The Liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp
Welcome this new archive relating and dedicated to the men and women service personnel and the part they played at the Liberation and subsequent Humanitarian Effort of the Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945: The Liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp.
UPDATE:
Thank you to everyone who submitted a name/details to coincide with the anniversary of the liberation of Bergen Belsen – we’ll go through all your submissions, moderate and add them on. If you have a photo or any more details please email us. Thank you.
We are now inviting any relatives of service personnel who may have been at the camp to get in touch. Any regiment, service, nationality, volunteer or any snippet of information – we would like to hear from you. We do not believe there are any records of the diverse group of men and women, many completely untrained, who were involved with the camp, after it’s liberation.
Those That Served
There are currently 128 names in this directory beginning with the letter W.
Waldock, Kenneth George (MBE)
Planning Field Hospitals. Awarded MBE for war services.
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWales, Luther Frederick (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 10/02/1939
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWalford, David de Guise
113th Durham
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80030463
Submitted by: 113th DLI ArchiveWalker, Alan George (Gnr) (113 LAA)
Known as George
370 Bty, 113th L.A.A. Regt RA
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWalker, Cyril Stanley (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 15/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWalker, Fred Bernard (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWalker, Joseph (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWallace, Frederick Alfred (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWallace, James Meighan
Participated in the Normandy landings. He was ordered to Belsen concentration camp the day after its liberation to assess the medical needs of the inmates; in his memoirs he describes how the army authorities did not believe his estimates of the scale of human tragedy revealed. Because of his linguistic skills he was left in administrative charge of 13 German military hospitals and a large civilian hospital.
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWaller, John (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 18/04/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWarburton, David (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 15/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWard, John (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWarmer, Christoper Charles (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWarren, Cecil (11th LFA)
11th British Light Field Ambulance regiment
1914-2009
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWarrington, Maurice (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 15/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWaters, Thomas (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 08/02/1937
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWaterson, David James
(Earlier) 8th Army Western Desert Blood Transfusion Unit
Among the firts medical staff at Belsen. Awarded CBE in 1972.
Later Honorary Consultant Surgeon at Great Ormond Street
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWatkin, John (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWatson, John (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 18/05/1939
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWatson, Leonard Archie (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWaytzman, Louis (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWeatherson, Henry (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWeaver, Peter (1SAS)
1 SAS.
Two jeeps arrived about 3pm on Sunday the 15th of April 1945. with John Randall.
(The SAS left shortly after with the exception of Weaver who stayed on as a translator for the 63rd C.O)
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWebb, William Stanley
Royal Artillery (poss 113th)
Badly wounded 4th November 1944.
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Submitted by: ArchiveWebster, James (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 31/10/1939
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWells, Frank (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 15/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWells, Sidney David (14th LFA, RAMC)
14th Light Field Ambulance, RAMC
He was sent to France with the B.E.F. At Dunkirk they drew lots which let him try to get back to England. He was lifted off the mole by an almost new Destroyer with only one set of rear guns and two sets of torpedo tubes believed to be HMS Harvester.
The unit was then sent to North Africa, Syria(attached to Australians), back to north Africa. For a time he was an orderly in an American Field Service ambulance. These were volunteer American drivers and dodge ambulances supplied by the American Red Cross.
After North Africa he was in Italy before returning to the UK for the Normandy landings. From then on to Belgium, Holland and Germany.
He did not often talk of his experiences. Once he said that after large tank battle the M.O. was with them and if the casualty was beyond help they would be given an excess of morphine.
He was also at Bergen-Belsen a few days after it was liberated and said if you were not there in person you would not be able to take it all in. All the years I knew him he never used the word ambulance it was always a Blood Wagon. After the war he worked at Betteshanger Colliery in Kent as a male nurse
Submitted by: Norman WellsWest, Robert (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 08/06/1939
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWestbury, David George Arthur (Guy’s Hospital)
Medical Student
Guy's Hospital.
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWestbury, Ron
He was in one of the first tanks to liberate Belsen concentration camp. When I was in my 20's when he opened up one afternoon and told me everything he witnessed there.
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Submitted by: Ray WestburyWestwell, Matthew (Army Catering Corp)
Corporal Matthew Westwell, a butcher by trade, served in the Army Catering Corps formed in March 1941. He was also in the Royal Berkshire Regiment and the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry - He was at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp after it was liberated by the 11th Amoured Division (Great Britain).
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWhateley-Smith, P.G (Major)
94th (Dorset & Hants) Field Regiment R.A
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWheatley, JN (Col)
UNRAA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration)
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWheeler, Walter (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWhetnall, Tom (Sapper)
Royal Engineer (59 Plant Troop) 866 Mechanical Equipment
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Submitted by: ArchiveWhimster, Ian Wesley (Medical Student)
Medical Student. St Thomas
Contracted Typhus at Belsen.
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWhitaker, Edward (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 15/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWhite, Walter (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWhittle, Joseph (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWhitworth, Gauces Colbeck (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 06/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWhyte, King (CBC Reporter)
Canadian Reporter from Montreal.
Arrived 23rd April. Reported to Radio Luxembourg
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWilde, Albert Edward (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilkinson, Arthur (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 15/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilkinson, Fred (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 15/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWillcox, John Michael
(Medical)
Awarded the Military Cross. One of the first doctors to enter Belsen.
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWilliam, Melville Arnott, Lt. Col. (Sir)
RAMC
https://www.belsen.co.uk/sir-william-melville-arnott/
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWilliams, Edmund Douglas (32 CCS)
Known as Eddie
32nd Casualty Clearing Station
Photo
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWilliams, Ralph (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilliams, Walter Bennett (Capt.) (113 LAA)
113th Durham Light Infantry RA
368 Battery
172842
Awarded CHEVALIER OF THE ORDER OF LEOPOLD II WITH PALM AND CROIX DE GUERRE 1940 WITH PALM
Submitted by: 113th DLI ArchiveWilliamson, John George (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 16/05/1939
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWillis, Alfred (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilson, Alan Lt. (AFPU)
Lt Alan Wilson of Glasgow.
British Army Film & Photographic Unit photographers
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWilson, Edward (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilson, Fred (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 14/11/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilson, Fred William (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (2/5 Durham Lt Infantry) Enlistment Date: 18/05/1939
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilson, Harry (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilson, John Edward (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWilson, Joseph William (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWILSON, RONALD (KIA)
Bombardier 1597191
113th DLI
KIA. 16 August 1944. Aged 30.
BANNEVILLE-LA-CAMPAGNE WAR CEMETERY VI. D. 23.
Submitted by: 113th DLI ArchiveWindle, Jack (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWinter, William Stanley (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (Durham LI) Enlistment Date: 26/04/1939
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWinterbottom, Walter Carlton Capt. (RAMC)
Arrived 17th April.
The Anaesthetist
More to follow...
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWithers, Ronald (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWoffinden, George Henry (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (Durham LI) Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWood, Charles Sidney (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWood, John Lancaster (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWood, Leonard (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA (TA) Enlistment Date: 29/07/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWood, William Arthur (32nd CSS)
Private served as dental technician with Army Dental Corps, No 32 Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps
32nd Casualty Clearing Station
"Outside the huts were piles and piles of dead bodies. Many of the soldiers who first entered the camp were desperate to try and alleviate the prisoners' starvation by giving them army rations. This first intake of food was fatal for many prisoners, who were too weak to digest it.”
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWoodruffe, F C Lt (113th LAA)
(113th LAA) Possibly Frederick Charles b: 1916 Kent
Submitted by: 113th DLI ArchiveWoodward, Clifford (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWotherspoon, William (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 14/11/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWray, William Arthur
1914–1975
Birth 6 JUN 1914 • Hemswell, Lincolnshire, England
Death 28 FEB 1975 • Hemswell, Lincolnshire, England
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWright, Raymond (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 30/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWright, William (113 LAA)
55 Searchlight Regt RA: 113th LAA Enlistment Date: 16/09/1940
Submitted by: 113th DLI Archive/Belsen ArchiveWrinn, Bulldozer Driver
From Hoddington, Scotland
Bulldozer driver 19th April
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Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWyand, Paul (Cameraman)
Filmed No.1 camp on 23rd & 24th April, along with soundman Martin Gray
Submitted by: Belsen ArchiveWyatt, Cyril
We believe Cyril Wyatt of Royal Tank Regiment 11th Armoured Division was among those who liberated Belsen. He spoke very little about his war except to briefly speak of the horrors of Belsen. He was at many major battles including El Alamein and landed on Juno beach on D Day plus 7. The division then pushed through Normandy, the Falaise gap and the Ardennes.
We would be grateful for any information about the division.
Submitted by: John WyattSubmit a name
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This site will progress and I’d encourage anyone with any info to get in touch. My granddad, Reg Price served with the 113th Durham Light Infantry*, as part of 369 Battery. As a signwriter, he produced this sign…
And this was kept in the family for years – so for the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Belsen in 2020, subsequent VE Day and VJ Day, I thought it’s about time I’d try to find out more about Reg – his comrades (many of which are names, simply written on the back of photos), what they did together and for a way to remember them all, properly.
To coinicide with the anniversary, I was able to be filmed both on national and local BBC TV to tell Reg’s Story.
Whilst this was totally out of my comfort zone and I dreaded every moment – I decided I needed to do something to start this all off. BBC Midlands Today aired 7th May and a VE Day Antiques Roadshow Special aired Sunday 10th May.
Read here about The Heroes of Belsen.
The main photo, shown here was coloured for the 75th Anniversary and we’ll tell you all about it shortly – and what happened next!
*Just 113th Durham Light Infantry? No we are interested in all Service and Medical personnel who took part during the humanitarian effort at Belsen Concentration Camp. Their roles and names are largely forgotten, as many were too horrified to ever speak of what they had to do, so this archive seeks to form a tribute to ALL those that were there, to find out more and to remember them.
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.uk – Thank you
***
The Liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp
Any 113th Durham Light Infantry friends or family are encouraged to get in touch via 113th@belsen.co.uk
** In 1938 the old 5th Battalion DLI changed its role to Searchlights and then in 1940 to Anti-Aircraft. This 113th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment went to Normandy in June 1944 and joined the advance into Germany in early 1945.
Official designation – Brigade: 100 AA • Division: 30 Corps. • Unit: 113 LAA Regt. RA (DLI) TA.
The Liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp
Names of British soldiers who liberated Belsen
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