Pte Denis Lawrence 5573258
2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment
Summary
Denis Lawrence was born in Pewsey, Wiltshire in January 1917. He was working as a shop assistant when he enlisted into the Wiltshire Regiment in 1940.
When captured near Hottot on the 11th of July 1944 he was with the Devonshire Regiment. Via “the shed” and other stops he ended up at Stalag VII-B, Teschen and would have been involved in “The Long March” in early 1945.
He later married and moved to the Torbay area where he died in 1999.
Early Life
Denis (sometimes Dennis) Lawrence and his twin sister, Doris, were born in Pewsey Wiltshire on the 26th of January 1917. 7th and 8th of nine siblings (though two- possibly three – had died before Denis was born). On the baptism record his father is described as a soldier.
The 1939 Register shows the family – mother (father had died in 1937) and siblings Jack, Denis, and Doris – living in Station Road, Pewsey. Denis is described as a shop assistant in a grocery and provisions store (confirmed on his returning PoW form). The Register gives the wrong date of birth of 1916.
The later German PoW card describes him as 5ft 7 and ruddy (red hair?).
Service Life
[See the Regimental Badge – Wiltshire Regiment]
Lawrence states that he enlisted on 5th of March 1940. His service number supports this and shows that the joined the Wiltshire Regiment. It is not clear when he was transferred to the Devonshire Regiment, but we do know that Blunt [Link to Blunt], also previously in the Wiltshires, was transferred to the Devons on the 14th of June 1944 (having previously been moved to a Reinforcement Holding Unit).
Time in Normandy
[See the Regimental Badge – Devonshire]
It is likely that he was drafted into the Devons at the same time as Blunt when the Battalion reinforced after early losses (14th of June).
At this time, the Battalion had dug in around the cross-roads at Belle Epine. This was the end of the first phase of action and the campaign now settled down into a period of attrition, both sides sending out probing patrols and firing mortars, between more sustained attacks.
On the 11th of July 1944 Lawrence was captured near Hottot (his German PoW card has the 10th). The 9th of July had been the start of Operation Māori, Māori II was the push to take Hottot on the 11th the units moving into position on the 10th. There was much close order fighting and an incident of friendly fire by Typhoons.
On the next day they came under intense shelling again suffering casualties. CWWG records 23 deaths on the 11th and 3 on the 12th. None on the 10th.
PoW Life
Lawrence’s German PoW card shows him as transferred to Stalag VIII-B on the 26th of August 1944 (arriving on the 30th). He was assigned to workcamp E902 Dellbrucksachte, Hindenburg (Zabrze, Poland) at the Makoszowy coal mine, on the 13th of September. In a newspaper article from 1973, Bernard Hirst (a driver in the 140th Field Regiment captured in 1942), who was at that work camp, mentions the continuous bombing experienced at that time.
Lawrence states that he was there until 23rd January 1945 – which would have been when the “Long March” started. He may have been on this for up to twelve weeks. Conditions were severe – Hirst talks of losing two toes to frostbite as a result.
Lawrence’s returning PoW form bears the date of the 5th of May 1945.
Post War
Unconfirmed information from Ancestry suggests that he married a Kentish girl in Dover soon after returning home. A son was born in 1948. They later moved to live in Torquay.
Lawrence died in 1999.
Research Done
No further research information is available at this time.
Other Links
No further links are available at this time.
D Lawrence signature and Lawrence German PoW photograph [return to info]
Regimental Badge – Wiltshire [return to info]
Regimental Badge – Devonshire [return to info]
Impressive painting of Hawker Typhoons in action [return to info]
German PoW Card Pte Denis Lawrence [return to info]
Returning PoW Questionnaire – Pte Denis Lawrence [return to info]
