99801 2nd Lt W R Cresswell MC and a Blockhouse

50°49'33.1"N 2°28'41.0"E

 

Oh, i was searching for Le Pequel. Google maps has it as Le Peckel.

Yes, thats the bunker I meant in my post above. I understood it right, that this is the blockhouse of Lt. Cresswell?

I think my photo shows another blockhouse of the same type as "mine" looks undamaged compared to John's photo.

All the best
Chris

 

bon bon bon j

bon matin voici quelques photos du peckel blauckhaus

 

plusieurs blauckhaus du meme type Arneke Noordpeene
voici une photos de celuis de arneke

 

on the 1937 Maps its shows as Le Pequel and Hardifort

 

Krees, thank you very much for the photos! The blockhouse of Lt. Cresswell looks definetely much more riddled with holes than the one from my photo.

Dave, thank you for the answer. That makes things more clear.

I want to ask again: Is there some kind of map of the locations of the blockhouses around Cassel?
And when have these blochouses been built?

 

My understanding is that the French planned to extend their Maginot line along the Belgian border but many of these bunkers were incomplete by the time of the German invasion. Lord Gort had tried to accelerate the process of bunker-building, but the Le Pequel bunker was still under construction and incomplete during the battles in May 1940.

 

Not sure of any maps showing where they all were.
They were actually being built when the war started. When Lt Cresswell took over the Blockhouse they had to remove scaffolding that was around the building and the roof over the cupola was not finished either. This is where the Germans threw in some grenades and started a fire inside the Blockhouse but the British troops simply put a blanket across the area to block out the smoke and boiled eggs on the fire!!

 

Bonjour voici 2 cartes

 

Plan des blockhaus( tous identique)

 

Photos inauguration du blockhaus du Peckel à Hardifort. Mai 2013. - Histoire et Mémoire Flandres Artois Lys 1914 1918 1940

 

Un autre site Wikimaginot - Le wiki de la ligne Maginot

 

Those maps are really interesting krees. I think I spotted the one between Arneke and Cassel back in 2015.

 

Bonjour , c'est bien celui d Arneke

 

See this map in thJean-Yves Mary and Alain Hohnadel, Hommes et ouvrages de la ligne Maginot (Paris, 2003), 3, pp. 62–3. The Blockhouse in question is No 20, Le Peckel, situated in the territory of Hardifort.

 

Hi All,

I just came across this thread after helping my son with a school project on Dunkirk which he did on the blockhouse at Cassel (he's only 7 so it's not in huge detail...). My grandfather was Roy Cresswell so the story is very personal to us - it's great to hear the recognition their efforts in Cassel are getting. He didn't ever talk to me about the war - I was only young when he was alive so probably not bed time story material... My Mum and Aunt know much more about what happened. They supplied the photo and his war diary for the Sebag Montefoire book on Dunkirk from a few years ago that are doing the rounds on the forums. It would be great to get any more information on the opening of the bunker if it hasn't happened yet?

 

Hello,

I have emailed Stephanie (French lady who was working on the bunker project in France) and asked for any update on the project.

 

Hi, I have sent you a PM.

 

Bonjour Tout le monde!!! from France ;-)
i hope everyone is well here. I have well received your mail Gordon ;-).
For the moment the opening of the Peckel was on stand by, so don't worry i didn't forget any invitation ;-)
I thought that the late due to covid was a real bad thing but i realize that when i read you all, thanks to this i can re-open our work on the exhibition inside the bloc now with a lot of new elements which will be very important to relate inside. I really want to make it perfect so if you have anything that could complete the exhbition stephanie.colart@coeurdeflandre.fr 00.33 (0)786.576.773

 

Hi, I remember Mr Cresswell. He was my history teacher and just told us he got captured in a bunker at Dunkirk and spent the rest of the war as a POW. Only in last few years my friend, who was a few years above me, said he knew of his MC but I suppose by the time he got to 1974 it was not as relevant to most. A quiet man who had a presence about him. His wife was a Home Economics teacher at school as well. They stayed in Teignmouth after retirement.