On this day in 1945, 4 men from the 5th Battalion Hampshire Regiment were killed.
The War Diary reads:
“1604: Large explosion in camp ( C&D areas) – much damage to camp. Casualties – 3 OR killed, 1 man missing (since known to be killed), 1 man seriously injured.”
These men were 1581115 Pte Henry Harrington, 5505800 Pte Arthur Hunnybun, 4981864 Pte Robert Duffin and 1732288 Pte Cyril Unsworth. All 4 men are buried in Klagenfurt War Cemetery in Austria.
The 5th Bn was engaged in mines clearance work, and processing the large numbers of personnel moving across Europe, both refugees and returning soldiers after the Declaration of Peace on 8th May.
The photos are from their funerals on 1st June 1945, from an album loaned to the museum for scanning.
