Major A E C Vizard, 'E', 'A' and 'HQ' Companies, 16 DLI

There's now an extensive collection of photographs and documents on the site relating to the war service of Major A E C 'Viz' Vizard, who joined the 16th Battalion The Durham Light Infantry with a draft of 150 reinforcements in early March 1943. At this stage, just after the Battle of Sedjenane, the severe losses suffered by the Battalion meant that Vizard's reinforcements had to be formed into an ad hoc rifle company, dubbed 'E Company'.

Arthur Vizard was a pre-war Territorial in the 8th Battalion the Middlesex Regiment and was commissioned into the Middlesex Regiment in 1941.

He subsequently served with the 70th (Young Soldiers) Battalion of the DLI in the UK and the 16th Battalion DLI, in North Africa, Italy, the Middle East, Greece and Austria. He was CO of A Company at Salerno, where he was seriously wounded.

He later rejoined the 16th as HQ Coy CO through to the final Battalion disbandment in 1946. The items include: group photos of the 8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment and the Officers of 70th DLI, the September 1943 War Office wounded in action telegram to Vizard's mother and several hugely evocative informal photographs from his time with the 16th DLI in the Middle East, Greece and Austria. These items, all courtesy of Graham Skilton, begin from this page:

http://16dli.awardspace.co.uk/page302.html