Benjamin Harry Broughton

Rank:Lance Sergeant - Royal EngineersNumber:1868626
Died:11/03/1941Age:28
How Died:HE Bomb blast
Incident Date:11/03/1941
Incident Address.Drill Hall, Hyde Road, Ardwick
Died Address:Drill Hall, Hyde Road, Ardwick
Grave Details:Grave No. 309
Cemetery or Memorial:Whitby (Larpool) Cemetery
Town Memorial:Not Listed
Extra Information:
Born during the March quarter 1913 in the Whitby
R.D. - ref: 9d/885, the son of Benjamin T. &
Margaret Broughton (nee Hall).

His father died in 1931, aged: 64.

1939 National Registration. - No Trace, indicating
that he was already serving in the Army at the
outbrak of WW2.  His widowed mother - was residing
at 10 Bagdale, Whitby, Yorkshire.   Margaret
Broughton - Widow - born: 8th December 1879 - occ:
General Domestic Servant.  As she was the only
resident, it is unlikely that she was employed at
this address.

One of 12 Royal Engineers from 1 Engineer, Supply
Base Depot killed when a H.E. bomb landed on the
Royal Artillery Officers Mess on Hyde Road,
Ardwick where they were billeted.  Eleven of them
were killed outright, but the 12th survived, only
to be killed when he went back into the building
to search for his buddies when the remains of the
building collapsed onto him.  His body was not
recovered until the following day.

In total only nine bodies were recovered, but the
remains of three of them were never found and, in
consequence they have no known graves - their
deaths were not registered until September 1941.

The list states that he died at the M.R.S.

Death registered during the March quarter 1941 in
the Manchester R.D.- ref: 8d/180 - aged: 28.

CWGC - Son of Benjamin H. Broughton and Margaret
Broughton, of Whitby.

Due to the military losses, the war-time Censors
did a fine job with this incident and it was
'hushed up' at the time.  So fine a job did the
authorities do, that until recently the local
studies libraries had no knowledge of the
incident, not even the Royal Engineers Museum at
Chatham knew anything about it.   Their names were
as follows:-

Benjamin Harry BROUGHTON
Eric John Berkley CLAYTON
Leslie DANES
William Reginald DEAKIN
George Wilfred HIMBURY
James Bird HODGSON
Charles C. HOLMAN
William Hugh MILLER
Isaiah MOSS
Henry William Abram ROBERTS
Jack Edward SHELDRAKE
Dennis Henry Wilfred THAYER


District:
Manchester (City of Manchester)
Memorials found on:
C.W.G.C.
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