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.
“in Africa and even in Italy all of us had made a distinction in our minds between the Nazis and the German people...as the first waves of such cruelly broken humanity became a flood [at Belsen], so did the hatred for the Germans in the hearts and minds of all those of A.F.S. who witnessed it at first hand.”
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Edwards, Clement (11th Field Amb) RAMC
Edwards rarely spoke about this experience — only in his later years did he begin to open up to family and close friends, explaining how what he had seen had shaped much of his view of life.
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Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Elberfeld, Richard
My dad was attached to a British unit as a volunteer (He was American) - he served in several theaters as well as Belsen
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Submitted by: Anne Elberfeld Cole
Elder, Nancy (Agnes)
Nurse
Submitted by: Brian Elder
Ellenbogen, Basil K
Joined RAMC in 1942.
“His experiences of Belsen left a lifelong impression on him“
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Ellener, John Henry
1923–2001
Birth 30.11.1923 • Hunslet, Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Death 22.9.2001 • Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Elliott, Bernard
Corporal Bernard Elliott of 8 Royal Pioneer Corps Group.
“The smell and desolation surrounding the camp was overwhelming. The Commanding Officer rounded up all the officials and wealthy people of Belsen and set them to work caring for the sick and dying and burying the dead.”
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Elliott, John
My father Staff Sargent John Elliott of the Dental Corps was one of the first people to be in the capture of Bergen-Belsen Camp. He had to work hard in the first days as some German troops who had been the guards came to the hospital with broken jaws; the result of blows to the jaw by the butts of the first British soldiers who had fought their way into the camp. He then went on with the Army Hospital to secure the sanitanization of the camp before the huts were burned to eradicate any further diseases. He eventually fought with the Army Hospital all the way to Hannover where he was when the war ended.
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Ellis, Sid (RAMC)
Sid Ellis served as a nursing orderly with the Royal medical Corp.
“We had a lot of TB patients in our bit, didn't have em long and they we’re transferred to Sweden.”
He befriended one of the inmates and then went onto marry her.
https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/sid-ellis/
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Elvidge Katherine J. (Sister)
‘There is one English doctor to each square of five blocks, so as you can imagine we don’t see much of her. Then we have some Belgian medical students who also help, I’ve got two assigned to my block.’
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Emmerson, Robert (RAF)
My father was at the liberation of Belsen with the RAF 35 Wing attached to the canadian army contingent
Submitted by: Bob Emmerson. Jun
Essex (Unconfirmed) William
Evans, John Marshall (AFS)
D Platoon 567 Coy AFS
(American Field Service)
Submitted by: Belsen Archive
Evans, Roy (34 CCS)
OBE
Commanding Officer. 34 Casualty Clearing Station. The first medical unit to go into Belsen. Twice mentioned in dispatches during the period.
1909–1999
Birth 21ST JULY 1909 • Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Death NOVEMBER 1999 • Abbeyfield House, Clitheroe, Blackpool, Lancashire, England
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AFPU film cameraman and photographer, Sergeant Richard Leatherbarrow relaxes with three former women camp inmates at Belsen. Sgt Leatherbarrow served Read more
EMAIL/CONTACT PLEASE NOTE: Recently we found an important email hidden away as spam. It could have been lost. If you contact us and either do not get a personal reply or a mention/update on this website, please send your email again. Thank you.
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…
The Sign at the Liberation of Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp
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.
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
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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.
