The Liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp
Welcome this new archive relating and dedicated to the men and women service personnel and the part they played at the Liberation and subsequent Humanitarian Effort of the Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945.
We are now inviting any relatives of service personnel who may have been at the camp to get in touch. We do not believe there are any records of the diverse group of men and women, many completely untrained, who were involved with the camp, after it’s liberation.
1 SAS.
Two jeeps arrived about 3pm on Sunday the 15th of April 1945. with John Randall.
(The SAS left shortly after with the exception of Weaver who stayed on as a translator for the 63rd C.O)
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Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Webb, LeonardSubmitted by: Archive
Webb, William Stanley
Royal Artillery (poss 113th)
Badly wounded 4th November 1944.
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Submitted by: Archive
Wells Derek Geoffrey
West John Stainley Sgt.
Westbury, David George Arthur (Guy’s Hospital)
Medical Student
Guy's Hospital.
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Westwell, Matthew (Army Catering Corp)
Corporal Matthew Westwell, a butcher by trade, served in the Army Catering Corps formed in March 1941. He was also in the Royal Berkshire Regiment and the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry - He was at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp after it was liberated by the 11th Amoured Division (Great Britain).
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Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Wheeler A. F. Jim
Whetnall, Tom (Sapper)
Royal Engineer (59 Plant Troop) 866 Mechanical Equipment
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Submitted by: Archive
Whimster, Ian Wesley (Medical Student)
Medical Student. St Thomas
Contracted Typhus at Belsen
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Whitcome John Leslie Clarence
White Ian Clifford Leonard
Whitehead
Whitehouse, David
Whyte, King (CBC Reporter)
Canadian Reporter from Montreal.
Arrived 23rd April. Reported to Radio Luxembourg
Medical Assistant.
32nd Casualty Clearing Station
"Outside the huts were piles and piles of dead bodies. Many of the soldiers who first entered the camp were desperate to try and alleviate the prisoners' starvation by giving them army rations. This first intake of food was fatal for many prisoners, who were too weak to digest it.”
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Woodwark George Millington
Wray, William Arthur
1914–1975
Birth 6 JUN 1914 • Hemswell, Lincolnshire, England
Death 28 FEB 1975 • Hemswell, Lincolnshire, England
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Wyer S. G.
Wyndham-Ward, Margaret
British Red Cross Civilian Relief Team
Part of the first group of 6 teams. x5 British Red Cross and Order of St Johns (now St Johns Ambulance) and x1 Friends Relief Service. Arriving night of 21st April, starting 22nd April.
Awarded MBE
Having trouble submitting a name? Please email us instead: liberator@belsen.co.uk – Thank you
This site will progress and I’d encourage anyone with any info to get in touch. My granddad, Reg Price served with the 113th Durham Light Infantry*, as part of 369 Battery. As a signwriter, he produced this sign…
The Sign at the Liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp
And this was kept in the family for years – so for the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Belsen in 2020, subsequent VE Day and VJ Day, I thought it’s about time I’d try to find out more about Reg – his comrades (many of which are names, simply written on the back of photos), what they did together and for a way to remember them all, properly.
To coinicide with the anniversary, I was able to be filmed both on national and local BBC TV to tell Reg’s Story. Whilst this was totally out of my comfort zone and I dreaded every moment – I decided I needed to do something to start this all off. BBC Midlands Today aired 7th May and a VE Day Antiques Roadshow Special aired Sunday 10th May.
The main photo, shown here was coloured for the 75th Anniversary and we’ll tell you all about it shortly – and what happened next!
*Just 113th Durham Light Infantry? No we are interested in all Service and Medical personnel who took part during the humanitarian effort at Belsen Concentration Camp. Their roles and names are largely forgotten, as many were too horrified to ever speak of what they had to do, so this archive seeks to form a tribute to ALL those that were there, to find out more and to remember them. If you have a relative, or any info, on the relief effort at Belsen, we’d love you to please get in touch. Email us: liberator@belsen.co.uk – Thank you
***
The Liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp
Any 113th Durham Light Infantry friends or family are encouraged to get in touch via 113th@belsen.co.uk
** In 1938 the old 5th Battalion DLI changed its role to Searchlights and then in 1940 to Anti-Aircraft. This 113th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment went to Normandy in June 1944 and joined the advance into Germany in early 1945. Official designation – Brigade: 100 AA • Division: 30 Corps. • Unit: 113 LAA Regt. RA (DLI) TA.
