Albert Greenwood

This memorial page is dedicated to Albert Greenwood, one of more than 725 war victims connected to the municipality of Deurne documented by Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers. The municipality of Deurne and the surrounding villages of Liessel, Vlierden, Helenaveen, Neerkant and Zeilberg were liberated in the autumn of 1944 during heavy fighting. Victims fell on all sides: Allied soldiers from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and New Zealand, and German soldiers.

But the archive covers more than just the combat victims on Deurne soil. Residents of Deurne who lost their lives elsewhere are also commemorated: civilians who were murdered in concentration camps, forced labourers who died in Germany, people who were executed or succumbed to the effects of persecution and oppression. In addition, residents of Deurne who entered German military service and were killed elsewhere are also included.

Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers has been documenting the story of all these people since 1995, without distinction of nationality, side or background. The goal is to give every person a name and a face, and to keep their memory alive.

Additional information

Grave location: V. E. 12.

Aged 27. Son of Fred and Ellen Gertrude Greenwood, of Todmorden, Yorkshire.

The Grenadier Guards’ Battle Reports contain the following entry for 3 November 1944:

This morning at 07.30, a military operation was launched using the remaining ‘flail tanks’ (landmine clearers, three in total) on the road to clear a minefield at grid reference 698083. This was in front of our own first line of defence. The aim of the operation was to clear a passage for the Reconnaissance Regiment of the 15th Scottish Division so that they could reconnoitre the enemy positions. To assist them, No. 3 Squadron (minus two units) was in direct support, and the Squadron also called upon the Divisional Artillery to lay smoke screens at various coordinates. The mine clearance teams had a very difficult time; all the tanks were put out of action by the Germans – two by anti-tank fire and one after driving over a landmine. They had, however, completed their assigned task.

All the mine-clearing vehicles had been shot to pieces, and one tank crew and a platoon commander were missing. One crew returned fairly quickly; the other did not return until after dark, a few hours later. During these operations, No. 3 Squadron lost Sergeant Kenneth George Edward White and Guardsman Albert Greenwood, who were killed by a direct hit from a 75mm shell on the turret of their tank. Another tank was put out of action by anti-tank fire, and one by a direct hit from a medium-calibre projectile on the gearbox. All three tanks, however, managed to return under their own power and were evacuated to the workshop. Sergeant Kenneth George Edward White and Guardsman Albert Greenwood were buried within the safety of their squadron.

Albert Greenwood’s field grave was located near Heitrak No. 28a in Neerkant.

View all persons in the category: Allied soldiers killed in action