Hello, my name is Daniel Warren and I am an exchange student from the UK studying at the University of New Brunswick. My subject area is History and as part of the course I am studying the history of the Canadian Armed Forces. The course for the Fall term involves completing a research paper and I have chosen to look at the role of the Canadians in D-Day, and specifically their part in Operation Totalize. The project involves looking at the role played by an actual Canadian soldier in Totalize. The soldier I have chosen is Sgt Arthur Frederick Moore, Service Number A/498, who served with the 6th Armoured Regiment, 1st Hussars. Tragically he died in action in Normandy on 8th August 1944. [SIZE=10pt]Whilst I have Sgt Moore service record I was wondering if anyone might be able to provide some of the following details concerning his service, particularly at the time of Totalize:[/SIZE] type of tank he was in, standard Sherman Tank or Sherman Firefly? the name of the tank he was in. [SIZE=10pt]was Sgt Moore in command of a tank on 8th August or was he the gunner?[/SIZE] [SIZE=10pt]the designated role in Totalize of Sgt Moore's tank squadron and actions from D-Day to 8th August 1944. [/SIZE] [SIZE=10pt]the circumstances surrounding his death in action and what happened to the rest of the tank crew? [/SIZE] [SIZE=10pt]any other details that you think would be useful for the project. [/SIZE] I would be extremely grateful for your assistance with all of this.
Hi Daniel One of the first places to start perhaps would be http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Totalize followed probably by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Hussars. TD Edited to add : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falaise_pocket
Hello Daniel, I do not know the name of the specific tank Sgt. Moore was in or his role within the crew, but here are some tank names seen on 1st Hussar tanks. A Sqn ANEMIC Sherman III ANGEL Sherman III ‘ARRYS Sherman V T147561 B Sqn NAPOLEAN Sherman Ic Firefly BOLD Sherman III BUCEPHALUS Sherman III HOLY ROLLER Sherman III CT152655 C Sqn CALAMITY Sherman III T147156 CATARAQUI Sherman III T147128 COMTESSE DE FEU CONCUBINE Sgt. Moore may have been a crew member of one of the above. The only one I would probably exclude is HOLY ROLLER, as this tank survived the war and is I believe a museum exhibit. I hope that this may be of some help. Cheers Kevin
Daniel, Normally I'd be happy to help. However, Are you sure that this is the best way to tackle this project? I may be missing something, but surely one purpose of your university assignment is for you to familiarise yourself with the tools of the military historian. Asking for the answers on an internet forum seems counterproductive if not a little bit like cheating! Do you have to cite your sources? You have set yourself an interesting problem: what did one NCO do? It is one that should teach you a lot, as you learn to work your way around the archives, read war diaries, service records memoirs and other sources. The 1st Hussars are a famous Canadian armoured Unit and played an important part on D Day and in the following months. A search engine will direct you to books and histories, including a detailed Regimental history published in 1951, some of which is on the Internet. The unit has a war diary and their veterans were interviewed at some length. Recordings of Sgt Gariepy recounting his experiences on d day and afterwards are in the IWM Sound archives. I would have thought you ought to have got a bit further if you had read the regimental history. These often include orders of battle and , in this case, a detailed description of what happened each day with a list of the casualties. Oh and is Sgt Moore A F any relation to to L.36499 Tpr. Moore, R.F.KIA 6 June 1944 on Juno beach? I don't mind helping if you get stuck, but how much research have you done before posting your questions? . .
We know exactly how Sjt AF Moore was killed and the circumstances, but as Mr sheldrake puts it, how will that help you learn?
Thank you for your reply, I am just trying to add any additional information onto the picture I already have on Sgt Moore from his service record which has limited information, does not provide me with the specifics of his death and circumstances .I am simply trying to add a personnel dimension to Totalize to honor a brave mans sacrifice. If you have that information I would be most great full.