The battalion story is fragmented. There is information available but it is scattered throughout a wide range of books and documents, most of which are drawn from official war diaries and military history sources. Often these accounts can be difficult to understand for anyone not familiar with military terms and without a grasp of the hierarchy of army units. Also they concentrate on the bigger picture and less on the experiences of the ordinary soldier.
So as well as trying as much as possible to bring things together here in one place I am also aiming to tell the story from the perspective of the men involved. This has some challenges as there is difficulty in identifying first hand accounts from members of the battalion. But there are personal accounts, written and recorded in local archives and the Imperial War Museum. I have a recording made by me in 1988 at a local veterans meeting and some memories of one or two brief accounts from my own father.
In addition prisoner of war records are now available at the National arechives for all those whose DoB is now past 100 years ago. This will be most of the Bucks Battalion as men had to be 19 in Jan 1940 to serve abroad. These will provide a valuable source of information about their time as prisoners..
If you have more information from a relative that served with the First Buckinghamshire Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, especially during the 1930s and upto June 1940 in France and after in POW camp I would love to hear from you. I would be particularly interested in any personal accounts from men of A Company.
info@oxandbucks.org.uk
Introduction
Contents
Sources and Resources The place where you can find where to get more information