Hi all, I'm posting this again under a different header, as I have had no response to my previous post. My family are planning a trip to Normandy, so I'm hoping to find out a little more about my grandfather's movements. From his service record I know he was a driver with 712 COY GT, and arrived in France early July 1944 I think. I'm not able to get to Kew, to see the war diary, so would be grateful if anyone could at least just give me some general idea of the RASC movements at this time if not specifically for this unit? I believe there was an HQ at Sommervieu, but did this apply to all units? I think also that at this time they may have been part of the advance towards Caen? Many thanks in advance.
Hello Eric sorry you have not had a response it is possible forum members do no have that particular diary. have you searched here RASC Also there are a couple of forum members who will copy for you at a reasonable rate when they visit Kew. If you make contact they will assist. Drew5233 Psywar.org regards Clive
Hi Clive, Many thanks for your response and tips. Already searched unfortunately to no avail. I will try and make contact as suggested, however our trip to Normandy has all been a bit last minute so was always going to be optimistic to find out what I need in time. Cheers again
712 Coy. | The National Archives Reference: WO 171/2521 Description: 712 Coy. [This is the RASC War Diary - there are others with the same number but are for Royal Engineers etc as in Search results: 712 coy ] | The National Archives Date: 1944 Jan.- Dec. Held by: The National Archives, Kew Legal status: Public Record(s) Closure status: Open Document, Open Description Try Psywar.org [http://ww2talk.com/index.php?members/psywar-org.2876/ ] - he lives in London and is always at the TNA - this is his web site Archive Research - www.arcre.com - he may be able to just copy certain months but you would beed to ask him TD
Eric, I’ve got many of the diaries for RASC in Normandy but sadly not the company you are interested in. In July and August the GT cots would have been shifting stores from beach dumps to dumps further forward- for both Armies and Corps. They were controlled by Transport Columns RASC (small HQs which looked after about half a dozen cots each) - I’ve got some of their diaries and will have a look tonight to see if any mention 721 Coy. I don’t suppose you know what lorry your grandfather drove? Regards Tom
Thanks all for your help so far, will investigate further. Tom - I have no idea which lorry my GF drove, but have attached an extract from his service record if that sheds any more light on his activities? I think I have deciphered the majority of it but would welcome any more insight if possible. Cheers E
Eric, It looks like he was in France from early July (I expect when the entire unit shipped across) to early in Sept 44.There may be other clues as to why he came back then in his records? I've found some references in higher formation documents to 712 Coy that tells us that in April 1944 2nd Army expected it to be issued with 132 x 10-ton semi-artic lorries ('make unknown') but that at the beginning of September 1944 it was still equipped with 4 platoons of 6-ton vehicles. Not sure why they hadn't yet got the bigger lorries. On 6 September 1944, I have a reference to 712 Coy being one of several RASC GT coys engaged on the long haul from the supply depots in Bayeux to No 6 Army Roadhead in Brussels. This seems to be just before your GF returned to the UK. Sorry, but I haven't found anything for earlier in any of the diaries that I have got. Best bet would be to have a look in the company war diary for a more detailed account. Regards Tom
Thanks once again Tom, very informative. That entry in his record of him returning to the UK is confusing, as there appears to be no entry of him returning to Europe, although his record seems to state that he was in 94 Br Gen Hospital in June 1945 which was near Hamburg I believe? My mum actually remembers him saying he had a urinary infection. I know also that he was in Berlin at the end of the war, as he also told my mother about his experiences, and I have a letter he wrote to my grandmother shortly before he returned home. Best Eric
Eric, I found this little snippet about 712 Coy RASC on this site. Open the link and Ctrl F '712'. It should mention the Coy relocating from MIRFIELD to MARBLETHORPE, Lincs on 24 Apr 44. War Diary - No.1 RASC Mobilisation Centre Also, I note your GF was SOS (Struck off Strength) on 10 Jan 46. The details below are for a Driver Canham from 712 Coy who was one of 25 personnel who died in an Dakota air crash 5 miles South of Marseilles. Your GF most likely new this soldier. Name: CANHAM, HENRY. Rank: Driver Regiment/Service: Royal Army Service Corps. Unit Text: 712 Gen. Transport Coy. Age: 20. Date of Death: 15/01/1946. Service No: T/14421130 Additional information: Son of Henry Samuel and Violet Canham, of Tadcaster, Yorkshire. Grave/Memorial Reference: Plot 4. Row C. Grave 80. Regards Bruneval
Many thanks Bruneval for the info. I had found info on Dvr Canham through the CWGC and had wondered why he was buried in Marseilles.
Henry Canham 1926–1946 BIRTH 1926 • Wilberfoss, Driffield, Yorkshire, England DEATH 1946 UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945 Name: Henry Canham Given Initials: H Rank: Driver Death Date: 15 Jan 1946 Number: 14421130 Birth Place: Yorkshire Residence: Yorkshire Branch at Enlistment: Other Corps Theatre of War: Western Europe Campaign, 1944/45 Regiment at Death: Royal Army Service Corps Branch at Death: Other Corps Crash of a Douglas C-47B-30-DK Dakota IV in Marseille: 26 killed | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives The aircraft was on its way from Palermo to London with released British soldiers returning home. While flying south of Marseille at an altitude of 1,000 feet, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain and was destroyed upon impact. On the scene, rescuers were able to evacuate a passenger seriously injured while 25 other occupants were killed. Few hours later, the only survivor died from his injuries. At the time of the accident, the visibility was poor due to snow falls and the aircraft was following a wrong path. Passengers: Drv Henry Canham Probable cause: It appears that the aircraft was off course at the time of the accident following erroneous information received by the crew from the ground control service. Due to low visibility caused by snow falls, the crew was unable to distinguish the mountainous area and this resulted in a controlled flight into terrain. TD
Hi Eric - are you still there? I regret that I have only tonight come across your post, probably a year too late for your family visit to Normandy, but you may be interested anyway. I have just finished researching my uncle in WW2, who from Apr 44 to its disbandment in mid 45, was a driver in 712GT Coy. It included talking to him, reading the War Diaries at Kew and reading a transcript of an interview he gave to a local history group. If you are still interested I would be happy to send - by email, outside this forum - a copy of what I have put together. I think it gives answers to some of your specifics - places they were based, make of the artics, the six ton truck confusion, etc. Let me know.
Hi Graham, I am still here! Many thanks for your message and kind offer, I would be very interested to read what you have put together. I'm not familiar with the set up of this forum (more of a regular over on the GW forum) how can I send you a message with my email address privately? Regards
'Fraid I'm even less familiar, and in the absence of a 'contact us' button I can't work out how to ask the administrator. If you can solve that one, perhaps with a new thread/forum/whatever, let me know here. If necessary, I have a Gmail account I don't really use, and I could post that here if all else fails.
