He may have been an airborne soldier, as I believe the Regiment was converted to ‘airlanding’ (gliders) in 1941-43, but it may have only been the 2nd Battalion that was converted.
During research you may have to be careful to distinguish from the 1st Buckinghamshire Battalion Ox and Bucks (TA unit), and the 1st Battalion Ox and Bucks.
Sounds like he was killed during the Battle of the Reichswald (Feb 8th to march 10th). The 1st Battalion was heavily involved in this intense battle.
Was he a replacement, or do you know when he crossed the channel? Because the 1st Battalion was involved in a few well know operations, like Caen, Market Garden et al.
Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia, there’s also some good links there to a few Ox and Bucks regimental sites.
[i]North-West Europe (D-Day to Germany (1944-45))
1st Battalion The Buckinghamshire Battalion was part of the 6th Beach Group, landing on D-Day on 6 June 1944 as part of the beach group that organised the units on the landing beaches. The 1st Ox & Bucks landed later that month as part of the 71st Infantry Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division. On 25 June Operation Epsom began that was intended to take the town of Caen – a vital objective for the British that proved to be a formidable town to capture – and failed in its intention of capturing Caen though, however, it did divert significant numbers of Germans away from the Americans. The Germans counter-attacked and the Ox & Bucks moved to positions around the Odon where it suffered from heavy German artillery barrages. The Allies launched further attempts to capture Caen, and the first Allied troops entered it on 9 July; by then, much of it had been destroyed. Fighting around Caen continued for much of the month, with the Battalion sustaining significant casualties. In August the Battalion took part in an advance towards Falaise, known as Operation Totalize, that saw the Allies reach and capture it. The Falaise Pocket was eventually closed, encircling two German armies, one of which was effectively destroyed by the Allies. The victory of the Falaise Pocket signified the end of the battle for Normandy. The 1st Ox & Bucks then took part in the advance east, eventually entering Belgium in early September.
On 17 September the invasion of the Netherlands began, known as Operation Market Garden in a combined land and airborne operation. The Battalion took part in the ground operation that was intended to cross through three bridges taken by airborne troops and into Germany, that would end at the furthest captured bridge at Arnhem – taken by 1st Airborne – though the operation ended in failure by 25 September. The 1st Ox & Bucks subsequently took part in operations around the Lower Maas that took place between October and November. On 16 December 1944 the Germans launched their last-gasp major offensive of the war in the Ardennes that became known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 1st Ox & Bucks, along with the rest of its division, was rushed to Belgium shortly afterwards to assist in the defence where it experienced awful weather conditions, some of the worst Belgium had seen in years. The Allies launched a counter-attack in early January and the German offensive was defeated later that month, by which time the 53rd Welsh Division had been relieved and returned to Holland soon afterwards in preparation for the invasion of Germany.
In February the Battalion was involved in the Allied invasion of the German Rhineland, including taking part in the Battle of the Reichswald, where it saw extensive involvement. The Battalion crossed the Rhine in late March and advanced east, seeing action at, among others, Ibbenburen in April where they saw heavy fighting against determined German defenders though, in spite of this, the British succeeded in capturing the town, and the 1st Ox & Bucks eventually reached the city of Hamburg – captured on 3 May by British forces – where they remained until the end of the war.[/i]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfordshire_and_Buckinghamshire_Light_Infantry
For more info, try contacting the Soldiers of Oxfordshire (www.sofo.org.uk). Hope this helps.
cheers,
Saxon
