2nd Irish Guards - What was happening in April 1945

[pmcrory]

An ancestor of mine was killed on 24th April 1945 - just a couple of weeks before the end of the War. He was serving as a WO2 (SSM) with 2nd Bn Irish Gds (Armoured) in northern Germany. He is buried at Becklingen, near Soltau/Munster. His name was James McRory MM. Can anyone tell me what the unit was doing at this time? Thanks. Paul

[Owen]

Hello Paul and Welcome
I've a tiny bit about this in my Grenadier Guards 1939-45.

In the early morning of April 24th a Brigade attack was launched on Zeven.

I'm sorry it's not much but it's all I can do for the minute.


Have you contacted the Regimental HQ?
Regimental Headquarters
Irish Guards
Wellington Barracks
Birdcage Walk
London
England, UK SW1E 6HQ

Here's a link to an article in the days before.http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/s...a4354616.shtml

The Last Major Battle of the Irish Guards in North West Europe


This story is transcribed by me Graham Shepherd , from notes and discussions
with Bill Ashley , and will be added to the site with his permission . He
understands the sites terms and conditions.

On 16th April 1945 the Guards Armoured Division were told to move to join
the XII Corps ; which was about 100 miles away . We were in the 5th Guards
Brigade and followed the signs of what we called the highway decorators and
arrived a village close to the Hamburg / Bremen autobahn on 19th April .
After a good nights rest with some good food we No. 1 squadron and No. 3
company set off to take the small town of Elsdorf . Having taken the town
our squadron commander Major Mick O'Cock - later to become Brigadier - planned
his campaign and my No. 4 Troop were sent to a small farm about 200 yards
from the bridge over the autobahn .Straight in front of us about 300 yards
the other side of the autobahn was another troop who were using a milk factory
, while the other troop went on a further two kilometres to Wistedt . I cannot
remember where H Q Troop were.

Our troop got into position , my tank being in the left hand corner of the
orchard . To our right was the troop sergeants tank and then the fire fly
and a further tank covering the rear . We were getting low on supplies so
it was a welcome sight to see No. 1 transport with fuel and ammunition .
We then heard on the wireless that the Irish Guard group in Wistedt were
coming back to cover the other side of Elsdorf.

By now our 3rd Battalion friends were digging along the hedge in front of
the tanks and our troop officer Lt. Halinan told us that he was off for a
O Group meeting and that he would cook supper when he arrived back . In the
mean time we carried out maintenance , looked at our mail , brewed up and
generally talked about the end of our war . I well remember that night ,
we had omelettes and sponge pudding . Jack Ashbridge cut slices from the
leg of ham which was salty , but after a few hours soaking it was very nice.


At this point we did not know that we were about to get a reminder that the
war was not yet over . I was detailed first ' stag ' at 22-00 so I stood
in the top of the turret and it was very quite with all the crew off to sleep
while I listened to the 19 wireless set . We were callsign Charlie 1 . I
was also in conversation with our infantry friends.

At about 23-00 hours all hell let loose , as our gunners started to put a
' stonk ' on the town of Zeven about miles away . It turned out that our
friends the Grenadiers were putting in a night attack . At last I was relieved
, so into the drivers seat I went and made myself as comfortable as possible
and went to sleep.

At about 04-00 hours Bob Avis woke us all up and we stood to ready for action
. We decided to brew up and cook our ham and eggs and while we could hear
the noise of battle in the distance . The troop in the milk factory were
also on stand to like us , while the other troop and infantry started off
to Wistedt led by Lt. Quinan. We heard on the wireless that Wistedt was occupied
by the Germans with SPs and that we had lost two tanks.

At around 06-00 our crew has finished breakfast but others had not when we
heard those dreadful Moaning Minnies start up in the distance and we new
that they were for us . We jumped into our tank in quick time and closed
the hatches and waited . We were soon under a heavy barrage including artillery
shells and our troop opened up on them and although our gunners were on target
they put us under great pressure . The tank stank of cordite , but we were
running short of ammunition and called for urgent supplies . Fortunately
there was a lull , although the troop near Wistedt were up against elite
German troops who were pressing home their advantage.

From one tank which got knocked out Guardsman Charlton took the browning
300 from the tank and faced the advancing German troops single handed and
although he inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy he was severely wounded
but moved his position and carried on shooting again inflicting many more
losses on the enemy . He was removed by his mates and taken into a house
for cover but was soon surrounded by the German troops and all were taken
prisoner.

We were right down on ammo and to our surprise we saw three Bedford three
tonners coming over the bridge and they turned into the orchard . They were
from RASC transport . They were amazed when we told them that they had just
come through Jerry lines and said that they had not been this close before
. We soon had our ammunition on board and straight away Jerry who had managed
to get up to the church started to let us have it . They had set up a machine
gun post in the church and were creating havoc , but a well placed shot from
our tank put a stop to that . Up until now we had been on the receiving end
of the battle and you could see by the expressions on the faces of our men
that the heavy bombardment we were under was causing some trouble both to
ourselves and our infantry . However luck was on our side for the weather
started to change and we could see blue sky appearing.

Next moment the wireless operator was calling Charley1 , Charley 1 could
we have the our 'feathered friends' at map reference ' bla bla bla ' ,
Charley 1 over and out . All of a sudden the shelling stopped and we knew
that RAF Typhoon's were about so we opened our hatches and looking up to
the rear there they were . With the targets located they peeled off from
their formation into a steep dive and we saw the rockets leave the planes
. When they had finished their job it was our turn and when the order to
advance came we set off past the church and saw that there were many casualties
from both sides lying all around.

As we were leaving the village a lady came out in front of us with two children
, she was very frightened and had a note in her hand which she was determined
that we should see . My troop officer told me to see what she wanted and
I got out to look at the note which had been written by one of my mates who
had been taken prisoner with Guardsman Charlton and asked that we look after
the this family as the lady had done everything possible to dress Gdsm.Charlton's
wounds and make him as comfortable as possible . She also insisted that I
go inside the house where I found the badly wounded body of a German soldier
and I assured her that everything would be all right.

We then pressed on while the 53rd Welsh Division took up our old positions
. It was two days before we caught up with our pals who had been captured
only to be told that Guardsman Charlton had died of his wounds.

The German Officer who had led the Battalion against us praised the courage
of Guardsman Charlton and recommended that he should be awarded a bravery
medal . He was , being awarded the VC , the last VC in the European Campaign
- for us the war was over.

[Owen]

Found this webpage with a contact e-mail for a 2 IG Veteran.
Might be worth a go at asking him.
http://www.irish-guards.co.uk/gallery03.htm


LOOK AT PAGE 2 http://www.irish-guards.co.uk/gallery02.htm
scroll down to the squad photo in 1938. Right-front Guardsman is J McRory

[Owen]

Here is a link to the LONDON GAZETTE which has the date the award of the MM was announced.
http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/arc...selHonourType=


scroll down page until you see him on lefthand column.

Supplement to the London Gazette 1 March 1945

2718842 Sergeant James McRory Irish Guards (Pembridge.)

[Owen]

From CWGC

Name:	McRORY, JAMES
Initials:	J
Nationality:	United Kingdom
Rank:	Warrant Officer Class II (S.S.M.)
Regiment/Service:	Irish Guards
Unit Text:	2nd Bn.
Age:	27
Date of Death:	24/04/1945
Service No:	2718842
Awards:	MM
Casualty Type:	Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference:	4. B. 11.
Cemetery:	BECKLINGEN WAR CEMETERY

[pmcrory]

Hello all,

Many thanks for the information: and especially the link to the photo - I can already see a family resemblance.

I'm aware of the Gdsmn Charlton story in the previous week or so, but does anyone have access to the war diary for the 24th April?

Thanks again.

Paul

[dbf]

Hi Paul,
Have some info. found in IG Assoc. Journal; my father was in IG 3Bn.
Hope you are still around the site...
Dbf

IRISH GUARDS ASSOCIATION JOURNAL, MARCH 1972, pg 71
OPERATION MARKET GARDEN
FitzGerald’s History of the Regiment in the 2^nd World War on page 513 refers to a small action during Operation Market Garden in St. Oedenrode, when the 2^nd Battalion were working with the 101^st US Airborne Division:


“Sergeant McRory limping up the road in a lone tank, stopped to help a Battalion of the 101^st Division. The Americans were most appreciative of the number of Krauts he killed for them and sent a letter of thanks to the Battalion referring to him as our boy”

The Battalion Sgt. McRory helped was the 1^st Battalion 302^nd US Parachute Regiment and the Commander was Lieutenant Colonel Patrick F. Cassidy. 2723471 Guardsman Murphy was Sgt. McRory’s driver at the time of this action. He has now emigrated to Australia. This year he wrote to the Pentagon asking if they knew the whereabouts of Colonel Cassidy. Greatly to his surprise and delight he received the following letter, which he thought readers would be interested to see:

Dear Mr. Murphy,
Your letter which you wrote to the Chief of Military History in Washington, D.C. has been forwarded to me for reply. I was delighted to receive your letter and will try to give you the information that you asked for.
I remember very, very vividly when your tank broke down in the village square at St. Oedenrode. I also recall very vividly the terrific job you did against the attacking Germans to the North of St. Oedenrode. As I recall, you had a broken firing pin and had to use a screwdriver and hammer to fire your main gun. I also know that your tank was a big surprise to the Germans and that many of them were slaughtered when you fired your canister rounds. For about three days your tank was one of our mainstays at various times. I recall that my operations Sergeant Pinkerton climbed up on the tank and helped you in one operation. I also remember Sgt. J. McRory getting out of the tank, and we thought he was sneaking up on the enemy, but instead of that, he pulled out his pistol and killed a pig. Evidently you must have had a good supper that night! I lost track of your tank after you moved on North. I submitted to the United States Army a recommendation for our Legion of Merit Medal for Sgt. McRory. I never received a reply as to whether it was awarded or not.

Seven years after the war I wrote to the British War Office trying to find out something about Sgt. McRory. I never received a reply. Your letter was the first knowledge I had that Sgt. McRory was killed near the end of the war. He was a truly outstanding soldier of Irish descent, whom I would have loved to have had beside me in battle. If he has any next of kin that you might know of, I would be interested in their names and addresses so that I could write to them.
At the present time I am in Korea finishing up on my second year. The first year I commanded 1 Corps (Group) which is the tactical unit on the DMZ. It‘s probably the largest Corps in the world with over 100,000 US and ROK troops in it. This last year I have been Deputy Commander of Eighth Army and have just received my order to report to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, as the Fifth Army Commander. Fifth Army takes in approximately fourteen States from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.

I do not have my library with me, but when I return to the States and assemble all of my household goods, I will forward to you a history of the 101^st Airborne Division during World War II. It has a fairly complete account of the 1^st Battalion, 502^nd Parachute Infantry at St. Oedenrode, which includes a paragraph about your tank and Sgt. McRory.

I appreciate very much your letter and the descriptive sketch. I hope that I hear from you in the not too distant future. It will be some time before the book gets to you, but I promise that you will received it. The name of it is “Rendezvous with Destiny.”
With best wishes,
Sincerely
PATRICK F. CASSIDY,
Lieutenant-General, USA.

FYI:

Name: Patrick F Cassidy
Service Info.: LTG US ARMY WORLD WAR II
Birth Date: 22 Mar 1915
Death Date: 5 Jan 1990
Service Start Date: 10 Jan 1938
Interment Date: 12 Jan 1990
Cemetery: Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery
Cemetery Address: 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road San Antonio, TX 78209
Buried At: Section W Site 1019

[pmcrory]

Many thanks to dbf for her help with some anecdotal evidence on the story of James' MM and his death the following year.

Just to set it in context, can anyone send me a copy of the 2nd Bn IG's War Diary entry for 24th Apr 45? As he was a SSM at the time of his death it may possibly have more than a passing mention. Also interested in any Appendices to the entry that may add detail or show maps, etc. Very many thanks.

Paul

[Owen]

Nice to have you back Paul, great find , Diane.

[dbf]

Paul,
This is the last bit of information I could find, there is probably no better reference outside of the diary itself than the book I refer to, which was first published in 1949. I have no idea if there have been further print runs.

From History of The Irish Guards, Part V, Chapter VII The Liberation of Brussels, pg 454 [this is not indexed so requires reading of the book];

“More prisoners left behind in the general rout straggled in, showing little sign of resistance. No. 3 Squadron caught four officers trying to escape, one of whom the people recognized as a leading Gestapo agent. It was with some difficulty and reluctance that his escort, Sergeant McRory, saved him from being lynched on the spot. Even so, he was kicked vigorously and spat on, much to the discomfort of Sergeant McRory, who got some of the ‘overs’.” [AUDERGHEM, BRUSSELS, possibly 4^th September 1944; they arrived in Brussels at dusk on 3^rd and left at 1000 hrs on 6th]

From Part V, Chapter X Market Garden Phase II, Pg 513:
The following morning, the 23^rd [September 1944], more of the 130^th Brigade on the left flank reached the Lower Rhine. It was an immense relief. There now seemed to be a good chance of making an assault crossing to join the Airborne. There was much to be done first; ammunition, bridging equipment and , above all, more infantry had to be brought up. The official report kept on emphasizing the need for more infantry, repeating , almost monotonously, that the country was quite unsuitable for deploying armour against determined, or indeed any, resistance. To get more infantry up it was necessary first to clear the road. At dawn the 32^nd Brigade and the 101^st U.S. Airborne Division began to clear the axis south-west from UDEN, and by the afternoon they had driven the Germans off the road. Traffic began to flow through once more though subject to occasional interruptions from enemy shelling, bazooka-ing and small-arms fire. Sergeant McRory, limping up the road in a lame tank, stopped to help a battalion of the 101^st Division. The Americans were most appreciative of the number of Germans he killed for them, and sent a letter of thanks to the Battalion, referring to him as “Our Boy.” [North of Nijmegen en route to Arnhem. Paul, this is merely a context for the letters and medal recommendations which you now have.]

From Part V, Chapter XIV Across The Rhine, pg 575:
“ZEVEN was taken on the 24^th [April 1945] by the Grenadiers and the Coldstream. Till then the Irish Group remained in ELSDORF, being shelled by the Germans and twice bombed, once by the Germans and once by the Americans. Neither the shelling nor the bombing caused serious casualties, but they reduced ELSDORF to a heap of ruins. “In the execution of the 21^st Army Group operations in the north,” says the Supreme Commander’s report, “the resistance encountered by the British Second Army in its attacks towards Bremen and Hamburg was persistent.” Following the fall of Bremen on the 26^th April, however, the situation changed.”

This latter extract is the only mention of action on that day.

Good luck and I hope Patrick and James' brother Willie has some solace from the information you have in respect of James.

dbf