147th (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment RA - D-Day

Hi all,

I took the family on a visit to Normandy earlier this year. One of the main purposes of the trip was to visit the grave of a (fairly) distant relative of mine, Norman Bottoms, who died on D-Day on Gold Beach.

He was in the 147th Essex Yeomanry. I was wondering whether anyone had any links to official reports about the 147th on D-Day. I would love get a bit more of a picture of the day and what poor Norman had to go through on Gold Beach.

I've attached a picture of his grave at Bayeux War Cemetery.

Cheers

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The unit has a war diary at the National Archives in London covering 1944. Here's the ref details:

WO 171/995 147 Regiment, Royal Artillery 1944 Jan.- Dec

If you want someone to copy it for you give me a shout.

Cheers
Andy

 

They will be mentioned in the history of the Royal Artillery in the Normandy campaign. Sgt Palmer was awarded the MM for his part in suppressing a bunker at Asnelles which now bears a plaque as a memorial to the 147th Essex Yeomanry.

 

899639 Sergeant Robert Edwin Palmer Military Medal 147 Field Regiment Royal Artillery

 

Hi there,
I have just read your post, nearly 10 years after you posted it ha…
Would love to chat sometime.
Andy

 

Published in June. Thank you to all who helped with the project.

 

Are you still able to get copies of the 147 Essex Yeomanry records 1944-45?
Peter Taylor

 

I

 

I still have a lot of files saved from the book - what are you looking for ?
Regards
Stephen

 

Records from Sept 44 to Jan 45. Do they contain any information where NCO's might have been billeted? I have a postcard given to my father by a Jan Ebbeng from Andelst (and found after my father died, as with many he didn't talk about his wartime experience). People from the surrounding area between the rivers Waal and Rhine were evacuated sometime during the mid/late Sept to December 44 and didn't return to well into 1945. I have found and contacted his grand daughter now in Eindhoven but she has only sketchy knowledge.

 

Hi,
I have the diaries from
June 1944 through until the end of the war.
Andy

 

I have never seen billeting lists - details likely to be in the troop NCO or officer’s notebook but sadly not the sort of thing to be in a war diary.
Which battery ?

 

Thanks Stephen, I imagined so. My father was in 511 battery as a Command Post officers assistant. For much of the war he was in forward positions most of the time, because being good with trigonometry he was responsible for sending back the artillery coordinates. Near Lochem just inside Dutch/German border he won a Military Medal in March'45 for which we have the citation.

 

Recommendation for Award for Taylor, Dick Manning Rank: Serjeant Service No:... | The National Archives
Reference: WO 373/55/212
Description:
Name Taylor, Dick Manning
Rank: Serjeant
Service No: 914865
Regiment: 147 Field Regiment Royal Artillery
Theatre of Combat or Operation: North West Europe 1944-45
Award: Military Medal
Date of announcement in London Gazette: 11 October 1945
Page 5001 | Supplement 37302, 9 October 1945 | Lond...

Michel

 

I have just looked at Shield and Protect.
The action leading to the MM is included but I don’t have a great deal more to add other than Capt Girling machine gunning the woods to ensure gun positions were safe.

 

Hello Peter
They cannot be taken as billet locations, but there are daily location statements (grid refs) for Regimental HQ, each Gun Troop & the Forward Observation Posts from Nov '44 onwards in the War Diary (Nov is incomplete). That does not specifically cover Command Posts, although I think 511 Battery's Command Post would not be far removed from E and F Troop's Guns. Sample attached for 1 Nov '44.

I presume you have your father's Obituary from the 1986 EY Journal?


Ian

 

Many thanks for this and many apologies for not replying much sooner. I have the obituary written by Captain Gepp. I have met him and while he was alive we invited him to lunch on a number of occasions. After my father's death we found amongst his wartime papers a post card given to him by a dutch person (Jan Ebbing). I found Rita, the grand daughter of Jan, after an internet search and we met up in Oct 24 in Nijmegan. She has no details of how her grandfather met my father. It is likely to have been sometime around late September. Certainly around that time many of the inhabitants in the area between the river Waal and the river Rhine were evacuated though some of the men were allowed to stay to look after the cattle etc. One Essex Yeomanry battery supported the attack on the town of Elst. My father's battery remained to defend the positions on the Western side.

 

Peter,

Just sent a Private Message (PM) to Ian Turnbull to alert him. After one more post you can use the PM option.

 

Hi Peter. Thanks for the reply.
How marvellous to have spent time talking about these things with your father and Capt Gepp over lunch. Regrettably I enjoyed no such opportunity and am having to piece everything together from scratch.

I do know from some correspondence that my father befriended a family in Brunssum in the Netherlands & Templeuve Belgium and visited the latter after the War. I think the local inhabitants were so pleased to be liberated that many long lasting friendships flourished.

It was my father's 431 Battery that supported the attack on Elst in September '44 and he would have been involved being part of an FOO team embedded with 4/7 DG.

Are you aware of the Facebook group for descendants of 147 (EY) Fd veterans? LINK. I know this has a number of members connected to 511 Battery. It is run by Andy Urwin who you corresponded with higher up this thread.

Did your father leave any other memorabilia of general interest that might help us fill in some of the very many gaps? And do you recall any anecdotes from Tom Gepp - one of the D Day unknowns is when he actually left his role as Artillery Adviser on the JIG GREEN HQ ship LCH100 and landed.

Ian

 

Hello, I am looking for information regarding BQMS LTB Baker. I believe he served with the unit during WW2.
Any mention you have would be helpful.
Thanks