Corporal RONALD LEON HARDING Gunner JOHN DOUGLAS HARDING
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Those we remember who died in the Second World War – Luttons Corporal RONALD LEON HARDING Gunner JOHN DOUGLAS HARDING We have put together the following information in an attempt to bring these soldiers to the front of our minds. Please accept our apologies our apologies for any inaccuracies, or missed information. We intend to expand this information over time, so do let us know if you have any further information which we can add to our work. In Memory of Corporal RONALD LEON HARDING 4747584, The Hallamshire Bn., York and Lancaster Regiment who died age 25 on 07 September 1944 Son of Thomas Sewing Harding and Hannah Ewbank Harding, of Sheffield; husband of Winnie Harding, of Sheffield. Remembered with honour ST. DESIR WAR CEMETERY Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Ronald Leon Harding Remembered In 1911, records show that Ronald Leon Harding’s grandparents and his Father (John Harding) lived in the Forge at West Lutton, and he is remembered, along with his brother, John Douglas, on their graves. At the time of the Second World War he, his parents and his wife were living in Sheffield – hence he joined the Hallamshire Battalion. The Hallamshire War Diary shows two entries which seem to relate to our Ronald Harding. It states that on 31st August 1944 the Battalion remained in rest at Vieus Port. During the afternoon of that day Captain Cowell and Corporal Harding were travelling in a Jeep which struck a mine. Both were seriously wounded. The diary shows that “Ronald Leon Harding, aged 25, died on 7th September. At this time his family lived at Tom Lane in Sheffield. The inscription on his war grave at St Desir reads: 'Sleeping in Heavenly Rest.'” Our thanks to http://www.irdp.co.uk/JohnCrook/normandy.htm St Desir War Cemetary, France St Desir is a village on the N13 to Caen, 4 kilometres west of Lisieux. The war cemetery is approximately kilometre west of the village and lies on a secondary road. The Allied offensive in north-western Europe began with the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. St Desir War Cemetery is the most easterly of the Normandy cemeteries. For the most part, those buried here died in the final stages of the campaign, in pursuit of the German forces towards the Seine. The cemetery contains 597 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War. 78 of these graves were brought in from Chartres (St Cheron) Communal Cemetery after the war, together with the four First World War burials now at St Desir. Our thanks to www.cwgc.org for the information The Hallamshire Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment In 1944, the Hallamshire battalion consisted of around 36 officers, 780 other ranks and 105 vehicles. It had 4 rifle companies, each commanded by a Major and a mechanised support company of six 3 inch Mortars, 12 Bren Gun Carriers, a wasp flame thrower, six 6 Pounder Guns for use against tanks, and an assault pioneer platoon which was equipped to detect and clear mines and trained to make rafts and carry out minor construction work. This photograph shows the Hallamshire Regiment in 1944 taking a French Village. Our thanks to www.irdp.co.uk/JohnCrook/normandy.htm for the information In Memory of Gunner JOHN DOUGLAS HARDING 1479693, 122 (5th Bn. The Royal Warwickshire Regt.) Lt. A.A. Regt., Royal Artillery who died age 27 on 26 April 1941 Son of Thomas Sowing Harding and Hannah Ewbank Harding; husband of Isabella Harding, of Nether Edge, Sheffield. Remembered with honour PHALERON WAR CEMETERY Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission John Douglas Harding Remembered Robert and Lydia Harding moved into the Forge in West Lutton sometime between 1881 and 1891. They had a son John (b 1861), who worked as a blacksmith as did his father. John married Annie Holtby, who was born in West Lutton in the year 1871. John and Annie had 8 children, one of whom was Thomas Sowing Harding. Thomas married Hannah (who we have not been able to trace, although we believe her to be born in West Lutton). Thomas and Hannah Harding had two children, both boys, John Douglas and Ronald Leon Harding. They moved to Sheffield, where John and Ronald both lived as married men. Both John and Ronald were lost in the Second World War – John Douglas in Greece on 26 April 1941. They are remembered on their grandparents’ grave in St Mary’s Church, West Lutton. Our thanks to Alison Crawford and Caroline Bradshaw for the information Phaleron War Cemetery, Greece Phaleron War Cemetery lies a few kilometres to the south-east of Athens, at the boundary between old Phaleron district and Alimos-Kalamak district, on the coast road from Athens to Vouliaghmen. The Athens Memorial stands in the cemetery. The site was chosen originally by the 4th Division as a burial ground for Commonwealth casualties of the Greek Civil War (December 1944-February 1945). Subsequently, the military authorities, in conjunction with the Greek Government and the Army Graves Service, decided that it would be the most suitable site for a Second World War cemetery for the whole mainland of Greece. The 23rd and 24th Graves Registration Units and the 21st and 22nd Australian War Graves Units worked together to bring in graves of the 1941 campaign from the battlefields, temporary military cemeteries and from various civil cemeteries. There are now 2,029 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 596 of the burials are unidentified. Special memorials commemorate casualties known to have been interred in certain groups of graves in the cemetery, but whose individual graves cannot be precisely located within these groups. Other special memorials commemorate casualties re-buried in the cemetery from original graves which, owing to the destruction of local records, could not be identified. Also within the cemetery are: The Phaleron Cremation Memorial, commemorating 74 men of the army of undivided India who died during the campaigns in Greece and Crete during the Second World War and who were accorded the last rite required by their religion - committal to fire. The Athens Memorial, commemorating nearly 3,000 members of the land forces of the Commonwealth who lost their lives during the campaigns in Greece and Crete in 1941 and 1944-1945, in the Dodecanese Islands in 1943-1945 and in Yugoslavia in 1943-1945, and who have no known grave. In the north-east corner of the cemetery, a plot contains the graves of servicemen and civilians who after serving in the Crimean War, died in Greece, and were buried in the Anglo-French Crimean Cemetery, New Phaleron. The graves were moved in 1966 when that cemetery could no longer be maintained. Our thanks to www.cwgc.org for the information 122 (5th Battalion The Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Lt. A.A. Regt., Royal Artillery The Royal Artillery in its modern form was created in 1924 by amalgamation of the Royal Field Artillery and the Royal Garrison Artillery; its origins can be traced back to the 13th century. It is likely that the 5th Battalion were involved in The Battle of Greece (also known as Operation Marita), a battle that occurred on the Greek mainland and in southern Albania. With the Battle of Crete and several naval actions, the Battle of Greece is considered part of the wider Aegean component of the Balkans Campaign of World War Two. The Battle of Greece began when Italian troops invaded Greece on October 28, 1940. Within weeks the Italians were driven from Greece and Greek forces pushed on to occupy much of southern Albania. In March 1941, a major Italian counterattack failed, and Germany was forced to come to the aid of its ally. Operation Marita began on April 6, 1941, with German troops invading Greece through Bulgaria in an effort to secure its southern flank. The combined Greek and British Commonwealth forces fought back with great tenacity, but were vastly outnumbered and outgunned, and finally collapsed. Athens fell on April 27. However, the British managed to evacuate about 50,000 troops. The Greek campaign ended in a quick and complete German victory with the fall of Kalamata in the Peloponnese: it was over within twenty-four days. Nevertheless, both German and Allied officials have expressed their admiration for the strong resistance of the Greek soldiers. Our thanks to www.wickipaedia.org for the information .