5th East Yorkshire Regiment, Dunkirk, Gazala, North Africa, POW

4345874 Pte GW Heart. Name changed by deed poll from Campbell

Includes his record of service, his deed poll certificate,  and his discharge papers

Enlisted 9/12/39 The regiment was sent to France with the BEF partly trained and suffered heavily on its retreat to Dunkirk where they were evacuated.

Then in April 1941 the regiment was transfered to North Africa as part of the 69th Infantry Brigade. Where they took up defensive positions in one of the boxes in the Gazala line protecting Tobruk awaiting Rommels attack. Rommel staged an encircling movement and systematically destroyed all in his path. 

The 5th East Yorkshire Battalion had to break out of the encirclement and stage a fighting retreat through enemy lines. It was during this retreat that Pte GW Heart was captured. 

Initially reported missing presumed dead between the 28th and 29th of June 1942, he was eventually reported as being a  P.O.W. in an Italian Prisoner of War Camp number 70 Monturano (Parma), postal mark number 3300. He was later moved to Stalag XVIIA Kaisersteinbruch. He was released 4th July 1945.