I Know this is a lot But if possible I'd like the lot from the 7th RTR as at the time my grandfather was CSM John Stewart, and according to his records was "mentioned in dispatches" but exactly why we don't know. I'm trying toget all I can for my father. Thanks The Q
Hi Dave.....Its Smee again. Do you have a copy of the sketch map Capt Lovett refers to in his account? I assume it is/was within that file? Capt Wilkinson's account finishes on the 18/5, do you have his accounts from Cassel after the 18/5? Any diaries from Fife and Forfar Yeomanry or East Riding Yeomanry from Cassel? If it makes life easier for you my email is drew5233(at)hotmail.com Cheers Again Andy Andy...PM me with your postal addy. Makes life easier if I send you what I have on CD (I'm on my mini-laptop at the moment which, though it has all the files from its big brother, its a pain in the arse to mess about with images on) Dave
I Know this is a lot But if possible I'd like the lot from the 7th RTR as at the time my grandfather was CSM John Stewart, and according to his records was "mentioned in dispatches" but exactly why we don't know. I'm trying toget all I can for my father. Thanks The Q see my above reply to Andy (but don't forget to put your real name on it!) Dave
Hello , would very much like to see the 4th Battalion Green Howards Diary for 27th-30th May 1940. I believe at this time they were in the Ypres area . A relative of mine was killed at this time . Many thanks.
No problem JCB... Who was your relative, by the way? i've had to do a study of quite a few casualties from these actions and he may have been one of the ones I've researched. Dave
Thanks for that Dave. Harry White , A company , 4th Green Howards , died 29th May 1940, and buried in Ypres town extension cemetery. Strang thing is it appears 4th batt had withdrawn to Poperinghe by the 29th. For anyone else interested in the 4th battalion Green Howards -In the book 'Fall Of France' by Robert Jackson their is a reprint of a 4th batt officers diary for the 28th May - 2nd June 1940 which is quite detailed.
Thanks for that Dave. Harry White , A company , 4th Green Howards , died 29th May 1940, and buried in Ypres town extension cemetery. Strang thing is it appears 4th batt had withdrawn to Poperinghe by the 29th. . Its a good job that they did...Ypres fell to the Germans on the 29th! The withdrawal from town was partaken under cover of darkness in the early hours of the 29th, with the rearguard remaining until just before first light (Germans entering via the Lille Gate not long afterwards). Though there was no real contact during the withdrawal, there was a good deal of artillery fire and it looks like Harry may have been a victim of this. He was originally buried on the ramparts of the town - possibly/probably by the Germans...
Thanks Dave , suppose also they may have got the date wrong. Sadly Harry should not even have been there as he was too young for an overseas posting but had added 1 year to his age. C'est La Vie. The 4th Battalion ( TA ) seemed to see a lot of action following the 10th May invasion and along with the 5th batt.were one of the last formed units to leave Dunkirk. The BEF 1940 period has always interested me and seems to get little attention, compared to say Normandy 1944. Would it be possible to show the 4th battalion diary for the rest of May?
Hi Croonhaert(dave) You might have seen some of my postings about Wormhout. My father was with the 4th Cheshires, D Company, 15 Platoon on the day of the battle and I am trying to make sense of the pieces of information he recollects about that day. Do you have the war diaries of the 4th Cheshires and 53 AT RA? I would like to show them to him and see if there is anything more that he can recall.
Hi Croonhaert(dave) You might have seen some of my postings about Wormhout. My father was with the 4th Cheshires, D Company, 15 Platoon on the day of the battle and I am trying to make sense of the pieces of information he recollects about that day. Do you have the war diaries of the 4th Cheshires and 53 AT RA? I would like to show them to him and see if there is anything more that he can recall. They are already posted within this thread. See posts 14,15 16 and 17. Regards Andy
Hi Dave My father 2655233 Gdsm George Fredrick Pratt was with 4 Coy, 2nd Bat Coldstream Guards and was killed on 31 May 1940 on the Bergues- Furnes canal. I have 2 letters from a fellow guardsman who was next to him when he was shot standing at an open window in a ?farmhouse? on the canal. I suspect this was at the crossroads at La Broukstraete - the large bridge identified and photgraphed by Andy in his photographic journey. The Coy withdrew the next day and he was left where he fell. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Dunkirk memorial. However I now suspect he may be buried locally but the letters state his identity disks were removed and subsequently lost by the CSM. I find this odd however as I would have expected one disk to have been left for identification purposes. I was about to go to Kew to view the 2nd Bat Coldtream War Diaries but didn't fancy a 100+ mile trip there and find I couldn't park. I then found your offer in this website search. It would be appreciated therefore if you could provide details or copies of the diary entries to 1 June 1940. He had been with the 1st Batt as a regular between 1931 and 1935. Hope you can help.
Welcome to the forum Mally. I think that it's a shame to have this tucked away on the end of an existing thread. The story with corroboration from his comrades is interesting enough to warrant a thread on its own and perhaps you would be able to expand it with what you find from the war diary ? The lack of a correctly identified burial is not uncommon with 1940 casualties who were buried locally. It may well be that a number of casualties were buried by the locals at the time but that upon removal to a CWGC cemetery post-war, it was no longer possible to make a positive identification which at that time led more often than not to an 'unidentified' headstone and a reference on the Dunkirk Memorial. There are a lot less 'missing' burials from the 1940 campaign than for example with WW1 but due to the time-lapse before graves could be registered, identification was often a problem. There is a mention of Graves Registration Teams travelling with 21st Army Group in 1944 for the express purpose of dealing with the 1940 missing so it was something which they took very seriously but which sadly was not always possible. If you're able to pin down the location then it may be possible to find out more from the French records.
Dave I've just started a thread requesting information on the action that the 8th Royal Warwicks were involved in on the 21.05.1940, having done that I noticed this thread an their diaries are in the list you posted a t the start of the thread. Would it be possible to have copies of the diaries for 20.05.1940 to 22.05.1940 please? Stephen
Dave I've just started a thread requesting information on the action that the 8th Royal Warwicks were involved in on the 21.05.1940, having done that I noticed this thread an their diaries are in the list you posted a t the start of the thread. Would it be possible to have copies of the diaries for 20.05.1940 to 22.05.1940 please? Stephen Relevent pages added to thread http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/1940/28900-8th-royal-warwicks-calonne-21-05-1940-account-action.html#post320823
Hi Did you ever get the War Diary for 2nd Gloucesters? If it's listed on the first post in this thread, then , yes, I got it. if you search the forum though, I have a feeling that much of this diary (and the several accounts within it) has already been posted though... Dave.
Hi Dave, you have got some records there, if it is posssible could I have anything on 2 Battalion glosters my Father was in the 2 battalion and wasbatman to 2nd Lieut G Weightman,my fathers number was 5179081 thanks Ralph.