Arthur George Bellot

This story and photos are shared by the Trust with kind permission from Cathy Burley

Arthur Bellot was engaged to my late mother in February 1944 and was tragically killed on 6th June.

Arthur was a Jersey man who managed to leave the island before the Germans invaded and immediately enlisted, joining the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and also seeing active service with the Hampshire Regiment.

Arthur in 1942

Sadly, he lost his life on D-Day, fighting alongside his comrades of the 6th Battalion, Green Howards.

When writing to my mother, his commanding officer said that he had been a very brave soldier, had not suffered and had been buried on the side of the road near a village, where the villagers had put fresh flowers on his grave.

   

The letter reads:

"It is with deep regret that I have to inform you of the death of your brother 5442707 Pte Bellot A. who was killed in action on 6 June 1944. He was amember of my Company and we all feel his loss very much as he was always so cheerful and such a good chap. It may be some consolation for you to know that he passed away instantly without pain and at the time was in an attack at the commencement of this invasion. He has been buried with three of his comrades and the civilians have covered his grave with flowers. I will give you the location as soon as censorship permits.

Please accept the deep feelings of symathy from all the Officers & men of this Company."

When the war was over, he would be buried in a military cemetery.

Mum was duly sent the following photo of his temporary grave marker by the War Graves Commission.

And I am also including his picture [shown at the start of his story], that she kept in a special box, until the day that she died.

It was seven years before she found love again with my Dad, but she never forgot him and the sacrifice that he and so many other young men made, for the freedom that we enjoy today.

British Normandy Memorial - Additional Information

The Graves Concentration Report held by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission reveal that Arthur Bellot was killed as the Green Howards were advancing through Villiers-le-Sec. He was buried, alongside 6 other men, on the roadside in the centre of Villiers-le-Sec.