This memorial page is dedicated to Thomas Joseph Barnes, 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.

 

Thomas Joseph Barnes

Name: Barnes
First names: Thomas Joseph
Nickname: Tommy
Date of birth: 12 October 1921
Place of birth: London
Residence: 47 Glasgow Road, Plaistow
Rank / Occupation: Rifleman
Identity tag: 6921749
Unit: Rifle Brigade, 8th (2nd Battalion, The London Rifle Brigade) Battalion
Date of death: 23 September 1944
Place of death: Vlierden
Cause of death: –
Cemetery: Nederweert War Cemetery
Memorial site: –

 

Additional information

Grave location: II. A. 2.

Son of Thomas and Mary Barnes, from Stratford, Essex.

Thomas Joseph Barnes’s field grave was situated on the road from Vlierden to Asten.

Several graves, including that of Thomas Joseph Barnes, were adopted by Carla Verhaegen, daughter of the then GP Remy Verhaegen

Enkele graven, waaronder het graf van Thomas Joseph Barnes werden geadopteerd door Carla Verhaegen, dochter van de toenmalige huisarts Remy Verhaegen

In the book *“War Years 1940–1945: Municipality of Deurne”*, the photographs of Thomas Joseph Barnes and Cliford Reginald Secker were unfortunately swapped.

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