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Pte.
James Toole
Military Details
Service Number: 3602688
Regiment & Unit / Ship
1st Bttn King's Own Scottish Borderers
Service Branch
Army
Enlistment Details
Residence at Enlistment
22 Frizington Rd Cleator Moor
Rank at Enlistment
Pte.
Battalion at Enlistment
6th Bttn
Service Number at Enlistment
3602688
Service History
On D-Day 6 June 1944 Jim Toole planted a Union Jack in the sand of the Normandy beaches. Four years after the evacuation from other beaches further to the north at Dunkirk, the Allies were back in France. The Normandy Landings would eventually lead to North West Europe being freed from German Occupation.
The KOSB's main recruitment area is southern Scotland, not far from the traditional Border Regiment recruitment area of Cumberland and Westmorland. So, on the whole it was an easy transition.
Battalion War Diary Extract
For the Normandy Landings, the 6th Battalion The Border Regiment formed part of the Beach Groups. The Battalion were part of No 10 Beach Group. Their role meant landing with the early assault troops and then organising the beaches and establishing dumps for supplies and reinforcements. This important role continued well into August 1944. By then, the British infantry troops had begun to run short of trained reinforcements. Consequently, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery made the decision to disband the Beach Groups and draft officers and men to the combatant infantry battalions.
Many of the Border Regiment servicemen were then drafted to the 15th (Scottish) Division in or shortly after August 1944. Practically the whole of the 6th Battalion The Border Regiment were drafted to one of nine battalions making up the 15th (Scottish) Division: 25 officers and 550 other ranks.
Transfer Details
Date of Transfer
Sept 1944
Regiment Transferred To
King's Own Scottish Borderers
Personal Details
Date of Birth
1st August 1917
Place of Birth
Frizington
Religion
RC
Residence (Census)
22 Frizington Rd., Frizington
Parents
Francis and Jane
Siblings
John Elizabeth Frank
Married
Catheriine Hazzard on 17 Feb 1943 at St Marys RC Church Cleator
Children
Mary Born May 1944
Remarriage of Widow
Marries William Campbell
Education and Occupation
School
St Josephs
Occupation
Shop Assistant
Death and Memorial
Date of Death
30th October 1944
Age at Death
27
Circumstances of Death
Private Jim Toole was not to serve with the KOSB for very long. On 30 October 1944, by which time the Division had reached the Netherlands, Jim Toole was killed in action. He was interred at Overloon War Cemetery, which is between Nijmegen and Venlo. Jim Toole's Service Number was 3602688 and his grave reference in Overloon Cemetery is II.B.3.
Place of Death
Holland
Theater of Action
Western Europe
Regiment at Death
King's Own Scottish Borderers
Battalion/Vessel at Death
Ist Bttn
Rank at Death
Pt
Notes
On 17 February 1943 Private James ('Jim') Toole, Border Regiment, of Frizington Road, Frizington married Miss Catherine Hazard of Hilden Road, Cleator at St Mary's R.C. Church, Cleator. The Parish Priest of St Mary's, Cleator, Father Frederick Cuthbert Clayton O.S.B., conducted the wedding ceremony. Jim Toole was the son of Francis Toole and Jane Toole (née Huddart). Catherine Hazard was the daughter of John Hazard and Margaret Hazard (née Devitt). The Best Man was John Toole and the Chief Bridesmaid was Philomena Hazard.
With wartime shortages of material many wartime brides found it difficult to have a white wedding dress made for their big day. Catherine's wedding dress was made from the remnants of a German parachute recovered from a pilot whose plane had been shot down in the Battle of Britain. Jim wore his army uniform to get married in, as most servicemen tended to do during the war.
Buried or Commemorated at
Overloon War Cemetery Holland
Holland
Grave Position: Grave Ref. 1.E.23).
Private Memorial: Cleator Moor Roll of Honour
Frizington War memorial
St Marys RC Church WW2
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