Harber Alec George Private 5680543
Personnel Entry
Name Harber Alec George
Army number 5680543
Rank Private.
Decorations None yet known beyond Service Awards.
Date of birth Born 17/2/1915 at Croydon, Surrey. Baptised 4/4/1915.
Age
Unit Enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry - date not known. Transferred to The Durham Light Infantry and posted to the 11th Battalion DLI. Served Normandy. Wounded. Posted to ? Battalion DLI on the disbandment of the 11th Battalion. Returned to the UK. Relegated to Class Z (T) Regular Army Reserve 20/5/1946. Demobilised.
Company/Battery Not yet ascertained.
Platoon or other sub-unit
Task or role Not yet known but probably Rifleman.
Joined Brigade Not yet known.
Promotions None known as yet.
Wounded Yes - Normandy - date not recorded.
Prisoner of War Not as far as is known.
Died/Killed in action Died at Croydon September 1988.
Home address Father Samuel George Harber (1888 - 1917) - KILLED in ACTION France and Flanders. Mother - Minnie Jeanette May Bartlett (1894 - 1981). His mother remarried and he had four step-siblings - all of whom died in 1942, which implied enemy action or some domestic disaster. Further research produced the information that the victims were the children of Reginald and Minnie Jeanette May Owens as follows:- Reginald Charles Owens (16): A member of the local Home Guard. He died on June 29, 1942, at the family home located at 12/14 Argyle Avenue on the Bournville Estate. Arthur Owens (14): Also a member of the Home Guard, killed during the bombing alongside his brother. Bernice Elizabeth May Owens (12): Sustained fatal injuries during the bombing of the home. Phyllis May Hancock (née Owens): The eldest daughter, she was the wife of Gunner Harry Hancock of the Royal Artillery. She was severely injured during the raid and died a few days later on July 4, 1942, at Weston General Hospital.The Bournville Estate area where they lived was heavily hit and became known locally as "bomb alley" due to the high volume of high-explosive and incendiary bombs dropped during that weekend. The blitz claimed over 100 lives across the town. Alec married Amy Elizabeth Jones (1919-1995)at Croydon in July 1945. Lived in South Croydon.
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