Lest We Forget

[Canary42]

On this day 80 years ago 80 men from the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Cheshire Regiment, The Worcestershire Yeomanry, who were defending the Dunkirk corridor, and a French soldier, were murdered by the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler in a barn on the outskirts of Wormhoudt.

After putting up a strong defence of the town, and having exhausted their ammunition, those soldiers from the British Expeditionary Force who remained surrendered to the SS troops. From here they were marched to the barn on the outskirts of the town, with those wounded and unable to keep up being shot.

After being herded into the barn stick grenades were thrown in. Two groups of five were then called out to be executed. Again, the SS troops thought this to be too slow so they fired their weapons into the mass of men who remained.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorates those who died at Esquelbecq Military Cemetery.

[Ringlet]

May they rest in peace.

[Rosie29]

I knew about this but reading it again chills me to the bone.
Dreadful.

[naomi24]

Brave men.

[bookbinder]

Some background here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormhoudt_massacre

[Prudie]

I've not heard of this and it's just awful. Makes one remember how barbaric humans can be to each other - and these were Germans!! One must wonder what mindset those that did the shooting had at the time. Of course there are countless other monstrosities carried out by all nations. Lest we forget indeed.

[retrocop]

There was a BBC documentary this week presented by Dan Snow.A survivor of the Warwicks was taken to the building which is now a memorial to that cowardly massacre. It was heartgbreaking to see him reading out the names of his comrades on the memorial tablet.'Yeh Sid Davis.I knew him and Terry Brown,Oh Bob Newton I joined with him'
All their lives cut short but their hopes and aspirations have done us proud to this day.
Fantastic Kids who suddenly became men but never saw their dotage. Bless them all.
I avoid RIPs for people I never knew but I can be forgiven for bending my own rules. RIP.

[andy-hughes]

I was not aware of this atrocity, but it does bring into sharp relief the horror of war.

retrocop - // Fantastic Kids who suddenly became men but never saw their dotage. //

That's a really poignant sentence, if it is yours, you should be proud of it.

[retrocop]

Wow. Thank you.I don't want to boast or show off but it was sincere,all my own work, and written from the heart. :-)

[andy-hughes]

You did well.

[iluvmargie]

Horrible, horrible story. They must have been so scared and I bet they called for their Mums. May peace be theirs forever more xxx

[bookbinder]

A bit more background:
https://www.historyhit.com/the-wormhoudt-massacre-ss-brigadefuhrer-wilhem-mohnke-and-justice-denied/

[Mamyalynne]

A true atrocity.

Never forgotten.

[tiggerblue10]

Well I certainly do learn something new every day. More awful stories of individuals murdered in the war.

May the rest in peace.

[marval]

We must never forget them.