- Contributed by听
- sidleyukonline
- People in story:听
- Thomas Henry Bennett
- Location of story:听
- Bruyelle
- Article ID:听
- A4563425
- Contributed on:听
- 27 July 2005
About Lance Bombardier Thomas Henry Bennett 900841
And an English woman in Bruyelle.
This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Pat Mantell from Sidley Online Centre and has been added to the website on behalf of Geoffrey Bennett with his permission and they fully understand the site's terms and conditions.
My Uncle Tom was one of the first soldiers to be killed as the Germans advanced into Belgium in May 1940, he was manning a royal Artillery Gun site whilst he and his crew were escaping to France. A shell exploded and killed him instantly and his body was left behind in a field in Bruyelle.
Unbeknown to anyone, an English woman called Elsie married to a Belgian, tended the grave throughout the entire war. When the war ended he was re-buried in Breyelle cemetery with 146 others of whom 17 are unidentified.
The battle on the side of the river Scheldt before the final withdrawal from Dunkirk ahead of the German advance when the 140 field regiment were able to reform and fight the German advance, the officer in charge shouted 鈥淩emember to fire one for Bennett鈥.
I remember the reaction of my father who had lost his brother although I was only 3 and a half years old. I have since visited the Bruyelle cemetery and was shocked to see that the majority of these brave soldiers were aged 17 to 20 years. The oldest being a sergeant aged 25.
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