, we had suffered large numbers of killed and wounded and B and D companies had to be combined into one company under Captain Rudd" (wrote Ron Garner) Unfortunately, Patrick Delaforce does not include a bibliography with his book
I have this transcription of 5th Wilts War Diary from The Wardrobe if anyone needs a look-up. https://www.ds-secure.co.uk/thewardrobe/prodInfo.php?prod_id=168
