Cigarettes box of a british soldier who fought at Salerno in september 1943.

[Matteo La Boccia]

Hi to all!
Someone can help me to find the owner or his relatives? This silver cigarettes box was found on a british trench in Salerno battlefield. I think the letter are K. J. T. or K. J. F.
I think are not common letters for a british name. The box was produced in Birmingham and have a small hole do by a fragment of bomb. So perhaps owner can be killed or injured during battle of Salerno, 9- 25 september 1943.
Any help will be welcomed!
Thanks

 

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[DCMatt]

Matteo - I think it is K J F.

Can you be more specific about the location of the find? There were lots of Brits around Salerno. Maybe we can narrow the search by knowing the division.

 

[Matteo La Boccia]

Matteo - I think it is K J F.

Can you be more specific about the location of the find? There were lots of Brits around Salerno. Maybe we can narrow the search by knowing the division.

View attachment 1790995

Thanks DCMatt. It is a area where british troops landend 9 septmber very near Salerno town. In that area we know fought regiments Hampshire, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire, Royal Fusiliers and Commandos.
Any help will be very appreciate.

 

[Mackaydon]

Matteo,
Glad to see you are still in the hunt.
Don......

 

[DCMatt]

A bit of research shows the town of Salerno was captured by British Commandos - No. 2 (Army) Commandos, No. 40 (Royal Marine) Commandos, and No. 40 Commandos.

I found partial rosters here:

http://www.commandoveterans.org/book/export/html/976

I did NOT find any name using initials K.J.F.

[h=3]Salerno[edit][/h]

Salerno D-Day plan.​

After Sicily was secured, the Allied invasion of Italy followed, beginning 3 September 1943. No. 2 Commando landed at Vietri sul Mare at 03:30 hours, their initial target was a German gun battery. After the commandos scaled the cliffs they discovered the battery was undefended; they moved towards Vietri itself, and the town was secured two hours later. Establishing their headquarters there, they then opened Marina beach for further landings.[SUP][25][/SUP]
No. 2 Commando was next ordered to capture a German observation post outside of the town of La Molina which controlled a pass leading down to the Salerno beach-head. No. 2 and No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commandos, infiltrated the town and captured the post, taking 42 prisoners including a mortar squad.[SUP][26][/SUP] On 11 September the commandos made contact with the U.S. Army Rangers who had landed to their west.[SUP][15][/SUP] On 13 September the commando defended the village of Dragone against the attacking German paratroopers and panzergrenadiers. The battle cost the commando 28 dead and 51 wounded.[SUP][15][/SUP] After a day's rest following the battle the commando moved to Mercatello, about three miles east of Salerno. Together with No. 41 (RM) Commando, they were tasked by Brigade to "sweep the area and clean out the German forces". Having completed the requested "sweep", the commando returned, bringing with them 150 captured Germans.[SUP][15][/SUP]
Both commandos were then ordered back to occupy the area known as the "pimple". Over the next days the commando losses grew and included the then-Duke of Wellington.[SUP][27][/SUP] Finally relieved on 18 September they were withdrawn to Sicily. During the Salerno operations No. 2 and No. 41 (RM) Commandos had 367 killed, wounded or missing out of the 738 who had made the landing.

 

[DCMatt]

This map shows the rendezvous area known as "the pimple" or "Pimple Hill":



But I see you already know about this place...

 

[A2coins]

Great thing to try to return it that's really nice to do. Tommy

 

[Red-Coat]

It would be a lovely gesture if it could be returned. All I can offer is this, but it assumes soldier ‘KJF’ died while in service.

I checked the War Graves Commission database for all deaths of those with Christian name initials of ‘KJ’ and a surname beginning with ‘F’ (including non-UK Commonwealth citizens). I then filtered out deaths before 1943 and then excluded the units not associated with service in Italy. That left me with only one realistic possibility from the database.

Interestingly, it was a possibility you may not have considered: The Royal Army Medical Corps, who of course are a natural accompaniment to fighting units and certainly had a presence during the Salerno landings. The possible match was:

Kenneth James Foulds
RAMC, 14 Lt. Field Amb., Private, Service number: 7372204
Died 30 November 1943, age 27
Buried/Memorial: Sangro River War Cemetery, Italy
Son of James and Margaret Jane Foulds, of Newtown Linford, Leicestershire, England

As I’m sure you know, the allies pushed through from Salerno towards the East coast and had occupied southern Italy by early October. They continued to defend the Sangro River against the retreating Germans and then the 8th Army advanced across the river on 23 November 1943. Private Foulds seems to have died shortly after that.

He might not be the soldier we’re looking for, but it was the only likely possibility from the database IF he died in service (my search was not dependent on him having died in Italy) and we have the initials right.

 

[Madmox]

It would be a lovely gesture if it could be returned. All I can offer is this, but it assumes soldier ‘KJF’ died while in service.

I checked the War Graves Commission database for all deaths of those with Christian name initials of ‘KJ’ and a surname beginning with ‘F’ (including non-UK Commonwealth citizens). I then filtered out deaths before 1943 and then excluded the units not associated with service in Italy. That left me with only one realistic possibility from the database.

Interestingly, it was a possibility you may not have considered: The Royal Army Medical Corps, who of course are a natural accompaniment to fighting units and certainly had a presence during the Salerno landings. The possible match was:

Kenneth James Foulds
RAMC, 14 Lt. Field Amb., Private, Service number: 7372204
Died 30 November 1943, age 27
Buried/Memorial: Sangro River War Cemetery, Italy
Son of James and Margaret Jane Foulds, of Newtown Linford, Leicestershire, England

As I’m sure you know, the allies pushed through from Salerno towards the East coast and had occupied southern Italy by early October. They continued to defend the Sangro River against the retreating Germans and then the 8th Army advanced across the river on 23 November 1943. Private Foulds seems to have died shortly after that.

He might not be the soldier we’re looking for, but it was the only likely possibility from the database IF he died in service (my search was not dependent on him having died in Italy) and we have the initials right.

None the less... I am astonished that you pulled that out! Way to go Red-Coat.

 

[Red-Coat]

A little more.

The 14th Light Field Ambulance (Private Fould’s section) arrived on D+3 of the allied invasion of the Italian peninsula and was initially based at the 15th Casualty Clearing Section field hospital in Reggio.



One of the main roles for sections of this type however was to follow infantry divisions into battle to treat or recover casualties, frequently under heavy fire. Montgomery was also a believer that their presence as far forward in the battle lines as possible helped boost the morale of his troops. He also adopted a strategy of not ‘Red Cross’ marking field hospitals in forward positions for fear it gave tactical information to the enemy, resulting in them being as vulnerable to shelling or bombing as military combatant positions.

I can’t find specific movements of the 14th Light relating to Salerno, but since Private Fould’s memorial suggests they ‘followed the action’ as far north as the subsequent advance across the Sangro River, it would seem highly likely that they were in Salerno prior to that.