Identity
Person No.
12292
Service No.
53513
Last Name
First Name
Richard Sydney
Initials
R S
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
27
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,779
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action. In the North Italian village of Carpane on 27 September 1944 the Germans executed 16 Allied soldiers captured fighting with Italian partisans in that area. Escaped with other South Africans from a nearby POW camp and joined up with local partisans to carry on fighting the Germans. They became such a thorn in the flesh of the Germans that a special operation was mounted in the Monte Grappa region to capture them. They were eventually captured and murdered by the Germans. Every year on this day since the end of the war the villagers of Carpane have held a memorial service at this spot by the side of the road where they were killed. For many years the identity of the 16 was not known and the monument was simply inscribed to "16 unknown". It was only about 4 or 5 years ago that their identity was uncovered by Sonia Residori, an Italian academic researcher
Military Service
Location
Country
Locality
Unknown
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Notes
Son of William John and Francina Suzanna Kinnear; husband of Adelaide Rose Haig Kinnear, of Durban, Natal, South Africa. His brother also died in service.
Research notes
Gunners Association RoH lists them (World War 2 1939-1945 Gunner R.S. Kinnear) - https://www.gunners.org.za/home-2/roll-of-honour/
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Gunners' Association of South Africa Roll of Honour
open source ↗
World War 2 1939-1945 Gunner R.S. Kinnear
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
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