Posted on 12th May
A French village is searching for the relatives of a Sutton soldier killed in the Battle of Normandy during the second world war.
They want to include a photograph of Private Harold Coupe on a new memorial to 10 soldiers from the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, who were killed in the small village of Norolles in August 1944 as the Battle of Normandy raged.
Jean-Marc Leseur, of Bred-Odon, Normandy,(pictured top receiving a book from a veteran at a previous event) who has a long association with the Battle of Normandy, has made the appeal for Harold’s relatives to come forward.
He believes that Harold was born on 3rd or 5th November 1915 at 393 Deepdale Street, Sutton, and lived at 24 Slater Street, Sutton, before he was killed in action at the age of 28.
Harold, a member of the Hallamshire Battalion, is buried at Saint-Désir de Lisieux CWGraves War Cemetery. The Hallamshire Battalion was an infantry battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment and served with the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division – a division known as the Polar Bears after being stationed in Iceland during the early years of the second world war.
Jean-Marc explained: “For a long time I’ve had a great interest in the battle of Normandy.
“The story began in 1944 when the Royal British Legion asked the Normans if they would like to lay flowers on the British soldiers’ graves. My mother took care of five graves.
“Ten years ago we decided, with the inhabitants of Norolles, a small village located 7 kms north of Lisieux, to create a memorial in memory of the 10 soldiers of the 49th Division who fell in the village during the battle in August 1944.
“These lads are buried at Saint-Désir de Lisieux CWGraves cemetery.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
“A few years later a memorial was built in the village and every year during their pilgrimage in Normandy, the veterans of the division ‘Polar Bear’ receive the gratitude of local people.
“Nevertheless, we decided to do more with the creation of a Polar Bear Memorial, built by students from Lisieux Technical College.
“Our plan is to find the relatives of these boys and we’d like to have a photo of them, so we could put them on the new memorial, which will be unveiled on 21st August.”
Any family member of Private Harold Couple who can help is asked to email a photograph to Jean-Marc at [email protected]
