Additional Information:
Philip Boswell of Kings Sutton died at Dunkirk on May 27th 1940, just 6 weeks after his 20th birthday. Few of his battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, returned home. His sister, Mrs B Barnes, was very happy when her brother's name was added to the Banbuy Memorial in 2003, thanks to the work of Mr Harry Cowie
Philip Boswell was born on 6th April 1920, the eldest child of John William and Maud Mary Boswell. After leaving school he worked with his father on a farm, before joining the army voluntarily when he was 16 or 17.At the end of May 1940, just 6 weeks after his 20th birthday, Philip’s battalion (2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment) was holding the town of Cassel, as part of a defensive line allowing others to be evacuated from Dunkirk. They were ordered to hold the line at all costs, which they did for 3 days, eventually fighting from house to house. Few of this battalion returned home. Philip was killed on the 27th May and buried in Oye-Plage Communal Cemetery.
Philip had joined up while his parents were living at Kings Sutton in the 1930s, so he was originally listed on the Kings Sutton War Memorial – incorrectly, however, as John William Boswell. This mistake was rectified when the memorial was re-dedicated recently.Philip’s parents moved to West Street, Grimsbury in the 1940s and so his name was added to the Banbury World War Two Memorial in 2003.We are grateful to Mrs Shirley Bradnam for this information.
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