Francis Rex Beech

I whānau mai i te 24 Jul 1908 - I mate atu i te 1 Feb 1941

Nama Hōia: WWII 1093 AWMM
Ingoa kārangaranga: —
Te Ope o Tū / te peka: Army AWMM
Te tūnga whakamutunga: Corporal/Military AWMM Divisional Cavalry AWMM
Pakanga: World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Mātātuhi

Lay a poppy

Francis Rex Beech — Portrait, Weekly News - This image may be subject to copyright

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Kōrero taurongo

Corporal Beech was the son of Francis Joseph and Ethel Christina Beech, of Picton, Marlborough.

Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-45: Divisional Cavalry (p.45) lists Corporal Beech's death as being on 1 January 1941. AWMM
A short film Desert Pirates: Bird of Paradise Productions priduced for NZ Herald 2026 describes the role of the LRDG and Rex's role in the Libyan conflict. Featured 23 and 24 April 2026.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/desert-pirates-a-short-film-about-the-long-range-desert-group/ZZYU3ZELNJVJ2DVL63HME5JL4M/
Public - Jenny - Other relative - 24 April 2026 - NZ Herald 23/24 April 2026
Francis Rex Beech (Service number 1093) from Picton, Marlborough served in the NZ Army in the Westrn Desert during World War 2. He gave his next of kin on embarkation as Mr F.J. Beech (father), of Picton,. A Radio engineer in civilian life, he was a Corporal in the 2nd Divisional Cavalry of 2NZEF: 1st Echelon (alongside his cousin John Brendon Beech #1092) He was Killed in Action, 1 February 1941 in Kufra, Libya and is buried at the Knightsbridge War Cemetery, in Acroma, Libya (grave reference 6.J.13). He was Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) for his actions with the famous Long Range Desert Group that operated behind enemy lines in the Western Desert[3] His name appears on the War Memorial on the Picton-Nelson Road, and the panel for WW2 dead on the Picton War Memorial. Note: The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-45: Divisional Cavalry (p.45) lists Corporal Beech's death as being on 1 January 1941. Another cousin Bernard McBeth, who was taken as a POW later in 1941, died in the Lamsdorf Death March in January 1945

Kufra was an oasis of Strategic importance during WW2. On 31 January 1941 Pat Clayton, an explorer recruited by British Intelligence, was captured by the Italian Auto-Saharan Company near Jebel Sherif, when leading "T" Patrol in reconnaissance of the planned attack on Kufra. He was the basis for the character of Peter Madox in The English Patient. In 2008 historians Brendan O'Carroll (New Zealand), Guno Goss (Switzerland) and Roberto Chiavetto (Italy) travelled to Libya to track down three LRDG trucks that had been abandoned in 1941 at Gebel Sherif, in Southern Libya, after the LRDG's first encounter with their Italian equivalent, the Autosahariana. This 65 minute documentary traced their journey, and includes never before seen archival film of the LRDG in action. It was first aired on ANZAC day, 25 April 2009 on Television New Zealand
Public - Jenifer - Researcher - 21 April 2020 - Wikitree / Francis Rex Beech.

Ngā mātāwai

Hononga ki waho: Loughnan, R. (1963). Divisional Cavalry. Wellington, Dept. of Internal Affairs, War History Branch. Digital copy.
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2DiCa.html
Sources Used
Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2096054
Sources Used
Captain Bruce Ballantyne pays tribute to Corporal Rex Beech in a 1941 recording found on Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision's online catalogue. U-series. Further talks on the LRDG. Pts 1-6 11734.
https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/11734
Further Reference
Johnston, Sarah. (2023). “With the boys overseas: How Homefront listeners shaped the work of Aotearoa New Zealand's first battlefront broadcasters”. New Zealand Journal of Public History, 9, 33-58.
https://phanza.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Sarah-Johnston-With-the-Boys-Overseas.pdf
Further Reference
Ngā tuhinga: Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1941). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 1 (Embarkations to 31st March, 1940). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
WW2 1: WW2 16
Loughnan, R. (1963). Divisional Cavalry. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.
p. 45.
Kay, R. (1949). Long Range Desert Group in Libya, 1940-41. Wellington, N.Z. : War History Branch, Department of Internal Affairs.
Kay, R. L. (1950). Long Range Desert Group in the Mediterranean. Wellington, N.Z. : War History Branch Department of Internal Affairs.
Sanders, J. (1976). Desert patrols : New Zealanders with the Long Range Desert Group. Auckland: Wilson and Horton.
Gower-Collins, C. (1999). Raids, road watches, and reconnaisance : an analysis of the New Zealand contribution to the Long Range Desert Group in North Africa, 1940-1943 : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University [Dissertation].
Also recognised on the Sounds Soldiers Memorial
On the crest of Torea Road
Public - Ron - Researcher - 26 April 2025 - Personal involvement in restoration and maintenance of this memorial

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Francis Rex Beech

Francis Rex Beech

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