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Auction: 22003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 324

Five: Private C. E. Clay, 4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, later Royal Artillery, who was lucky to be wounded on 23 May 1940 - had he remained with his unit he would have probably been caught up in the famous Wormhoudt massacre, when scores of his comrades were executed by the 1st SS Division, Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

1939-45 Star; Africa Star, copy clasp, 8th Army; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Efficiency Medal, Territorial (4128055 Pte. C. E. Clay. R.A.), good very fine (5)

C. E. Clay is confirmed as being wounded in action with the 4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment on 23 May 1940. The unit had served in France and Belgium from January 1940 and were in the thick of the action in the attempts to stem the advances of the German war machine.

It is worthy to note that just a few days after Clay was wounded - and subsequently evacuated - men from his unit, together with those of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment and gunners of the 210 Battery, 53rd (The Worcestershire Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery were forced to surrender. They numbered about 100 and were taken to La Plaine au Bois near Wormhoudt and Esquelbecq on 28 May 1940 and expected to be afforded the rights of Prisoners of War under the Geneva Convention. Instead, the enemy threw in stick grenades in an attempt to massacre them all - about 80 were killed outright and some were mortally wounded. Thankfully, a number were able to escape and tell the tale when they reached the Allied lines.

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Sold for
£160

Starting price
£90