Hello all, i thought the attached may be of interest. I recently bought a copy of 'One night in June' about Op Tonga from a charity shop and found a nice little surprise inside - a list of signatures of GPR pilots ! My knowledge of individuals within the GPR is limited but i know that there a few well known ones on there. However i am struggling to decipher a few so any help would be appreciated. The ones that (i think) i have identified are; Bill Higgs Jock East Patrick Withnall Alan Richards Louis Hagen Bob Randall Reg Dugwell Jim Eardley Dennis Hall George R.A. Turnbull Sidney Bland. Mac
2nd Pilot Sgt. Dennis Shingleton G Sqn landed on LZ 'W' on D-Day with some 12th Devons his oppo S/Sjt. R. Percival S/Sjt. Eardley B Sqn landed 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaisance Regiment on D-Day with Crow on LZ 'N' Above Eardley is Arthur Shackleton and between Eardley and Hall I think is S/Sgt. Herridge A Sqn landed LZ W on D-Day with Sgt. Dawson taking either 2nd Bn Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire L.I. or 195th Airlanding Field Ambulance, RAMC. Bill Higgs D Sqn landed on D-Day as part of Operation Tonga delivering 6-pdr and its crew, taken prisoner at Arnhem
Steve Wright one of the authors of One Night in June said that "...Bob Randall, who I knew well, wasn't a GP. He was RAF ground crew with the gliders. Part of that amazing team that kept the gliders in flying condition."
That must be a gem of a book reflecting the crucial operational facets of Overlord. https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/d-day/air-operations/commonwealth/tonga
Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated. I love these tangible links to the past and it seems that i have stumbled on a great one here ! Steve Wright has been in touch via email which is an added bonus and he states that only a few on the list are associated with the book so it would seem that it was signed at a reunion or similar event. I've since identified Eric Kemish from a piece of paper (results of a military flying competition) inserted into the pages of the book although there is next to nothing online about him. I've also attached a picture from the book that Bill Higgs has signed and dated as 1994. All the best. Mac.
Well, i've done some digging and found some amazing info about the lives of these gents. I can't seem to find anything about Sidney Bland, Reg Dugwell, George Turnbull and Eric Kemish (apart from a photo and brief mention in Romsey newsletter). I also can't decipher the two signatures upper right below Eric Kemish, one with D Sqn under it and the other Bob ?. Any thoughts would be welcome. Mac.
Possibly worth asking the Glider Pilot Regiment Society at www.gliderpilotregiment.org.uk they are also on Facebook
Lovely to see a photo of my late father (on the left). I'm not sure when the actual photo was taken (way before 94, as my father died in 87). I have a feeling that this was possibly at a Chester reunion in the mid-70s, when I accompanied my father as a guest and he persuaded me (somewhat reluctantly) to wear my No.2 dress uniform. Distinctly remember talking to Bill Higgs.