3 RTR Poperinge Belgium Dec '44 - March '45

Hi all, been a while, hope you're all well.

Bertin (from Poperinge) has asked me to help him gather any info on Trooper Dennis Le Roy, 14272316 ( http://undyingmemory.net/Wixoe/le-roy-dennis.html ), kia 1/4/45.

Jan, an ex-colleague of mine remembers Dennis very well as he stayed with his parents late 1944 early 1945. Jan must have been three or four years (old) when Leroy was with his family (who happened to live in the same street as my grandparents and only yards away from Briekedreef where your (grand)dad was billeted upon the Six Wicke family).

Apart from the link, I haven't found anything on him, so I've been concentrating on events of 1st April to establish squadron, etc. The WD mentions 1 kia and various wounded, but looking at the Tank Casualties for that day ( 11th Armoured Division, Tank Casualties, 1945 ) it states 6 kia. Trooper Le Roy (according to the bio) was an Operator, which possibly links him to D15, D22, D18 & D49, all of which resulted in the death of the Operators. A bad day for Operators for sure.

D15 mentions the attack happening at 'last light', which would imply it was an A Squadron tank: 1800; A Sqn engaged by SPs or tks which KO one tk. 1 OR killed, 4 wounded. However, D15 notes indicate the driver was also killed (maybe later from his wounds?).

D18 & D49 both state tanks hit from a range of 10-15 yards, which suggests panzerfausts, so maybe: 1030; Enemy reported in area 945066. B Sqn have two tanks “bazookaed” at road block area 928062. 4 ORs wounded. No mention of any fatalities in WD. (By the way, what does H.C. mean exactly?)

D22 mentions tank being hit by A.P from S.P., so could be:1530; A Sqn having party. AP fire in their area, enemy movement from area 899082,engaging inf and bazookas. 1 SP firing from BEVENSEN 8982 KOs one of our tanks. Again, no mention of any fatalities.

D13, also listed as being 'bazookaed' on this date, doesn't seem to appear in the WD (unless it was one of the B Squadron tanks, although I tend to think they were D18 & 49) but mentions the gunner as being killed.

The War Graves site lists his initial burial site as (rV) 972054, see image, and I guess the incident occured somewhere nearby. I've attached a map indicating where the Squadrons were when attacked (using the WD refs), what do you think?
Then again, I could just wait till John's book comes out (next week, I believe!), maybe it's all there!



PS: It's also possible that Stanley Varty and Albert Riggs (see previous posts) were the D15 casualties, making them A Squadron.

 

And while I'm here.. can anyone identify the regiment?
The cap badge looks like 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry, albeit in non-shiny mode, the arm badge..

 

John Russell's book 'Theirs the Strife' is appearing as we speak : received my copy from Helion yesterday. It looks superb and well worth the wait.

Edit: John's book starts in earnest a little later than 1st April 1945 so doesn't describe the above incident.

 

Ditto!

 

I was just having another look at this photo, and the scan that accompanies it (see below), could he be Pioneer Corps?


The cap badge is similar in shape, P.C. = Pioneer Corps, B.L.A. = British Liberation Army?????
EDIT: Actually, I'm pretty sure he is, the arm badge indicated 'Lines of Communication' troop, so he would have kept the roads between the fighting units and supply depots in good shape.

 

THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-1945
IWM B 13424
Object description
A Sherman tank crew of 29th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division, warm themselves around a petrol stove in the village of Mesnil-Eglise near Dinant in Belgium, 4 January 1945. Left to right: Sgt Adam Kesson; Tpr John Davies; Tpr Jack Butterworth; Tpr Ronald Selwyn.

OUR TROOPS STILL SMILIN' THRU
IWM B 13425
Object description
Original wartime caption: A Little Bit off the Top - Tpr. Ronald Selwyn, Hampstead, clears snow from the hatch of his driver's seat.

OUR TROOPS STILL SMILIN' THRU
IWM B 13426
Object description
Original wartime caption: A borrowed broom, and Tpr. John Edward Davies, of Wrexham cleared the tank turret of snow.

OUR TROOPS STILL SMILIN' THRU
IWM B 13427
Object description
Original wartime caption: Tpr. Eric French of Sandhurst, saw to it that the snow on the front machine-gun turret was swept away.

 

Also seen filmed here...

WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 196 [Main Title]

Object description
Western Front - the Battle of the Ardennes.
Full description
I. 'WESTERN FRONT-THE BATTLE OF THE ARDENNES.' British M4 Sherman Crab (and Lobster ?) flail tanks and an M4 Tankdozer move along a Belgian country road (possibly elements of the British XXX Corps). A detachment of British infantry armed with Lee-Enfield .303-inch No.IV rifles cross a narrow watercourse in a collapsible boat. A British infantryman fires a Bren .303-inch light machine gun at an unseen aerial target. Canadian Universal carriers drive along railway tracks during operations in the environs of the Scheldt Estuary. Elements of the Canadian First Army enter Breda (Belgium). The commentary outlines Allied military dispositions prior to the German offensive in the Ardennes in December 1944 (Operation Wacht am Rhein). A map shows the extent of the German offensive thrust towards Bastogne. United States (US) infantry help Belgian civilian refugees from the back of a soft-skinned vehicle. Civilian refugees walk past a bullet-pocket road sign that reads "Bastogne." US military police check the identity cards of civilian Luxembourgeois at a checkpoint on the Bastogne-Martelange road (due to the heightened security alert following the infiltration of Skorzeny's 150 Pz Brigade "Greif" commandos dressed in US uniforms). US M7 105mm self-propelled gun stands parked by the side of the road at the checkpoint as US soft-skins drive past in convoy. Aerial footage shows Royal Air Force (RAF) Hawker Typhoon Mk IB fighters of 175 Squadron peeling off to attack ground targets with rocket projectiles. Camera gun footage shows Typhoon rocket attacks on German soft-skins, the pilot using a burst of 20mm cannon fire for sighting purposes prior to the release of his rockets. Captured German footage shows Waffen SS troopers armed with Kar 98k 7.92mm rifles and StG 44 7.92mm assault rifles advancing past a burning US White half-track. Waffen SS troopers gather near a knocked-out US M8 armoured car to enjoy a "Camel" cigarette from captured US supplies. A late-production German Jagdpanzer IV (with 7.5cm STuK 42 L/70 gun) of SS-Panzerjäger-abteilung 1 drives past the camera position. Two Waffen SS troopers walk past the knocked-out M8 armoured car carrying a 9mm MP40 sub-machine gun and a captured US M1 .30-inch carbine. A Steyr 1500A/02 soft-skinned vehicle of Kampfgruppe Hansen drives on a road in the direction of Recht. United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Douglas C-47 transport aircraft drop supplies by parachute over snow covered terrain in support of the beleaguered US 101st Airborne Division and 10th Armoured Division at Bastogne. Late-production German Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer carries tank descent infantry on its hull. A pair of German 15cm Schweres Infanteriegeschütz 33/1 auf Gw 38 self-propelled guns fire a barrage at high elevation. German PzKpfw VI Königstiger (King Tiger) tank 222 of I SS Pz Div drives through the Kaiserbaracke crossroads on the (N23) road between Saint-Vith and Malmédy (tank carries Fallschirmjäger airborne troops on its hull). German personnel from SS-Pz Auf.Kl.Abt.I sit in their Kfz 1/20 Schwimmwagen amphibious vehicle smoking cigars. Close up footage of one of the Schwimmwagen's passengers shows an SS-Unterscharführer evidently enjoying his cigar (SS-Unterscharführer Ochsner ?). A North American B-25 Mitchell bomber aircraft of 180 Squadron RAF, drops a stick of bombs on an unseen target. Stock shots show RAF Avro Lancaster bomber aircraft overflying a smoke-obscured target. British troops use a battery of captured German 8.8cm Flak guns (Flak 36 ?) in the ground role against their former owners. A British Churchill Crocodile flame-throwing tank fires its flame gun at unseen targets. British General Bernard Law Montgomery (Commander 21st Army Group) speaks to US General Matthew B Ridgway (Commander XVIII Airborne Corps) outside a building in wooded landscape (location probably XVIII Airborne Corps HQ in Harzé). British M4 Sherman tanks, Universal carriers and supporting infantry move along a snow-covered forest road (XXX Corps area ?). British XXX Corps M4 Sherman Fireflies (29th Armoured Brigade ?) drive through a snow covered hamlet. British Royal Tank Regiment M4 Sherman tank crews dressed in one-piece canvas tank coveralls warm themselves next to a brazier. A British M4 tank crewman brushes snow from the turret of his Sherman tank.

At around 9min 15seconds...

 

The crew are from 3RTR:- This pic was taken during the Ardennes offensive in the village of Mesnil St. Ellaise nr Dinant. L-R:- Sgt Adam Kesson of Inverness, Tpr John Davies of Wrexham, Tpr Jack Butterworth of Formby & Tpr Ronald Selwyn of Hampstead.

 

Hi all, does anyone have any information about tankies who were billeted at doctor Langbeen, Bruggestraat, Poperinge?
Thanks in advance!

 

Hello Noella, do you have any dates please? (for when troops were billeted at Doctor Langbeen's).

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Hi Jim, from September 1944 to mid-March 1945.

 

Thank you, much appreciated.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Story of another 3 RTR veteran here Noella, not billeted with Doctor Langbeen but there may be details in his story that you have not seen before (link below).

Please note that there are a lot of advertisements within the web page but it is well worth a read.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

WWII veteran reunited with family he stayed with - after 79 years

 

Hi all

Photos of 3RTR at Poperinge on February 18, 1945.
They are screenshots from www.westhoekverbeeldt.be, but original from www.2talk.com.

Photo comment on Westhoek verbeeldt: They are probably mechanics, kitchen and medical personnel, as the squadron's actual drivers and gunners were on training that day with their new 'Comet' tanks.
10. is Captain Neil Kent, 11. Captain Jock Balharrie (he was promoted that day, presumably the reason why the photo was taken) 12. Lieutenant Wilfred Brooks, 13. Pop Carter, 58. Frank Curzon? and 83. Eddie Cutting?
Can further identification please?

 

Fantastic Noella!

Westhoek verbeeldt is an excellent resource. Super photographs there.

Thank you for highlighting the website and posting the link here, it is very much appreciated.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.