[Below] Grandad Billy with Great Granny Emma White nee Davison
[Below] 5772633 L/Cpl Samuel Whyte
He was Killed In Action at Dunkirk
on the 27th May 1940.
He was serving with the 2nd Battalion The Royal Norfolk Regiment
as part of the rear guard,
while the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from the beaches by boat.
He has no known grave.
This is my Great Uncle who paid the ultimate sacrifice by laying down his life
for both King and Country, and his comrades
as many Ulster and Irish men did.
It is very possible that Samuel was killed by the
No3 Coy of the 1st Battalion 2nd SS Totenkopf Regiment
Captain Fritz Knoechlein Officer Commanding
who ordered the LE PARADIS Massacre.
In 1948 Lieutenant Colonel Fritz Knoechlein was found guilty
of this war crime and was hanged in Hamburg on 28th January 1949
He was awarded the 1939/45 Star and British War Medal
Casualty Details
Young Belfast Signaller
Information has been received by his parents at 8 Upper Mervue Street, Belfast
that L-Corpl. Samuel Whyte, serving as a signaller with the Royal Norfolk Regiment,
has been reported as missing.
L-Corpl. Whyte is 20 years of age. He joined the Army as a boy of 17,
carrying on the tradition of his father,
who served throughout the last war and was wounded in 1917.
An elder brother, William is at present serving with the Royal Ulster Rifles in India,
and five cousins, one of whom was yesterday reported missing
are also serving with the B.E.F.
The above extract was printed in the Belfast Telegraph on 26th June 1940.
In Memory of
5772633 Lance Corporal Samuel Whyte
2nd Battalion
The Royal Norfolk Regiment
Killed in Action
on the 27th May 1940
Aged 21
Remembered with honour
on Column 43
DUNKIRK MEMORIAL
Below a picture of the Signal Platoon before going to War in France
Most of the men shown below would have been murdered at the
Le Paradis Massacre 27th May 1940
As reported in the book Last stand at Le Paradis
The Signal Platoon and the Pioneers with Coy HQ
fought to the very last round with no other option but to surrender
and when the remaining 97 men of the Battalion did
they were marched in to a field and machine gunned down were they stood.
Middle row center man Samuel Whyte
Cousin No 1 of 5
brother of Hugh and Samuel(R.N.)
[Below] 7014159 Rfn John White
He was Killed In Action in Italy
on the 30th October 1943
While serving with the 2nd Battalion The London Irish Rifles
(Royal Ulster Rifles)
see War diary below
He was killed in the area of the Trigno river
2 patrols were sent out after re leaving 6th Inniskilling's from this area
which was known as the Barbara Line
The German officer in charge of the German forces at the time was
Field Marshal Albert Kesselring Luftwaffe and on the
12th October 1943 he had ordered a withdraw of the German forces
to the Barbara Line to regroup after the Allied forces had pushed
across the Volturno river
John is brother to Hugh and Samuel McBrinn White
he was also one of 5 cousins mentioned in press cutting
serving with the B.E.F. on the out break of War at
Dunkirk
RIFLEMAN FALLS IN ACTION.
BABY HE NEVER SAW
Rifleman John White
London Irish, husband of Mary White, 53 Dover Street, Belfast,
killed in action. Only 21 years, he had almost four years service.
He leaves a daughter of four months he has never seen.
A brother is serving with the Royal Navy.
Another is a prisoner of war.
The above extract and picture was printed in a local newspaper
Wednesday, November 17, 1943.
Funeral notices
KILLED IN ACTION.
WHITE-
October, 1943, killed in action.
JOHN WHITE, London Irish Rifles, beloved husband of MARY WHITE,
Deeply regretted by his loving Wife and little daughter, Margaret, 53 Dover Street.
In God's own time we will meet again.
WHITE-
October, 1943, killed in action.
JOHN WHITE, London Irish Rifles, beloved son of HANNAH
and the late HUGH WHITE. Deeply regretted by his sorrowing Mother,
Brothers and Sister; also Brothers, Sam (R.N.) Hugh (prisoner of war), and
Sister Mary Roe, Toronto; also his Uncles, Aunts and Cousins.-Hannah White,
34 Spencer Street.
He sleeps where all is peace.
WHITE-
October, 1943, killed in action.
JOHN WHITE, London Irish Rifles, Deeply regretted by his sorrowing
Sister and Brother-in-law, Hannah and William Caldwell also Nephew (Wee Billy),
10 Isabella Street.
Gone but not forgotten.
In Memory of
7014159 Rifleman John White
2nd Battalion
London Irish Rifles
(Royal Ulster Rifles)
Killed in Action
on the 30th October 1943
aged 22
Remembered with honour
VIII J 20
Minturno War Cemetery
Latium Lazio Italy
Cousin No 2 of 5
brother of John and Samuel (R.N.)
[Below] 6979985 Fus Hugh White
2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
WITH THE INNISKILLINGS.
Mrs.Hanna White, 34 Spencer Street, Belfast, has received official notification
that her son, Fusilier Hugh White, of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, is missing.
Fusilier White has been with the Inniskilling's for almost two years. He was formerly employed by the Belfast Corporation.
The above extract was printed in a local paper on June 24, 1940.
6979985 Fusilier Hugh White (POW number 17186)
served with the 2nd Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
he is also one of the cousins mentioned in the press release
reported as missing the day before Samuel was K.I.A.
he was taken Prisoner of War on the 15th May 1940 in the retreat to Dunkirk
and spent his first period of captivity in Stalag XXA
All together he spent 5 years and 20 days as a prisoner of war.
He saw the remainder of his time out inStalag Camp number 344
and was eventually released on the 3rd June 1945.
As I read the personal accounts of the veterans who had been taken
along the 6 month death march from Dunkirk
my stomach churns at what those guys had to suffer
while German and Italian POW's did not suffer the same abuse
both here and on the mainland
With time we can forgive but we must never forget
the sacrifices made for our country
through all the conflicts
by both Men Women and Children both in our forces and on our Land
[below map showing the prison camps known as Stalag XXA]
Thorn is located in the Polish Corridor south of Danzig
modern Gdansk,
on the banks of the Vistular river
Stalag VIIIB / 344
Location Lambinowice, Poland
This camp was in the
Wehrkreis VIII region - Breslau (Wroclaw)
Breslau became a fortress under Hitler's orders
[Below] Hugh & Jean White on their wedding day
His brother Sammy sitting on the left and Audrey on the right
17 December 1947
It is with great sadness I learned today 21st December 2010
That Hugh White has passed away
My deepest sympathy to the Family Circle
Sadly I never got to know the man but have
learned so much about him and wished that I had
Lest We Forget
Hugh White WHITE, Hugh "Chalky" June 12, 1918 - December 3, 2010 Hughie "Chalky" member of the 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers served with the Expeditionary Force in France from 1939 to 1946, passed quietly the evening of December 3rd with his family at his bedside. He is survived by his wife Jean, children, Audrey, Robert, Colleen, and their spouses, 8 granddaughters and 8 great grandchildren. Hughie touched many hearts in his life, and will be sadly missed. He was "A FIRST CLASS MAN".
December 14, 2010
With great sadness I write this in memory of a great man who made a huge impact on my life. As a child I remember him as one of the greatest dads in the neighbourhood. I am sure I am one of many kids who remember Hugh White for his great sense of humor. Your memory will live on in our hearts forever. RIP love Shirley Baia and Family
Cousin No 3 of 5
brother of John and Hugh
[Below] RX 113115 Samuel McBrinn White Royal Navy
Samuel is on the right in this photograph
I decided to include the whole picture due to the story told to me of the guy on the left
His name is unknown to me at this time and will take further research
However what I do know is that he was a close friend to Samuel and that he ended up serving on HMS Hood and was Killed in Action when the Hood sank he came from Liverpool and had served with Samuel on a previous ship.
He was awarded the 1939/45 Star, Atlantic Star with France & Germany Bar,
Italy Star and the British War Medal
Thank you to Maureen and Frank for their help in putting this part of our
shared family history together
Cousin No 4 of 5
Brother of William "Bimsey" White
[Below] 88X31391 Jimmy White Royal Navy
Jimmy seen service from the outset of war and remained in service until 1947
More information will be added as it becomes available
Thank you to Steven Gallagher a distant cousin for his help with
Jimmys and Bimseys information
He was awarded 1939/45 Star, Atlantic Star, Africa Star, Pacific Star
and British War Medal
(More details to follow)
Class A Leading Signalman
Enrolled at Devonport 27th September 1939
HMS Drake 1
27th September 1939 - 3rd August 1940
(Ordinary Signalman)
HMS Orion
4th August 1940 - 5th February 1941
HMS Nile (Decoy)
6th February 1941 - 11th June 1941
HMS Queen Elizabeth
12th June 1941 - 29th January 1942
(20th June 1941 Signalman)
HMS Saunders
30th January 1942 - 31st December 1942
HMS Arethusa
1st January 1943 - 5th August 1943
HMS Drake
6th August 1943 - 18th December 1943
HMS Copra (Dundonald)
19th December 1943 - 3rd April 1945
(27th November 1944 Class A Leading Signalman)
HMS Drake
4th April 1945 - 14th May 1945
HMS Olna
15th May 1945 - 19th February 1946
HMS Drake
20th February 1946 - 27th June 1946
HMS Lochinvar (Cadmus)
28th June 1946 - 2nd September 1946
HMS Drake
3rd September 1946 - 27th September 1946
HMS Ferret (Hotspur)
27th September 1946 - 15th January 1947
HMS Osprey
16th January 1947 - 18th January 1947
HMS Drake
19th January 1947 - 9th April 1947
(Released in Class A)
Enrolled in Royal Fleet Reserve Devonport
B 17612 10th April 1947 (L/Sig V/S3)
(More details to follow)
Cousin No 5 of 5
[Below] William "BIMSEY" White Royal Ulster Rifles
Brother of the above Jimmy White R.N.
Like Grandad Billy White he also was a boxer
He was medically discharged after being injured in battle
a shell exploded in front of his truck after he landed in Normandy
on D-Day 6th June 1944
It is believed he had been serving with the 2nd Battalion the Royal Ulster Rifles
part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade who landed on Sword Beach
[below William (Bimsey) & Eileen on their wedding day]
(More details to follow)
[Below] B78742 Pte Charles Joseph Lutton
He joined the Militia in 1939 and served with C Company of the
Irish Regiment of Canada
During World War 2 he seen service in Italy and Holland
He was awarded 1939/45 Star, Italy Star, France & Germany Star,
Defence Medal, British War Medal and
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Bar
Husband of Florence Bailey White they married on the 28th March 1931
they met in Canada but ironically they both came from the Duncairn Gardens
area of Belfast and had emigrated separately to Canada in late 1920s
Also father to Florence and Mary Lutton of Toronto Canada
Who I am in debited to for their kind help and material from
the Lutton Family Collection & their extensive research on the
White Family Tree
with out it none of the above would have been possible to find
for more on this his story click on link below
Pier 21 Canadian Museum of Immigration
[Above and Below] It is amazing that this unique piece of history has been preserved
along with all the paperwork relating to his service
note on the bottom right arm his overseas service stripes
A valuable picture below showing shoulder tiles and maroon patches on both arms
[Below] Robert McAtamney Royal Navy
This photograph post card is the usual keep sake servicemen
had taken and gave to heir loved ones
Stamped Jerome Ltd
The fighting McAtamneys
Robert was one of six sons of William & Jane McAtamney and
was born on the 18 March 1920 at 24 Davys Street Carrickfergus
All six sons, just like the fighting Whites seen service during World War 2
They fought in all three services and in all theaters of War around the world
some where injured, but they all returned home safely
They are
Daniel McAtamney Lce. Cpl. R.A.F
Francis McAtamney Flight Segt. R.A.F.
Robert Samuel (Bobby) McAtamney Petty Officer R.N.
George H. McAtamney A.B. R.N.
Thomas McAtamney O.S. R.N.
Willam McAtamney Sergt. Royal Inniskillings (India)
(more details to follow)
[Below] Bobby with two friends
Photograph taken on 17th May 1940
ROYE photography 25 Cooke Street Belfast
[Below] HMS HARDY
Battle of Narvik 10th to 13th April 1940
On April
10th 1940, at 4-30 in the morning, Hardy, Hunter, and Havelock
steamed into the harbour at Narvik leaving Hostile and
Hotspur to guard the back door. Arriving inside the harbour,
Warburton-Lee immediately torpedoed the Wilhelm Heidkamp,
the flagship of Kommodore Bonte, Senior Officer Narvik
Destroyer Force. The stern was blown into the air, killing Bonte
and eighty of his men. Next to go was the Anton Schmitt, which was
torpedoed and sunk with the loss of sixty three men. In the
ensuing battle the Dieter Von Roeder launched eight
torpedoes, none of which scored a hit, but she sustained
many hits herself, and later caught fire, as did the Hans
Luderman. Whilst all this was going on the Hotspur, which had been
guarding the harbour entrance, came alone into the harbour and
torpedoed two merchant ships.
Since no
German warships had been seen outside the harbour,
Warburton-Lee thought he had all the Germans in the bag, (he
didn't realise that there were another five Destroyers
nearby) so he turned his vessels at high speed and came back
into the harbour to have another go at the merchant ships,
blazing away with his guns, sinking and damaging six vessels. Up to
now he had been incredibly lucky with only Hotspur suffering any
hits, but as Warburton-Lee gathered his forces to depart
his luck started to change for the worse.
The British
Destroyers laid down a thick smoke screen to hide their
departure, but as they headed out across the Fjord they ran
into the five other German Destroyers as they charged into
the Ofotfjord. The Georg Thiele and Bernard Von Armin came
from Ballanger, and the Erich Giese, Erick Koellner and the
Wolfgan Zenker sailed in from the Herjangfjord, surrounding
the British Force in a pincer movement. In a fierce battle the five
German Destroyers fought the five British Derstroyers with
sustained and rapid gunfire. Most of the German gunfire
targeted the British Flagship Hardy, which came under fire
from two ships, most notably the George Thiele. The Hardy
sustained several direct hits and soon burst into flames.
When the bridge took a direct hit, Warburton-Lee was severely
injured, but before he collapsed he ordered his Flotilla to 'keep on
engaging the enemy'.
Other than
Warburton-Lee, nearly everbody on the bridge had been killed
except for Paymaster Lt. Geoffrey Standing, the Captain's
Secertary. He awoke from the fearful blast to find his foot
wounded, the ship out of control and heading for the shore
at thirty knots. Since the wheel house was below him and
nobody was answering his increasingly desperate orders to
put the wheel over, he managed to hop down a ladder to the
wheel house and alter course, enough to stop hitting the shore. When
he regained the bridge helped by some seamen, he saw that they
were now heading for two German destroyers. Since he could
not slow down he decided to ram one of them. Luckily for all
those left alive on board, whilst he was deciding which one
to have a go at, one of the boilers was hit and the engines
ground to a halt.
All the
front guns on the Hardy were by now inoperable, but one of the
stern guns was still banging away at the Germans who
naturally returned fire into the burning wreck. Luckily the
Hardy still had some 'way' on her which allowed Stanning to
manoeuvre her into Vidrek where she ran aground. As she
glided ashore still blazing furiously Stanning gave the order
to abandon ship. One hundred and forty men plunged into the icy water,
and in between the shell bursts from the German Destroyers,
managed to clamber to safety on the shore. Warburton-Lee
was still just alive when they got him ashore but died an
hour later. The wreck of the Hardy lay burning until it
lifted of the shore at high tide and drifted over to Skjomes
where the vessel finally capsized.
By Peter Mitchell
As Bobby plunged in to the icy waters and swam a shore he was injured
after being hit in the face by shrapnel and had part of his lip removed.
He noticed another ship mate Tubby Cox floating unconscious in the water
he took it upon himself to rescue Tubby and bring him to shore.
The surviving ships company paraded at Horse Guards Parade in front of
Winston Churchill
Tubby Cox taking the parade Bobby is the 7 man in the front row
even after all that they had been through their humour was still high
The Captain
Capt. Bernard A.W. Warburton-Lee
was later awarded the Victoria Cross,
the first posthumous V.C. to be awarded in the Second World War
[Below] Bobby at Carrickfergus Town Hall
Receiving a watch and a ring in commemoration of his bravery
From Carrickfergus Council
after coming home to a heros welcome
After the War he transferred to the Merchant Navy
Robert McAtamney number RZ45232
and served on the following ships from August 1946 to 1960
SS Lord Glentoran
SS Eddystone
SS North Down
MV Bantria
SS Dunedin Star
MV Clytoneus
MV Anchises
A personal thank you to Kate and Roy
It is only right that your Dad is on here
with the other members of our shared families history
which grows with every day
Thank you to all concerned
I have more interesting items given to me by Kate once scanned
I will add them on here including an Ideal Picture House Pass
during his 14 day leave in April 1940
Another piece of an extremely important part of a family jigsaw
and an important part of our shared local history
during the World Wars on the home front
I really don't believe this
I have just found a copy of a poem which mentions
Geordie McAtamney on his I/C/T
a man from Carrick
I believe this should be LCT (Landing Craft Tank)
or also known as TLC (Tank Landing Craft)
used during the Normandy Landings
The poem is known as Invasion Normandy
by James Kelly
It was in the port of Southampton
Where my tale began
Many men were waiting , all out to get that man
His name was Adolf Hitler
Whom they hopes would be an also ran
There were many men from Carrick
But I can only name a few
There was Geordie McAtamney on his I/C/T
Also Jim hunter he was present too
Outside the port were many ships
Royal navy with landing craft
Royal Air Force and merchant men as well
All crewed up and rearing to go
A meeting was called in the towns Guild Hall
All the top brass were there including me
As the expert in the C.S..A.
The weather was so bad it was decided to hold
And wait until morning
All hoping to achieve our goal
Early next morning the weather improved
Another meeting was called
And when it had ended
We knew that D Day had dawned
From that moment on it was all go
The Royal Navy The Royal Air Force
And the merchant men too
Not forgetting our brave Army
With the worst job to do
Many years have passed
Since that long time ago
When many of our comrades
In the channel were lost
When you think of that day
And the men who served
And give them respect
That they richly deserve
(more details to follow)
[Below] John Davison R.A.F.
I believe that John is a nephew of Emma White nee Davison
which would make him a cousin also
(No other details at this time & further research required)
[Below] Tommy Dodsworth Royal Navy
This is also a family member written on the back
Florence Whites Husband sitting
I now believe to be Samuel McBrinn Whites mate
Tommy Dodsworth related through marriage
(More details to follow)
[Below]
These unknown men are from my Grandmothers photograph album
It reads on the back Jimmy on left two good Irish men
in Grannies writing and could also be a family member
(more details to follow)
If you can help with any information on the above servicemen
I would be very great full please email me with
any information via the contact page and I will add it
THANK YOU
LEST WE FORGET
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
