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Remembered Today:

France, Foret-de-Xoiviere, Nr Rouen WW2


museumtom

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I am trying to unravel the ww2 exploits fo a man who went missing in Foret-de-Xoiviere, Nr Rouen. He was supposed to have been on the wrong side of the bridge at Dunkirk. What is the distance between these two locations please.

regards.

Tom.

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Dunkirk to Rouen is 258km Tom.

Le Havre (not too far away) , where my Grandad was evacuated, was another major evacuation port (as was St.Nazaire -even further away - "Operation Aerial" and (?) Cherbourg) which probably accounts for his presence there. Dunkirk is the "famous" one, but there were many exit points for the BEF in may/June 1940.

Dave.

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Sheesh!!!!258Kms, back to the drawing board.

Thanks Dave, much appreciated.

Regards.

Tom.

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I am trying to unravel the ww2 exploits fo a man who went missing in Foret-de-Xoiviere, Nr Rouen. He was supposed to have been on the wrong side of the bridge at Dunkirk. What is the distance between these two locations please.

regards.

Tom.

Your investigations might be on the right track.

During the fall of France and the encirclement of the BEF, British units were instructed to head for the western channel ports, namely Cherbourg,St Malo and St Nazaire on the Loire.(Le Havre has already been mentioned).The tragic loss of the SS Lancastria occurred during this withdrawal when the Luftwaffe found it a sitting duck in the St Nazaire roads.

Consequently there was a continual stream of British units and stragglers heading west.Some even had to head south and made it to Spain but a number, particularly RAF personnel headed for Bordeaux but had to then get to the Point de Grave on the opposite bank to Royan to be picked up .These returned to the UK by late June,well after the Dunkirk evacuation had been completed.

Some stragglers made it to the south of France and were imprisioned by Vichy which apparently was not a pleasant experience.

Attacked by the Luftwaffe north of the Loire,where ever these British units passed they have left their presence by British dead in the communal cemeteries along the way, some not with an exact date of death,the date of death being recorded between their last official recorded unit presence and the date their body was found.

Your man might be in one of these cemeteries.He might be, as are a number are,"An Unknown British Soldier".While in Rouen area I found the CWGC graves of six dead of Yorkshire Regiments.I can't identify the exact location as I have not the photgraph to hand.All lost their lives during the withdrawal to the south west.

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Hello Frank.

Many thanks for the info. It all helps to make a fuller picture of my man. He did not die but was captured and ended a pow in Stalag 11A.

Most interesting.

Many thanks again.

Tom

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Excellent Malcolm, his unit was the 670 artisan works.

The time frame is from June to July 1940.

Regards.

Tom.

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Great stuff Malcolm, many thanks. Now then...whats does this mean? RE signals? In the Docks of Rouen?

Regards.

Tom.

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