Cass | James
Biography
James Cass was killed in action on 14 October 1944 in the vicinity of Overloon. He was aged 32 at the time. He was a Private in the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment (Service No. 4349579). He was initially buried at Cemetery De Kleffen in Overloon and re-interred on 15 July 1946 in grave I.C.11. in the Overloon CWG Cemetery. The inscription on his grave reads: Beloved husband of Freda. At the setting of the sun, we will remember them.
James was the son of William and Hannah Ellen Cass, husband of Freda Cass (nee Brown).
James (Jim) and Freda married at a Methodist church in Hull on 25th February 1941, only 3 years & 8 months before his death and they had no children.
He was one of 8 children of William & Hannah Ellen and although his father had been involved in the fish trade, having moved down the coast from Scarborough to Hull around 1900, Jim’s job is listed in 1939 as “Wood Box Maker”.
His siblings were: George (1895-?), Faith (1897-?), Ellen (Nellie) (1900-?), John William (1902-?), Joseph Henry (1904-1914), Mary Elizabeth (Lizzy) (1906-?) and Annie (1914-1989).
Military career
It is not known exactly when James was enlisted and joint the Lincolnshire Regiment, 2nd Bn.
The 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment had taken part in the D-Day landings on 6 June, 1944 and was engaged throughout the Normandy Campaign, taking part in Operation Charnwood and Operation Goodwood.
The Battalion war diary states that from 20 to 31 August the Battalion was not in contact with the enemy who were withdrawing to the River Seine and beyond. During this period, reinforcements were received bringing the unit to full strength in men but below strength in Subaltern Officers. It states that the majority of reinforcements were personnel from 59 Division which was disbanded and some Lincolnshire men wounded early in the campaign who now rejoined the Regiment.
The 2nd Lincolnshires entered Belgium on 16 September. It was stated that the civil population were very enthusiastic, particularly in the area of the Belgian frontier. They entered the Netherlands on 25 September.
Following the failure to take the bridge at Arnhem in Operation Market Garden in late September 1944, the Allied Forces were left in a very precarious narrow salient through the Netherlands. It was the aim of Operation Aintree to widen this salient by heading south from Nijmegen to take Overloon and then Venray before finally eliminating a German bridgehead on the River Maas near Venlo.
During October 1944 the 2nd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment played their part in capturing Overloon and Venray in terrible conditions of rain and wet ground. A particularly bad day for the Battalion was the 14th of October when it suffered very heavy casualties from intense artillery and mortar fire on the approach to a stream between Overloon and Venray. A total of 32 men from this Battalion are buried at Overloon, and the vast majority of these men were killed that day. It was on this day that James sadly was killed in action.
Initially he was buried along with several other comrades at Cemetery De Kleffen in Overloon and re-interred on 15 July 1946 in grave I. C. 11. in the Overloon CWG Cemetery.
