The memorial stone at the entrance to the former Bergen-Belsen German Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony, Germany, 2014. The site is now a museum and memorial. |
A Briton sent to a Nazi concentration camp for taking a German officer's bike has had his remains repatriated more than 70 years after his death.
When he was just 19-years-old, Frank Le Villio stole a Nazi officers' bike and took it on a joy ride in occupied Jersey.
He was charged with 'military larceny' and sentenced to three months' imprisonment in France just before D-Day in 1944, before being deported to Bergen-Belsen.
Frank Le Villio stole a Nazi officers' bike and took it on a joy ride in occupied Jersey when he was just 19-years-old |
Mr Le Villio survived the ordeal but was severely weakened by the horrific conditions he endured in prisons and concentration camps.
He died of tuberculosis aged 21 after returning to the UK to live with his aunt in Nottingham, a year after his release from Bergen-Belsen.
He is understood to be one of only two Brits to survive the infamous Nazi concentration camp but the location of his pauper's grave was only discovered last year.
Following a campaign to find his remains, he has finally been returned to Jersey where a special ceremony attended by more than 100 people was held on Wednesday.
Memorial bricks bearing the names of victims, at the site of the former Bergen-Belsen German Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony, Germany, 2014. The site is now a museum and memorial |
His remains will be reburied today at the Surville Cemetery, close to where he grew up in St Hellier.
Mr Le Villio's cousin Stan Hockley said he was 'delighted' to have him home after the service yesterday.
Looking back on his memories of his cousin, Mr Hockley said: 'I remember kicking a ball around with him in the street; happy memories.
'He was a bit of a Jack the lad, running about and doing all these things.
'He was mad on motorbikes, he had his own Matchless motorbike and he adored it.'
Stanley Keiller, who was a young boy during the Nazi's occupation of Jersey, helped track down Mr Le Villio's remains after discovering the story surrounding his burial.
Structural remains at the site of the former Bergen-Belsen German Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony, Germany, 2014. The site is now a museum and memorial. |
He contacted a local priest and undertaker to join the search and Mr Le Villio's body was found buried in a paupers grave at Wilford Hill Cemetery in 2017.
Mr Keiller added: 'He was a young teenager who was taken away from us in those occupation years, and there's a satisfaction in having found him.
'He would have lived a short and sad life, but now he could rest in peace.'
Although Mr Le Villio's family in Jersey were aware he was buried in Nottingham, they went more than seven decades without knowing the location of his grave.
Speaking on the incident leading up to his cousin's arrest, Mr Hockley said: 'It was harmless fun, really, but he was caught, arrested by the German Military Police, charged with 'military larceny', and sentenced to three months imprisonment in France.
He was sent to the notorious Fresnes prison near Paris, then on to two further prison camps - Belfort, and finally to Neuengamme, before ending up in Belsen.
Mr Hockley added: 'The emphasis these days is on '"forgive and forget". But those who say that - do they have relatives who were tortured and murdered, just for having an illicit ride on a bike?'