Unteroffizier Helmut Trauwald (1 April 1923 - 24 April 1944)

Helmut Trauwald’s grave can be found on the right hand (Northern) side of row V236 in Haycombe Cemetery, Bath.

 The World War II Military area lies on a quiet, well tended, Western facing slope overlooking a rural valley, and contains British and many Commonwealth graves – mostly aircrew.  It is a peaceful, moving and dignified graveyard, with the military plots separated from victims of Blitz attacks on Bath by a stone column War Memorial.

The Axis graves (there are twelve: 11 German and one Italian) are in two groups; one of three (including the Italian) to the South of the main British and Commonwealth area, and the remaining nine (including Trauwald) to the North.  They are close to, but separated from, the main area by short strips of grass.  The headstones contain simply the Date of Birth, Date of Death, Forename and Surname along with a Germanic Cross.  Trauwald’s grave is in the shadow of an ornamental hawthorn tree, which had scattered its bright red berries onto the grave on the day of my visit.  His gravestone reveals that he was born on 1 April 1923, which means that he had celebrated his 21^st birthday just 3 weeks before his death.

To date I know little more about him, but from Eric Barwell's account it would seem that at some point in his Luftwaffe career as a Gunner he was awarded the Iron Cross.