Service Details
Name:
 CHAMBERS
Given Name:
 FRANK ERIC
Initials:
 F E
Service No:
 93978
Rank:
 Private
Other Casualties of this Rank
Regiment:
 Natal Mounted Rifles, S.A. Forces
Other Casualties from this Regiment
Unit:
 1st Bn.
Other Casualties from this Unit
Date of Death:
 1944-09-27
Other Casualties on this Date
Date of Birth:
 1920-07-01
Age:
 24
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.
Additional
Information:
Son of Arthur William and Cornelia Margaretha Chambers, of 5th Avenue, Durban, Natal, South Africa. Born Touws River, Cape Province. A clerk, working for the SAR&H, and lived in Donnybrook, Natal.
Commemoration
Country:
 Italy
Other Casualties commemorated in Italy
Cemetery:
 PADUA WAR CEMETERY
Other Casualties commemorated in this Cemetery
Grave Reference:
 Coll. grave I. B. 3-8.

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