Pvt
Rupert Kervin
Military Details
Service Number: 3604122
Regiment & Unit / Ship
1st (Airborne) Border Regiment
Service Branch
Army
Enlisted
26th June 1940
Enlistment Details
Residence at Enlistment
Cleator Moor
Rank at Enlistment
Pte.
Battalion at Enlistment
1st Airborne
Service Number at Enlistment
3604122
Service History
Rubie was in Glider number 60 and survived the ditching, he, and two others decided to swim the 2 miles to shore, they were never seen again. His family couldnt beleive that he had drowned as he was such a good swimmer but sometime later, they found out that he had almost made it to shore but was machine gunned whilst in the water and killed. His body was never found. Rubie is commemorated on the Cassino memorial panel 7 and on the Frizington Village and St Josephs memorials. The incident was included in series 2 of the TV drama SAS Rogue Heroes, where the SAS troops sailed through the drowning men, but were unable to stop and pick them up.
Battalion War Diary Extract
In July 1943 the Border Reg were in North Africa where they were to take part in Operation Ladbroke. the invasion of Sicilly. On 9th July, the Borderers with the Staffordshire Regiment and engineers took off from Tunisia in 136 Waco (Hadrian) gliders and 8 Horsa gliders, 108 being towed by USAAF Dakotas and rest by RAF Albemarles, the Borderers were in 72 Waco's. During the journey, a number of aircraft encountered mechanical problems so they either turned back, landed at Malta or were lost. The objective was to secure the Ponte Grande bridge Syracuse. But. short of the release point, the aircraft came under enemy fire, the inexperienced US Pilots panicked and released the gliders too early. 65 gliders crashed into the sea, of which 44 were the Borderers. 252 men were killed, almost 100 of these were from the Border Reg. Only 12 gliders made landfall where they secured the bridge until relieved
Transfer Details
Regiment Transferred To
Border Regiment
Personal Details
Date of Birth
7th October 2014
Place of Birth
Preston Lancs
Religion
RC
Residence (Census)
Bowthorn Rd., Cleator Moor
Residence (Roll of Honour)
Birks Rd Cleator Moor
Parents
Peter & Bridget
Married
Marjorie
Children
Olga?
Education and Occupation
School
St Josephs
Occupation
Painter & Decorator
Work Address
68 Birks Rd, Cleator Moor
Death and Memorial
Date of Death
9th July 1943
Age at Death
28
Place of Death
Sicily
Theater of Action
Med
Battle
Sicily
Regiment at Death
Border Regiment
Rank at Death
Pte.
Notes
Private Rupert Kervin 3604122 1st Airborne Battalion Border Regiment 1914 to July 1943. known to his family as Rubie. He was born Reuben Austin Shorrock on 7th Oct 1914 in Preston Lancs. His father, Edward, who was an carter and his mother Elizabeth (nee Kervin) who was raised at Winder, Arlecdon. He had four older siblings and one older half brother. In April 1915 when Rubie was 6 months old, tradgedy struck the family when Elizabeth died. Edward struggled to keep a job and raise a family on his own so the decission was made to send the children to live with family members. Rubie found himself with his aunt and uncle, Bridget (nee Doyle) and Peter Kervin and their seven children living at 71 Frizington Road, Frizington
Buried or Commemorated at
Links & Resources
Stories from Cleator Moor
Read stories of the men and women from the Cleator Moor who fought in the World Wars. Got a story to tell? Please let us know and preserve the memories for generations to come.
Share & Read Stories