A list of the men by Surname S - U

Promoted to Lieutenant on the 28th of January 1940.

Granted 10 days leave to England.

Richard married Barbara Joan Stuart-Roberts at St. Thomas-on-the-Bourne, Farnham, Surrey, on the 8th of April 1940. Richard's best-man was Lieutenant Kempthorne also on 10 days leave. They both served together in the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers.

Richard served as Motor Transport Officer, 6 Platoon, H.Q. Company.

On the 10th of May the German invaded France and the Low Countries. The 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers were ordered to Belgium although the route was heavy with refugees streaming the opposite way and soon was attacked by German Stuka dive bombers which caused little casualties but many road blockages further slowing the advance. It took the Motor Transport Company 6 days to reach their destination in Belgium where they met up with the rest of the Battalion. The 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers were suddenly ordered on the 18th of May to Arras, France due to the German breakthrough at Sedan.

Arriving at Arras on the 21st after struggling again through the refugees although this time moving in the same direction. Taking up positions below Vimy Ridge of World War One fame, Contact was made with the Germans and a combined Tank and Infantry attack took place which gained a good amount of ground. This was of no great use as the French on the right gave way. The enemy made a massive counter attack in which they used 400 tanks. All the British had to oppose them with, was a force of 33 old tanks with badly worn tracks. The situation was quite hopeless and General Franklin who commanded the 5th Division ordered the withdrawal. One of the problems was how could they extract the transport as a lot of the roads were impassable with shell craters and bombed vehicles.

Lieutenant Kempthorne recorded in his diary;

" Dick (Richard) and I set off on our Motor Cycles to try and find an escape route.

As far as we knew the Germans had not yet entered Arras itself as the main bridge over the River Somme to the city had been blown. It was night time and riding without lights, we entered the city and headed for the river to see if we could find a crossing point. Riding towards the bridge which had been blown, we turned the corner into the main street and saw a good deal of commotion going on, with much revving of heavy engines. We parked our bikes in an alleyway and removing our steel helmets, mingled with the crowds who were approaching a line of vehicles. To our horror we suddenly found ourselves alongside a tank with the distinctive German Iron cross markings and the crew wearing German uniforms. Pulling the collars of our jackets well up on our necks and thankful that we had left our tin hats by our bikes; we back through the crowd of spectators and returned to our machines. Driving madly back to Vimy Ridge. It was obvious that the enemy had managed to throw a bridge across the river and exit in that area was impossible. Arriving back with the transport section, we found out that the main road Northward had been cleared, there were many hazards, but it was at least passable. Assembling the convoy, we headed North towards Lens. The refugees were a constant nuisance, blocking our way, I well remember firing my revolver over their heads, in an effort to show them that we were not fooling, and that they had to leave us a clear route. This worked wonders! This was on the 23rd of May. The Battalion had managed to carry out a withdrawal, and were in an action at Douai, after which they were provided with troop transports to ferry them to Seclin, where we met up with them."

By now it was appeared the whole of the B.E.F. was surrounded and General Lord Gort, who was commanding the B.E.F. ordered the 5th Division to cover the withdrawal of the rest of the British Army, as a total evacuation through the Port of Dunkirk seemed a possibility. The 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers took up position along the Ypres-Comines Canal, and dug in on the 25th of May. Heavy fighting took place and the Battalion was forced back to the other side of the canal. By the 27th of May it seemed getting back to England seemed very remote.

Lieutenant Kempthorne recorded in his diary;

" Making a short Recce: Dick (Richard) and I rode down the road and were amazed to see the drivers of one unit, armed with sledge hammers, bashing the hell out of all their vehicles, slashing tyres and generally wrecking each vehicle in turn. We made enquiries and were told that they had been ordered to destroy all their vehicles and after that every man was to get to the coast, the best way he could and head for Britain.

No way, were they to attempt to drive the trucks or whatever, as this would cause congestion on the roads and get in the way of the troops still fighting. We returned to our HQ at the Farmhouse, to find out that we had not received any orders about destroying our transport. As we were discussing the matter, a dispatch rider from Battalion arrived and handed us an urgent signal, telling us that they were running out of ammunition and that a further supply was urgently required. Two large three ton trucks were already loaded with ammunition, calling the drivers, we ordered them to follow our motor cycles. We had no maps of the area and had been given no map reference and could only rely on the information that we had extracted from the battalion dispatch rider, regarding the position of the BHQ. We had a vague and headed for the village of Voormozelle. Leaving the village, we found ourselves on a ridge in open country. Getting the truck drivers to put their vehicles under cover, we moved along the ridge, stopping from time to time to establish our position. We felt quite certain that we were going the right direction, as we recognised hill 60 in the distance. Just below us we could see the odd stretch of a canal. We had not reached the highest point of the ridge, so we thought that by getting there, we might get a better view through field glasses. We stopped our bikes and Dick dismounted, while I remained in the saddle with my feet on the ground. Suddenly there was an enormous flash and I found myself on the ground with the heavy bike on top of me. I must have been unconscious for a moment, for when I came to; Dick had pulled the bike off me and was pulling my first aid dressing out of its pocket in my battledress. I felt a hot stream of blood, flowing out of my head and just above my right eye, and I could see nothing with either eye. Dick must have laid me out on the ground and placed the field dressing over the injured area. It turned out that the Germans, must have spotted us on the ridge and let fly with a mortar shell, a large fragment of which had hit me just above the right eye. The curious thing was that Dick had been standing closer to the explosion than I was and although knocked to the ground, was not in any way hit. We were both wearing steel helmets, but when riding a motorcycle, one tends to tip the thing backwards, to avoid getting wind under the rim, so my forehead was not protected! While Dick was attending to my wound I heard a car pull up and I heard Dick say “It’s the Brigade Commander, Monty Stopford.” Helping Dick to get me into his car, I remember him saying “ He looks bad, I will take him to the dressing station, Which is just down the road.” I then heard the brigadier, giving Dick the exact whereabouts of Battalion HQ and he shot off to pick up the two trucks and from what I gathered he, though very shaken was able to deliver the goods. The Brigadier dropped me off at the dressing station, which was housed in what had been a monastery, and had been taken over by the Royal Army Medical Corps. The Brigadier must have had a busy day, as another friend of mine, who was wounded on the same day was also taken to the same dressing station by this kind gentleman!

Lieutenant John Philip Kempthorne lost an eye and was evacuated via Dunkirk and survived the war.

At about midnight on the 28th of May 1940 orders were received that the line had to be held at all costs to allow the safe withdrawal of the bulk of the B.E.F., at this period the C.O. (Colonel Tod) was collecting the remains of the battalion round a farm to make a final stand. His answer to the Commander-in-Chief’s message was “Tell the Brigadier I am not going a foot back”.

Brigade H.Q. destroyed all it's paperwork and dispatched the last of it's wounded to the rear, the battalion existed of the remains of C, D and HQ Coys spread out between the farm and the woods that held the remains of the old "white house" manor, which was destroyed during WW1. At 4.00.am the Germans began to attack and fierce fighting continued throughout the morning and early afternoon when the situation became helpless and running low on ammunition and with many wounded the remaining men surrendered.

Richard with the Motor Transport Company managed to escape, while others were collected under the command of the C.O. of the 6th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders. These men withdraw to Dunkirk over the next couple of days and were evacuated and reached England on the 1st of June 1940. Back in England the remains of the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers collected at Blackdown Camp, Deepcut, Surrey. Brigadier Stopford wrote:

"the numbers gradually mounted to 250 in the camp at Blackdown near Aldershot where the survivors were assembled—more, he says, than he had dared to hope for."

These Royal Scots Fusiliers had made their escapes as individuals and small groups, crossing through German lines and either escaping through Dunkirk with other units or through Le Havre.

Appointed as Acting Captain Royal Scots Fusiliers, on the 10th of June 1940.

Appointed Temporary Captain Royal Scots Fusiliers. on the 10th of September 1940.

Promoted to Captain, unknown date.

Appointed as Adjutant 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on the 25th of January 1941.

Promoted to Major, unknown date.

After 2 years of Home Defence service the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers were ordered once more overseas. Joining the 17th Brigade in the 5th Division the Battalion was part of Force 121. Sailing on the 17th of March 1942, Force 121 took part in the first British amphibious assault since the disastrous landings in the Dardanelles (Gallipoli, Turkey) twenty-seven years before, against the Vichy French controlled island of Madagascar. Operation Ironclad started on the 5th of May 1942, with landings at Courrier Bay and Ambararata Bay, just west of the major port of Diego Suarez (later known as Antsiranana), at the northern tip of Madagascar.

The French defence was highly effective in the beginning and the main Allied force was brought to a halt by the morning of the 6th of May. The deadlock was broken when the destroyer H.M.S. Anthony dashed straight past the harbour defences of Diego Suarez and landed 50 Royal Marines amidst the Vichy rear area. The Marines created "disturbance in the town out of all proportion to their numbers" and the Vichy defence was soon broken. Diego Suarez was surrendered on the 7th of May, although substantial Vichy forces withdrew to the south. Hostilities continued at a low level for several months on Madagascar but after the 19th May two brigades of the 5th Infantry Division were transferred to India.

On the 20th of August 1942, the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers were posted to Iraq arriving there on the 28th of August.

Posted to Persia on the 28th of September 1942.

Posted to Syria on the 1st of February 1943, arriving there on the 13th.

Posted to Egypt on the 11th of June 1943, arriving there on the 28th of June 1943.

Posted to Sicily, sailing on the 29th of June 1943.

Took part in Operation Husky landings on Sicily on the 10th of July 1943. Landings were made in the early hours of the 10th of July on 26 main beaches spread along 105 miles of the southern and eastern coasts of the island. By the evening of the 10th of July, the seven Allied assault divisions three American, three British and one Canadian, were well established ashore, the port of Syracuse had been captured and fears of an Axis air onslaught had proved unfounded. The Allied army pushed inland and by the 17th/18th of July fighting for Catania met fierce resistance.

The 5th Division was now nearing the loops of the Simeto river, and on the afternoon of the 18th July the 13th Brigade began to advance to the river line while the rest of the Division was moving up. The Inniskillings found an intact bridge at Paso del Sico, known to the Division as “Lemon Bridge “, and the whole Battalion crossed by night after subduing a small enemy post. It was fiercely counter-attacked by German paratroops, who had withdrawn from the bridge temporarily to allow for an artillery concentration and had then been sent back. The 2nd Wiltshires secured a smaller bridgehead further downstream, from which they made contact with Canadian tanks attached to the Division. At about this time the Germans broke through between the two Battalions, led by Tiger tanks, but were turned back by the 2nd Cameronians in reserve.

The British guns, back in “Messerschmitt Valley “, were out of range and were brought forward into an exposed position to support a night attack by the 15th Brigade intended to enlarge the 13th’s bridgehead over Lemon Bridge. During the night the three Yorkshire Battalions of the 15th Brigade were badly shattered, one of the casualties being Captain Hedley Verity, the famous cricketer, who died in captivity. At daylight on the 19th of July the whole brigade was caught in the middle of the Catanian Plain and was heavily shelled by German artillery firing from Mount Etna. The survivors managed to withdraw to a more favourable position. In the meantime the 13th Brigade had moved to its right to establish firm contact with the both Division. This was the situation when the Scots Fusiliers arrived on the River Simeto from Lentini. The 13th Brigade was withdrawn and rested before being sent westward to come under command of the 51st (Highland) Division. The 17th Brigade, plus one Battalion of the 15th Brigade, entered the divisional line on the night of 21st/22nd of July, the Scots Fusiliers relieving the 2nd Cameronians of the 13th Brigade. “C “and” D” Companies went forward, with “ A” and “ B” Companies in reserve. On the left were the 1st King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry of the 15th Brigade, and on the right the 2nd Northamptonshires.

It was now evident that the direct road to Catania over the Simeto was barred, at a point only six miles distant from the town. Any attempt to reach Catania by crossing the intervening rivers on the plain, which were completely overlooked by artillery observation posts on Etna and stoutly defended, was clearly impracticable. Instead, General Montgomery decided to skirt round the Plain of Catania, wheeling XXX Corps on the pivot of XIII Corps, which was ordered to remain active on the line of the Simeto to conceal the real intention. So far XXX Corps, which had landed on 10th/11th of July with other forces on the Pachino Peninsula to secure the left flank of XIII Corps and to maintain contact with the American Seventh Army, had not been much engaged.

Catania was so tantalisingly close as to give the feeling that even if it could not be rushed it might be entered by stealth. The condition of the roads for wheeled and tracked traffic had deteriorated, and prospects of a successful attack across country by tanks were not improved by a network of irrigation and drainage ditches which made a geometrical pattern on the plain. In particular, one long ditch, the Fossa Botticelli, which lay about two miles beyond the Simeto river, was too deep for armour to cross or, once in, to get out of. Night patrolling by the Scots Fusiliers, and resultant encounters with an enemy bent on holding his ground by means of scattered posts and counter-patrol, became a regular routine. The British artillery, reinforced daily from the ports and beaches, was deployed in a wide arc round the perimeter of the Catania Plain, on the heights to the south-west and even in pits on the lower levels. The guns were continuously in action, day and night. The two-mile front line was held by the 17th Brigade, with under command a company of the Cheshire Regiment, which supplied the machine gun support for ten days without relief while infantry reliefs were drawn from the 15th Brigade. A gap of six miles between the two Corps, XXX and XIII, was filled by the 5th Reconnaissance Regiment, which was disposed roughly along the line of the Gornalunga river, one of the several tributaries of the Simeto.

There could be no activity by day in the infantry positions sited near Lemon Bridge, where the Scots Fusiliers and the other Battalions lay, and no movement was possible on the highway to Catania.

Killed In Action on the 23rd of July 1943, aged 26.

On the Brigade’s first day in the line, Major R. H. B. Shakespear, the Brigade Major, a former adjutant of the Battalion and a survivor of the Ypres-Comines Canal, had driven up the road in his jeep in the afternoon and had been instantly spotted and killed by accurate shellfire. Transport ventured near Lemon Bridge only at night, and all rations and stores had to be manhandled up to the forward companies.

Buried at Catania War Cemetery, Catania, Sicily.

Grave Reference: IV. G. 41.

Remembered on the Camberley War Memorial.

Son of Harry Talbot Shakespear and Winifred Constance Shakespear of Kincurdie, Heathway, Camberley, Surrey; husband of Barbara Joan Shakespear (nee Stuart-Roberts), of Rookwood, Shortheath Road, Farnham, Surrey.

Alexander Marshall, Shearer 1916 - 1944;

Born on the 19th of October 1916 at Pitglassie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Alexander left school at age 14 and was an apprentice Cook.

Emigrated to Canada, about 1931.

Living at Corn Hill, Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada. Occupation is a Dairy Farmer and Labourer. Self employed and working since 1931, earning $10 a week. Alexander's hobbies include Skating, Hunting and Fishing. He also played Baseball as a Catcher for his local team.

Alexander purchased a farm at Corn Hill, King's County, New Brunswick with a mortgage for $1200. He owned this farm but worked away from it.

Enlisted on the 4th of September 1939 at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.

New Brunswick Rangers.

Service No: G/27267.

Rank: Private.

Posted on the 6th of October 1939 for Basic and Advanced Training, New Brunswick Rangers, at St. John, New Brunswick.

Authorised to draw Tradesmans pay Class C while employed as a Cook, on the 2nd of April 1940.

Granted Furlough from the 19th until the 26th of April 1940.

Awarded Leave from 12.00pm on the 11th of May until 6.00am on the 13th of May 1940.

Ceases to draw Tradesmans Pay Class C.

Granted Tradesmans Pay Class C as Cook on the 8th of April 1941.

Admitted to Valcartier Camp Hospital with Vincent's Angina (Trench Mouth), on the 20th of June 1941. Discharged on the 1st of July.

Granted Furlough from the 26th of July until the 9th of August 1941.

Awarded Good Conduct Medal on the 10th of September 1941.

Transferred to No.6 District Depot, Halifax Depot, on the 10th of December 1941.

Transferred to Infantry Holding Uni, Armoured Division at Camp Borden on the 13th of December 1941.

Posted to the Cape Breton Highlanders for training on the 11th of December until the 14th of December 1941.

Posted with the 1st Cape Breton Highlanders to the 5th Canadian Division, on the 14th of December 1941.

Granted Embarkation and Christmas Leave from the 20th of December 1941 until the 2nd of January 1942.

Posted to England, Embarked at Canada on the 8th of January and disembarked in England on the 19th of January 1942.

Posted to the No.5 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit on the 21st of January 1942.

Appointed Provost Corporal on the 21st of January 1942.

A Lieutenant T. L. Hoskin remarks in Alexanders Records;

"Very nervous and backwards for an N.C.O. Definitely inferior type N.C.O. for anything but Provost. Not best type for that. Appeases and acts weak".

Granted Privileged Leave to the 5th of February 1942.

Appointed Lance Corporal with Pay on the 18th of April 1942.

Granted 2nd Privileged Leave from the 24th of June until the 1st of July 1942.

Granted 3rd Privileged Leave from 16th until the 23rd of September 1942.

Granted 4th Privileged for 48 hours until the 15th of January 1943.

Appointed Lance Corporal Regimental Police A Wing No.5 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit on the 1st of February 1943.

Granted Permission to Marry on or after the 18th of November 1943, on the 22nd of September 1943. Alexander's records show that he and Olive had known each other for a year and a half.

Charged with Absent without leave and allowing a person to escape committed to his charge, on the 18th of November 1943.

Alexander married Olive Auton on the 20th of November 1943 at Aldershot, Hampshire. Registered at Surrey North Western. Olive was living at Glenhoy, Glenmount Road, Mytchett, Surrey.

Reverts to Permanent Grade of Private to escape charges on the 27th of November 1943.

Ceases to hold qualification as Cook at own request on the 24th of December 1943.

Awarded the Canadian Volunteer Medal on the 15th of January 1944.

Transferred to No.4 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit on the 20th of March 1944.

Posted to France embarking in England on the 16th of August and disembarking in France on the 17th of August 1944.

Posted to X4 List (Unposted reinforcements in the theatre of war) on the 16th of August 1944.

Posted to the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps, on the 22nd of August 1944.

The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, R.C.I.C. had landed in France on D-Day the 6th of June 1944 and by the 22nd of August had fought their way to Trun, clearing the Falaise Pocket. The Regiment fought across France via Rouen, Eu, Le Hamel and Boulogne, moved into the Netherlands and took part in the amphibious landing across the Savojaardsplaat, and advanced to Knokke by way of Breskens. It moved next to Nijmegen to relieve the airborne troops, and helped guard the bridge while the Rhine crossing was prepared.

Killed In Action on the 12th of October 1944, aged 27.

Alexander was killed in the battle for the Breskens Pocket, code named Operation Switchback. It was the crucial first stage in the struggle to open the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. The SD&G Highlanders were told to take Hoofdplaat, Netherlands and then advance west along the coast. The village was strongly defended and while fighting for Hoofdplaat, the SD&G Highlanders took heavy casualties, more than 70 in two days.

Alexander's daughter Vivian Kay Shearer was born on the 18th of October 1944.

Originally buried in the area of Thomaes Orchard of farm house by dyke 187147 Ijzendijke (Netherlands) sheet 22 NW 1/25,000.

Reinterred at Adegem Canadian War Cemetery, Adegem, Belgium, on the 12th of June 1945

Grave Reference: VII. B. 7.

Alexander's widow wrote the following letters;

"Dear Sir,

Thank you for your letter of sympathy. I had my baby born just a week after my husband was killed so I think you will understand when I say it has made me feel rather hard. I have tried to understand that God willed it so but fail to understand why the best go first.

I am proud of my husband and know he died as he wanted to "fighting".

Thanking you sincerely,

I am Sir.

Yours faithfully.

Mrs A. M. Shearer."

"6/11/44

Dear Sir,

I wonder if you can give me any help regarding my husbands property & insurance. First I am the widow of Pte. A. M. Shearer No G-27267 SD & GH who was killed in action on the 12th Oct. I understand he had a farm in Canada also an insurance policy on his life. Also will it be possible to get any of his personal belongings as he carried things of sentimental value which I would like for my daughter. Hoping you will be able to oblige.

Thanking you in anticipation

Mrs A.M. Shearer."

Alexanders' widow received the following items;

1 Gold Signet, Snaps (photos), Post Cards and Red "I" Dise. Dated the 18th of January 1945.

"Dear Sir,

I received this morning the wallet bearing my husbands initials, that was part of his property, only he didn't call that a wallet he called it his purse, inside you probably seen the small charm, that was identified by my people. Thanking you very much for your thoughtfullness (sic) in forwarding same.

I remain

Yours sincerely

Mrs A. M. Shearer."

"Dear Sir,

I'm afraid I cannot sign the enclosed forms because I feel sure that my husband had more with him than what you forwarded on to me. I have had his friend (the one who was with him when he was killed) to see me and he said my husband had two wallets (the snaps from out of them have been returned), 1 Ladies Fob watch, 1 Gents wrist watch with a face on the back, also a Gents Pocket Watch, a fountain pen tobacco pouch and pipe. I don't know whether I should receive his A.B. 64 but would be grateful if you could help me recover it. Surely he had some money in his pocket if it was only loose change. The things that have been mislaid are of no real value, just sentimental value to me.

Hoping you can help me to recover the other articles.

I am

Yours sincerely

Mrs O Shearer."

"25/4/45

Dear Sir,

Sorry I haven't answered your letter's sooner but I have been trying to find the man again who came back from abroad.

I know his name is Pte Massey but that is all I can you I don't even know his number or regiment. If it is going to cause you any worry please don't bother about anything.

Yours Sincerley

(G27267) (Mrs) O. Shearer."

Son of Alexander Marshall Shearer and Annie Shearer; husband of Olive Shearer, formerly of Briar Cottage, Frimley Green Road, Frimley, Camberley, Surrey, now of Glenmalure, Grand Avenue, Camberley, Surrey.

George Kenneth James Shears 1923 - 1943;

Born between April and June 1923. Registered at Pembroke, Wales.

Living at 20 Obelisk Street, Camberley, Surrey, in 1927.

George's father died in 1930.

Living at 21 Upland Road, Camberley, Surrey, in 1937.

Educated at R.A.F. Cranwell, Lincolnshire, 1939.

In September 1939, 595 young hopefuls arrived at R.A.F. Cranwell as the 1J9 and 1M9, 40th Entry to train as Instrument Makers (1J9), Wireless Operator Mechanics or Wireless Electrical Mechanics (1M9). The Instrument Fitters all transferred to R.A.F. Halton in August 1940 to complete their training, but because of the shortage of Instrument Fitters, their course length was further reduced and they were retitled the 1J6 (40th) Entry Passing Out on the 18th June 1941. The Cranwell 1M9's Passed Out in September 1941.

During their training the Entry gained 18 from earlier Entries, while 34 of their number were re-classed to later Entries. Thus 597 Passed out.

No less than 140 (over 22%, or almost a quarter) were killed While On Active Service in WW2, including two as Aircraft Apprentices still under training.

Course 1M9 - Wireless Electrical Mechanics, completed in September 1941.

Royal Air Force.

Service No. 576625.

Trade: Wireless Operator Mechanic/Air Gunner.

Promoted to Sergeant, unknown date.

Posted to No.230 Squadron R.A.F., unknown date.

Following the declaration of war, No. 230 Squadron moved to Egypt and mounted anti-submarine patrols over the Mediterranean. Operations stepped up with the entry of Italy to the War, and the unit's aircraft transported freight and troops between Egypt and North Africa before joining the evacuation of Greece, Yugoslavia and Crete during 1941. In January 1943, No. 230 moved to East Africa for patrols over the Indian Ocean.

Killed On Active Service on the 29th of December 1943, aged 20.

Short S.25 Sunderland EJ140 was a flying boat patrol bomber, that took off from Mombassa, Kenya, on a non-operational calibration flight on the 29th of December 1943. Flying in thick cloud the aircraft impacted Sangala Hills near Voi, Kenya, killing all 8 crewmembers

Buried at Forest Road Cemetery, Nairobi, Kenya.

Grave Reference: Block 16. Grave 40.

Remembered on the Guildford War Memorial, Guildford, Surrey.

Remembered on the Camberley War Memorial.

Son of George James Shears and Minnie Edith Lock (formerly Shears nee Pitt), and stepson of William Alfred Lock, of 21 Upland Road, Camberley, Surrey.

Arthur Hugh, Sheldon 1918 - 1944;

Born at Burma.

Embarked at Rangoon, Burma aboard the Henderson, and disembarked at Liverpool, on the 24th of March 1920.

Educated at University in London, unknown University or dates.

Awarded a Bachelor of Science Engineering (B.Sc., Eng.).

Awarded a Diploma for Structural Engineering, City and Guilds of London., unknown date.

Living at Melrose, Westcott Road, Dorking, Surrey, 1939.

Enlisted unknown date.

Royal Engineers.

Service No: 2007551.

Rank: Sapper.

Appointed Lance Corporal, unknown date.

Promoted to Corporal, unknown date.

Posted to the Middle East, unknown date.

Died on the 18th of March 1944, aged 26.

Buried at Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery, Baghdad, Iraq.

Grave Reference: 23. G. 10.

Most of the 296 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried in the cemetery died of illness or by accident when serving with PAIFORCE (Persia and Iraq Force).

Whilst the current climate of political instability persists it is extremely challenging for the Commission to manage or maintain its cemeteries and memorials located within Iraq. A two volume Roll of Honour listing all casualties buried and commemorated in Iraq has been produced. These volumes are on display at the Commission's Head Office in Maidenhead and are available for the public to view.

Son of the Revd. Arthur William Sheldon and Mildred Sheldon, of Kalaw, The Avenue, Camberley, Surrey. His brother John Davis Sheldon, also died on service (See Below).

John Davis, Sheldon 1921 - 1942;

Born between January and March 1921. Registered at Wolverhampton, Staffordshire.

Living at Rotherham, Yorkshire, on enlistment.

Enlisted unknown date.

Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps.

Service No: 7942076.

Rank: Trooper.

Posted to North Africa, unknown date.

John served with the 1st Royal Tank Regiment. R.A.C.

Wounded In Action on the 2nd of July 1942.

Died of Wounds, on the 3rd of July 1942, aged 21.

Buried at El Alamein War Cemetery, El Alamein, Egypt.

Grave Reference: XXVII. H. 18.

Remembered on the Rotherham War Memorial.

Son of the Revd. Arthur William Sheldon and Mildred Sheldon, of Kalaw, The Avenue, Camberley, Surrey. His brother Arthur Hugh also died on service (See Above),

Joseph Donald, Shilling 1918 - 1940;

Born between April and June 1918. Registered at Guildford, Surrey.

Living at Wal Don, 117 Coleford Bridge Road, Frimley Green (Mytchett), Surrey, 1939.

Enlisted unknown date.

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Service No: 741468.

Joseph qualified as a Pilot.

Rank: Sergeant.

Posted to No. 50 Squadron. R.A.F., unknown date.

Attached to No. 106 Squadron, unknown date.

Died on Active Service on the 7th of December 1940, aged 22.

On 7th December 1940 John and crew member Sgt. John Thomson, were on a night training exercise aboard Handley Page Hampden medium bomber, Registration L4103. Taking off from R.A.F. Finningley, Yorkshire, they were flying the Finningley Circuit when struck by lightening. The strike caused a propeller to detach, the aircraft became unstable and crashed near Blaxton, Yorkshire, killing all aboard.

Buried at Victoria Road Cemetery, Farnborough, Hampshire, on the 13th of December 1940.

Grave Reference: Sec. L. Grave 154.

Remembered on the Lych Gate Memorial, St. Andrew's, Frimley Green, Surrey.

Remembered on the Camberley War Memorial.

Son of Joseph Duncan and Annie Jane Shilling (nee Chapman) of Wal Don, 117 Coleford Bridge Road, Frimley Green (Mytchett), Surrey; husband of Lillian Louie Shilling, of 30 Pinehurst Cottages, Farnborough, Hampshire.

Edward Davidson, Short 1904 - 1940;

Born between October and December 1904. Registered at Belfast, Ireland.

Living at Stapleton House, Dartmouth, Devon, in the 1911 census. Edwards father is an Engineer Commander in the Royal Navy.

Educated at Bromsgrove School, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Educated at University, unknown University and dates.

University Candidate Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant King's Own Regiment (Liverpool) on the 30th of August 1924. Published in the London Gazette on the 29th of August 1924. Issue 32969, Page 6500.

Promoted to Lieutenant King's Own Regiment (Liverpool) on the 30th of August 1926. Published in the London Gazette on the 3rd of September 1926. Issue 33198, Page 5759.

Appointed as Adjutant King's Own Regiment (Liverpool) on the 25th of June 1927. Published in the London Gazette on the 5th of July 1927. Issue 33291, Page 4325.

Promoted to Captain King's Own Regiment (Liverpool) on the 21st of January 1934. Published in the London Gazette on the 20th of February 1934. Issue 34025, Page 1155.

Edward married Naomi Scott Barrett, between October and December 1934. Registered at Crosby, Lancashire.

Service No: 30929.

Living at The Auld House, Portsmouth Road, Camberley, Surrey, in 1939.

Living at The White House, Great Barrow, Chester, Cheshire, in 1940.

Posted to the B.E.F. in France,

Killed In Action on the 1st of June 1940, aged 36.

The British Expeditionary Force was involved in the later stages of the defence of Belgium following the German invasion in May 1940, and suffered many casualties in covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk.

De Panne village was the site of the final General Headquarters of the BEF in 1940, and there was a Casualty Clearing Station on the beach, which was an embarkation beach for the evacuation. From the 27th of May to the 1st of June 1940, the Germans strove to prevent the embarkation of the troops by incessant bombing, machine-gunning and shelling. The first German troops reached the village between 2.00pm and 3.00pm on the 31st of May, and after heavy fighting, the commune was completely occupied by about 9.00am on the 1st of June 1940.

Buried at De Panne Communal Cemetery, De Panne, Belgium.

Grave Reference: Plot 1. Row B. Grave 30.

Remembered on the Bromsgrove School Memorial, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Remembered on the Camberley War Memorial.

Son of Captain Edward Albert Short, R.N., and Ida Elizabeth Short; husband of Naomi Scott Short, of Trenance, Crawley Hill, Camberley, Surrey.

Service No. 75265.

Living at Beechleigh, Brackendale Road, Camberley, Surrey, 1939.

Posted from the General List to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps on the 26th of July 1939. Published in the London Gazette on the 25th of July 1939. Supplement 34648, Page 5108.

Posted to the B.E.F in France, May 1940.

Mike served with the 2nd Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps, in charge of the Bren-gun carriers of A Company, Scout Platoon.

Calais was in chaos, with the town already reeling from enemy air attacks, with the Germans planning on occupying the town, along with Boulogne and Dunkirk. 2nd King's Royal Rifle Corps arrived in Calais on the afternoon of 23rd May. At 6 a.m. on the 24th May 2nd Lieutenant E. Grismond (‘Gris’) B. Davies-Scourfield recorded;

“Mike Sinclair’s scout platoon from ‘A’ Company was sent up to cover the area between ‘B’ and ‘D’ companies. I saw Mike as he came up to check our positions: always methodical, he was carrying a huge mapboard, scrupulously marked up in chinagraph with the latest battle situation.”.

During the afternoon of 24th May, Airey Neave, who had been wounded, met Sinclair and recalled:

“A scout car of the 60th came towards us in the command of a young officer who was to become famous in the history of the regiment. This was Michael Sinclair of ‘A’ Company, shot dead in 1944 while trying to escape from Colditz prison camp… Sinclair, although busy with his battle plans, smilingly drew my attention to a van flying the Red Cross. This was an improvised ambulance smelling strongly of stale vegetables. I was bundled into it and driven at high speed as far as the centre bridge over the canal… He was about to move to the support of Lord Cromwell, where he held on to a very exposed position until dusk. That evening, Sinclair did much to prevent the Germans from breaking through on the south-west. His success was also due to Sergeant Bennett, who led a section of carriers… When I think of these fine men, I am able to measure how small was my own contribution to the defence of Calais." (Airey Neave, “The Flames of Calais”).

As the day progressed it became clear that the defensive line employed by Brigadier Nicholson, who was using the series of 19th century ramparts and moats that ran for some 8 miles, could not be held for another day and a withdrawal to the line of canals surrounding the Old Town was ordered. Three bridges led across these canals and were to be the scene of some of the bitterest fighting.

Calais was eventually surrendered by Brigadier Nicholson on the morning of the 26th May 1940. Mike Sinclair was one of those taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans.

German Prisoner of War No. 850.

Mike was sent to Oflag VII-C at Laufen Castle, near to Salzburg, Bavaria, Germany. While here Mike made his first attempt at escape shortly after Christmas 1940. German guards got to hear of the tunnel the prisoners were digging and both Gris Davies-Scourfield and Mike Sinclair were sentenced to 42 days solitary confinement.

Mike was transferred to Stalag XXI-D P.O.W. camp at Poznań, in the north of Poland, early 1941.

By this time the Germans were treating prisoners quite badly, in reprisal for alleged poor conditions for Germans held in Canada.

On the 28th of May 1941, Mike Sinclair escaped from Fort VIII, Stalag XXI-D, along with Gris Davies-Scourfield and Ronnie Littledale concealed in a modified handcart. They received assistance from Polish citizens and travelled through Łódź, Kaluskia, Lubochnia-Gorki to Tomazow Maz with the intention of reaching Russia. Learning of the German invasion of the U.S.S.R. they changed their plans and walked to Warsaw, where they lived in hiding from the 25th of June to the 26th of August. Davies-Scourfield remained in Warsaw while Sinclair and Littledale travelled by train to Kraków and onward to Zakopane, alighting at the station before the main city. They walked across the Slovakian border and were driven to Rožňava, where they caught the night train to Budapest. There they stayed for a month before travelling again by train to Yugoslavia through Szeged to Pančevo, then across the River Danube by ferry to Belgrade.

On the 11th of November they took a train to Jagodina and five days later, took the Sofia train to Bela Palanka. From here they crossed the Yugoslav–Bulgarian frontier by horse-drawn cart. While walking to meet another cart they were stopped by a Bulgarian customs official who, on seeing their Yugoslav papers, took them into custody. They were handed over to the Bulgarian police in Pirot and moved from there to Sofia. Following interrogation, on the 27th of November, they were handed over to the German police. Moved from Sofia to Belgrade they were then moved to Vienna and held in the military prison from the 2nd of December to the 17th of January 1942. They were then taken by train, escorted by one Feldwebel and a soldier in the direction of Dresden, Germany. Seizing an opportunity between Prague and Roudnice, both managed to escape from the moving train through a lavatory window. Unfortunately, Sinclair was spotted and having hurt his leg jumping from the train, was soon recaptured. Littledale avoided capture and eventually headed for Switzerland but was caught in Husinec on the 29th of May, while trying to avoid the police activity in and around Prague after the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich two days earlier. Both men were interviewed by the Gestapo before being sent to Colditz Castle.

Oflag IV-C, referred to as Colditz Castle because of its location, was one of the most noted German Army prisoner-of-war camps for captured enemy officers during World War II. Mike Sinclair made his first escape attempt from Colditz after he was sent to a hospital in Leipzig to receive treatment for sinusitis. On the 2nd of June 1942, he escaped through a hospital window and made it as far as Cologne, however good fortune was not with him and he was taken into custody once more. The R.A.F. had recently made its first one-thousand bomber raid on the city, causing massive devastation and loss of life, and so it was that he arrived to find the local population intensely alert and roused by reports that a bomber had been shot down and that the crew had parachuted into some nearby woodland. Mike was first taken to a nearby Stalag before he was to return to Oflag IV-C, however his bid for freedom was not finished and, on the 8th of June, he made another attempt and was taken to Leipzig for court martial, managing to escape again whilst in the lavatory at the Leipzig barracks. He was recaptured a few days later in Cologne. In October, Littledale and three others escaped successfully, making it to Switzerland.

Mike's next attempt to get out of Colditz was not made until the 26th of November 1942, when he and a Dutchman, Charles Klein, successfully got out of the castle by simply walking through the German kitchens shortly after the guards had taken their lunch break. Quite how they achieved this remains a mystery, passwords were changed on a daily basis, yet all the security checks which lay between the kitchens and the outside world failed to stop them. Two days later, the pair were caught in Immendingen, Germany. Once more Sinclair managed to escape again before he was returned to Colditz, however he was recaptured on the 30th November.

Mike was an individual in every sense of the word, he kept his own counsel and seldom welcomed company. He was driven by a desire to personally cause as much damage to Germany as possible, this was his duty and one to which his own safety was entirely secondary. So single-minded was he that he had few friends and was certainly not an easy man to talk to, although everyone greatly respected his ability. A fellow prisoner, Mike Edwards, said,

"For Mike Sinclair, there was God - then the Sixtieth (KRRC), and that was it. His only aim in life was to get back to his Regiment."

Pat Ferguson remarked,

"The only times I ever spoke to him in the Colditz yard he just wanted to get out and kill as many Germans as possible. He seemed to be on a personal crusade between himself and the whole of Hitler's occupied Europe." His brush with the Gestapo in Poland contributed much to his determination.

Gris Davies-Scourfield, himself an outstanding escaper, was impressed by Sinclair’s determination;

“I would wake up in the middle of the night, as we were usually in the same room. Mike would be standing at the window just watching the sentries patrolling below, counting the number of seconds it took them to turn around and walk back on their beats. He was constantly looking for any information that might be useful to him”.

Although prone to making an improvised escape whenever he spotted the opportunity, Sinclair was also a ruthless planner who considered even the finest of details. No other escape that Sinclair attempted demonstrated his thoroughness more than his plan to impersonate Stabsfeldwebel (Sergeant Major) Rothenberger who, with his enormous moustache, was probably the most distinctive guard in the camp. Known to the prisoners as 'Franz Josef' for his strong resemblance to Franz Josef, the former Austrian Emperor.

Mike noted that each night, Rothenberger carried out an inspection of the sentries on the road that ran alongside the camp and down to the exercise park. Mike's plan was to disguise himself as Rothenberger and, accompanied by two German-speaking prisoners dressed as guards, inspect the sentry positions himself and dismiss each of them in turn, replacing them with his own guards. With this accomplished and that side of the castle left completely unguarded, twenty men were to abseil out of a window and disappear into the night. It would be a race against time as the dismissed sentries would return to the guardroom and here the alarm would be raised because there before them would be the real Rothenberger. It was hoped that a further ten men could escape during this time, and Mike hoped to capitalise upon the inevitable confusion, first by maintaining his disguise and pretending to give chase to the escaping prisoners, and if any guards caught up with him he planned to order them back to the castle to fetch reinforcements. Every moment of delay would allow the escapers to increase the distance between themselves and the castle. It was amongst the more audacious schemes that Colditz inspired, but the entire plan, however, hinged upon whether Sinclair could "become" Rothenberger.

There were a number of factors in Mike's favour. Firstly he spoke excellent German and, like Rothenberger, he had red hair. It had been noted that the German guards held Rothenberger, a veteran of the First World War and holder of the Iron Cross, in very high esteem and were inclined to obey him without question. Mike decided to rely upon this and, with great care taken over his costume and appearance, it was hoped that the poor light and make-up would obscure the fact that the twenty-five year old Mike was thirty years younger than Rothenberger.

Mike devoted every moment of the day to trailing Rothenberger, studying his movements and his manner so that he might copy them precisely. He also developed a thick Saxon accent to his German. The men who were to play his sentries, meanwhile, studied and practiced the standard guard drill so that at a glance there would be nothing suspicious about them.

No fewer than fifty men involved in constructing the necessary materials. The material for the uniform and great coats that mike and his men were to wear were made from bed sheets and dyed to the precise shade of field grey that the German military used. Wooden rifles were carved for the sentries to carry, the dimensions of which were accurately obtained from the rifles that the guards carried, and measurements quickly taken whilst the guards were distracted. A study was made of the hat that Rothenberger wore and a felt and string replica was created by the theatre's prop department. For the finishing touches to Sinclair's disguise, an imitation Iron Cross was cast from zinc, which a prisoner had climbed onto the roof to collect. The most striking feature that Rothenberger had to offer, his handle-bar moustache, was made from shaving brushes and carefully crafted to the right size and shape. Meanwhile the prisoners who were to abseil out of a window chose to base themselves in the old Polish quarters, and here they worked the bars on the window and made them so that they could be removed in an instant while, to the casual eye, appeared to be undisturbed.

The escape took placed on the 2nd of September 1943. After the 9pm Appell, the prisoners returned to their quarters, except for Mike Sinclair and his two sentries, Lance Pope and John Hyde-Thomas, who disappeared into the room above the sick bay to put on their costumes. The prisoners who were to escape were locked inside their quarters but, naturally, let themselves out using a skeleton key and proceeded towards the old Polish quarters. Stooges kept a close eye on the movements of the guards and reported that they were in place as usual and that Rothenberger had retired to the guard house. Mike and his accomplices were lowered down through the floor and into the sick bay below. The window here had been similarly modified so that it could be removed, which the three men quickly did and climbed out onto the terrace. Tension built for the observing British prisoners as Mike relieved first one sentry and then another, their places taken by the British men.

The same story was successfully repeated to the third sentry, and all that now stood between the men and freedom were the two guards at the gate, one of which walked above on the catwalk. This proved to be the most stern test of Sinclair's disguise as the lighting in this area was more prominent. Climbing up and on to the catwalk, Sinclair dismissed the sentry with his usual ease and then approached the final guard on the gate.

The two men saluted each other and Mike asked the man to hand over the keys to the gate. Presumably spotting an irregularity in this request, the guard made no move to do so. Mike repeated his demand and was consistently told, "Nein, Herr Stabsfeldwebel. Nein". Rothenberger had trained his men to suspect absolutely everything, however Mike did not falter but instead raised his tone and gradually the exchange became more heated. The guard asked to see Mike's pass, whereupon his voice grew even louder and more intimidating as he proceeded to scream at the guard in fluent German. Precious time was being wasted and Mike realised that the guard was not going to give in, and so he presented his pass. By a cruel twist of fate, the colour of the passes appeared to have been altered that very night and the pass that Mike offered was the old one. Up until now the guard had merely had his suspicions about Sinclair, but with an incorrect pass he had definite cause to resist and struck the alarm bell. Mike was furious and ranted further at the poor sentry and was still in full flow when other guards reached the gate. A German officer name Pilz was amongst the first on the scene and he in turn proceeded to shout at Mike.

Mike later recalled;

"His whole attitude was one to provoke and increase the tension and excitement instead of taking charge. Pilz drew his pistol and brandished it in a reckless and gleeful manner and obviously enjoying the possibility of using it. He screamed at me, "Hands up." I put my hands up. He screamed at me again, "Hands up," and I shouted back at him, "My hands are up, they are high enough." He then repeatedly shouted a word which sounded like "absehnalen" to which I replied, "I do not understand." Owing to the state of confusion I do not remember exactly when I was shot, but I do remember being extremely surprised that the shot should be fired, there being no reason for it. The shot was fired into my chest from a yard in front of me, and slightly to the left."

As the confusion began to subside, the prisoners were summoned to the courtyard for an Appell and the wounded Mike Sinclair was left on the ground, unattended, for nearly 10 minutes. This caused much anger and resentment within the prisoner contingent, with many believing Mike had been killed. The bullet that hit Mike had pierced his left lung and missed his heart by three inches. He was taken to hospital and recovered. Back at Colditz, however, feeling was still running high. The prevailing attitude amongst the prisoners at Colditz had always been one of utter contempt for their captors, and in view of the likelihood of trouble, fifty guards were ready at Appell the next morning with fixed bayonets. The British were not particularly intimidated by this and hurled abuse. For his trouble, one man was sent to solitary confinement. The Senior British Officer demanded that Pilz be court-martialled for having needlessly shot and unarmed prisoner. Officially, this was refused, however a month later, Pilz was sent to the Russian front and was never heard of again.

Dick Howe, the incumbent British Escape Officer later lamented his decision to not give Sinclair any specific order to quit if the plan went awry;

"To be quite candid I've taken the can back for it. I left the final decision to Mike himself instead of giving him a specific instruction to quit at the slightest sign of obstruction. What some chaps argued afterwards was that, knowing Mike, I should also have known that he just wasn't the type who would quit and I should, therefore, have given him an order".

Mike returned to Colditz and immediately began looking for weaknesses to exploit for his next escape. Through his usual painstaking study of the German sentries and the timing of their regular movements, he had found a weakness on the terrace below the British quarters on the western side of the castle. The positions that the guards kept here during the day were altered slightly during the night so that their vision would not be obscured by the activation of search lights. It took sixty seconds for this movement to be completed, during which time guards were either being changed or not paying adequate attention. Mike believed that in these sixty seconds before the lights came on, he could jump from a second storey window and climb down from the terrace on a 90 foot rope, whereupon he would cut a hole in the wire and proceed down the 100 foot slope from the castle and into the town. It was believed that two people could escape by this method. The first man out was to be Mike, the second was Jack Best, a "ghost" prisoner who hid beneath the floorboards, emerging only when there was an escape in order to take the place of the missing man at Appell, so that the escaper should have as long as possible to make his escape before the alarm was raised.

After several false starts the attempt was made on 19th January, both men were dressed entirely in black, complete with balaclavas. Gris Davies-Scourfield recalled the escape vividly:

“At last, on the night of Wednesday 19th January, all went well… I cannot describe the tension in the room the actual night of the launch. I remember standing in the darkness by the doorway, seeing my friend Mike Sinclair lying face downwards on the table. He gripped the rope under his elbow, and round his waist he had the second part of the rope for the descent from the upper terrace. He was dressed head to foot in black, wearing a Balaclava and socks over his shoes. He had a large pair of wire-cutters strapped to the inside of one leg, then all the paraphernalia he needed for crossing Germany – a compass, maps, money, some train timetables, and everything else. One could almost feel the intensity of his fierce and single-minded concentration, remembering all the things he would have to do the moment he was projected through the window… Anchored to a bed-post was the first rope, made of sheets tied carefully together, ready to be lowered down two stories to the terrace some thirty feet below.” “Get ready, OK, launch,” from Tom to Dick. The rope of sheets was rolled out of the window and lowered, and away they went, one after the other. For several moments all was silent. Then we heard someone come out of the guard room and shout something followed by more silence, and eventually the floodlights were switched on. Meanwhile Mike and Jack had reached ground level by the second descent from the terrace, crossed the orchard, cut the wire and were away.”

It had taken them less than a minute to break out of Colditz.

“We heard nothing of them for several days, and our hopes were just beginning to rise when, on 24th January the Germans came for uniforms in which to bring them back. They had got as far as Rheine aiming for Holland, like I had, when they were arrested and, as in my case, their papers declared to be false.”

They successfully reached the Dutch border but encountered difficulties in the town of Rheine, where they had to wander the streets at night while waiting for their train. As a consequence of this a member of the Gestapo became suspicious and arrested the two men. Best blamed himself for this because his clothes were black and these were considered to be an un-German cover, also he had been living under the floor boards for so long that his skin was extremely pale. Fortunately they were able to convince the Gestapo that they were escaping Prisoner of War officers and not, as was a very possible reaction to their civilian outfits, spies.

In April 1944 Mike learnt the news that one of his brothers had been Killed In Action at Anzio, Italy in February. Gris Davies-Scourfield recalled the effect this had on him:

“Mike had been very strange, ever since he had learnt of his brother’s death at Anzio in February… This affected him profoundly and, from this moment, he became extremely moody and difficult… He wore an almost perpetual frown, looked well beyond his years, and I particularly recall the stems of his pipes were always quickly bitten through… Our comradeship became strained, and I failed him, really, just when he most needed my help. Any attempts I made in that direction were rebuffed…”

By September 1944 prisoners of war were being warned not to try to escape; in the aftermath of the ‘Great Escape’ – when fifty escapers were executed out of hand – it was simply too dangerous, and the war was won. All the prisoners had to do was await liberation. The Germans agreed; escapes cost them too much in energy and resources.

“It began to look as if the war might suddenly end. Mike Sinclair dreaded that this would happen while he was still a prisoner of war; a failure after all the efforts he had made. He became even more morose and introspective than before. Even I, his old friend and comrade, just could not get through to him at all, and, to be frank, after a number of rebuffs I ceased to try very hard.”

On the 4th September, Sinclair joined the exercise party and walked down to the park with civilian clothes underneath his uniform, clearly he was about to make an attempt to escape. These clothes, however, were spotted and he was sentenced to fourteen days in solitary confinement. When compared with the elaborate nature of his previous escapes, an attempt to simply climb the wire in the park in broad daylight might seem somewhat crude, however escapes had been made from the park on many occasions and it was still considered a vulnerable area.

On the 23rd of September they put up warning posters: Escape from prison camps is no longer a sport.

With an end to the war was in sight and with the threat to kill escapers, many experienced escapers had decided it would be sensible to give in.

Davies-Scourfield said of Mike,

"I might have guessed that this threat to shoot escapers would merely act as an additional spur to his endeavour, an extra challenge which he would almost certainly accept, indeed one he would be unable to resist."

Killed escaping as a Prisoner of War on the 25th September 1944, aged 26.

On the 25th September, a week after his release, Mike was again with other officers walking down to the park. He wore a large French khaki cloak about his shoulders. His friend, Gris Davies-Scourfield, saw that Sinclair was about to walk off on his own and so he offered to keep him company. Sinclair rather rudely refused, saying "No, I'd rather be alone." Davies-Scourfield persisted but got an equally flat reply, after which he gave in and walked off, not in the best of moods. He had no idea, but Mike was about to try another escape attempt. The only person who had an inkling that he was about to try something was Kenneth Lockwood, the treasurer, whom Mike had approached for some of the escape money, which he was given without any questions asked. He had not informed the Escape Committee, probably because the new conditions under which Prisoners of War lived may have led them to refuse consent for the attempt on the grounds that it was too dangerous.

Once in the park, the guards took up their positions and the prisoners, as usual, began a game of football. Mike Sinclair walked away by himself and was noticed to be close to the fence, pacing back and forth. After a few moments he took several steps back, removed his cloak and revealed civilian clothing underneath. He had a pair of large black gloves on, and with these he ran to the wire and quickly climbed over it. He was spotted by the guards and from all sides shot were being fired at him. Lance Pope, who had been one of Sinclair's sentries on the Rothenberger escape, cried out "Nicht schiessen! Nicht schiessen!", but the shots continued. Sinclair was over the wire and, keeping low, sprinted into the cover of some trees. In all, twenty shots were fired at him. One of these bullets hit his elbow and ricocheted into his body, through his lung and into his heart. Mike Sinclair died instantly. Unlike the incident when Mike was shot and wounded whilst posing as Stabsfeldwebel Rothenberger, no blame was put upon the German guards for his death. Regardless of the threats by the authorities to shoot escaping Prisoners of War, prison guards had always been fully entitled to open fire on men who were in the process of escape.

What was going through Mike's mind before he climbed the wire is open to speculation. Some regarded his final bid for freedom as little short of suicide. His friend, Gris Davies-Scourfield, wrote,

"To him escape was a military operation and every factor had to be examined and thought through. He knew it would take a good shot to bring him down, and it was bad luck that it ricocheted into his body. He was just a person, braver than the rest of us, who was prepared to take a greater risk. He was too brave; if one can be too brave."

Two days later, Davies-Scourfield was going through Mike's possessions to pack and return them to his parents. He found a note that read, "I take full responsibility. Safe home to all you good chaps."

Mike was buried with full military honours in the cemetery at Colditz. The Catholic prisoners held a mass for him. His coffin was draped with the Union flag made by the German guards and he received a seven gun salute. Later that day, 27th September, there was a memorial service in the Castle chapel.

The British regarded Mike Sinclair as their best escaper, but he also won respect from the German guards who, in reference to his cunning and hair colour, christened him The Red Fox. Captain Reinhold Eggers, one of the most successful security officers in Colditz, later wrote,

"If there is indeed a Valhalla for the heroes of whatever nation, if the men who go there are men of courage and daring, if their determination springs from one true motive alone and that motive is love of their country - then in our own German tradition, Valhalla is the resting place of Lieutenant Mike Sinclair."

Mike was the only prisoner to be killed during an escape attempt at Colditz.

Mike Sinclair’s parents placed the following obituary notice in The Times on November 3rd 1944:

"Passed into the Greater Life on September 25th 1944, whilst a prisoner of war in Germany, Lieutenant Albert Michael Sinclair, The King’s Royal Rifle Corps, very dearly loved younger son of Colonel and Mrs. T.C. Sinclair, aged 26. Undaunted in the service of his country."

Mentioned In Despatches for his record as a Prisoner of War. Published in the London Gazette April 1945.

Mentioned In Despatches for his service in the Defence of Calais. Published in the London Gazette September 1945.

Posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.). Published in the London Gazette on the 27th of August 1946. Supplement 37704, Page 4342. The only subaltern of the Second World War to posthumously receive the award for actions as a Prisoner of War.

"The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the following awards in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field:

The Distinguished Service Order. Lieutenant Albert Michael SINCLAIR (75265), The King's Royal Rifle Corps (Winchester) (since deceased)".

Reinterred at Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery, Berlin, Germany, on the 26th of September 1947.

Grave Reference: 10. L. 14.

Remembered on the Winchester College War Memorial, Winchester, Hampshire.

Panel Reference: Inner G2.

Remembered on the Trinity College, Cambridge University War Memorial.

Remembered on the Camberley War Memorial.

Son of Colonel Thomas Charles Sinclair, C.B.E., and Iris Lucy Sinclair (nee Lund), formerly of Beechleigh, Brackendale Road, Camberley, Surrey, now of Winchester, Hampshire. His brother John Henry Lund Sinclair also fell (See Below).

Eric Henry, Swain 1911 - 1943;

Born on the 29th of July 1911. Registered at Lewisham, London.

Living at 51 Croxted Road , Lambeth, London, in the 1939 Register. Eric was working as a Merchandiser, All Departments in Various Stores.

Eric married Josephine F Radford between April and June 1940. Registered at Lambeth, London.

Enlisted unknown date.

Original Regiment unknown.

The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers was formed on the 1st of October 1942.

Transferred to the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, unknown date.

Service No: 7641398

Rank: Corporal.

Posted to West Africa, unknown date.

Died as a result of an Accident on the 29th of October 1943, aged 32.

No Known Grave.

Remembered on the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial, Brookwood Cemetery, Brookwood, Surrey.

Panel Reference: Panel 20. Column 1.

Son of Henry Gaylor Swain and Elsie Swain (nee Browning) of 1 Meadway, Staines, Middlesex; husband of Josephine F. Swain (nee Radford), of Camberley, Surrey.