I've found these photos in a book called The First Year Of War In Pictures. Thought I'd share them. I know they were mentioned in another thread last year. Also some photos from the IWM collection. THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE 1940 (F 2478) F 2478 Members of a mule transport company of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps on parade, 10 February 1940. THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE 1940 (F 2676) F 2676 Indian muleteers and mule wearing gasmasks, 21 February 1940. INDIAN FORCES IN FRANCE 1940 (F 3923) 21 April 1940 F 3923 Punjabi dancers entertaining troops and locals during a gymkhana held by Indian muleteers of No 32 Animal Transport Company, attached to 1 Corps. In their hands they are carrying a kind of castanet consisting of pieces of wood with bells on.
Nice shots mate...I noticed your ref the book yesterday and wondered if it had any good 'Dunkirk' pictures. Is the book worth buying? Andy
You'd have to look in the second-hand shops, I was given all six volumes for nowt by a workmate after his Dad died. Most of the pics are now in the IWM the Dunkirk ones are the old favourites you'd have seen before.
Lucky you ! I'm guessing the other 5 Vols. are second year of the war etc etc etc... Just looked on Abebooks One seller says: Very good set of one of the three great published photographic records of WWII (the others being Hammerton's 'Second Great War' and Hutchinson's 'Pictorial History' I think I have a pile of the Hutchinsons magazines in Andrea's loft.
There is a 32 Animal Transport Company, Royal Indian Army Service Corps fatality in Wormhoudt Cemetery. His date of death precedes the attack, though.
Cheers Andrew, Most (I believe) buried in the Wormhout cemetery are from the fighting and the victims from the massacre that are known are in the Esquelbecq cemetery. I'll grab a photo of his grave. The Cypriots contribution interests me...Not a country you hear much about during WW2 let alone their contribution during 1940 in France. Regards Andy
Thought you'd pick up on that one. I wonder if the mules were withdrawn from France before the balloon went up? Given what happened to some of those Mediterranean islands, I sure Cyprus was quite relieved to be forgotten. Geoff has two Cypriot units in his list - the Cyprus Regiment and the Cyprus Volunteer Force - but no hits for France in 1940.
I suspect AKBAR KHAN was passing through en-route to Dunkirk. It is quite surprising there is only 115 men buried at Wormhout considering its importance at the end of May and what was going on in the area around that time. Interesting there is no Cypriots listed on CWGC during that time.
Not sure of their unit but some Cypriot troops in UK in 1940. BRITISH POLITICAL PERSONALITIES 1936-1945 (H 2455) H 2455 DATE: 23 July 1940 The Churchill Coalition Government 11 May 1940 - 23 May 1945: Lord Lloyd, Secretary of State for the Colonies from May 1940 to February 1941, paying a visit of inspection to Cypriot troops stationed in Melton Mowbray.
Found this: Active service of Cypriot Volunteers The Cyprus Regiment consisted of pack transport companies, pioneer companies, general transport, engineers, mobile laundry units, tank landing craft, road construction companies and saw service in France, North Africa, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Greece, Crete and Italy. Cypriot pack transport companies took part in the operations in Ethiopia and offered exceptional services in the battles of Keren. During the retreat of the Allied Forces from Greece and Crete, the Cyprus Regiment lost some 2.500 men, most of whom were taken prisoners of war. About 1000 Cypriot women had enlisted voluntarily to the Auxiliary Territorial Service and Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and served in the Middle East as drivers, mechanics or for office duties. War losses Out of the total Cypriot volunteers, some 600 men were killed in action and are buried in 56 cemeteries of 16 countries, but we only have proper records of 358 cases regarding the place and date of their burial. Among them are Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot, Armenians, Maronite and Latin, while some 250 are considered as missing persons. War Memorials In 1995 our Association erected a War Memorial in the courtyard of PA.SY.D.Y. building in Nicosia, with a grant from the Cyprus Government, on which 358 names of men who had fallen in several war fronts were inscribed. In 1997 a second war memorial was erected in Paphos with 32 names, who originally came from that district and a third memorial was erected in Larnaca during October 2004. CYPRUS VETERANS ASSOCIATION WWII
There is a Pathe News video on these men. Aye MalcolmII Good shout. British Pathe - CYPRIOT TROOPS OVER THERE
Also Indian muleteers in France. with sound British Pathe - INDIAN TROOPS IN FRANCE silent British Pathe - INDIAN TROOPS IN FRANCE
Perhaps it duplicates the Indian Troops in France footage but an 11 min newsreel with an alternative soundtrack It starts off somewhere sandy - didn't catch the location.
You'd have to look in the second-hand shops, I was given all six volumes for nowt by a workmate after his Dad died. Most of the pics are now in the IWM the Dunkirk ones are the old favourites you'd have seen before. I have them quite an intresting set of books with some, as you have shown great pictures.
In 1997 a second war memorial was erected in Paphos with 32 names, who originally came from that district I live near Paphos in the summertime We've got a holiday home there, it's very nice. I've never seen the memorial though...strangely enough. They seem to concentrate more on the war with Turkey. The casualties were bigger, so I guess that's understandable.
Whilst the 1st Cavalry Division was moving south to Palestine an Indian mule-transport contingent named Special Force K6 was travelling north to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. ... In October 1939, it had been decided that the B.E.F. would need 500 pack animals to each front-line division to carry ammunition and supplies to forward positions where approaches had been made impassable to wheeled traffic by heavy shelling. India provided four fully-equipped animal-transport companies and a remount unit and mules for two Cypriot pack-transport units - a total animal strength of about 2,700. ... By the end of January the mules were at work and widely distributed with the B.E.F. ... At times during January, 1940 the Chateau Reynarde camp held around 4,000 animals. ... One Indian Company ... were captured in the blitzkrieg of May 1940. This unit had been doing excellent work in the Saar position carrying supplies through thickly-wooded areas almost to the front line. The other animal units were able to withdraw to Dunkirk and St Nazaire but no ship could be spared for mules and evacuation was confined to the troops. From The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1919-1961 by Brig J Clabby.
