According to newspaper reports, 22 Sappers were involved in the construction of the Gerlitzen Observatory. The photo below, from Nick Medcalf’s collection, presumably depicts most, if not all, of them, at an unidentified location, possibly in Villach.
Following are the names of those we have identified, mainly with the help of British local newspaper reports.
Sapper D. Bicknell of 8 Jubilee Street, Newquay, Cornwall. Mentioned in a report in the Newquay Express and Cornwall County Chronicle of 1 January 1948.
Sapper Alan Burridge of West End, Wellow, Somerset. Mentioned in reports in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette of 13 Dec 1947 and in the Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer of 2 Jan 1948. The Bath Chronicle reports that Sapper Jones Newton, who died in an accident on the Gerlitzen, was Sapper Burridge’s best friend. The report quotes Sapper Burridge as writing in a letter to his parents that, during the official opening ceremony, the 22 Sappers “were bordering on a state of collapse, through standing in the snow and freezing cold without overcoats or gloves”.
Sapper K. Flint of 58, Guildford-street, Lozells, Warwickshire. Mentioned in a report in the Evening Despatch of 22 January 1948.
Sergeant G. Gear of 10, The Paragon, Bath, Somerset. Mentioned in reports in the Somerset Guardian and Radstock Observer of 2 Jan 1948, and in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette of 3 Jan 1948)
Corporal Trevor Percival Medcalf of Bath, Somerset. Cpl. Medcalf left a photo album with photographs of his time on the Gerlitzen helping build the observatory. His son, Nick Medcalf, has kindly allowed us to use some of them to illustrate this story.
Photo: Nick Medcalf.
Sapper Raymond Jones Newton of Hereford. Mentioned in reports in the Evening News London of 19 Jan 1948 and in the Birmingham Daily Gazette of 28 Jan 1948. Sapper Jones Newton died in an accident on the Gerlitzen on 25 October 1947 and was buried on 29 October 1947 in Klagenfurt War Cemetery. His father was John Jones Newton of 44 College-road, Hereford, a Labour leader and former member of the Herefordshire County Council.
Sapper D Norrie of 2 Johnston’s Lane, Dundee. Mentioned in a report in the Dundee Evening Telegraph of 25 Dec 1947.
Sapper R. Sharrock of 56 Trafalgar Street, Gillingham, Kent. Mentioned in a report in the Chatham and Gillingham News of 2 Jan 1948.
Lance Corporal G. H. Stone of 19 Lakeside Avenue, Connor. Mentioned in a report in the Hampshire Telegraph of 1 Jan 1948. You’d expect him to make a local paper, but we haven’t been able to locate a place named Connor in Hampshire (there is one in County Antrim, Ulster).
Lieutenant A. R. Telford of 20 Ilchester Place, Kensington. Mentioned in a report in the Bayswater Chronicle of 2 Jan 1948. The paper reports that Lieut. Telford was the officer in charge of the squad of Sappers.
Sapper Raymond Leslie Wells, son of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Wells of 7 Blissett-road, Leicester. Mentioned in a report in the Leicester Daily Mercury of 21 Jan 1948). The report has a photo of Sapper Wells and quotes him as saying they “were working in sub-zero temperatures most of the time, and were hampered by heavy blizzards”.
