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Patrick Moore. No.3 Commando

I would like to submit my grandads details. His name was Patrick Moore, he was a rifleman in No.3 commando. He told me he was at Belsen when the bodies were being moved into pits, which he helped with. Possibly attached to 2nd army group but he didn’t give many details.
patrick moore 3 commando
Patrick, from Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Served in the Royal Ulster Rifles and No.3 Commando – D Company.

No. 3 Commando landed at La Breche, west of Ouistreham at 09:05 coming ashore in the second wave.

One of the critical actions fought by No 3 after D-Day was at the river Orne and the capture of the Merville Battery to the flank of the landing beaches. The Battery was captured but at great loss to No 3 Commando. A brief replenishment in the UK followed at Worthing and then the unit was back in action again as part of the British Liberation Army.

No3 were involved in the actions during the crossing of the river Maas, the clearing of the Maas Rhine Triangle, the capture of Osnabruck, the crossing the Weser (Operation Widgeon) and Aller rivers, and finally the crossing of the River Elbe.

Moore has written, in hand, on a copy of The Torch, that they crossed the Rhine in April 1945.
There are currently no details placing No.3 Commando at Belsen however, accounts by Moore, confirm that he was. More to research. ED

Sorting through his old things, I found a book published in 1950 telling the story of the war from D-Day to liberation. The interesting thing is that he wrote notes on specific pages, most notably the chapter on Belsen. Written around the page is “entered Belsen, god help us how can human beings do this to each other, to women and children, this is hell on earth”.

In June 1945 No 3 Commando, were back in the UK preparing for the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland.

Neil Davies

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This archive has been established after my own relative, Reg Price, took part in the liberation and subsequent humanitarian effort of Bergen Belsen in April 1945. Reg produced this famous sign at Belsen. As part of the 113th DLI, Reg and his comrades were at Belsen for 5 weeks and left when the last hut was empty and ceremonially burnt down. This archive compiles all available resources to build a lasting tribute to all the men and women who helped - any unit, any nationality. 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.ukThank you Nick Price CreativesFacebookTwitter