3 RTR B Squadron

Getting back for a moment to these pics, still trying to identify the location. Most probably Wesel, but I noticed in one of the pics a memorial / statue to the right (see enlargement). Now I've spent something like four days going through various German monument sites, trying to locate it, plus google, pinterest, etc, but to no avail. It's quite possible that it's been demolished since then, but it seems to be in good nick, so there's no reason why it shouldn't be still around. It could be a Marienstatue, or statue of St. Mary, the design of the pedestal (?) is reminiscent of some others I've seen online... any architecture buffs out there who can help?

 

The only pictures I have seen of Wesel hardly have one brick standing on another so possibly somewhere else.

 

BTW, is that a flat screen telly to the left of the commander of the lead Comet? If so, I had better revise my understanding of the development of telly tech!

 

Don't be silly, it's his GPS, they weren't so compact in those days!

 

Frank

Is this photo part of the series taken at the same location and including the photo of the Comet called Cobra and with Campbell Crockets scout car?

Edit: just realised that this is a crop of the other photo of the Comets coming around a corner. Hope that makes sense albeit it still doesn't tell us exactly where the photos were taken.

 

I guess so, all dated 30th March, and taken by Sgt. Laing...they appear on the IWM site, see links:
THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45 (is this the one of the scout car?)
THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45
THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45 - this is the photo in which you can see the statue or memorial. The last two , I believe, are taken from slightly different vantage points, but of the same spot. Whether or not they were actually all taken on the 30th, or some days before, I don't know.

 

Yes. The first image includes Campbell Crockets scout car and you can also see his 'charging bull' mascot dangling on the radio aerial.

 

Why are you still up at 11.44pm? At your age you should be tucked up in bed sipping an Ovaltine!

 

Nah. Tot of Shackleton Whisky much better.
John: good thing that we didn't organise a trip to Essel for April 12th/13th.

 

Absolutely. But our attempt to meet up at Bovvy has also gone down the tube. I have already had a trip horror due to C-19. Left Wiltshire at 0200 a couple of Saturday’s back and spent 13 hrs in a car driving to French alps - arrived, bought food for 6 days, had supper, collapsed into bed - woke up next day, absolutely beautiful but all ski resorts shut by Macron at 2359 night before - go for walk, book Eurotunnel - left French alps 0200 next morning and spent 13 hrs in car driving back to Wiltshire. Perfect.

Presumably the town we are looking for is in your post a few days back, which listed the towns 3 RTR passed through on 29 and 30 March. As time is hanging heavy on our hands, we could do some Google Earth investigations!?

 

Precisely what I've been doing; going through WD and grandad's notes, I get this:

28/3 Depart Aerschot (Belgium) pass through Diest, Beringen, Roermond (Holland), Venlo, Geldern (Germany), Issum, Wesel, and finish up at Brünen.

29/3 Depart Brünen, pass through Raesfeld, Heiden(?) and arrive Velen.

30/3 Depart Velen, pass through Coesfeld, Rosendahl, arrive Horstmar.

As I mentioned earlier, had no luck so far googling statues, memorials or monuments in these places, or trying to match old maps with the street layout of the pics. From what I can see, the picture with the scout car (THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45) shows the road from which the tanks are proceeding, they turn left (the picture with the statue thingy, THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45 ) and then they turn right, where this photo was taken ( THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45 ).
Just came across a couple of more pics from there:

 

Sorry Frank, hadn’t spotted you were doing that. Is there any IWM film online as opposed to stills? The two formats were often taken at the same time by the teams from No. 5 AFPU.

 

Looks like a war memorial to me. Here's (one of) Wesel's before the bombing...

Der Artikel mit der oldthing-id '27444589' ist aktuell nicht lieferbar.

3RTR tanks were on transporters up to Issum on the 28th. They were up front after they left Velen on the morning of the 28th.

The first IWM picture shows traffic going in the opposite direction which suggests the picture was taken between Issum and Velen on 28th or 29th.

 

looks like I may have spoiled the next few days for you...I think I've found it...
Google Maps
It's the Evangelical church in Brünen, no statue any more, but the house on the corner is still there....the only thing that concerns me is that everyone seems to be going the wrong way!
Bildarchiv
the statue/monument is the same one..

 

Ref 'going the wrong way' - on one of the photos there is two way traffic. There will be a simple explanation because, in my mind, that's definitiely the correct location. The devil will be in the detail.

 

Can’t make up my mind whether it is of interest or intensely irrelevant that the two Comets in Frank’s first photo (6.17pm yesterday) have their main armament in the travelling position over the rear decks whereas the Comets in BU 2759 and 2761 have theirs at 12 o’clock. Someone will no doubt tell me!

 

Just noticed that the lead Comet was cropped from Frank’s 6.17pm photo but that it had its armament at 12 o’clock. Well done Frank for identifying the location, although I need to work hard at making sense of it. Oh dear, I have also noticed that some of the Comets had their turrets and gun barrels well scrimmed with camouflage netting whereas others have none. Curious.

 

Ref ‘going the wrong way’. Not sure why this seems odd. Main roads would have been MSRs (main supply routes) and therefore would have carried logistic traffic moving in both directions. Of the two trucks in BU 2758: the near one looks as if it might be carrying (empty) jerrycans.

 

This is the route followed by 1 Troop A Squadron 3RTR according to information I've extracted from John Langdon's book 'The Sharp End'. Any clues re the route through Brunen?

 

What's bugging me is that, logically, when they left Brünen heading for Velen on the 29th, they would have been driving the opposite way, heading north-east. The only thing I can think of is that the WD states for the 28th:1600; Arrive area BRUNEN.So maybe they entered Brünen from the north, and then headed SW till they arrived at the designated spot outside the town. I've attached a close up of a map of Brünen from Digital Archives, dated 1926 (original here: https://digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca/islandora/object/macrepo:86195 ) and pointed out the position of the church and the route of the tanks in the pics (red and blue arrows). Why they would have entered from the north, no idea..no mention in WD of any action in the area.
Unless........
just realised, and, at the time I thought it was strange, the WD states for 29th:
1045; Recce sub-unit recce SOUTH to VELEN.
1100; Tanks commence advance – Order of March – A, RHQ, B, C.
South to Velen? It was NE...maybe they headed in direction wesel, then swung around and cut across country NE, it does say later that :
1300; On move – track route very bad in parts – number of tks bogged. No opposition met.
1900; Arrive VEELEN.