Reginald Williams

Memorial: Kingswood - Holy Trinity Church

Regiment: South Staffordshire Regiment

Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945

Rank and number: Private 5510041

Parents: Arthur James and May Elizabeth Williams

Home address: Kingswood, Bristol

Date of birth: 1922

Place of birth: Keynsham, Bristol

Date of death: 09/07/1943

Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated at Cassino Memorial, Italy

Age: 21

Further information:

Reginald's birth was registered in Keynsham. In 1941 his battalion (the 2nd, Airborne) was selected to convert to an Airlanding unit in the newly formed 1st Airlanding Brigade and in early 1943 they were stationed in North Africa. In July 1943 the regiment joined the Italian Campaign beginning with the invasion of Sicily by air. Reginald’s regiment landed behind enemy lines in gliders, and as a consequence suffered heavy casualties as they were fired on by Axis Forces. Reginald was killed on the first day of the Sicily Invasion (9 July – 17 August 1943) and he was one of 4,500 allied fatalities from this operation. His body was never identified and the Cassino Memorial on which he is remembered, commemorates over 3,100 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the Italian campaign and whose graves are not known.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/