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This is the family grave of
my grandparents John and Rose Duggan (nee O'Neill)
and my uncle was Philip Hugh Duggan - he was killed on
15 November 1942 aged 23. My understanding was this was
just after the battle of Tobruk which he had come
through, but he was in a vehicle when an aircraft came
over - they all jumped out and lay on the ground when he
was killed. He was a Gunner in the 4 Survey Regiment in
the Royal Artillery. The Duggan family lived in The
Drive, Felling.
"I am
grateful to Kathryn Duggan, granddaughter of John &
Rose, for supplying the family photographs and the
above information".
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Gunner Philip Hugh Duggan
953585 Gunner
Philip Hugh Duggan was in the 4th Survey Regiment
Royal Artillery. He died on 15/11/1942. He was the
son of John Duggan, and of Rose Duggan, of
Felling, Gateshead, Co. Durham. He is buried in
the Tobruk War Cemetery,
Grave/Memorial Reference: 1. H. 8.
Above
Right: Nov 1941 |
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John
Duggan & Rose O'Neill |
John
Duggan, St Johns Senior School. Felling |
.jpg)
John & Rose
Duggan. c1930
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The Duggan family
grave is tucked away in the far south-east corner of the
graveyard near the Sunderland Rd boundary wall and the large
hedge near the main entrance. The graves in this section were
moved here from the north and west part of the graveyard, to
allow the road to be widened when the Heworth bus
terminus and Metro Station was built. A plaque on the west
wall confirms this.
This section was never transcribed, as when the old graveyard
was being indexed it was ignored as it was thought to be part
of the newer Heworth cemetery. I am have been busy
transcribing these 'missing' graves, but it will take a while
as here are several hundred. I will add the MI to this site
and give a copy to the local archives and local history
libraries once completed. Many of the memorials, headstones
and monuments do not face the usual west/east orientation (as
with the Duggan family headstone) and appear to have been
randomly placed.
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Tobruk
War Cemetery |
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Tobruk is a Mediterranean port with an
excellent deep water harbour. During the war it was important
to Allied and Axis forces alike, for the reception of supplies
and reinforcements. In January 1941, it was taken from the
Italians by General Wavell's forces, and after the clearance
of the demolitions in the harbour the port was usable and
proved invaluable. When Rommel commenced his drive across
Cyrenaica towards Suez it was deemed essential that Tobruk be
held, and the resulting siege lasted from 11 April to 10
December 1941, when the Axis forces were driven back. They
recovered far more quickly than was expected and by early
February 1942, it was the Allies turn to fall back towards a
line running southwards from Gazala to Bir Hakeim. Again
orders were given to hold Tobruk, but it fell to Rommel on 21
June. It was retaken five months later by the Eighth Army in
their final sweep along the North African coast into Tunisia.
Tobruk War Cemetery incorporates the burial ground used during
the siege and the memorial erected there at the time by the
Australians has been replaced by a permanent memorial of
similar design. Many battlefield graves in the desert have
been brought into the cemetery. There are now 2,282
Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried or
commemorated in Tobruk War Cemetery. 171 of the burials are
unidentified but special memorials commemorate a number of
casualties known or believed to be buried among them. The
cemetery also contains 171 war graves of other nationalities,
most of them Polish. |
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