Furnival Horace Sapper 1908858
Personnel Entry
Name Furnival Horace
Army number 1908858.
Rank Sapper
Decorations Awarded the Military Medal - gazetted1/3/1945 - for Citation, see below.
Date of birth Not yet ascertained.
Age (At time of death). Not yet known.
Unit Posted to 294th Field Company, Royal Engineers. Served Normandy.
Company/Battery
Platoon or other sub-unit Served in No. 1 Platoon and in No. 3 Platoon.
Task or role Details awaited.
Joined Brigade Not yet known.
Promotions Corporal.
Wounded Not so far as is known.
Prisoner of War Not so far as is known.
Died/Killed in action Date of death not yet ascertained.
Home address 8, Albemarle Road, Newcastle-under-Lyne, Staffordshire.
Source table
The Citation for the award of Sapper Furnival's Military Medal can be found in the National Archives at File Reference WO 373/52/162. It reads as follows:-
"On the night of 18th Nov 1944, 3 Platoon 294 Fd Coy RE were filling a crater on the WEERT - BERINGEN r. Cpl Furnival with one OR went forward to check the rd into BERINGEN and found that it was prepared for demolition in the outskirts of the village but that the charge had NOT been fired.
THere was NO visible means of initiation, and, Furnival suspected that it might be a delayed action charge. He immediately proceeded to remove it.
Leading infantry had only just reached the village, which was under heavy shell and mortar fire. Cpl Furnival twice had to get back but each time returned and finally removed the charge (200 lbs of bulk explosive) and made good the road.
By his perseverence, despite enemy fire, Cpl Furnival opened the forward route and materially speeded the whole operation." Some information on this Page has been extracted from the Commemorative Booklet, prepared by Major Langley, covering the period from D-Day to VE Day in addition to that extracted from the War Diaries. There are issues around the possible duplication of names which remain to be clarified.
