Stanley James Gladwin, Private, 1st Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry
Stanley Gladwin was born in 1917.
In 1901 his parents were living at Logaston Common, Woonton, in a four-room house with six daughters aged between 11 months and 12 years old. Stanley’s father, was a “labourer on farm”. By the time Stanley was born, his parents, James and Matilda Ellen Gladwin, were quite elderly, both having been born in 1872, thus making them 45 years old when Stanley arrived.
Nothing more is to be found about Stanley Gladwin until 1939.
“During the spring of 1939 the deteriorating international situation forced the British government under Neville Chamberlain to consider preparations for a possible war against Nazi Germany.
Plans for limited conscription applying to single men aged between 20 and 22 were given parliamentary approval in the Military Training Act in May 1939. This required men to undertake six months' military training, and some 240,000 registered for service. Stanley Goodwin was one of these men.” (1)
He enlisted in 1st Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI).
After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and the British Empire declared war on Germany and imposed an economic blockade. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent to help defend France.
As part of 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 1st Battalion K.S.L.I. was deployed to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force.
A war diary written in November 1939 describes the movements of 3rd Brigade -
“Up to the line. In November 3rd Infantry Brigade was to be the first British brigade to deploy to the Maginot Line. The mission was threefold:
1.To counter German propaganda that the British would fight to the last Frenchman
2. To show British troops to the French army
3. To give the British training in an active area where contact with the enemy was possible and counter the prolonged periods of inactivity in waterlogged defensive positions away from the enemy.” (2)
The same war diary in December 1939 describing events at the Maginot Line -
“On patrol 4031789 Corporal Thomas William Priday, 1st Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry had the unfortunate distinction of being the first soldier to be killed in action in the Second World War. On 9th December while out on patrol on the Maginot Line, he stepped on a mine. Thomas Priday, aged 27, was the son of Alan L Priday and Elizabeth A Priday of Redmarley Gloucestershire.” (3)
A few hours later on the same day in the same war diary -
“A standing patrol a short distance away was deployed at dusk by 10 Platoon of B Company 1st KSLI, lead by Lieutenant Brooke-Smith, ten men moved into a lying up position on the right flank. It was freezing hard and had been for some time but it had previously been wet, Brooke-Smith recalls that his patrol’s greatcoats were very wet with a large amount of mud around the bottom which froze solid so that it rubbed against their shins encumbering them and causing them discomfort. The lying up position was situated where footpaths crossed close to barbed wire a long way forward and to the right of the main B Company position. “It was bitterly cold lying on the ground listening for the enemy with the breeze making eerie noises in the bushes and the trees. Under such circumstances tiredness play us tricks” with one’s eyesight so that the bushes appear to move or to take on human form, quite nerve wracking. Suddenly an enemy patrol was heard to be approaching which Brooke-Smith estimated to be about twenty, or more, strong. Seeing the enemy, Private Dobson opened fire. There was a burst of fire and a number of bullets went into a tree trunk above Brooke-Smith's head. This was their first time under fire and very frightening as all that could be seen were the flashes of the enemy weapons, 100 yards away. The exchange died down after a few minutes and two German soldiers were found to be slumped over the barbed wire”
“It is believed that Private Dobson fired the first shots by a British Infantry soldier at soldiers of the German army in the Second World War.” (4)
“28th December 1939 Concert Party
Above photo: the concert party of 1st KSLI rehearsing at La Belle Porte near Mouchin in France” (Christmas 1939) (5)
“After the Phoney War of October 1939 to April 1940, Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and France on 10 May 1940. Three panzer corps attacked through the Ardennes and drove northwest to the English Channel. By 21 May, German forces had trapped the BEF, the remains of the Belgian forces, and three French field armies along the northern coast of France. BEF commander General Viscount Gort immediately saw evacuation across the Channel as the best course of action, and began planning a withdrawal to Dunkirk, the closest good port.” (Wikipedia)
“The last regiment to leave Dunkirk was the King's Shropshire Light Infantry – at least that was the claim made by the history of the 1st battalion.
It was compiled after the war as, in the confusion, the battalion's war diary had been left in an abandoned lorry near the beach.
“The scene which greeted the KSLI at the harbour was unearthly. The docks were a mass of twisted metal and shattered walls, dock gates wrecked and jammed so that the basins were open to the tides.
"Cranes were standing drunkenly or lying across the quays, while over all hung a cloud of black smoke from burning warehouses and a tanker lying on the east side of the harbour.”
As the German forces had approached, the Shropshires had formed the rearguard and must have felt they were being sacrificed to allow others to get away, but at the last moment orders were given for them to withdraw.
One of the few battalions to reach the beaches more or less intact, the KSLI men now became split up as they waited for rescue, taking the opportunity to snatch some sleep in the sand dunes. They escaped on a variety of ships, the last on the evening of June 2.” (6)
Above painting: “On the left of the painting stretch sand-dunes covered with groups and long lines of khaki-dressed troops. Small boats loaded with troops move out from the sea shore towards larger vessels to the right of the work. Across the centre troops queue along a makeshift jetty towards the waiting ships. In the left background huge black smoke clouds from the town fill the sky. Aircraft fly amongst explosions from anti-aircraft fire, one plane plummeting towards the right horizon.” (IWM, artist Charles Ernest Cundall)
“A small detachment of 43 men (1st KSLI) were left behind. They had been defending an airfield near Dieppe. They withdrew to 250ft cliffs near St Valery-en-Caux, where along with other troops they found a path down the cliffs and were taken off the beach on the morning of June 13.” (7)
Above painting: “A view over a sea filled with vessels of different sizes. Fires burn on the horizon filling the sky with clouds of thick grey smoke. There are several planes above, trails of thick smoke, and explosions on the water amongst the boats.” (IWM, artist Norman Wilkinson)
“The army evacuated at Dunkirk left behind vast amounts of equipment, but for the Shropshires that included their symbolic silver bugles which they buried in the face of the oncoming German tide at Geneche, on the French border with Belgium.” (8)
Above photo: British troops line up on the beach at Dunkirk to await evacuation (IWM)
“Churchill and his advisers had expected that it would be possible to rescue only 20,000 to 30,000 men, but in all 338,000 troops were rescued from Dunkirk, a third of them French. Ninety thousand remained to be taken prisoner and the BEF left behind the bulk of its tanks and heavy guns. All resistance in Dunkirk ended at 9.30am on 4 June.
The Dunkirk evacuation was an important event for the Allies. If the BEF had been captured, it would have meant the loss of Britain's only trained troops and the collapse of the Allied cause. The successful evacuation was a great boost to civilian morale, and created the 'Dunkirk spirit' which helped Britain to fight on in the summer of 1940.” (IWM)
Above photo: “Cheerful British troops in Britain after being evacuated from Dunkirk, 1940 - two are wearing labels across their chests - "Hitler's Grave Berlin" and "We demand Hitler Alive" (IWM)
“After the retreat from Dunkirk it (3rd Infantry Brigade) remained in the United Kingdom on home defence against a German invasion until early 1943 when it was sent to North Africa as part of 1st Division to take part in the Campaign in Tunisia.” (Wikipedia)
“The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943.” (Wikipedia)
“The North African campaign had been raging across the region’s desert sands and oases, towns, cities, and villages, since June 1940.
What began with an Italian invasion of Egypt had escalated into a major World War Two theatre. British and Commonwealth troops scored early victories against the Italian forces arrayed against them but the tide would soon turn in the Axis’s favour.
German Commander Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps had arrived in force in April 1941. From then on British and Commonwealth ground forces were pushed back despite the Desert Air Force wing of the RAF continuing to score victories in North African skies.
Eventually, Rommel and the Wehrmacht would be stopped dead at the Battles of El Alamein. Bernard Montgomery took control of the British 8th Army, and in November 1942 scored a decisive victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein. The tide had begun to swing in the Allies’ favour. Rommel was pushed out of Egypt into Libya and eventually Tunisia.” (CWGC)
“From March to April, the Allies would tighten the noose around the remaining Axis forces in North Africa. Continued attacks combined with an increasingly desperate supply situation meant the situation was quickly becoming untenable for the Axis.” (CWGC)
“The 1st Division arrived in North Africa on 9 March 1943 and moved to the Medjez-Bou Arada area of Tunisia. It joined the ongoing Tunisian campaign, by conducting patrols over the following weeks.”
Above photo: Infantry and carriers of the Grenadier Guards, advance over difficult terrain near the Kasserine Pass, 24 February 1943 (Wikipedia)
On 21 April, six German battalions attacked the British 1st and the 4th Divisions near Medjez el Bab.” (Wikipedia)
Above photo: “First Army soldiers from 5th Battalion, the Northamptonshire Regiment consolidate recently taken positions around Chaouach in Tunisia - the high ridge of rock, Medjez-el-Beb, can be seen in the distance” (NAM)
“The 3rd Brigade (including 1st Battalion K.S.L.I.) holding a ridge line nicknamed 'Banana Ridge' bore the brunt of the attack in the division's sector. While the German assault caused a potentially dangerous situation to arise for artillery that had been moved forward in preparation for the Allied offensive, it was repulsed with just 106 casualties among the 1st Division.
Thirty-three German tanks and 450 prisoners were claimed. The next morning Operation Vulcan began which was intended to be the final Allied effort in the Tunisian campaign and to capture Tunis. (Wikipedia)
Above photo: British troops bring down wounded during the attack on Longstop Hill (Wikipedia)
“Two days later, the 1st Division began their part of the operation. Backed by massed artillery and 45 tanks of the 142nd Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, the 2nd Brigade assaulted a ridge between Grich el Oued and Gueriat el Atach. Initial success was thwarted by the inability to dig in and construct defensive fighting positions and a swift German counterattack. Back and forth fighting continued throughout the day, resulting in the ridge remaining in German hands.” (Wikipedia)
“The next day, 24 April, the 3rd Brigade launched a new attack and seized the ridge. They were then subjected to German bombardments and suffered over 300 casualties.” (Wikipedia)
“On 27 April, the division's (the 1st Division) next major attack started when the 24th Infantry Brigade (Guards) attacked Djebel bou Aoukaz, another defended ridge. The initial attack was almost successful, but ultimately failed. A renewed effort the following day seized the ridge, but it was lost following a German counterattack by elements of the 10th Panzer Division.
However, the division continued back and forth fighting until the ridge was eventually secured on 5 May. The fighting resulted in over 300 casualties in one battalion, and two more Victoria Crosses being earned by members of the division. The capture of Djebel bou Aoukaz secured the flank for the new offensive, which started on 6 May and used forces other than the 1st Division. Tunis was captured the following day and Axis forces in North Africa capitulated on 12 May 1943.” (Wikipedia)
Above photo: British troops advance through Bizerte in the final offensive, 8 May 1943 (Wikipedia)
Stanley Goodwin was killed on 27th April, 15 days before the Axis forces capitulated.
He is buried at Oued Zarga which is approximately 80 kilometres west of Tunis.
Above photo: Oued Zarga War Cemetery (CWGC)
“Oued Zarga War Cemetery contains 247 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.” (CWGC)
Inscribed upon Stanley Gladwin’s headstone is the following -
“IN LOVING MEMORY OF STANLEY, SWEET REMEMBRANCE OF ONE WE LOVED AT REST”
Stanley Gladwin’s parents had both predeceased him. His mother, Matilda, having died in 1933 and his father, James, in 1939.
Rory MacColl
Sources
2/ https://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/day-by-day/viewday.php?day=27&mth=November&year=1939
3/ https://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/day-by-day/viewday.php?day=09&mth=December&year=1939
4/ https://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/allied/battalion.php?pid=1313
5/ https://www.wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/allied/battalion.php?pid=1313
6/ https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/features/2020/06/01/men-of-shropshire-were-last-out/
7/ https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/features/2020/06/01/men-of-shropshire-were-last-out/
8/ https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/features/2020/06/01/men-of-shropshire-were-last-out/