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David Peter Lafayette Hunter
David Peter Lafayette Hunter MC (24 November 1919 – 5 September 2001) was a Royal Marines officer who was prisoner of war captive in Colditz Castle during the Second World War. He later served as the commanding officer of 40 Commando, and was a recipient of the Military Cross. Early life David Peter Lafayette Hunter was born at Minnis Hall, Stelling Minnis, Kent on 24 November 1919.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1339726/Lt-Col-David-Hunter.html Obituary of Lt-Col David Hunter, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 7 September 2001 He was the third son of Major Edgar Lafayette Hunter MC and Dorothy Thompson. He was educated at Shrewsbury. Military career Hunter joined the Royal Marines in 1937 and passed out at Deal, Kent, just before the outbreak of World War II. On 2 Feb 1940 he was made probationary Lieutenant. He was posted to the heavy cruiser patrolling waters around Iceland. The ''Norfolk'' was bombed whilst at Scapa Flow on 16 March 1940 and sent to the Clyd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stelling Minnis
Stelling Minnis is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district in Kent, England. The village lies to the south of Canterbury, and to the east of the B2068, ''Stone Street'', the Roman road, which takes traffic between Lympne and Canterbury. Etymology Stelling was a village a mile from the Stelling minnis. Stelling was an Old English word for a shelter or cattle fold; stell also being a Germanic word for a farmer of a small number of cattle. A minnis was ancient common pasture land cleared from the wooded upper slopes on the high clay caps of the Kent chalk downland. The word 'minnis' is believed to derive from the Saxon word ''(ge)maennes'', which means 'common land used as pasture'. It has been suggested that these areas, which were characteristically on the higher reaches of the Downs, formed large tracts of common unenclosed 'waste' grassland used by a number of distant settlements. In the 17th century, most of these minnises were incorporated into t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its surrounding areas) is home to over 65% of the population. Iceland is the biggest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate. According to the ancient manuscript , the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oflag VII-C
Oflag VII-C was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers located in Laufen Castle, in Laufen in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. Most of the prisoners were British officers captured during the Battle of France in 1940. To relieve overcrowding, some of the officers were transferred to Oflag VII-C/Z in Tittmoning Castle. The Oflag existed only for a short time. In early 1942 all the officers were transferred to Oflag VII-B in Eichstätt. The castle was then used as an Internment Camp Ilag VII for men from the British Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey until the camp was liberated in May 1945. Previously, in September 1944, after lengthy negotiations, 125 elderly and sick prisoners were repatriated to Great Britain via Sweden. In April 1944 the count of internees in Laufen included 459 British internees (417 Channel Islanders) and 120 American civilians who had been trapped in Europe when war was suddenly declared in December 1941. Even though the camp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Mainz on the left bank, and Wiesbaden, the capital of the neighbouring state Hesse, on the right bank. Mainz is an independent city with a population of 218,578 (as of 2019) and forms part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Mainz was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans in the 1st century BC as a military fortress on the northernmost frontier of the empire and provincial capital of Germania Superior. Mainz became an important city in the 8th century AD as part of the Holy Roman Empire, capital of the Electorate of Mainz and seat of the Elector of Mainz, Archbishop-Elector of Mainz, the Primate (bishop), Primate of Germany. Mainz is famous as the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trier
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Moselle wine region. Founded by the Celts in the late 4th century BC as ''Treuorum'' and conquered 300 years later by the Romans, who renamed it ''Augusta Treverorum'' ("The City of Augustus among the Treveri"), Trier is considered Germany's oldest city. It is also the oldest seat of a bishop north of the Alps. Trier was one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy period in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. In the Middle Ages, the archbishop-elector of Trier was an important prince of the Church who controlled land from the French border to the Rhine. The archbishop-elector of Trier also had great signific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geologically, the range is a western extension of the Eifel; both were raised during the Givetian age of the Devonian (382.7 to 387.7 million years ago), as were several other named ranges of the same greater range. The Ardennes proper stretches well into Germany and France (lending its name to the Ardennes department and the former Champagne-Ardenne region) and geologically into the Eifel (the eastern extension of the Ardennes Forest into Bitburg-Prüm, Germany); most of it is in the southeast of Wallonia, the southern and more rural part of Belgium (away from the coastal plain but encompassing more than half of the country's total area). The eastern part of the Ardennes forms the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mentioned In Dispatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described. In some countries, a service member's name must be mentioned in dispatches as a condition for receiving certain decorations. United Kingdom, British Empire, and Commonwealth of Nations Servicemen and women of the British Empire or the Commonwealth who are mentioned in despatches (MiD) are not awarded a medal for their actions, but receive a certificate and wear an oak leaf device on the ribbon of the appropriate campaign medal. A smaller version of the oak leaf device is attached to the ribbon when worn alone. Prior to 2014, only one device could be worn on a ribbon, irrespective of the number of times the recipient was mentioned in despatches. Where no campaign medal is awarded, the oak leaf is worn direc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzer Corps
A panzer corps (german: Panzerkorps) was an armoured corps type in Nazi Germany's ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II. The name was introduced in 1941, when the motorised corps (''Armeekorps (mot)'' or ''AK(mot)'') were renamed to panzer corps. Panzer corps were created throughout the war, and existed in the Army, the Waffen-SS and even the Luftwaffe. Those renamed from ordinary motorised corps retained their numbering. Purpose Panzer corps underwent transformation as the war went on. Initially they were the main strike force of the ''Wehrmacht'', and consisted of motorised infantry divisions (''ID (mot)'') and panzer divisions. Later in the war it was possible to find panzer corps that consisted solely of infantry divisions. During the initial period of the war the panzer corps predecessor, the motorised corps, were grouped into various panzer groups (''Panzergruppen''). Panzer groups were named (i.e. not designated with numbers) during the campaigns in Poland, France, and Gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In a fortification with bastions, the citadel is the strongest part of the system, sometimes well inside the outer walls and bastions, but often forming part of the outer wall for the sake of economy. It is positioned to be the last line of defence, should the enemy breach the other components of the fortification system. The functions of the police and the army, as well as the army barracks were developed in the citadel. History 3300–1300 BC Some of the oldest known structures which have served as citadels were built by the Indus Valley civilisation, where citadels represented a centralised authority. Citadels in Indus Valley were almost 12 meters tall. The purpose of these structures, however, remains debated. Though the structures foun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Bruce
Hugh Glenrinnes Bruce (26 January 1919 – 9 January 2003) was a prisoner of war in Colditz Castle and later commanding officer of the Special Boat Service. Early life Hugh Glenrinnes Bruce was born at Mhow in India, where his father was serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps on attachment to the Indian Army. He was educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article856026.ece Obituary of Major Hugh Bruce, The Times, 27 January 2003 Military career Bruce joined the Royal Marines in 1937. He was commissioned a year later, and served briefly in the battleship before being selected for the Calais force. Capture Bruce was part of Captain Darby Courtice's company of 85 Royal Marines when it landed at Calais shortly after midnight on 25 May 1940. With one other officer, Lieutenant David Hunter, they were charged with helping French marines to defend the ancient citadel at the centre of the town. There they were attacked by the ful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The population of the city proper is 72,929; that of the urban area is 149,673 (2018).Comparateur de territoire: Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Calais (073), Commune de Calais (62193) INSEE Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the |
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the name of the contingent of the British Army sent to France in 1939 after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany on 3 September, beginning the Second World War. The BEF existed from 2 September 1939 when the BEF GHQ was formed until 31 May 1940, when GHQ closed down and its troops reverted to the command of Home Forces. During the 1930s, the British government had planned to deter war by abolishing the Ten Year Rule and rearming from the very low level of readiness of the early 1930s. The bulk of the extra money went to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force but plans were made to re-equip a small number of Army and Territorial Army divisions for service overseas. General Lord Gort was appointed to the command of the BEF on 3 September 1939 and the BEF began moving to France on 4 September 1939. The BEF assembled along the Belgian–French border. The BEF took their post to the left of the French First Army under the com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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