Tunisian graves of fallen Wandsworth soldiers honoured (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Tunisian graves of fallen Wandsworth soldiers honoured

12:40pm Thursday 19th November 2009

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While the borough paid tribute to its war dead at ceremonies in the borough, a delegation of councillors made a special trip to Tunisia to honour the wartime sacrifices of soldiers from a Wandsworth-based armoured regiment that saw action in the deserts of North Africa.

Twelve councillors visited Tunis to honour the memory of soliders from Wandsworth who served and fell in the decisive Desert Rats campaign of 1943.

This victory over Rommel's Afrika Korps was the first strategic land victory of the Second World War by the western allies and signalled an important turning point in the struggle against Hitler and the Nazis.

The councillors visited battlefields where men of the 48th Royal Tank Regiment fought and died. This tank regiment had been formed out of the 7th (TA) Battalion East Surrey Regiment (23rd London Regiment) - an infantry battalion based at Clapham Junction that had been converted to an armoured unit in 1939.

No public was money was used to fund the trip, as it was entirely paid for by the councillors themselves.

After service in the desert the 48th were transferred with the rest of the Eighth Army to fight in the hard-won and costly Italian campaign. After the war the battalion was disbanded in 1946. It battle colours are preserved at St Mary's Church in Battersea.

During their visit to Tunis, the councillors, led by deputy mayor Councillor Jane Cooper laid wreaths at the graves of three soldiers who served in the unit. They visited three cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and also Longstop Hill, the scene of bitter fighting involving the 48th RTR.

And to coincide with the trip, Councillor Guy Senior, a keen military historian, wrote a brief history of the battalion and its wartime service.

Councillor Senior said on Armistice Day: "It is absolutely vital that we remember the sacrifice and courage of previous generations who fought and gave their lives for freedom.

"My research into the battalion's history and our visit to the graves of these three brave soldiers, was a poignant reminder of just how much we owe these very young men from another era."

For more information about the borough's wartime links and other aspects of local history, visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/heritage.

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