The picture in Pericos post was shown on TV recently and they said it was for the Pathfinders, the 2 spots he is pointing at being churches [I think] they had to drop between - somewhere near Ranville?? - it stuck in my mind for some reason Back under my rock now TD
TD, According to member cardiff rob over here in a 22 IPC thread: "Picture 5 is similar to another shot (taken closer) which shows Captain Midwood pointing to a map of France for the benefit of other members of the 22nd. In reality it was staged for the cameras and was actually a map of Newbury placed upside-down on the board to confuse the enemy in the event that they managed to get a copy of the shot." Details of the map don't show up very well in the photos and film I've seen of the scene. Regards ...
John Howard returned to Pegasus Bridge but i don’t think he was a qualified parachutist was he? (Hence the badge on the original pic)
Hi Alex, The iconic photo of the three men toasting at the Gondree Cafe was taken by James Jarche and appeared in a June 1946 Illustrated article entitled "The Return of Pegasus" It was written by correspondent Charles Hamblett and documents the 1946 Pilgrimage to Normandy. I'm not aware of John Howard being a qualified parachutist. The few photos I have of him with insignia show no wings. I'll attach one of him with Mayor of Oxford inspecting men of the 2nd Battalion Oxford and Buckinghamshire LI during a parade on May 14, 1944. Regards ...
Since this thread also explored the 1946 Pilgrimage I thought it might be a good spot to stick up a few pics of the 1947 event. Brithm may have found these, not sure? A PDF on the "Unknown Officer" based on this thread can be downloaded from here: Unknown Officer - Pegasus Bridge.pdf - Icedrive And another focused primarily on the 1946 Illustrated Magazine article,"The Return of Pegasus". 1946 Normandy Pilgrimage.pdf - Icedrive Regards ...
I would suggest that this is Major E.W. Cutbill who was the Canadian Liaison Officer attached to 6th Airborne Division Headquarters. He previously held a similar position with 1st Airborne Division Headquarters in North Africa.
Sorry I'm not familiar with Major Cutbill. Do you by any chance have a wartime photo and is there a story that might connect him to the "Unknown Officer". Regards ...
I looked around but could only find a post war photo of Major Cutbill as a Lieutenant - Colonel. Regards ...
The face to a name; adieu Léon, Commando Francais. Reportage courtesy of BBC. Always remember, never forget, Jim. Léon Gautier: Last French D-Day fighter dies aged 100 Published 3 hours ago Related Topics World War Two IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Léon Gautier took part in the D-Day landings during World War Two By Kathryn Armstrong BBC News The last surviving member of a French commando unit that took part in the Normandy landings during World War Two has died at the age of 100. Léon Gautier served with the Fusiliers Marins Commando - the only unit of Free French troops to go ashore during D-Day on 6 June 1944. Mr Gautier later called war a "misery" that "ends with widows and orphans". French President Emmanuel Macron described Mr Gautier and his comrades as "heroes of the Liberation". "We will not forget him," Mr Macron wrote on Twitter. Regional Mayor Romain Bail described Mr Gautier as "a local hero whom everybody knew" and who was "an ardent defender of freedom". Mr Gautier was born in Rennes, in France's north-western Brittany region, and enlisted in the French navy as a teenager soon after World War Two began, as he was too young to enter the army. He escaped to Britain in 1940 before Adolf Hitler's forces swept through much of western Europe, including France. In London, Mr Gautier joined the Free France movement, which maintained a government-in-exile and military that coordinated with the Allies against Nazi Germany. He fought in Congo, Syria and Lebanon, before joining a unit of marine riflemen known as the Kieffer commandos, which trained in the Scottish Highlands. During the Battle for Normandy, more than half of his unit of 177 Free French were killed. The D-Day landings by the Allied forces of the US, UK and Canada began an attack that lasted for 11 months. It eventually led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the liberation of occupied Europe. IMAGE SOURCE,EPA Image caption, Mr Gautier posed with current members of France's Commando Marine at a D-Day memorial event last month Later in life, Mr Gautier settled in the Normandy port town of Ouistreham, and became a campaigner for peace. "Not all that long ago... I would think perhaps I killed a young lad," he said in an interview with Reuters news agency in 2019, when he was 96 years old. "Perhaps I orphaned children, perhaps I widowed a woman or made a mother cry... I didn't want to do that. I'm not a bad man."
Unpublished photo of "Two servicemen [RAMC & Royal Engineers] from the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army stand by graves of German soldiers buried in a churchyard during a first anniversary visit to old World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946." taken by James Jarche Two servicemen from the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army... News Photo - Getty Images
Revisiting Normandy Battlefields One Year On Lieutenant Colonel Jack Carson of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army stands on top of a destroyed German Wehrmacht self propelled gun in the town of Breville during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. The German armour is a Marder III Panzerjäger 38(t) 75mm PaK 40/3 Ausf M Self propelled Gun (Sd.Kfz 138). (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Lieutenant Colonel Jack Carson of the 6th Airborne Division of the... News Photo - Getty Images
Major B Hart [this is Major Hynds, M.C. 1st Bn Royal Ulster Rifles] of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army stands on top of a destroyed German Wermacht self propelled gun in the town of Breville during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. The German armour is a Marder III Panzerjäger 38(t) 75mm PaK 40/3 Ausf M Self propelled Gun (Sd.Kfz 138). (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Major B Hart of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army stands... News Photo - Getty Images
If it helps, I think they might be the same 2 as seen in the film footage Activities in the Orne Bridgehead Part 4, (at around 4 minutes). ACTIVITIES IN THE ORNE BRIDGEHEAD, JUNE 1944 (PART 4) [Allocated Title] | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk) (note for anyone going to the link the footage is graphic and depicts deceased solders). If anyone has a map or high-resolution aerial photograph of Breville (even prewar) the location can probably be tracked down fairly easily, at this time I have given locating it a go but am not certain on the layout of the village north of the small orchard. BR, SH
Hello, Here's one from Breville that Guy sent me sometime ago. If it is the same scene much has changed from 1944,1946 and today ... mmh? Regards ... Later - it is the reverse view, with the tank sat on seen in the distance. All the walls and buildings by lane are now gone.
Brigadier James Hill (1911-2006), commander of the 3rd Parachute Brigade of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army, explains to fellow servicemen how the German defensive gun they are standing on was captured, during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Brigadier James Hill , commander of the 3rd Parachute Brigade of the... News Photo - Getty Images Brigadier James Hill (1911-2006), commander of the 3rd Parachute Brigade of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army, stands on left with French resistance leader Monsieur Dupont and his wife during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Major Beverley Hart (BHQ, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion) Le Mesnil crossroads & Potterie Brigadier James Hill , commander of the 3rd Parachute Brigade of the... News Photo - Getty Images Cows surround the remains of Brigadier Bobby Bray's glider, used to transport troops of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army on D-Day, lying in a field during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Cows surround the remains of Brigadier Bobby Bray's glider, used to... News Photo - Getty Images
Reverend George Hales, Brigadier James Hill, D.S.O. M.C. & Major Jack Watson 13th Parachute Battalion conducts a service for servicemen and veterans of the British Army's 6th Airborne Division at Ranville war cemetery near Caen, during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Reverend George Hales conducts a service for servicemen and veterans... News Photo - Getty Images Ranville War Cemetery In Normandy Lines of wooden crosses mark the graves of fallen British and Commonwealth servicemen buried at Ranville war cemetery near Caen, during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Lines of wooden crosses mark the graves of fallen British and... News Photo - Getty Images The grave of Captain Frederick 'Freddie' Charles Scholes (1913-1944) of the British Army's 6th Airborne Division, at Ranville war cemetery near Caen, during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. Captain Freddie Scholes was killed in action by German artillery fire on 16th June 1944. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) The grave of Captain Frederick 'Freddie' Charles Scholes of the... News Photo - Getty Images A lieutenant 12th Devons from the British Army's 6th Airborne Division visits the grave of Lieutenant Den Brotheridge (1915-1944) of the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Ranville war cemetery near Caen, during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. Lieutenant Den Brotheridge was killed in action on D-Day, 6th June 1944, regarded as possibly the first Allied casualty of the Normandy Landings. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) A lieutenant from the British Army's 6th Airborne Division visits the... News Photo - Getty Images Lance Corporal Ernest Unwin 13th Parachute Battalion of the British Army's 6th Airborne Division visits the grave of Captain Robert Edward Vane de Lautour of the 22nd Independent Parachute Company at Ranville war cemetery near Caen, during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. Captain de Lautour died on 20th June 1944 aged 27 years old from wounds sustained during the Normandy Landings. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Lance Corporal Ernest Unwin of the British Army's 6th Airborne... News Photo - Getty Images
View of the Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal and commemorative sign during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. Major John Howard and Captain David Wood of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry led a glider-borne assault to capture the Caen Canal and Orne River bridges on D-Day, 6th June 1944. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Revisiting Normandy Battlefields One Year On From left, Major John Howard (1912-1999) and Captain David Wood (1923-2009) of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army stand beside the Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. Major Howard and Captain Wood of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry led a glider-borne assault to capture the Caen Canal and Orne River bridges on D-Day, 6th June 1944. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) From left, Major John Howard and Captain David Wood of the 6th... News Photo - Getty Images Monsieur Georges Gondree drinks a toast with Major John Howard (1912-1999) and Captain David Wood (1923-2009) of the 6th Airborne Division of the British Army beside the Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal during a first anniversary visit to World War II battlefields in Normandy, France on 29th June 1946. Major Howard and Captain Wood of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry led a glider-borne assault to capture the Caen Canal and Orne River bridges on D-Day, 6th June 1944. (Photo by James Jarche/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Monsieur Georges Gondree drinks a toast with Major John Howard and... News Photo - Getty Images
