Captain C.A. HOOD, 140th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, POW, 1940

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by dbf, Jun 24, 2010.

  1. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Only two 140 Feild Regt RA Casualties buried at Cassel:

    021 WILLIAMS C T 908973 140 FIELD REGT 26/05/1940 ROYAL ARTILLERY

    022 WOOLSTON R H 899733 140 FIELD REGT 29/05/1940 ROYAL ARTILLERY

    Rob, I assume you have sent that account to the lady who's enquiring. The account on the fighting at Cassel is excellent and not much really to add.

    I couldn't find the casualty mentioned on the 21st May 1940.

    The SOS mentioned that they provided support for would have been a rocket fired by BEF troops which would have burned a series of colours on its descent (The codes are given in the I Corps GS file).

    The fighting mention to the South could be Hondeghem.

    The grid ref's via the conversion site will give all the locations in Cassel (I would suggest a search on here of Cassel as there is a fair bit of info on it and I've posted a fair few photo's).

    In short, the info in that report is excellent.

    Cheers
    A
     
  2. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    Considering it was done after the chap was repatriated in 1945, that's interesting to hear.

    I sent Hen everything from when they arrived in France until the inevitable happened.
     
  3. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

  4. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    First mention of 140 Army Field Regiment RA in a War Diary that I have come across.

    Dated 25th March 1940 in I Corps Commander Corps Royal Artillery file WO 167/127
    CCRA accompanied Corps Commander to visit 140 A Fd Regt and 61 Med Regt who have recently joined the Corps Artillery.


    Dated 30th April 1940 in I Corps Commander Corps Royal Artillery file WO 167/127
    G2 and WAO attended practise at Galametz range. Practise was carried out by 140 A Fd Regt.
     
  5. Martin Felstead

    Martin Felstead Junior Member

    The RHQ and one battery of 140 Army Field Regiment RA TA were assigned to the defence of Cassel. I believe they were under command 5 RHA. The CO, Lt.Col C Odling TD, was wounded and captured, and Maj E.A.Milton TD, Battery Commander of 367 Battery, was killed. The Adjutant had been a Capt T.Hood but he had been left in England when the regiment joined the BEF in March 1940.
     
  6. The Hen

    The Hen Junior Member

    Not understanding the left in England - since he was captured at Dunkirk and spent the rest of the war as POW??
     
  7. The Hen

    The Hen Junior Member

    To Rob and the others who have helped - I have finally tracked down a photo - I couldn't find the one I was looking for - but instead hit gold - this photo was taken at Oflag VII C and sent as a postcard to his Father. It arrived in England on 9th August 1941 -appears to have left Germany on 2/6/41 ?
    I can't get it to load up here - so I'm sending it to Rob!

    Hurrah!
    Best wishes
    Hen
     
    dbf likes this.
  8. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    I forgot about this thread and I've since copied 140's war diary, I'll have to have another look at it. Knowing a fair bit about what happened at Cassel at the end of May I suspect Capt. Hood was captured there or very near by after was given to break out and head north.
     
  9. The Hen

    The Hen Junior Member

    That would be great - I'd like our kids to visit if it was possible - think it would bring history alive and make them a bit more aware.
     
  10. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    There's some info and pictures about the fighting at Cassel in the thread below.

    Walking in the Footsteps of the BEF

    Also type Cassel into the forums search engine-It's well documented on this forum.
     
  11. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    Photo of C A Hood from Hen.

    He is 2nd from the Right.

    [​IMG]

    To Rob and the others who have helped - I have finally tracked down a photo - I couldn't find the one I was looking for - but instead hit gold - this photo was taken at Oflag VII C and sent as a postcard to his Father. It arrived in England on 9th August 1941 -appears to have left Germany on 2/6/41 ?
    I can't get it to load up here - so I'm sending it to Rob!

    Hurrah!
    Best wishes
    Hen
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2019
    dbf likes this.
  12. The Hen

    The Hen Junior Member

    thank you!
     
  13. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Thanks Hen for digging that photo out. Super thing to have.

    Any idea who the other men are, was there a note?
     
  14. The Hen

    The Hen Junior Member

    Hi
    Isn't it? Though the original does have a funny feel about it.
    I would be really interested to know who the others are - the far left looks rather meditteranean?
    Still no reply from red cross :-(
    Best wishes
    Hen
     
  15. The Hen

    The Hen Junior Member

    I forgot to say - last time my Father in Law was here (Cecil's son) we talked about Cecil's time as POW.

    He remembered that Cecil had helped several escapes - and became adept at making German uniforms from their blankets - this must have some connection to his constant requests to his wife for more jumpers etc!!!
    Apparently he dyed the blankets to match the German uniform colour and made 'rifles' out of wood - my FIL thinks they used the bunks? The wood was cut to the shape of the gun or rifle and was covered with shoe polish and shined to resemble the real thing - doesn't say much about the German guns!!
    He really enjoyed the plays and distractions they organised to keep themselves busy.

    If I find out anything else I will post it here!
     
  16. Buteman

    Buteman 336/102 LAA Regiment (7 Lincolns), RA

    Hi Hen

    This is the diary of someone who was at Oflag V11C amongst others. He has a list of plays they watched at the end of page 3. You might find it interesting.

    From the Pegasus Archives website.

    Lieutenant Reg Wood

    Rob.
     
  17. The Hen

    The Hen Junior Member

    Wow! thanks Rob!
     
  18. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Great Pic...All I can say is they all appear to be RA.
     
  19. The Hen

    The Hen Junior Member

    Diane

    You were asking about the red cross.....I finally got their letter today!

    So in case this helps anyone looking for other HAC or RA at Cassel...

    Capt Cecil Arthur Hood was captured at Winnezeele (NE of Cassel) on 30/5/1940 and was in the following camps -
    23.8.1940 Oflag VII/C (Laufen) (where the photo was taken - see above)
    11/10/1941 Oflag VI/B (Dossel)
    12.9.1942 Oflag VII/B (Eichstatt) (liberated from here at end of war)
     
  20. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Hen
    So glad you finally got word from RC.

    Thanks for sharing the info as well in order to help to others.

    Was there a lot to it, don't mean to ask for specifics but have never seen what they actually supply. Is it copy of original paperwork, or a summary?

    All the best
    Diane
     

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