Casualty Information
Private
DAVID
ARNOLD
Service Number
Age
Date of death
3192183
21
Sunday, 09 June 1940
Company:
Unknown
Born Jan 15th 1919, at Ivanhoe Cottage, Templand. Son of Katherine Arnold, Domestic Servant and stepson of Thomas Lithgow, of Templand, Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire. Catherine/Katherine married Thomas in 1923. New information received states that David had a twin brother, John.
Personal Inscription:
SLEEP ON, DEAR SON AND TAKE YOUR REST WE MISS YOU MOST WHO LOVED YOU BEST
War Service details:
Original Regiment joined- (Based on their Service No).
The King's Own Scottish Borderors
1st Bttn KOSB location on day of death (According to War Diary)
Dunkirk withdrawal
1st KOSB War Diary for 1st June 1940.
"Rear party clear of defensive line, and majority of Bn. embarked at LA PANNE" (*Potenially DE PANNE - east of Dunkirk)
The Battalion had been in Belgium (Louvain) since May 11th, withdrew to Brussels and then over the Escaut canal.
David must have missed the boat at Dunkirk and was heading cross-country to embark elsewhere. He made a journey of over 150 miles before he died.
There's a link to a story from the People's War site that shows how difficult it may have been to get passage on a ship out of Dunkirk > https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/21/a2317321.shtml
*The soldier in the story is potentially John Sisterson, one of the signatures on the 50 Franc note signed the night before D-Day.
RESEARCH INTO ACTIONS IN JUNE 1940
In order to try and find out why Pvt Arnold ended up in Mauquenchy, we've tried to track other units and other War Records from that time.
We found that one of David's comrades was captured on the 8th of June 1940 near Forges in France.
We've also looked at the War graves from the same area and time. The closest graveyard is Sigy-en-Bray (7.5KM away) which contains CWGC graves for 9 British Servicemen. Most of them are classed as 'Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps' which is a group of men who were above the normal age range for 'fighting men'. These men mostly died the day before David Arnold - 8th June - so he may have been part of a 'rag tag' group who were hearding North to the coast at Dieppe, or to St Valery where the Scottish Divisions had landed. https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/sigy-en-bray-communal-cemetery.htm
You can see on the map that Forges, Mauquenchy and Sigy-en-Bray are not too far apart. Opinion is, in the case of the Pioneers at least, that they were told to make for St Nazaire on the East Coast. David and Pvt Johnson were potentially heading in the same direction.
Casualty Information
Casualty List No. 420 dated 24th Jan 1941. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 287 as Missing.
Casualty List No. 287 dated 21st Aug 1940. Original source records Date of Casualty as 10/05/1940-16/06/1940.
David's medal card was sent to Mrs C Lithgow (his step-father's surname) in Lockerbie. (We believe this is 'Catherine/Katherine - his mother).
The address still exists in Templand, North of Lockerbie
If you have any information on this soldier, please do get in touch using our contact form.
In Memorium
Memorial
MAUQUENCHY CHURCHYARD
Row 8, Grave 103.