Barnhill, D (David)
Barnhill, D (David)
Gunner David Barnhill was the son of William and Ruth Barnhill, of Waterside, Londonderry; husband of Ellen Margery Barnhill, of 15 Ebrington Street, Waterside. Ellen would never remarry and died on the 16th of October 1957.
David served with 8th (Belfast) Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) Regiment in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The regiment had been there since December 1939, mainly at Le Harve and it had been a very harsh winter.
On the 10th May the regiment were in action against the German attacks in St Valery, Cherbourg, and St. Malo. The unit at St Valery had to destroy their equipment before being involved in close fire fights, luckily though they managed to escape to Dunkirk.
By the end of the month and by the very latest early June 1940 the battalion had been evacuated back to England in the Miracle of Dunkirk.[1] One of the units managed to bring back four 3.7-inch Anti-Aircraft guns and vital equipment, even know they were told to destroy before their evacuation.
The 8th HAA regiment then served in the Battle of Britain[2] and the Blitz, first in Coventry and then London. Three days after they left Coventry, the city was heavily bombed.
David died in County Durham, England, and was brought home for burial. The circumstances of his death are presently unknown.
Date of Death: 20/03/1941 (Aged 38)
Service: Gunner, 2 Battery, 8 (Belfast) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment.
Burial Location: Glendermott Church of Ireland Churchyard and New Cemetery. Sec. H. Grave 842.
Service Number: 1426106
[1] British suffered around 68,000 killed or captured at the Battle of Dunkirk, around 340,000 where rescued.
[2] Battle of Britain lasted from the 10th of July 1940 until the 31st of October 1940. It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces between the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe.
