{"id":6019,"date":"2025-10-20T08:52:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T08:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/?page_id=6019"},"modified":"2025-12-31T13:33:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T13:33:34","slug":"robert-box","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wwii\/creighton\/robert-box\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Box"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-6019\" data-postid=\"6019\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-6019 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n                    <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_cuzr670 tb_first tf_w\">\n                        <div class=\"row_inner col_align_top tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col4-2 tb_izvx670 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_bryl670   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <h2><strong>Key Information<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Name: <\/strong><\/span><strong>Robert Box \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>DoB:<\/strong> 3<sup>rd<\/sup> Feb 1919<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Regt: <\/strong><\/span>Private; 3600902, 8th Bn., Parachute Regiment, A.A.C.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>DoD:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a025\/08\/1944\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 25<\/p>\n<p>Buried\/Commemorated: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 VATTEVILLE-LA-RUE CHURCHYARD<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">France\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Academic Career<\/strong>: Creighton School 1930-33<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Other:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Biographical Information<\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col4-2 tb_jhjq670 last\">\n                    <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_g0z8127 image-top   tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/New-grid-Box.docx\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-6339\" title=\"New grid Box\" alt=\"New grid Box\">    \n        <\/div>\n    <!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n        <\/div>\n<!-- \/module image -->        <\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_efrs247 tf_w\">\n                        <div class=\"row_inner col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tf_box tf_rel\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col-full tb_d4fy247 first\">\n                    <!-- module accordion -->\n<div  class=\"module module-accordion tb_9ske247 \" data-behavior=\"accordion\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n    \n    <ul class=\"ui module-accordion   gray\">\n            <li class=\"builder-accordion-active\">\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-0\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-0-content\" aria-expanded=\"true\">\n                                                            Family Background                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-0-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"accordion-content tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_8pln247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_pjv7247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_xjcn247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>Family Background: Robert was the fifth of eight children born to Thomas Box and his wife Elizabeth nee Hetherington. Robert\u2019s father Thomas had been born in Carlisle and worked on the railways for his whole working life. Robert\u2019s paternal grandfather Robert had been a gas stoker in Carlisle and his maternal grandfather John Hetherington had worked in a dyehouse in Carlisle.<\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n            <li>\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-1\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-1-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                                                            Academic Record                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-1-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"accordion-content tf_hide tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_qpte247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_qslb247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_0ykd247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>Academic Record: Bishop Godwin PS. Creighton School 1930-33.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n            <li>\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-2\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-2-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                                                            War Record                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-2-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"accordion-content tf_hide tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_b254247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_g45w247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_ccj2247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>War Service<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>On 6 June 1944, the 8th Parachute Battalion landed in Normandy on their own\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Drop_zone\">drop zone<\/a>\u00a0&#8216;K&#8217; between\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cuverville,_Calvados\">Cuverville<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Touffr%C3%A9ville\">Touffr\u00e9ville<\/a>\u00a03 miles (4.8\u00a0km) to the south of the main force at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ranville\">Ranville<\/a>.The battalion&#8217;s objectives were to destroy two bridges crossing the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/River_Dives\">River Dives<\/a>\u00a0near\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bures,_Orne\">Bures<\/a>\u00a0and a third at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Troarn\">Troarn<\/a>. The parachute drop was widely scattered, with fourteen of the Battalion&#8217;s thirty-seven\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Douglas_C-47_Skytrain\">Dakota aircraft<\/a>, releasing their parachutists some distance away, in the operational area of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/5th_Parachute_Brigade\">5th Parachute Brigade<\/a>\u00a0When the commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Pearson arrived at the battalion rendezvous point (RVP) at 01:20, he found only thirty paratroopers and a small group of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Royal_Engineers\">engineers<\/a>\u00a0with a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Willys_MB\">jeep<\/a>\u00a0and trailer who were supposed to demolish the bridges. By 03:30 a further 140 men of the battalion, but no more engineers had arrived at the RVP\u00a0Pearson decided to send a small force to demolish the bridges at Bures and lead the rest of the battalion to a crossroad north of Troarn where it would await more reinforcements before it attacked Troarn itself. However, the small force sent to Bures discovered that the two bridges had already been demolished by a group of engineers who had reached the bridges a few hours earlier, and so rejoined the battalion at the crossroads, which by now numbered 150 men.\u00a0A reconnaissance party was sent into Troarn to ascertain the status of the bridge there, alongside a party of engineers, which came under fire from a house near the bridge. After a brief fire-fight the paratroopers captured a number of Germans from the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/21st_Panzer_Division\">21st Panzer Division<\/a>\u00a0and then made their way to the bridge, which they discovered had been demolished already. Once the engineers had widened the length of bridge demolished using their explosives, the party retreated back to the battalion at the crossroad\u00a0Having achieved its objective, the battalion then moved north and took up positions near Le Mesnil to widen the airborne bridgehead formed by the division.\u00a0By midnight the battalion was in the Bavent woods. The southernmost point in a 4 miles (6.4\u00a0km) defensive line formed by the 3rd Parachute Brigade, stretching northwards from the woods, to Les Mesnil and then\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Le_Plein&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1\">Le Plein<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 8th Battalion&#8217;s objective was to hold the woods and disrupt German movements in the area. Isolated from the rest of the division, they were assisted in their defence by the dense woods, which broke up infantry assaults and made armoured vehicle attacks impossible. They did however suffer under artillery bombardments, until their trenches had adequate over-head cover. Adopting a policy of mine laying, setting ambushes, raiding and patrolling, at times the battalion&#8217;s patrols reached as far as Bures and Troarn.The battalion remained in the woods until 16 June, when the 3rd Parachute Brigade went into reserve. When they returned to the front, they continued patrolling and harassing the Germans for the next six weeks.\u00a0Until 17 August when the 6th Airborne Division, crossed the River Dives. The 8th Battalion were involved in heavy fighting at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Goustranville\">Goustranville<\/a>, which they captured by nightfall. By 21 August the battalion, had reached\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Annebault\">Annebault<\/a>. Supported by a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Left_flanking\">left flanking<\/a>\u00a0attack by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/9th_(Eastern_and_Home_Counties)_Parachute_Battalion\">9th Parachute Battalion<\/a>, the 8th put in a frontal assault. The village was well defended and both battalions fought all day to liberate the village\u00a0The 8th Battalions next major engagement was on 25 August at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Beuzeville\">Beuzeville<\/a>, attacked by the 3rd Parachute and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/4th_Special_Service_Brigade\">4th Special Service Brigade<\/a>. Supported by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cromwell_tank\">Cromwell tanks<\/a>\u00a0of the 6th Airborne Division Reconnaissance Regiment the battalion gradually overcome the German strong points and captured the town<\/p>\n<p>Tragically Robert was killed accidentally by British fire, after being wounded and captured by a German patrol.<\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n            <li>\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-3\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-3-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                                                            Other                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-3-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"accordion-content tf_hide tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_hez9247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_7j5q247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_ko31247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>Other:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 1939 Robert was working in a sawmill as a labourer. He had married Barbara M Lithgow in late 1937 when he was eighteen years old. Their son John was born in 1938 and their daughter Maureen in 1941.<\/p>\n<p>Address when at school, 3, Ridley Place, Currock.<\/p>\n<p>Barbara remarried in early 1946 William M. Wright.<\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n            <li>\n            <div class=\"accordion-title tf_rel\">\n                <a href=\"#acc-9ske247-4\" class=\"tb_title_accordion\" aria-controls=\"acc-9ske247-4-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n                                                            Sources                <\/a>\n            <\/div><!-- .accordion-title -->\n            <div id=\"acc-9ske247-4-content\" data-id=\"acc-9ske247-4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"accordion-content tf_hide tf_clearfix\">\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_subrow themify_builder_sub_row tf_w col_align_top tb_col_count_1 tb_7ain247\">\n                <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column sub_column tb_yhbi247 first\">\n                    <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_6um9247   \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n        <p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1939 register<\/p>\n<p>Census returns<\/p>\n<p>Ancestry Trees<\/p>\n<p>Wikipedia<\/p>\n<p>The Creighton Register<\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div><!-- .accordion-content -->\n        <\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n\n<\/div><!-- \/module accordion -->        <\/div>\n                        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Information Name: Robert Box \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 DoB: 3rd Feb 1919 Regt: Private; 3600902, 8th Bn., Parachute Regiment, A.A.C. DoD:\u00a025\/08\/1944\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 25 Buried\/Commemorated: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 VATTEVILLE-LA-RUE CHURCHYARD France\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Academic Career: Creighton School 1930-33 Other:\u00a0 Biographical Information Family Background Family Background: Robert was the fifth of eight children born to Thomas Box and his wife Elizabeth nee Hetherington. Robert\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":6001,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6019","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6019"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6341,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6019\/revisions\/6341"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinity.cumbria.sch.uk\/warmemorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}