Benson Edgar Thomas Pte 5339141
Personnel Entry
Name Benson Edgar Thomas
Army number 5339141
Rank Private.
Decorations None known beyond Service Awards.
Date of birth 7/4/1920 at Hungerford, Berkshire.
Age 71 at the time of his death.
Unit Enlisted in the Royal Berkshire Regiment 1/5/1939 at Newbury. Posted to the 4th Battalion. Transferred to the 6th Battalion (duplicate of the 4th Battalion) probably on 1/9/1939. Served in Northern Ireland. Transferred to The Durham Light Infantry 30/6/1944. Posted to the 11th Battalion DLI. Records to York 18/8/1944. Served Normandy. Transferred to the Cameronians - exact date not known but probably as part of a group transfer on 11th November 1944 following the disbandment of the Brigade and the three Battalions. Transferred to the Corps of Military Police 13/1/1945. Posted overseas. Served with CMP in India. Returned to the UK. Granted Class A Release 11/6/1946.
Company/Battery Probably HQ Company in 6th Royal Berkshires.
Platoon or other sub-unit Pioneer Platoon in 6th Royal Berkshires from February 1941.
Task or role Carpenter and joiner. He worked as a carpenter in civilian life and attended an Army Carpenter's Course in December 1939 and a Field Engineering Course in May 1940. He was graded as a Carpenter B III on 11/12/1939, upgraded to B II on 21/1/1941 and B I on 26/7/1943.
Joined Brigade 30/6/1944.
Promotions First appointed Unpaid Lance Corporal in the Corps of Military Police 13/1/1945. Unpaid Acting Lance Corporal 29/7/1945. War Substantive Corporal 26/10/1945. Acting Sergeant 24/9/1945. He completed the Rifle War Course on 6/5/1944, gaining a 2nd Class rating, and the Bren War Course on 21/6/1944 - gaining a 3rd Class rating.
Wounded Not as far as is known.
Prisoner of War No.
Died/Killed in action Died aged 71 in January 1992 in Berkshire.
Home address Father Thomas Benson, mother Beatrice Ada Cummins (Brooks). Married in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. His wife was Mrs Mathilda Kennedy Benson (nee Evans) who lived at 9, Haig Villas, Bullygarth Road, Coleraine, Northern Ireland during Edgar's service. The couple lived in Berkshire after the War.
Source table PBM
DLI records make no mention of a transfer to the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) but Military Police records show this man as having come from there. A batch of men from the 11th DLI were included in that transfer and it seems Edgar may have been one of them. He Page has been transferred from the "possible" section of the database to the 11th Battalion Page.
