5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry
The Regiment was officially formed in 1881 when the 32nd and 46th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated as part of the Childers Reforms; however it can trace its history back over 180 years prior to this date.
During the war the regiment was increased to seven battalions. However, only the 1st, 2nd and 5th served overseas.
The 2nd Battalion, DCLI was serving in 10th Infantry Brigade, which also included the 2nd Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment and 1st Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, part of the 4th Infantry Division, and was sent overseas to France shortly after the outbreak of war, where they arrived on 1 October 1939 as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The battalion remained in France for many months until May 1940 when the German Army invaded Holland, Belgium and France, where they, along with the rest of the BEF, were forced into a retreat to the Dunkirk perimeter where they were subsequently evacuated to England.
In July 1944, during the Battle of Hill 112 (Operation Jupiter), during the Battle for Caen, part of the larger Battle of Normandy, the hill acquired the name "Cornwall Hill" after Cornish soldiers of 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel John Pole, suffered 320 casualties there. The battalion was part of the 214th Infantry Brigade attached to the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division.
Name: Wright, William
Rank: Private
Age: 28
No. 11053101
Unit: Platoon, A Company
Missing since: 26-09-1944
Next of Kin:Son of Mr and Mrs John Wright, of Stansfields, Stoke on Trent.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information: Known to have been killed in Driel area.
Name: Hayward, John
Rank: Private
Age: 22
No. 6146650
Unit: Platoon, Company
Missing since: 06-10-1944
Next of Kin:Son of Frank and Ellen Martha Hayward.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed in Opheusden area.
Name: Smith, Gordon Henry
Rank: Private
Age: 19
No. 14714280
Unit: 16 Platoon, D Company
Missing since: 06-10-1944
Next of Kin:Son of John William and Hariet Jane Smith, of Rothwell, Northamptonshire.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed in Opheusden area probably by a sniper.
Name: Roberts, Arthur Henry
Rank: Lance-Corporal
Age: 30
No. 6200660
Unit: Platoon, Company
Missing since: 11-10-1944
Next of Kin:
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed in Mook area.
Name: Cowling, Sydney Oscar
Rank: Lance-Corporal
Age: 37
No. 5434022
Unit: Platoon, Company
Missing since: 06-10-1944
Next of Kin: Husband of Audrey Doris Cowling, of Truro.
Son of Sidney Lewis and Lindo Cowling, of Truro, Cornwall.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information: Known to have been killed in Opheusden area.
It is known that his ID tags were given to some one in the Townhall, and also presumed that his burial as such was known, but all are now
lost.
Could he be the unknown soldier at Arnhem-Oosterbeek War Cemetery
Grave 10.C.16
Name: Hunt, Henry
Rank: Corporal
Age: 24
No. 7944245
Unit: Platoon, Company
Missing since: 06-10-1944
Next of Kin:Son of Wilfred and Mary Hunt, of Eckington, Derbyshire.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed in Opheusden area.
Name: Smithbone, Derek John
Rank: Private
Age: 18
No. 14714281
Unit: 16 Platoon, D Company
Missing since: 06-10-1944
Next of Kin:Son of Herbert A and Gladys A. Smithborne, of Northampton.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed in Opheusden area probably by a sniper, when trying to get to Private Gordon Smith.
Name: Sullivan,Frederick James
Rank: Corporal
Age: 31
No. 5435690
Unit: Platoon, Company
Missing since: 11-10-1944
Next of Kin:Husband of E. Sullivan, of Walworth, London. Son Eliza Sullivan.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed in Mook area.
Name: Febery, Samuel Thomas
Rank: Private
Age: 18
No. 14716361
Unit: Platoon, Company
Missing since: 04-10-1944
Next of Kin:
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information: Known to have been killed in Opheusden area.
Name: Self, Frank
Rank: Private
Age: 21
No. 14692241
Unit: Platoon, Company
Missing since: 06-10-1944
Next of Kin:Son of Frank Vernon and Florrie Self, of Darlaston, Wednesbury, Staffordshire.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed in Opheusden area.
Name: Holmes, Walter James Benjamin
Rank: Private
Age: 24
No. 6293351
Unit: Platoon, Company
Missing since: 11-10-1944
Next of Kin:
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed in Mook area.
Name: Welch,Cyril Arthur
Rank: Lieutenant
Age: 23
No. 311510
Unit: attached from East Surrey Regiment to C Company
Missing since: 06 -10-1944
Next of Kin:Husband of Kathleen Anne Welch, of Herne Hill, london. Son of Mr and Mrs Arthur Welch.
Groesbeek Panel: 4
KIA Information:
Known to have been killed and buried in Opheusden area.
