Samuel George West (who preferred to be known as Jack) was killed at Overloon on 12 October 1944. He was a Lance Bombardier in the 77^th (The Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry) Medium Regiment of the Royal Artillery (Service No. 999470). He was aged 33. He was buried initially on the Oploo to Overloon road near Duivenbos but later re-interred in the Overloon Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on 28 May, 1947. His grave has the inscription “Dearest brother you are not forgotten, in our hearts you are always near.”

Samuel joined his regiment on 15/8/1940 and remained in that regiment until his death.

The 77th (Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry) Medium Regiment

The 77th (Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry) Medium Regiment was a Royal Artillery unit which was created out of a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment recruited in Lancashire. It landed in Normandy shortly after D Day and served through many of the largest battles of the campaign in North West Europe until VE Day.
 
By the end of 1940 the 77th Medium Regiment was attached to the 53rd (Welsh) Division in Northern Ireland and remained there for over two years. When the 21st Army Group was formed in early 1943 for the planned Allied invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord), 77th (DLOY) Medium Regiment was assigned to the 8th Army Group Royal Artillery, which was formed in Essex on 1 May 1943. An Army Group Royal Artillery (AGRA) was a powerful artillery brigade, usually comprising three or four medium regiments and one heavy regiment, which could be rapidly moved about the battlefield, and had the punch to destroy enemy artillery with counter-battery fire. AGRAs were provided to field armies at a scale of about one per Army corps. By this time, medium regiments consisted of two batteries, each of two 4-gun troops, a total of 16 x 5.5-inch guns.
 
During the first phase of the campaign in Normandy from 6 June until the great breakthrough which ended in the German defeat in the Falaise “Bag”, a tremendous weight of high explosives was hurled against the enemy by British guns. The 77th played a major part in this attack. The regiment disembarked on a beach in Normandy on 15 June, just a few days after D-Day. On the following day its guns were deployed and ready for action at Lantheuil in the Caen sector. In the weeks that followed, the place names which appear in the regimental record are associated with battles which were then in the news: St Croix, Grand Tonne, Mauvieu, Granville, Calvary Hill, Gruchy, Mondeville. During those days of the July battles in the Caen sector the Regiment fired thousands of rounds from its five fives. Each shell weighing 100 pounds.
 
The 77th, with other medium regiments, helped to break up the powerful counter attack launched by the German 10thSS Panzer Division in the Burcy region of the Vire-Vassy sector. The frustration of that German counter attack was one of the decisive engagements of the war in Normandy; it was the German’s last big throw before they tried to pull out through the Falaise Gap.
 
On 10 August the 77th were ordered back for refit and rest after 46 days of continuous firing. This continued until 17September, though later in that period they were also involved in providing transport and fuel to the 21st Army Group’s pursuit force in Belgium.
 
On 17 September the 77th were on the march and entered Belgium the next day to a tumultuous welcome. They entered the Netherlands on 20 September. A narrative of their journey states that “The Dutch gave us a frenzied welcome and turned out to greet us in their best clothes almost before the tide of fighting had passed over them. The women and girls wore orange dresses and the men orange rosettes and caps. Soon, our vehicles, too, were bedecked with rosettes and ribbons.”
 
They helped secure a bridgehead at Asten on 22 September and by 25 September were at Oploo and St Anthonis. The Narrative continues for the dates of 27 September to 9 October:
“The regiment was now in action around a large pine forest which was used as waggon lines. All round us stretched the flat Dutch countryside with nothing but woods and villages to obscure us from enemy observation. In spite of this, no hostile fire was brought down on the position, though we fired frequently by night, and our flashes must have been clearly visible to the enemy.
 
Our main forward position was in St Anthonis, though by day our patrols operated along 3 miles of road running  to Boxmeer on the banks of the Maas. At nightfall our patrols withdrew and by night German patrols were known to cross the river.
 
Each day we moved a troop forward under the protection of the patrols and established an O[bservation] P[ost] in Boxmeer Church. This O.P. had excellent observation and greatly discouraged the Germans on the opposite bank who were preparing defensive positions. They soon gave up trying to work by day.
 
It was several weeks before Boxmeer was evacuated of civilians. For some time they continued to go about their normal business, undeterred by the occasional shellfire, and one Sunday the O.P. officer found himself locked out of the O.P. because a church service was in progress. South of Boxmeer, the enemy still held the western bank of the Maas strongly. His obvious intention was to sell the ground as dearly as possible, withdrawing through Venlo if pressure became too great. His resistance was by no means passive, and movement in forward areas by night was highly dangerous. Several vehicles were lost to his patrols, and one occasion Dutch collaborators guided a fighting patrol to one of our isolated field troop positions.
 
On 3 October, 7th US Armoured Division took over and attempted to clear up the enemy pocket. We supported their advance with concentrations together with the remainder of 11 Armoured Division artillery. On 7 October the attack was abandoned after Americans had suffered heavy losses for very small gains. It became obvious that a set piece attack with heavy artillery support would be needed to force the Germans back over the river.
 
We prepared a new position South of Oploo, ready for a large scale attack. This was to be carried out by 3 British Division, with Overloon and Venray as the objectives. These were the largest towns on the northern perimeter of the Venlo bridgehead which would be considerably reduced by their fall. The attack was to be supported by three divisional artilleries and the whole of 8 A.G.R.A. and was known as “Operation Constellation”.
 
The 77th moved to a new position at midday on 10 October which was about 1500 yards north of Overloon and just 1000 yards from the enemy front line. They lay low there all day on the 11th. The flatness of the country made concealment difficult and nothing but a straggling Pinewood screened them from enemy observation.
 
On the 12th they supported Operation Constellation with a series of concentrations on Overloon and the positions in front of the town. The narrative continues:
“By midday the enemy had well fixed 103 battery position, which came in for particularly heavy mortoring and shelling. One gun received a direct hit and several dumps of ammunition went up. To add to the confusion, most of the loudspeaker cables were cut, causing great difficulties in getting the orders to the guns.
 
All ranks rose to the emergency and by dint of much improvisation and reorganisation, the fire plan was completed. Repeated bombardment however made the position untenable and during the afternoon the battery moved back to an alternative position. Considering the extent of the bombardment, our losses were small – two Other Ranks killed and one Officer and 11 Other Ranks wounded. Miraculously no vehicles were hit, though several were parked in a small wood in the centre of the position. Two Military Crosses and one Military Medal were awarded for gallantry during the engagement.”
 
The War Diary confirms the following on 12 October: “At 1200 hours the gun positions of 103 Battery came under heavy mortar fire and C Sub received a direct hit. Casualties were two Other Ranks killed, 1 Officer wounded and 11 Other Ranks”.
 
The men named in the narrative who died that day were:
Gunner O’Brien, T J Died of Wounds 12th Oct 1944
Gunner Goldsmith, W Killed in Action 12th October 1944
L/Bdr West, S.G. Killed in Action 12th October 1944
 
Gunner Goldsmith was initially buried near Oploo and Gunner O’Brien near Eindhoven. Both were later re-interred at Mierlo Cemetery – so Samuel West is the only man from his Regiment buried at Overloon.
 
All three are among those commemorated on a Roll of Honour displayed at the Territorial Army Centre in Wigan.

Family history

Samuel was the son of Charles Frederick and Florence West of Bridgwater, Somerset. He was born on 17/9/1911. He never married.
 
Charles F. West married Florence Baker in Spring 1901 in Bridgwater, Somerset. Samuel was one of 10 children as follows, all born in Bridgwater: Florence Selina (1901), Caroline Elizabeth (1904), Beatrice Louisa (1907), Charles Frederick William (1909), Samuel George (1911), Doris (1914), Gertrude (1918), Francis John (1920), Joan Irene (1924) and Gwendoline Irene Ruby (1926). Francis was later known as John and Gwendoline as Ruby.
 
Oddly, the family could not be found in the 1911 census, but by 1921 Charles and Florence were living at 1, Moat Lane, Bridgwater. Charles was a Dock Labourer but was out of work. He was born in 1870 and Florence in 1881, both in Bridgwater. Their 8 children who were born by then were with them, though Caroline was perhaps incorrectly referred to as Christine. The two eldest daughters were in Day Service, but the younger of the two was out of work.
 
Charles had served as a Royal Engineer in WW1. His granddaughter, Kaye Bath, still has his medals. She believes that he was also on the Titanic as a stoker, though it hasn’t been possible to verify that. He was a timber worker but also created beautiful wrought iron work as a side line.
 
Samuel’s mother, Florence, fell down a fire escape when on a visit to a biscuit factory in 1934. She suffered a brain injury which led to her death aged just 52. This left Charles with several young children to bring up. He was devastated and lived with his married daughter Beatrice until they found their own house.
 
In 1939 Charles was therefore shown as widowed, born 13/1/1870 and working as a Timber Dock Porter. He was living at 11 Friarn Avenue, Bridgwater with five of his children who had not yet married: Samuel, Gertrude, Francis (known as John) and Joan plus one other whose identity was not shown but was probably Gwendoline who was 13 and the youngest. Samuel was working as a Commercial Printer; Gertrude as a Female Shop Assistant in a store selling paint & polish; Francis John as a Milling Machinist in Engineering and Joan as a Carpet Examiner in a factory.
 
The other five children had all married by this time. Caroline had married Edwin C Jacques in 1926 and in 1939 they were living at 2 Hamp Street, Bridgwater. Edwin was shown as disabled. Florence married Edward Frankcom in 1928 and in 1939 they were living on their own at 65 Winchester Road, Bristol. Edward was a Hall Porter. Beatrice Louisa married Harry W Cook in 1930. In 1939 Beatrice was living 5 Cromwell Road, Bridgwater with her first two children – but Harry was not present. Doris West married Joseph Murray in 1937. In 1939, Doris was living at 11 Friarn Avenue, Bridgwater with their first child but Joseph was not present. This was the same address as her father but was considered as a separate household. Charles FW West married Clara A Palfrey in 1938 and in 1939 they were living at 60 York Road, Bridgwater with their first and only child. Charles was working as a General Gardener.
 
The fact that Beatrice and Doris’ husbands were not present in 1939 suggests that Harry Cook and Joseph Murray may have signed up. This isn’t certain for Harry Cook, but it seems that Joseph Murray probably served in Burma in WW2. A man of that name who was living at 1 Fairfax Crescent, Bridgwater in 1971 had previously been awarded the Burma Star. He ws a Signalman in the 2nd British Division Royal Corps of Signalmen (Service No. 5724515).
 
It has been seen that Samuel George West joined up on 15 August 1940. However, his brother Charles also joined up in 1940 as a Gunner in The Royal Regiment of Artillery (Service No. 1097381).
 
Also in 1940, Samuel’s sister Gertrude married Ronald W N Cornell. An announcement in the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser indicated that she was still living at 11 Friarn Avenue. She was given away by her brother Charles. Her bridesmaids were Misses Joan and Ruby West (sisters of the bride) and Yvonne & Shirley Cook and Doreen & Pat Jacques (nieces of the bride). Gertrude’s brother, John West, was the best man. By at least 1943, Ronald was in the RAF.
 
Samuel’s younger brother, Francis John West married Kathleen J Frost in 1943. It may have been that, in 1941, he too had signed up for the Royal Regiment of Artillery, but on 25 May 1943 he was discharged as being physically unfit for the Army, (Service No. 1128957).
 
Sadly, their elder brother Charles died in Italy on 20/7/1943, aged 34, and is buried at the Syracuse War Cemetery in Sicily.
 
It seems that this led to the decline of their father Charles. He died in on 5 March 1944. The inquest was reported in the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser of 11 March 1944. He was still living at 11 Friarn Avenue at the time and was described as a retired general labourer aged 74. Lance Bombardier Samuel George West of the Royal Artillery gave evidence of identification. His sister, Mrs Gertrude Cornell, described as the wife of a flight Sergeant in the RAF, said that at 5am on February 23 she heard her father calling her and, on going downstairs, found him lying on the floor of the living room. He said he had lost his matches, fallen in the dark and hurt his arm. Next day, as his shoulder and arm were hurting him, Gertrude and her sister (Mrs Jaques) took him to the hospital. At Taunton Hospital it was discovered that his shoulder has dislocated. He returned home on February 25. Next day they sent for the doctor who sent him back to hospital as he had swelling and bruising of the upper arm and shoulder and severe bronchitis. He developed hypostatic pneumonia following the shock of the accident and confinement to bed and died on Sunday 5 March. Gertrude said her father had a stroke in January 1940 which left his right arm practically useless and since the previous August when they had news that one of her brothers had been killed in Sicily he had been failing terribly.
 
Samuel’s death later that same year must have been a further devastating blow to his family. Thankfully, Doris’ husband, Joseph Murray, survived the war, as did Beatrice’s husband Harry Cook, if indeed he was in the forces.
 
However, the war had an effect on yet more members of the family.
 
Joan Irene West married Leonard Harris Palfrey in 1946. Leonard was the brother of Clara Palfrey who had married Joan’s brother Charles who had died in Sicily. Leonard had been a bombardier in the 8th Coast Regiment of the Royal Artillery (service no. 5670567) but was reported missing in 1941 in Hong Kong. However, it transpired that he had been taken as a Prisoner of War by the Japanese. In 1945 he was in a prison camp in Tokyo and was released sometime after 15 August 1945. The treatment of Japanese POWs was notoriously bad and many died or suffered after effects in their later lives. Joan and Leonard were still living at 11 Friarn Avenue in 1946 as it was given as his address when charged with a minor cycling offence. He was described as a labourer at that time.
 
Gwendoline Irene Ruby West, known as Ruby, married Francis Ernest Roy Frost in 1947. Francis was the cousin of Kathleen Frost who had married Ruby’s brother, Francis John West, in 1943. Francis joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery in 1936 (Service No. 856527) when he was 18. He served in Africa and at Dunkirk. He seems to have been transferred to the reserves on 21/7/1948. Thankfully, he too survived the war.
 
All of Samuel’s surviving 8 siblings went on to have children with the exception of Florence. Most have descendants who are alive today. However, further tragedy struck Charles’ widow Clara as her only grandchild died in infancy in 1976. Similarly, Samuel’s brother Francis John’s only child died aged just 12 in 1957 – so none of the male line of Samuel’s family are alive today.

Photos and assistance from Kaye Bath, Samuel’s niece by his youngest sister Gwendoline (Ruby) West.

From FindMyPast website: Civil and Parish Birth, Marriage and Death Records; England Census and 1939 Register Records; Military Records, Electoral Rolls
Wikipedia – Information on the 77th (Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
Archives of the DLO Yeomanry: https://sites.google.com/site/archivesofthedloyeomanry/home
Notes from Captain Hugh Gunning Observation Officer 77th (DLOY) Med Regt RA
Booklet – The 77th (Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry) Medium Regiment R.A.
Narrative of its part in the NW Europe Campaign June 1944 to May 1945
War Diary for 77th (DOLY) Medium Regiment
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser 11 March 1944 – Elderly Bridgwater Man’s Death
Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser  07 December 1946 – Leonard Palfrey charge

Research Elaine Gathercole

Lt. Michael Hardy Child Bellamy (Service No. 293708) was killed in action on 13/10/1944 aged just 20. He was in the 2nd Battalion, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. He was initially buried at Cemetery P. Borghs, Vierlingsbeekseweg, Overloon and subsequently re-interred on 13 May 1947 in grave II. C. 2 at the Overloon Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Overloon. The inscription on his grave reads: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course I have kept the faith.”
 
He was born on 31st December, 1923 to Ernest Charles Bellamy and Ethel Mary Bellamy (nee Child), of Gorleston, Norfolk. 

Michael’s Father’s Family

His father, Ernest Charles Bellamy, was born in Gorleston on 18 February, 1880 to David W Bellamy and Lucy Jane Bellamy. David Bellamy was a butcher employing one man and two boys in 1881. His wife, Lucy, had been born in St Clair, Michigan in the USA. She was the daughter of Charles George Kitton, a Captain in the Merchant Service so may have been English but born in the USA. They were living in Baker Street in Gorleston in 1881 and 1891. Ernest was only son in a family of 6 children: Lucy M (1879), Ernest C (1880), Alice G (1881), Margaret S (1884), Dorothy A A (1888), Jessie E (1890). Sadly, his mother, Lucy, died on 19 July 1899 aged just 51. She is buried in Great Yarmouth New Cemetery with the inscription “Loving Memory of Lucy Wife of D.W. Bellamy who died June 19 1899 aged 51 years.” By 1901 the family were living at 136, King Street, Great Yarmouth. All the children were still at home with four of the older children working: Ernest as a butcher; Lucy and Margaret as Butcher’s Clerks and Alice as a Miliner. The family employed two servants, one of whom, Elizabeth Davey, was with them from at least 1881 to after 1901. By 1911 David Bellamy had become a farmer at Wheatcroft Farm, Bradwell and he was still there in 1939, just a year before he died in 1940. His daughter Margaret was living with him as his housekeeper and was 56 when her father died. His son, Ernest Charles Bellamy, administered his estate.

Michael’s Mother’s Family

Michael’s mother, Ethel Mary Child, was born in Great Yarmouth on 14 August, 1884 to Benjamin Charles Child and Harriet A Child. They had just two children, Ethel Mary in 1884, then Alice Eleanor much later, in 1903. At the time of the 1901 Census, Ethel was visiting her uncle, William Chapman, in Willesden, Middlesex. In 1891 the family lived in Nelson Terrace, Great Yarmouth but by 1901 they had moved to Trafalgar Road, Great Yarmouth and in 1911 and 1921 they were in Nelson Road, Great Yarmouth. By 1921 Benjamin was shown as retired having worked as a Rate Collector for Great Yarmouth Town Council and Great Yarmouth Board of Guardians.

Michael’s parents

Ernest Charles Bellamy married Ethel Mary Child in 1909 in the Yarmouth district. They had five children as follows: Margaret Lucy Elizabeth (1910) – known as Betty, David Winter Child (1911), Ernest Peter (1915) – known as Peter, John Roger (1918) and Michael Hardy Child (1923). Ernest was shown in 1911 as a Master Butcher. In both 1911 and 1921 Ernest and Ethel were living at 136 King St, Great Yarmouth, the same location as Ernest’s father was living in 1901. Elizabeth Davey was still working for them in 1911 as a cook. In 1917, the partnership between Ernest and his father in the butcher’s business known as D.W. Bellamy & Son was dissolved, with Ernest going on to run the business. At that time, they had premises at 136 King Street and 61 King Street, Great Yarmouth and also at 48 High Street and 22 Baker Street, Gorleston on Sea.
 
His granddaughter, Margaret, says that Ernest worked tirelessly at the business but was also very active in town life. He founded the Great Yarmouth Operatic and Dramatic Society, appearing in plays and Gilbert and Sullivan Operas and passed on his love of drama and music to his daughter, Margaret’s mother. She believes that his talents have passed down the generations to current members of the family including a great grand-daughter who is a professional flautist and great great grand-daughter who is studying Musical Theatre. He was very conscientious in ensuring that his sisters were financially secure and was kind and generous to all. The family was very important to him.
 
It seems that from around 1929 they retained the King Street premises presumably as part of their business, but lived at Bradwell House, Burgh Road, Bradwell which is just on the outskirts of Gorleston. This is where they were residing at the time the 1939 Register was taken in September that year. Ernest was shown as a Master Butcher and Meat Contractor. Living with them were Ethel’s widowed father, Benjamin Child, and her sister, Alice Eleanor Child (known as Eleanor), who was 36 and working as a school teacher. All of Ernest and Ethel’s children had left home. Michael’s sister, Margaret Lucy Elizabeth (Betty) Bellamy, had married Edward Rudolf (Rudy) Wood in 1937 and had moved to Hereford. They had a daughter, Margaret, in 1939 and another, Caroline, in 1942. David Winter Child Bellamy had joined the army as possibly had his brother, John Roger Bellamy, by that time.

Peter Bellamy seemed to be the naughty one of the family, or at least got blamed for any mischief. He was a slow or inattentive learner at Duncan House School in Great Yarmouth but did much better at King Edward 7th School in Kings Lynn where he joined his elder brother David as a boarder. He passed his School Certificate in 1932 and moved to London to work at Smithfield Market as a porter. There was no place for him in the family business during the difficult years of the depression. By 1935 he had joined the Metropolitan Police and was excused the Civil Service educational exam to allow for promotion because of his school qualifications. By 1939 he was working in CID for the Metropolitan Police and living in Ealing. Ethel’s mother had died in 1937 and her father died in 1941.

Michael’s Military Career

Michael was educated at Duncan House School and Framlingham College. In 1940 he joined the staff at Lloyd’s Bank in Ludlow. He didn’t wait to be called up but volunteered in 1942. He passed out of Sandhurst as a tank officer and had really wanted to join a tank brigade but on redistribution was sent to the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry Regiment. By January 1944 he was a 2nd Lieutenant and an Acting Lieutenant by D-Day on 6 July, 1944. He had spent some time training in Scotland prior to D-Day.

The 2nd Battalion began the war in Jamaica, with a company detached to the Bermuda Garrison. The battalion would eventually join the 185th Infantry Brigade, which included the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment and the 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment. The brigade was originally assigned to the 79th Armoured Division but was then transferred to the 3rd British Infantry Division in April 1943, when the division was preparing to invade Sicily, until it was replaced by the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. The battalion took part in the D-Day landings (Operation Overlord), where they failed to capture the D-Day objective of Caen due to the presence of the 21st Panzer Division.
 
Michael was present at D-Day and was reported as wounded the following day, 7 July 1944. Thirty eight years later, his sister, Betty Wood, wrote down the story of what had happened to him. The full story can be read in a side-story. He was not among the very first to land at Arromanches, but he landed quite early on D-Day. He nearly drowned when he first jumped off the amphibious truck into the deep water. A wire cable had been run ashore to enable disembarking but there was a heavy swell running. As the undertow ran back, the cable caught in the top of his pack and dragged him under the water where he struggled to free himself. Thankfully, when the next swell came in it lifted the cable and he surfaced and reached the beach. As they were marching that day, he had to witness the result of one of his companions receiving a direct hit by a mortar bomb. There was nothing left of him.
 
Michael was then asked to carry out a reconnaissance and bring back a report of enemy presence and activity. As he was trying to cross a stream, he was shot through the leg just below the knee. The bullet went clean through the leg and bone, doing no damage to joints but causing him to bleed freely. He took cover and, when he thought the way was clear, he started to hobble back to his unit. He had to cross a field which had been entirely peaceful on his way out. However, it was now raked with fire from both sides. Somehow, he managed to get to the other side, but not before he had been hit through the elbow – a remarkable wound in that the bullet went in below the joint and came out just above it but, rather miraculously, did no bone damage. Although it wasn’t straightforward, he managed to get bandaged up and finally get back to his unit. He was then taken back to the beach and finally put aboard a ship and was back in Ronkswood Hospital at Worcester sometime during the night.
 
By the following week he was limping but not in much pain. He stayed with his sister for a few days in Hereford after his release from hospital to convalesce for a little longer. It may have been at this time that his niece, Margaret, then just 5 years old, remembers him as a curly haired lad who played a silly game with her. After this stay, he left to return to his parents at Bradwell. He travelled into Hereford by bus with his sister and her children, but he left it in order to take a short cut to the station. They waved goodbye and that was the last they ever saw of him. He also met his brother John when he was recovering from his injury.
 
Michael rejoined his regiment in August 1944.

His brother David was the last family member to see him alive. They were able to meet a couple of times in August 1944 as both were serving in the Seine valley in France. David regretted afterwards that he hadn’t initially been more open and affectionate with Michael. They had both been through terrible experiences and David must have felt he shouldn’t let the side down by being too emotional. A second meeting felt more normal and David saw that Michael was obviously well liked by his platoon and by officers. Their last words to each other were:  David: “Well, I must be off. May not see you for bit. Look after yourself.”  Michael: “OK. Mind how you go. Good luck.”
 
The 2nd Battalion proceeded through Belgium and the Netherlands but the only partly successful Operation Market Garden, which reached as far as Nijmegen but failed to take Arnhem, left the Allied forces in a rather precarious narrow salient.
 
Between 2 and 8 October 1944 the 2nd Battalion found itself in Mook which is on the east bank of the River Maas, south of Nijmegen and north of Overloon. The aim had been to attack the enemy to the east in the Reichwald Forest, but priorities changed to widening the salient by heading south to take Overloon, Venray and cross the Maas at Venlo. The Battalion therefore moved down to Oeffelt then reached Rijkevoort on 12 October.
 
At first light on 13 October, the Commanding Officer and Company Commanders carried out a reconnaissance of the woods south of Overloon through which the Battalion was to pass while the Battalion reached its assembly position about 1,000 yds north of Overloon prior to the attack itself which began at 12 noon.
 
The battalion had the support of one squadron of Churchill tanks from the Coldstream Guards and an artillery  barrage. The plan was for W and Z companies to be the two forward companies on the left and right respectively. Y company were to advance on the eastern edge of the woods and give protection to the attack from that flank. X Company were to be in reserve. The attack proved difficult as the Churchill tanks were bogged down or delayed by minefields and radio communication in the thick woods was abysmal. The two forward companies managed to reach approximately the intended positions, but Y company found that the edge of the woods on the map was far from clear on the ground. They managed to reach their area after much wandering about the woods.
 
Capt. R.R. Rylands, ‘W’ Company, 2 KSLI wrote: “The woods were so vast that no copybook wood clearing drill was possible, especially as the map did not ‘fit’. The job was done – with considerable casualties particularly on the forward edge of the wood facing Brabander and Venraij. Lt. Mike Bellamy who had rejoined after being wounded on D-Day, was killed by a concealed Machine Gun.” Another source commented that this was “a very great loss as he was always cheerful and had more experience than the average subaltern.”

The Impact on his Family

Michael’s brothers, David and Peter visited his original grave in Overloon on Sunday 7th October 1945. They wrote to their parents describing their pilgrimage. Ethel then wrote a letter to her daughter, Betty, dated 11 October, a year after Michael had last written to his parents – just two days before he was killed. She enclosed an extract from David’s letter:

“Sunday was a beautiful day after the rain and clouds of the preceding week. We left Nijmegen about nine and travelled first to Grave and then by the road following the line of the Maas river until we turned inland to near Overloon. It is a forlorn corner of Holland and little recovered. Tanks and knocked out vehicles still lie about the fields and the village and the woods and thickets about it are more completely shattered I think than any other such hamlet I have seen outside Normandy. We had been told to turn left at the church, which was identifiable only by a heap of rubble with fragments of arches and ecclesiastical-looking coping stones and slabs of material to show what it was. Then at the site of the war cemetery now being formed on a slope in a small wood we met an English-speaking Dutchman. I think he was something to do with the war museum and memorial which the Dutch government in co-operation with the 3rd Division are constructing next the official cemetery. He took us round to the museum, a fine, long building under construction at the corner of a pine wood which is to remain as it is with its debris of war, rather on the lines of the Canadian memorial trenches at Vimy Ridge after the last war. After that he took us round the isolated graves or little temporary cemeteries in the surrounding area but it was not till afternoon, when we had almost given up, that we came upon Michael’s. As Rylands said, he had been buried in a garden; it was on the road leading East from Overloon to the Maas. There were three others there who had been killed the same day. I cannot pretend to you that it was anything but a sad and dreary spot in a little patch of garden of two poor cottages, now overcrowded with people who have returned to this village and have all they can do to feed themselves and exist among the ruins. But the graves have been cared for and are free from weeds and at the foot of each has been planted a flower that was blossoming orange, the national colour of Holland. The official cemetery is ready now and re-interment will probably take place in the next month or so, but I was glad to have seen the place as it was and to be able to visualise what the nature of the fighting must have been. When you get this letter it will be just a year since Michael’s death; I hope this account will not add to the renewed sorrow you are bound to feel at this time, but you will feel glad that someone of his was able to go along”.
 
Ethel was so grateful to think that the graves were well-tended and says at the end of her letter that “It is very good and kind of the people.” It is thought that Michael’s parents were eventually in touch with the Borgh family who owned the cottage garden where Michael was temporally buried and Peter visited the official cemetery later as did his son, Michael, who was named after his uncle.

It is likely that the man that his brother met who showed them his grave was Harry van Daal who was instrumental in founding the War museum in Overloon.

Peter visited Overloon again in 1960 en route to see daughter Susan who was staying with a German family in Remscheid. But this time it was to the proper cemetery, not a garden with orange flowers on the grave as in 1945.
 
A generation later came the strange experience of Michael Charles Bellamy (born 20/02/1945) and named after the uncle he never knew. At Easter in the early 1980s he was in the Netherlands with his young family, staying in a bungalow park for a few days. They had bicycles and spent hours exploring the local area. They got to the Overloon war cemetery. His wife Pat and the children went in to look at the graves but Michael sat outside as he wanted to finish a book. That done he got up to see where the family had got to and, as he caught sight of them, he turned and found himself looking at his own name on a gravestone. He’d found Michael’s grave quite by chance and felt the experience uncanny and still does so.
 
His mother, Ethel, was a loving mother and grandmother, but had a reputation within the family of being a bit intimidating. She kept Michael’s uniform in a wardrobe which her grand-daughter Margaret opened not long after Michael’s death. Ethel explained what it was and rather surprised her grand-daughter by saying with a sob “Poor Uncle Michael.” Margaret was shocked by her tears but a moment later she was back to her stoical self.
 
His death was a shattering blow to the whole family. However, they bore their loss bravely and just carried on as did so many others.
 
Michael is commemorated at Bradwell St Nicholas on the grave of his parents and brother David.

Michael’s Brothers During WW2

All three of Michael’s brothers also served in WW2 and survived.
 
His eldest brother, David Winter Child Bellamy (Service No. 1471332) had a distinguished war record and was active from the war’s beginning to its end. He may have joined the 74 Field Regiment Royal Artillery as early as 1938. He served in the Middle East (Egypt / Libya) and by September 1942 he was a Battery Quarter Master Sergeant and Acting Warrant Officer Class II (Regimental Quarter Master Sergeant). It was announced in the London Gazette of 24 September 1942 that he had been awarded the Military Medal for Gallant and Distinguished Service. The recommendation for this medal reads as follows:

“On 28 June 1942 South East of Mersa Matruh, a motor transport column started at nightfall to break through the German position which encircled the area. Shortly after the start, when the officer in charge failed to return from a reconnaissance, RQMS Bellamy assumed command and his personal courage and resourcefulness succeeded in bringing the bulk of the column to safety. When ordered to surrender by armed members of the Nazi Red Cross RQMS Bellamy refused to submit to them as non belligerents and led the column on its way. On more than one occasion when the column was fired on by A/tk guns and machine guns RQMS Bellamy went on alone to find a way through the enemy position refusing to allow anyone to accompany him. He eventually succeeded in getting clear of the enemy positions and led his column across the desert to our own lines. It was entirely due to his leadership and the splendid example he set by his personal gallantry and determination that his men, vehicles and stores were saved from capture.”

On 3 January 1943 he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. He was serving in France by August 1944 and was still serving with his regiment in Northern Germany until he was demobbed in November 1945. 
 
According to his army paybook Peter joined the Middlesex Regiment in 1943 after a few injuries and narrow escapes on police duty during London bombing raids. He was sent on an OCTU course and moved around the country from one barracks to another. He was due to go to India with the regiment but a pre-embarkment medical showed up a serious heart murmur. This must have been caused by an attack of rheumatic fever when he was away at school and probably saved his life. Many of his friends didn’t survive the war.

John Roger Bellamy was still at Cambridge reading Mathematics when war was imminent. By 1941 he was a Lance Corporal in the Royal Corps of Signals and was based at Catterick in North Yorkshire. Later he served in Italy. His niece, Margaret, remembers him telling her in a letter that he felt guilty that he had had an easy time of it compared with his brothers.

The Family After the War

Michael’s father, Ernest Charles Bellamy, died on 6 July 1956, aged 76. He was living at 23 Addison Road Gorleston Great Yarmouth. His wife and son, David Winter Child Bellamy, administered his estate. David was shown as a butcher, continuing the family tradition. Michael’s mother, Ethel Mary Bellamy, died the following year.
 
Michael’s sister, Betty Wood adored her brothers, particularly David who was only a year younger. She read English at Royal Holloway College London and taught for three years at Hereford High School before marrying Rudy Wood and going on to have daughters Margaret and Caroline. They met as members of an amateur dramatic society. Betty (under her proper name of Margaret) later found success as a writer of One Act Plays, some of which are still in print and are still being performed. It took Rudy a while to be accepted by Ethel. He had a Yorkshire accent and had rather different political views! However, he won his mother-in-law round eventually. Following a happy marriage of over 50 years, Rudy died in 1988 and Betty was 91 when she herself died in 2001. Their daughter, Caroline, died in 2023.
 
David Winter Child Bellamy married Edith M Hall in 1945 in Suffolk and went on to have two children: David Christopher M (1948) and Timothy J (1952). As boys, he, Peter and John had all helped in the Butcher’s in King Street and it was assumed that as the eldest son he would inherit the business which he did, though he would much rather have gone to university. Eventually, in 1964 after a lifetime in the business, he sold it and took a degree in History at East Anglia University and enjoyed a career in education. Like his father, David had a very strong sense of duty and he and Edith kept an eye on at least one eccentric spinster in the family as well as Eleanor, Ethel’s unmarried sister, a sweet and placid lady. He had a quietly dry sense of humour. They were devoted parents and grandparents and were very hospitable. When Edith eventually succumbed to dementia, he cared for her at home until her death. He was a lovely man and when he was approaching the end his elder son Christopher cared for him with the same devotion.  David Winter Child Bellamy died in 2008, aged 97. Sadly, Christopher himself died in 2021.
 
Peter Bellamy married Hilda Gibson Scott on 19 April 1941 at Seaham Harbour  in County Durham. His brother, Lance Corporal John Bellamy of the Royal Corps of Signals was the best man. They had two children: Susan B (1943) in Suffolk and Michael C (1945) in Durham. In 1945 Peter was seconded to the Control Commission in Germany with the rank of Captain. He arrived in Hamburg on 11 August 1945 and was appalled at the devastation. He found the exhausting work worthwhile as it made use of his police experience. Captain Ernest Peter Bellamy of the Special Investigation Branch at Hamburg appeared in the newspapers in April 1947, giving evidence against Theodore Reid Hartwick, a Canadian born Control Commission officer, of Egham Surrey, who was imprisoned for six months and fined £1000 for using cigarettes allocated to displaced persons to buy black market fur coats, jewellery, clothes and cameras. During his posting in Hamburg Peter met his brother David several times. Peter was then posted to Berlin where he was joined by Hilda and the two children. Although Peter was released from active military service on 7 November 1947, the family remained in Berlin until June 1948. They escaped the Russian blockade of Berlin in the last convoy to get out. They then spent some time in Bünde, Nordrhein-Westfalen, before returning to England later that year. On his return, Peter rejoined the Met where he served for many years, reaching the rank of commander before transferring to what was then Birmingham City police (later West Midlands) as Assistant Chief Constable. He and Hilda spent 25 happy years living in Hackman’s Gate near Birmingham before moving to Clevedon in 1998 to be close to daughter Susan. He and Hilda died within 3 months of each other in a nursing home in Clevedon in 2003. Their ashes lie in St Andrew’s churchyard, just above Poet’s Walk, with a wonderful view cross the Bristol Channel to Wales.

John Roger Bellamy met a lovely Canadian widow called Zoe whom he married. He realised that life in Canada would offer better opportunities and an altogether more attractive standard of living, so they emigrated and lived there for the rest of their lives, having three children, David, Douglas and Katherine. His Mother was not pleased by this, but John and Zoe visited several times and contact was never lost. He was a good correspondent, displaying an entertaining and sardonic sense of humour.

From FindMyPast website: Civil and Parish Birth, Marriage and Death Records; England Census and 1939 Register Records; Electoral Rolls; Military Records; British Newspaper Archive
Yarmouth Independent: 08 December 1917, 01 May 1937
Companies House Information on Company Directors
Wikipedia:  King’s Own Shropshire Light Infantry
King’s Own Shropshire Light Infantry War Diary from Traces of War website
2nd Battalion KSLI 1944-45 D-Day Normandy North West Europe by Major G.L.Y. Radcliffe with Capt. R. Sale
Monty’s Iron Sides: From the Normandy Beaches to Bremen with the 3rd Division Paperback by Patrick Delaforce
National Archives Ref WO 373/21/204: Recommendation for Award for Bellamy, David Winter Child. Rank: Acting Warrant Officer Class 2.
Sunderland Echo and Shipping Gazette: 19 April 1941
Daily Mail: 23 April 1947
Assistance, family information and photos from Margaret, Rob and Katy Bircher (his sister Betty’s daughter and her children); Catherine Bellamy (his brother David’s grand daughter in law) and Susan Hibberd (his brother Peter’s daughter) – including information from David Bellamy’s detailed memoir “Command of a Sergeant”, John Bellamy’s booklets on family history for his Canadian children and Peter Bellamy’s diaries and other documents. 
 
Research Sue Reynolds, Elaine Gathercole 

John Coombs was killed in action on 12/10/1944 aged just 21. He was a Private in the 2ndBattalion, East Yorkshire Regiment. He was initially buried at the Cemetery De Kleffen Overloon and subsequently on 30th January 1946 in grave I. A. 7 at the Overloon Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Overloon.
 
The 2nd Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment took part in the D-Day landings in June 1944 and lost many men as a consequence. A substantial number of reinforcements joined the Battalion in late July when it had returned across the Orne to Beuville, near Caen in France. It played a part in action to secure a road junction at Vire in mid August but played no further part in the Battle of Normandy. In September they were in Belgium and successfully crossed the Escaut canal as part of the ill-fated Market Garden operation, arriving in Gemert in Holland on 26th September where they received a tremendous welcome. October saw the 2nd Battalion involved in some of the heaviest fighting since the end of June, amid continual rain and mud. At noon on 12th October the order was given for the Battalion to start the attack on Overloon from the north alongside the 1st Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment. Their task involved clearing woods of the enemy, but they faced considerable shell and mortar fire and also mines. The Battalion achieved its objective that day, but John Coombs was killed. The battalion continued to play its part in capturing Overloon on 12thto 15th October, suffering 49 casualties.

Family history 

John was the son of Harry and Lily Coombs of Widnes, Lancashire. Harry Coombs had married Lily Corwell in the Prescot District of Lancashire in 1911 which includes Widnes.
 
Harry was born in on 24/1/1886 in Sutton Weaver in Cheshire to John T Coombs and Mary Coombs. His father was an agricultural labourer. Sutton Weaver is a small village between Frodsham and Runcorn. In 1891 he was living at Warrington Road, Sutton, Runcorn, Cheshire with his parents and five siblings, but by the age of 15 he was working as an assistant cowman at Batherton Hall in Nantwich, Cheshire, run by the Furnival family.
 
Lily Corwell was born in on 31/7/1889 in Sankey near Warrington to John and Frances Corwell. In 1891 she was living with her parents and older brother at 4, Clare Street, Warrington and in 1901 at 82, James Street, Widnes with her parents, elder brother and two younger sisters. Her father was described as a carpenter in 1891 and a shipwright in 1901. Her elder brother John was a Soap Labourer aged 13 in 1901. By 1911 Lily was working as a general domestic servant in the household of William and Camilla Horner and their three children at 12 Ashton Drive, Hunts Cross, Much Woolton, Lancashire (now a suburb of Liverpool).
 
After their marriage in 1911 Harry and Lily Coombs had children as follows, all in the vicinity of Widnes: Harry 3/7/1912, Lily 26/6/1921, John in 1923, Muriel Ivy in 28/5/1925 and Sidney in 1930. In 1921 Harry and Lily were living with their first son at 21, Bank Street, Widnes. Harry was now a building labourer with Sir Robert Macalpine Contractors (Building). By September 1939 they were living at 13 Bank Street, Widnes with their daughters Lily and Muriel Ivy and three other individuals whose records are closed suggesting they were children. One of these was probably John Coombs. Harry was still working as a Contractors’ Bricklayers’ Labourer, the two girls were working in a Shirt Factory, one as a shirt presser and the other as a collar presser.
 
John’s brother Harry was not living with his parents as he had married Agnes Angus shortly beforehand in the Widnes area. He was working as a carpenter and joiner. They were living at 66 Castle Street, Widnes.
 
John Coombs died on 12th October 1944. The Runcorn Weekly News announced it on 3rd November that year as follows:

“West Bank Private Killed
 
As reported last week, Private John Coombs, a son of Mr & Mrs Harry Coombs, 105 Oakland St., was killed in NW Europe. He was 21 years of age, a native of Widnes and an old boy of West Bank School. Before joining the Army over three years ago, he worked as an apprentice plumber. Although of a quiet disposition, Private Coombs made many friends. He was particularly welcomed in the liberated countries and has written several letters home to say how friendly disposed the people were to the boys in the forces.
 
His brother, Sgt Harry Coombs, is serving in North West Europe and although the brothers were engaged in neighbouring battlefronts, they never met. Mr Coombs senior was a driver in the RFA in the last war.”
 
John’s father, Harry Coombs, had joined the Royal Field Artillery as a driver on 4th January 1915 and served until at least late 1918. He served in France at some point during WW1. At that time, he and lily were living with son Harry at Cocklade Lane in Hale, between Widnes and Liverpool. He died in 1958 aged 71 and his mother Lily died in 1968 aged 78 – both in the Widnes area.
 
John’s brother, Harry, seems to have survived the war but no children have been found. He died in 1999.
 
Lily Coombs married John B Nelson in the Widnes area in 1945 but it is difficult to assess if they had children.
 
Muriel Ivy Coombs married Wallace Woods in 1948 in the Widnes area. They may have had three children between 1949 and 1962. Muriel and Warren were still living in Widnes in 2014.
 
Sidney Coombs probably married Hazel S Wynne in 1953. No children have been found with any certainty.
 
Sidney seems to have lived at 17, Walkers Lane, Warrington, Cheshire, WA5 2PA for 26 years up to 2009 – and it seems that his sister, Lily Nelson, was also living at that address from 2002 to 2010. Sidney moved into a nursing home in Warrington in 2010. Lily died in 2010 and Sidney in 2013.

From FindMyPast website: Civil and Parish Birth, Marriage and Death Records; England Census and 1939 Register Records; Electoral Rolls; Military Records
Military records from ForcesWarRecords website
War Diary from Traces of War Website

Information on the East Yorkshire Regiment from a thesis written by Tracey Cragg for her PhD with the Department of History, University of Sheffield 2007  “An `Unspectacular’ War? Reconstructie van de geschiedenis van het 2e Bataljon East Yorkshire Regiment tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog”.

Research Elaine Gathercole

Jack Ferris was the son of William John Ferris and Kathleen Ferris (nee Sainsbury).
 
William J Ferris was the son of Charles and Louisa Ferris, born in Bristol in 1863 and 1865 respectively. Charles was described as a cotton spinner or cotton slasher at a factory, working at the Great Western Cotton Works by 1921. They were living at 20, Cobden Street, Bristol in 1901 but by 1911 had moved to 126 Victoria Avenue, Redfield, Bristol. They appear to have had at least six children, of which William was the youngest. They were at the same address in 1921 with William being their only child still living at home. His occupation was described as a carpenter at Fry & Sons Cocoa Manufacturers in Bristol but was out of work at the time.
 
Kathleen Sainsbury was the daughter of William and Fanny Sainsbury. William was born in Westbury, Wiltshire in 1850 and Fanny in Colwall near Malvern in 1865. They had married in 1893. In 1901 the family were living at Church Street, Westbury. William was working as a coal merchant. Six children were present, of which Kathleen was the fourth, as well as William’s 80 year old mother and a servant. A seventh child was born in 1905, but just a few months before, in late 1904, William had died. Fanny continued to live in Westbury until at least 1939 and died in Warminster in 1948 aged 83. However, by 1911 Kathleen was living at 1 Sloan Street, St. George, Bristol in the household of George E Sainsbury and his wife, Elizabeth. Although she was described as his daughter, she was, in fact, his niece. The family believe she was sent to Bristol to look after her Aunt, but they treated her as a servant. Although aged just 14, she was working as a chocolate packer at Fry’s Chocolate factory. By 1921, her aunt was widowed and Kathleen was still living with her, now working as a Chocolate Moulder for Messers. Fry & Sons, Chocolate Manufacturer.
 
William J Ferris (born on 4th May, 1900) married Kathleen Sainsbury (born 1st February 1897) in early 1922 in Westbury in Wiltshire. They had four children as follows, all in Bristol: Kenneth William 1922, Mary Kathleen 1923, Jack 1925 and Mervyn 1927.
 
By 1939 William was now working as a Ship’s Joiner & Carpenter and the family were living at 126 Victoria Avenue, Bristol, where he had been living previously with his parents. His father had died late in 1921 and his mother in 1924. With them were their son, Kenneth W Ferris and two other children whose names were not disclosed. It isn’t known where the other child was at this time. Kenneth (born 16/7/1922) was working as a Photo Print Worker.

Military career

It isn’t known when Jack Ferris joined the Army, but as he was only 19 at the time of his death it is thought that it was not long before he died. He was a Gunner in the 7 Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery.
 
This Regiment served the whole of the war with the 3rd Infantry Division. The Division had been sent to France in September 1939, but had to be evacuated in May 1940 from Dunkirk. They were the first British formation to land at Sword Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944, as part of the invasion of Normandy. After D-Day the 3rd Infantry Division fought through the Battle for Caen, in Operation Charnwood and Operation Goodwood. With the fighting in Normandy over after the Battle of the Falaise Gap, the division also participated in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine and fought in the Netherlands and Belgium and later the Allied invasion of Germany.
 
From 5th to 16th September 1944, the 7 Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery was based at Les Andelys in France, having just crossed the Seine. They were able to train and relax after their first taste of attack and in preparation for the challenges to come. Some were able to make a trip to Paris while others visited Rouen, with the War Diary stating that “There is no record of their doings but they had evidently enjoyed themselves.”
 
On 17th September they entered Belgium and were based to the east of Mons. It was reported that “the civilians in Belgium are in great form” and that “The Lt. QM, a married man, stated that he had never been kissed so much in his life.” It was not all fun however as it was also recorded that they spent the night without cover in most unpleasant rain. On the 18th they assisted the 9th Brigade in crossing the Escaut Canal. The War Diary records: “This is the first time we have fired the 25 pounders. It is good to be doing the job we were intended to do instead of training in the back areas”. They remained  near this area until 24th September, with a comment being made that: “This is an unpleasant area, the farms are very poor and the inhabitants very hungry.”
 
On the 24th they moved into the Netherlands at Someren (east of Eindhoven) to enable them to fire in defence of the Asten bridgehead which the US 11th Armoured Division had established. At this point their HQ and Observation Post parties were shelled heavily which they had not experienced since mid August. The enemy had retreated east of Meijel and the regiment stayed roughly in this area, supporting troops as necessary, but with it being generally quiet.
 
On 1st October, the Regiment moved up across the Maas to an area south of Malden, just south of Nijmegen. They remained in this area until 9th October. There was little fighting and the Regiment was harassing the enemy, but they were also getting shelled. Two Officers and four Other Ranks were wounded and two Other Ranks killed in this period.
 
On 9th October the Regiment moved to a position south of the village of Oploo. The War Diary comments that they were: “surrounded by the biggest concentration of artillery we have seen since the early days in France”. However, it was also stated that: “This area is most unpopular, the ground is sodden and most of the slit trenches are filled with water.” They had little firing to do until 12th October when they fired in support of the 8th Brigade whose goal was to capture and consolidate Overloon. In the process, 3 Other Ranks of the artillery regiment were wounded.
 
From the 13th, the aim was for the Regiment to continue to support the 9th and 185th Brigades to move south to take Venray, one from the north and the other more from the west. On the 13th and 14th progress was not as good as hoped as the Brigades had difficulty crossing a water filled ditch called the Molenbeek. Two enemy observation posts on Venray Church and a tower at Maashees to the east resulted in enemy fire also slowing progress. On the 15th the Regiment moved to a position just west of Overloon near the road from Oploo to Overloon in preparation for a further attack on the 16th with the aim of crossing the Molenbeek during the early morning hours of darkness. This was successfully achieved despite bad weather and the area being thickly sown with mines. Both Brigades were making progress towards Venray by the end of the day. One Officer of the Regiment and two Other Ranks were wounded.

The battle for Venray continued on the 17th with the Brigades making further progress, though they didn’t succeed in their objective of reaching a Monastery south east of Venray that day. Three Other Ranks of the artillery regiment were killed that day, including Jack Ferris. The others were fellow Gunners Philip Holmes and Joseph Wade. The battle for Venray was won the following day and the regiment was allowed a rest period from 20thto 24th October.
 
The three men were initially buried just outside Overloon where they had been based on the 15th. This was between Heldersweg and Merseloseweg on land owned by Marte Willems, near the premises of A. Bloemen. On 29 May 1946 they were re-interred side by side at the Overloon Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. Jack’s inscription reads: “May the sunshine he missed on life’s journey be his in this garden of rest.”

Jack’s mother, Kathleen Ferris, died in Bristol in 1974 aged 77 and his father, William John Ferris, in 1995 aged 94.
 
Jack’s elder brother, Kenneth William Ferris, married Violet F Brushmear in London in 1944 and went on to have two children. Kenneth died in Devon in 2002.
 
It is understood that Jack’s sister, Mary Kathleen Ferris, may have married prior to 1947, but her husband died. She went on to marry Norman S Sager in Bristol in early 1947. He was a Sergeant in the Royal New Zealand Air Force who had been based in the UK. On 14th February 1947 they sailed together for New Zealand where they had two children. She had still been living at 126, Victoria Avenue, Redfield, Bristol before her departure. Kathleen visited the UK again in 1957, bringing her children with her, but returned to Wellington on 7th June.
 
Jack’s younger brother, Mervyn Ferris, married Janet M Iles in 1956 in Bristol. They went on to have two children. Mervyn died in 2018 at Weston Super Mare, aged 91.

FindMyPast website: Civil and Parish Birth, Marriage and Death Records; England Census and 1939 Register Records; Electoral Rolls; Military Records; Travel Records
Traces of War Website for 7 Field Regiment Royal Artillery War Diaries
Wikipedia for information on the Royal Artillery and 3rd Infantry Division
Photo from his niece, Gilly Cooper (nee Ferris)  

Research Elaine Gathercole