Henry served with the 2nd Battalion, The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), in the British Expeditionary Force during the Battle of France in 1940. As German forces broke through in late May, his battalion fought a series of rearguard actions while retreating toward the Channel ports to protect the evacuation at Dunkirk. Amid the chaos near the French–Belgian border, he was reported missing and later confirmed “killed in action” between 31 May and 1 June 1940.
On 28 May, his battalion was defending part of the St Omer-La Bassée line. However the 2nd Buffs – less two detachments – were not informed of the general withdrawal and were the following day whilst still in position at Merris. It’s likely that Henry died of wounds as a recent prisoner, having been taken to a German field hospital.
Though the exact circumstances of his death remain unknown, Henry was one of the many who fought to the last to secure the evacuation of more than 330,000 British and French soldiers from France – an action that helped make eventual victory possible nearly five years later.
Henry was first buried near Boeschepe, around 15 kilometres north of Merris. In 1972, his remains were re-interred in Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, France, some 100 kilometres away.
