tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80649408717471642742024-03-19T04:01:03.818+00:00Walking the BattlefieldsStories from battlefields of the world. Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-89548132863482952102024-02-06T12:16:00.001+00:002024-02-09T17:14:18.420+00:00The Woodspring Bay Wrecks (1944)<p> At low tide two Second World War era shipwrecks are visible in Woodspring Bay, to the west of the village of Kingston Seymour. Indeed they are visible for walkers covering my Clevedon Military History trail which can be accessed <a href="https://www.discoverclevedon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Military-Walk-website-2.pdf">here</a>. Although the coast is not easily accessed in direct proximity to the wrecks, I had the pleasure of spending a day with three local farmers who share my passion for history and were an encyclopedia of knowledge about the impact of the war on this fascinating spot on the North Somerset coast.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jPy8zwyHWwUFy9ubjLqiaHhLdixRQCl9nMC0xzGbCyOpL1OIcQOzuMle169ThZl9L_L7t4aYxrUHWmdh3GRk2_N6if2y786RsNKEP9fpi5IHYlymleFhgCRFtIUmelpz9Xv45Sx7SI-Ellg_ow27zNzlNsxSbcgpBTOojGxejLk0Ow_4DjaaNNli/s1802/Photo%2004-03-2022,%2016%2003%2046.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="1802" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jPy8zwyHWwUFy9ubjLqiaHhLdixRQCl9nMC0xzGbCyOpL1OIcQOzuMle169ThZl9L_L7t4aYxrUHWmdh3GRk2_N6if2y786RsNKEP9fpi5IHYlymleFhgCRFtIUmelpz9Xv45Sx7SI-Ellg_ow27zNzlNsxSbcgpBTOojGxejLk0Ow_4DjaaNNli/s320/Photo%2004-03-2022,%2016%2003%2046.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HMS Fernwood and HMS Staghound</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Apparently it is possible to walk out to the wrecks on a very low tide, if you have the local knowledge. Having witnessed the RNLI rescuing people from the mudflats I opted for a shoreside view through binoculars. However, one of my companions, a third generation Kingston Seymour farmer, was able to share photographs and observations from trips he had made in the past.</p><p>The picture above, shows the two ships at low tide. They are resting on the side of a mudbank (Langford Grounds) with a flow of shallow water behind. The larger of the two ships, HMS Fernwood is on the left with her two boilers clearly visible, even from the shore. According the Historic England archive, HMS Fernwood, the larger of the two vessels at 1,892 tons, was a British collier vessel which from the outbreak of the Second World War was used as a coal storage hulk - permanently moored midstream at Dartmouth.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhaGd0sUG_ouUKFebMc6mCfqfFxxRrU8z7V9woaJy0qXHAKP3HsZ_xwyEZacW92kZHuSDloHCcPK5xt6B_iUZt06rR5yuv1mS4yXSPregQH1AoS9DfoBEV_xiEVy6TkHpYhxFmftCmHiAGMt5rG0R6Ah_b3HrmbGCeIEMgM9vYkZZdDnjYijHtgb7/s1920/Photo%2004-03-2022,%2018%2001%2028.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinhaGd0sUG_ouUKFebMc6mCfqfFxxRrU8z7V9woaJy0qXHAKP3HsZ_xwyEZacW92kZHuSDloHCcPK5xt6B_iUZt06rR5yuv1mS4yXSPregQH1AoS9DfoBEV_xiEVy6TkHpYhxFmftCmHiAGMt5rG0R6Ah_b3HrmbGCeIEMgM9vYkZZdDnjYijHtgb7/s320/Photo%2004-03-2022,%2018%2001%2028.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fernwood's boilers - Photo by Ken Kingcott</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>At 11:30am on 18th September 1942, the Fernwood was sunk, with 700 tons of coal aboard, at its Dartmouth moorings during a Luftwaffe attack. Sadly one of the 20 man crew was killed. John Emlyn Evans a 27 year seaman from Barry in Glamorgan is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial in London. At the time of the loss, she was coaling a minesweeper aboard which, four more seaman were killed. The Fernwood was subsequently salvaged and the forward section of the ship was towed to its current location in 1944 where it was filled with ballast and used for gunnery practise by the military gunnery range at nearby St Thomas's Head.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3vkufnQqW32vABBUWWahiu9RRvAeYMG1mqgTzLaJ2ttKP-ki0DrjJeVKnGY9aZLAZN-Ze_Sy6M8LPaOjV4cj6mHyngb7NE2qeMg40GXM0D4EGlh2uqLMzsS0pPucPvFdo8F9pROsPocji65FOu9Zo1m7CZEVJuCtYEWUPLL2FHM1wWa48ss_5ZOm/s1920/Photo%2004-03-2022,%2017%2059%2027.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3vkufnQqW32vABBUWWahiu9RRvAeYMG1mqgTzLaJ2ttKP-ki0DrjJeVKnGY9aZLAZN-Ze_Sy6M8LPaOjV4cj6mHyngb7NE2qeMg40GXM0D4EGlh2uqLMzsS0pPucPvFdo8F9pROsPocji65FOu9Zo1m7CZEVJuCtYEWUPLL2FHM1wWa48ss_5ZOm/s320/Photo%2004-03-2022,%2017%2059%2027.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staghound with Fernwood (behind) - Ken Kingcott<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACsHCUQ3rYu2DZ-Q6EsRgs9rgTk8OIynNdOmwTHqv7csWK7USJZKAra7E5bP2EiWh745GIeoTaf6w6MJOC8docX1LM9s7JFI6p-wHqBsFU96b-QWY7LCUO5stvs_nwGANsAFxouL0ul0bonrKCprER16ltHZF1yMHkAzuTo9VuQS4qTNHzciLTv4d_FE/s602/Staghound%20model.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="602" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACsHCUQ3rYu2DZ-Q6EsRgs9rgTk8OIynNdOmwTHqv7csWK7USJZKAra7E5bP2EiWh745GIeoTaf6w6MJOC8docX1LM9s7JFI6p-wHqBsFU96b-QWY7LCUO5stvs_nwGANsAFxouL0ul0bonrKCprER16ltHZF1yMHkAzuTo9VuQS4qTNHzciLTv4d_FE/w320-h86/Staghound%20model.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Model of SS Staghound</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>HMS Staghound is located 140 metres away from Fernwood. Historic England research records show that she was destroyed off Torquay on 27th March 1942 without loss of life. Staghound was a 468 ton steamer originally requisitioned as a distilling ship (for fresh water) and was used as a block ship. After the attack she was raised and berthed alongside Haldon Pier before being towed to her current location on Langford Grounds (probably in 1944 as per Fernwood). Like the Fernwood, she was used for gunnery practice by the personnel at the St Thomas's Head Special Weapons establishment. Note: Since writing this article, the Grandson of a sailor who was on board Staghound at the time of the attack, Nigel Cowling, has told me that both ships were used for trialling 'Beehive' demolition charges which were to be used for clearing blockships from the channel ports after D-Day. From a lead provided by Nigel, it has been possible to identify the aircraft and pilot responsible for the sinking of Staghound. It was Oberletenant Frank Liesendahl of 10 (Jabo) / JG2 flying a Messerschmidt BF 109. See foot of article for the source*. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFftv_JYhNOxoZtyhD6zcZvOwbmDpw1Gj51pdbl7EboEc3M3cSciXtjIymNGId9hoA5p7g0pHncNQKDYH4-AgWuAYCaknqH3UlwnPf0d1sN5etCl5NJnABF1VLSWq683A_k11WECIVGlOCSbIj0xwXumhV6Q_b0lu9KYhDSHY47KoRDL_mbqxrfdN/s1920/Photo%2004-03-2022,%2018%2001%2002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFftv_JYhNOxoZtyhD6zcZvOwbmDpw1Gj51pdbl7EboEc3M3cSciXtjIymNGId9hoA5p7g0pHncNQKDYH4-AgWuAYCaknqH3UlwnPf0d1sN5etCl5NJnABF1VLSWq683A_k11WECIVGlOCSbIj0xwXumhV6Q_b0lu9KYhDSHY47KoRDL_mbqxrfdN/s320/Photo%2004-03-2022,%2018%2001%2002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken Kingcott on board HMS Staghound</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Ken Kingcott has visited the site a number of times, and being a boat owner himself, has spent time identifying the remaining parts of both ships. I'd previously heard that the ships had been filled with concrete for ballast but Ken has concluded that both hulks are full of building rubble, probably from the Bristol Blitz. It is known that debris from Bristol was transported to various places including New York where it was used in the construction of the famous East River Drive.</div><div><br /></div><div>*<i style="background-color: #fafafe; caret-color: rgb(0, 66, 170); color: #0042aa; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">Bf 109 F/G/K Aces of the Western Front: No. 29 (Aircraft of the Aces) </i><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafe; caret-color: rgb(0, 66, 170); color: #0042aa; font-size: 14.6667px;">mentions Oberleutnant Frank Liesendahl, Staffelkapitän 10.(Jabo)/JG 2. He claimed to have sunk 20 ships between March and June 1942 but the book does not specifically mention the 27 March 1942 attack or SS Staghound. A better source, </span><i style="background-color: #fafafe; caret-color: rgb(0, 66, 170); color: #0042aa; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers over Britain </i><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafe; caret-color: rgb(0, 66, 170); color: #0042aa; font-size: 14.6667px;">by Chris Goss, describes the attack, carried out by two planes of 13./JG 2, another two attacking Brixham at the same time. Liesendahl is listed in Appendix 8 as the pilot sinking SS Staghound.</span></div><div><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fafafe; caret-color: rgb(0, 66, 170); color: #0042aa; font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSN4sfz11zDH3u_rkyNhozSNQD3-mB4fLKH_VfGQ_ut27vgoKG2kbDXDOgMkgsy0iQSyznwFwMK7MDfmXVVFUl54pExcQ_6jo58C84AEGyM7ggFdr2yrkLXxdOAgP72khNkWxhbPR_H_bMZenYzEJudrDb52M7ZtDEhYmKmiJvDNULTjHvBj7CHwVBgg/s1062/Screenshot%202024-02-09%20at%2017.10.17.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="1062" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSN4sfz11zDH3u_rkyNhozSNQD3-mB4fLKH_VfGQ_ut27vgoKG2kbDXDOgMkgsy0iQSyznwFwMK7MDfmXVVFUl54pExcQ_6jo58C84AEGyM7ggFdr2yrkLXxdOAgP72khNkWxhbPR_H_bMZenYzEJudrDb52M7ZtDEhYmKmiJvDNULTjHvBj7CHwVBgg/s320/Screenshot%202024-02-09%20at%2017.10.17.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Nigel Cowling for the images</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>The National Archive holds records pertaining to the use of Beehive charges and the use of concrete filled ships under Ref. ADM 280/841. Apparently the file contains before and after photographs of both ships. Thanks to Nigel Cowling for this information. </div><div><br /></div><div>For my blog about the Military Gunnery Range at St Thomas's Head<a href="http://www.walkingthebattlefields.com/2020/04/the-testing-grounds-at-middle-hope.html"> click here</a>.</div><br />Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-25004214025818166022024-02-04T14:24:00.000+00:002024-02-04T14:24:32.560+00:00My Father & the Runaway Plane (April, 1955)<p>Whilst working at RAF Thorney Island my father witnessed a rather unusual incident - one that ended in tragedy when a stolen Vickers Varsity training aircraft crashed near Valenciennes in France, killing three civilians and injuring three others. During the subsequent Court of Inquiry my father, a meteorologist, gave evidence about the weather conditions prevailing at the time. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREpvIJBozDbtFF7tdRPpQj4MIdY4hH3WMytAeaI8WEs9Pcyqt0gE0GqvjCGvOjxcUMS0MESUkyeChg0U-dNhKHFj8NRQNkJa-XMWZBO7sQMVOqAmd43Eu0qC2EVITO3vtEQrYRlLBo6jZMsIzo51W3uUrdDmCdaPKBWxb0Wp8ffbUACpKvH0vRs5EmHM/s4032/IMG_0420.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREpvIJBozDbtFF7tdRPpQj4MIdY4hH3WMytAeaI8WEs9Pcyqt0gE0GqvjCGvOjxcUMS0MESUkyeChg0U-dNhKHFj8NRQNkJa-XMWZBO7sQMVOqAmd43Eu0qC2EVITO3vtEQrYRlLBo6jZMsIzo51W3uUrdDmCdaPKBWxb0Wp8ffbUACpKvH0vRs5EmHM/s320/IMG_0420.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contemporary newspaper reports</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The story is a strange one. At 7 pm on 25th April a Royal Air Force Varsity aircraft took off from RAF Thorney Island, piloted by Leading Aircraftsman Nanik Agnani, an Indian national. No flight plan had been logged, and the departure was not authorised. Indeed, Agnani had failed his Pilot Training Course on account of poor eyesight - he was reported by one journalist as wearing very think glasses, although this was not evident in a head and shoulders mugshot which also featured in subsequent newspaper reports. As the pilot of the stolen aircraft struggled to gain height virtually everyone on the station - 650 in all - turned out to watch the spectacle. </div><p>A contemporary newspaper report reported that a twenty year old ground-crew airman, 'Nick, Agnani, took off in a twenty seater training plane and was later seen speeding across London at an altitude which occasionally dipped to 200 feet. Apparently Agnani had fuelled the aircraft up for an eight hour run, leading some to suggest that he was looking to fly the aircraft back to his home town on the sub-continent. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQcreXTuqcOkJm8WbiCbklEmrx8V5cHcKk372jfBQiQiqo7j3cLuOR58wLFHynfYNJF-hIA7vxNvl70ZkYJ0syUdfmj-lBJLszRmNkxYV6kBLVEO7pY5YlyQALvdN_48gXyE02gTJH-Sc7Xp6JbU8U3vUpeHj8LuHWLRpJwPHeGkTWVfUcj1IDkly2Ls/s2000/BAE%20Systems%20Varsity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="2000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQcreXTuqcOkJm8WbiCbklEmrx8V5cHcKk372jfBQiQiqo7j3cLuOR58wLFHynfYNJF-hIA7vxNvl70ZkYJ0syUdfmj-lBJLszRmNkxYV6kBLVEO7pY5YlyQALvdN_48gXyE02gTJH-Sc7Xp6JbU8U3vUpeHj8LuHWLRpJwPHeGkTWVfUcj1IDkly2Ls/s320/BAE%20Systems%20Varsity.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vickers Varsity - Copyright BAE Systems</td></tr></tbody></table><p>After a failure to prevent the aircraft leaving the ground at Thorney Island through the positioning of a fire tender on the runway, another Varsity piloted by Flight Commander, Flight Lieutenant Smiles, set off in hot pursuit. Airfield landing lights were switched on at various locations in the vicinity but Smiles lost visual sight of his prey in failing light. At one point Smiles managed to get in front of the stolen aircraft and the other crew member, who was positioned in the Varsity's astrodome, said afterwards that at one point the two planes were within fifteen feet of one another. An eyewitness described the chase to a reporter shortly after the news broke.</p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTDRJg_dmGYfVBBaCou_fng8-X3yt8aRgnKPATS7wgtxIjmCZZyEMnKlp4KkSNUTM3hQ7pECFNZ5E1o7xBr3EGuWEzD9ubuLJCB-y_IHso5t6lhXKaarr4OKQMKhfPDo_FxeiqRXkiS5whpNWtDSMHeypTLYZ8ZfFrbEBrheXysGP6TEKitduwEV5F-g/s3837/IMG_0418.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3837" data-original-width="1731" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTDRJg_dmGYfVBBaCou_fng8-X3yt8aRgnKPATS7wgtxIjmCZZyEMnKlp4KkSNUTM3hQ7pECFNZ5E1o7xBr3EGuWEzD9ubuLJCB-y_IHso5t6lhXKaarr4OKQMKhfPDo_FxeiqRXkiS5whpNWtDSMHeypTLYZ8ZfFrbEBrheXysGP6TEKitduwEV5F-g/s320/IMG_0418.jpeg" width="144" /></a></i></div><i>It came low over the rooftops. It was in a semi-stalling condition, its' throttle seemed to be fixed, but the pilot kept altering the propellor pitch. I followed the plane with my binoculars, but I could not spot the pilot. He was obviously trying to gain height but kept stalling. He circled to the west of Chichester, over Bosham and Chidham, for about 15 minutes at 1,000 feet. Then a second Varsity appeared and started chasing the first one, going close to give either Aldis or hand signals. They went round and round west of Chichester, coming over Parklands about fifteen times. I expected the first Varsity to crash any minute, and thought it was someone trying to show off".</i><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7jH6HCyWfn3C4td_TrTtkMLonsrfCgXcmTi1tgHhjhw3vxrqTfEB68tw9GvTn4jnyZfl-ITl3YJmkkGxztOwMokatBsm_9Ybio_PribKiCd7WpxwI7fMcXACLV_0VMRv9Pwsg-L_RQrLyji2Qch4FaaNxHEyDUrHLrXEoWzVlMYWUmomUD6f-X51DhA/s2140/IMG_0419.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2005" data-original-width="2140" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7jH6HCyWfn3C4td_TrTtkMLonsrfCgXcmTi1tgHhjhw3vxrqTfEB68tw9GvTn4jnyZfl-ITl3YJmkkGxztOwMokatBsm_9Ybio_PribKiCd7WpxwI7fMcXACLV_0VMRv9Pwsg-L_RQrLyji2Qch4FaaNxHEyDUrHLrXEoWzVlMYWUmomUD6f-X51DhA/s320/IMG_0419.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The stolen Varsity was tracked by radar over the channel and was later spotted circling the military airfield at Trouvy-Valenciennes. The aiircraft lost height and 'exploded' into the side of a small house bringing down the roof and the walls. The house was in the tiny mining village of Vicq and the crash caused the death of three civilians and injuries to three others. Two of those killed, and the three injured, belonged to a Polish mining family. Stephen Skalecki, who had left his native Poland in 1929, lost two of his grandchildren - Vladislav and Stephanie. Madame Henriette Gillerand also lost her life in the stricken property. A tragic end to a foolish act.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclTkbbkUYT-RIqKMexK0h_gI9lbodX3ZgxzxhXHQ6I7RoEM91r84s26pZ2e9FVhWwmC5agGJADPwO4lKKk2aRotZfBCvInVs_7UX_uf3_7ESzr1TRMcFtxsGopYZ8u-XZ2-zS_vZU34Kc1DuZi3vmNaRJEZ7MMLF-WazufiGQjzuXJxA1JLZLxaS4b0A/s941/Argosy%20Thorney%20Island%20June%201966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="941" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiclTkbbkUYT-RIqKMexK0h_gI9lbodX3ZgxzxhXHQ6I7RoEM91r84s26pZ2e9FVhWwmC5agGJADPwO4lKKk2aRotZfBCvInVs_7UX_uf3_7ESzr1TRMcFtxsGopYZ8u-XZ2-zS_vZU34Kc1DuZi3vmNaRJEZ7MMLF-WazufiGQjzuXJxA1JLZLxaS4b0A/s320/Argosy%20Thorney%20Island%20June%201966.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armstrong Whitworth Argosy at RAF Thorney Island</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Court of Inquiry failed to discover the reason for Agnani's criminal act. One observer noted that Agnani had enough fuel for 1,700 miles but that India was 4,000 miles away. Other suggestions were that this was an act of treason with the pilot heading for a Warsaw Pact country, or that he was rebelling against his failure to attain a pilot license. Maybe it was simply the case that he was looking for excitement and took a rather extreme course to achieve it. Whether my fathers' meteorological evidence at the Inquiry contributed much to the understanding of what exactly happened is a moot point, but the fact that he kept the cuttings and wrote about the incident in his private diary demonstrates that it left quite an impression on him.</p>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-36490746987380324792024-01-22T21:21:00.006+00:002024-01-22T21:39:19.550+00:00Martin Middlebrook (1932-2024)<p> I was saddened to hear about the death of Martin Middlebrook today. Most people can point to two or three individuals who, outside of family, have had a profound impact on their life. For me, one of those people was Martin Middlebrook whom I first met through my father in the 1980s. There are three occasions when acts of kindness by Martin had a particular influence on my interest in military history and for which I am very grateful. Indeed, had I not known Martin I may not have ended up doing a Masters in the subject. Let me elucidate.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlq_IX8qsWJEgC9HItqyFXEDtdI1idYYjbpv8iIEeEfkRZYJuaP1j51HPThWVdBZVkxqHbg9za0aTNRRYvSt4y5QDCSRtawhroJnrdUVsRILNPB0kmzWPyigu_yqKk3qiVDaWJD2peaZHbitSePwbgKiFWJswgTRm_SpzgpRCHNV9hqJy7YGCCmlPgXLo/s5712/IMG_0356.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4284" data-original-width="5712" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlq_IX8qsWJEgC9HItqyFXEDtdI1idYYjbpv8iIEeEfkRZYJuaP1j51HPThWVdBZVkxqHbg9za0aTNRRYvSt4y5QDCSRtawhroJnrdUVsRILNPB0kmzWPyigu_yqKk3qiVDaWJD2peaZHbitSePwbgKiFWJswgTRm_SpzgpRCHNV9hqJy7YGCCmlPgXLo/s320/IMG_0356.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collection of Martin Middlebrook books - all signed</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I think Martin's friendship with my father developed over a mutual interest in Bomber Command and the old airfields of Lincolnshire. Martin and his good friend and business partner, Mike Hodgson, had a passion for aviation heritage and since our family lived adjacent to the old 617 Squadron airfield at Woodhall Spa it was perhaps inevitable that paths would cross. It was a while before I got to know Martin notwithstanding the fact that he was good friends with my father (I had left home by then). However my first reading of Martin's magnificent book 'The First Day on the Somme: 1 July 1916' changed all that and when my father asked me to join Martin and himself on a trip to the old battlefields of the Western Front I jumped at the opportunity.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwMOHuZY0xbVij8fkUG94tH3RF4eznwYv4JtV1YVETrsaO6uI2uOANvrOK751RfWFSdZBoamVsz_Vkq9kjU4DWKGPnaf89FcWUtEtthL976X4KV2sOKSCrZ4UdSWXc-jHP_Vv1P0bHXR7y0DOb-9Cf-GPd0X61qmQOhdULBi7idLtfSY4SQ5ocIq6izGU/s1153/Martin%20Middlebrook%20-%20Somme%20Walking%20Tour%20-%201994%2031%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1153" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwMOHuZY0xbVij8fkUG94tH3RF4eznwYv4JtV1YVETrsaO6uI2uOANvrOK751RfWFSdZBoamVsz_Vkq9kjU4DWKGPnaf89FcWUtEtthL976X4KV2sOKSCrZ4UdSWXc-jHP_Vv1P0bHXR7y0DOb-9Cf-GPd0X61qmQOhdULBi7idLtfSY4SQ5ocIq6izGU/s320/Martin%20Middlebrook%20-%20Somme%20Walking%20Tour%20-%201994%2031%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lochnager - A special place for Martin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>It was on the way out to France that the first act of kindness occurred. In the 90s I taught myself HTML code and built myself a website - it was all very new and exciting back in the day. I had moved to Swavesey in Cambridgeshire by then and had decided to research the names on the local war memorial. There were two 1st July 1916 casualties and in telling their stories I had acknowledged Martin's book. It really touched me when Martin produced copies of the website pages which he had put into an A4 booklet and which he asked me to sign. What an inspiration for a start-up researcher - to receive that sort of encouragement!</div><div><br /></div><div>We toured Martin's favourite places and I remember him getting particularly emotional at Lochnager where he described a man being shot in the head. Apparently, an eye witnesses saw a trail of red blood against the white chalk from the lip of the crater right down to the bottom where the man had rolled down to his last resting place. </div><div><br /></div><div>Later, in a second act of encouragement Martin had noted my interest in the 11th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment and took time to take me through his research notes for the veterans from the Battalion whom he had spoken to prior to writing his first book.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEify7rZd-GDI-Qt_6o0WWi4rRyjOxUulf66OTv6IECRR1-kn11YxvDWNvHGipmxPrsC13PabFy0y162wDSBU-kJzztxNqmaqKSva0LCl0R9plrEtnB5j4v0XrJWP9GhSVwsNZyZHaB7Injd4byRz0ALnNslAP9Hb-7c7cbC4eEpZcaPqEVFoZ-bbZcQWeo/s1708/Screenshot%202024-01-22%20at%2020.42.03.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1708" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEify7rZd-GDI-Qt_6o0WWi4rRyjOxUulf66OTv6IECRR1-kn11YxvDWNvHGipmxPrsC13PabFy0y162wDSBU-kJzztxNqmaqKSva0LCl0R9plrEtnB5j4v0XrJWP9GhSVwsNZyZHaB7Injd4byRz0ALnNslAP9Hb-7c7cbC4eEpZcaPqEVFoZ-bbZcQWeo/s320/Screenshot%202024-01-22%20at%2020.42.03.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example Question for 'The First Day'</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Martin always described himself as 'just a chicken farmer' and had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder about professional military historians. He probably had cause, as his knowledge and expertise was not fully recognised until much later. For the 'First Day on the Somme', Martin went through phone books to track down every veteran he could find. He then sent out a letter and questionnaire to all that he was able to find addresses for. The first page of the questionnaire asked for biographical information but it was the second page which provided the insight for the book: 'Please give details of what YOU saw on 1st July 1916'. This sort of empirical analysis was a first and the book was a tour-de-force.</div><div><br /></div><div>Martin used the same technique for his follow up 'The Kaiser's Battle' and his numerous books on Bomber Command. Living in Boston, Lincolnshire, he was well connected with the RAF veterans who lived nearby. He shared my fathers' anger that Bomber Command had been treated so shoddily after the end of the Second World War. Books such as the Berlin Raids, the Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission, the Battle of Hamburg, the Peenemunde Raid and the Nuremburg Raid are unsurpassed. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuMRBos7aFv3Xsz4IZT7H7trVoLjrz13rrCFMJ6oWpwJTOiewInAUAPXCvY2KwXuaRLKZ6B0rh3_OSR2R0_p9Lam-xXb1nv_qsx8jOzWZu-5RBAxLmVMEa-JKI5C3SSEdznrfsl6nQ-w8-rcrbeh0xOr0KsxOBRztqw6hfjowFduuaZvMCGCkZ3SEG7s/s1160/Martin%20Middlebrook%20-%20Somme%20Walking%20Tour%20-%201994%206%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="1160" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuMRBos7aFv3Xsz4IZT7H7trVoLjrz13rrCFMJ6oWpwJTOiewInAUAPXCvY2KwXuaRLKZ6B0rh3_OSR2R0_p9Lam-xXb1nv_qsx8jOzWZu-5RBAxLmVMEa-JKI5C3SSEdznrfsl6nQ-w8-rcrbeh0xOr0KsxOBRztqw6hfjowFduuaZvMCGCkZ3SEG7s/s320/Martin%20Middlebrook%20-%20Somme%20Walking%20Tour%20-%201994%206%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Martin's hand-drawn maps</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I once asked him about his favourite book, and he naturally had an affection for 'The First Day on the Somme' which coincidentally was his best seller. Also for the Somme guidebook which he wrote with his wife Mary, 'The Somme Battlefields: A Comprehensive Guide from Crecy to the World Wars'. He was less happy with his collaborative work, 'Battleship: The Loss of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse' and whilst proud of 'Arnhem 1944: The Airborne Battle', was disappointed with the reaction he got from some of the veterans. I think upon reflection he felt he had been over critical of the attempts to break through at the St Elizabeths Hospital. For his book 'The Fight for the Malvinas: The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War' Martin tracked down and interviewed Argentinian veterans - a novel approach which resulted in a an excellent book which is sadly under-appreciated.</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6kzwQpT4zxI2oqb_SeiZTQt1IVXfMIpyWxsm0kk7uXzNVkSeR4yOUQBP6_2lbQWUsaum_GAaPdLtNtQIvmEdfil0amNJq-1gWyg4XRuu7c5rkhIe06Z6MPkgrgywvfmwZs-NwuMo752zZQ1iCSbT2lgTL00gnc5sn4CTXpkfvK1Jtre-gvRlCTLkQ8k/s2370/IMG_0357.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2370" data-original-width="911" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6kzwQpT4zxI2oqb_SeiZTQt1IVXfMIpyWxsm0kk7uXzNVkSeR4yOUQBP6_2lbQWUsaum_GAaPdLtNtQIvmEdfil0amNJq-1gWyg4XRuu7c5rkhIe06Z6MPkgrgywvfmwZs-NwuMo752zZQ1iCSbT2lgTL00gnc5sn4CTXpkfvK1Jtre-gvRlCTLkQ8k/s320/IMG_0357.jpeg" width="123" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">The final act of kindness was the result of a phone call I got from Martin in late 1999. He was researching what I think was his final book, 'Your Country Needs You: Expansion of the British Army 1914-1918' and he asked me a couple of questions - which perhaps surprisingly I was able to answer. He sent me a signed copy of the book and I was touched to see that he had acknowledged my extremely modest contribution within the pages.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Martin's elevation to a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1984 was something that pleased him greatly though he didn't make it obvious. Recognition for a body of work which has inspired so many people, like me, to learn more about the nature of conflict from the point of view of the man in the trench, or in the cockpit or on the deck. Martin Middlebrook will be missed but his legacy lives on in the books that he has left and the primary source documents whch he has deposited at the Imperial War Museum. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Rest in Peace Martin. </span></div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div></div><div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-66172823232168096582023-12-30T16:48:00.008+00:002023-12-31T09:56:44.028+00:00My Father and the Soviet Spy (1968)<p>On the 13th September 1968 my father, Mike Curme, had arrived at his workplace at 399 Signal Unit, RAF Digby, as normal. Security was, as ever, extremely tight - indeed a high security clearance was required to get into the building. This was hardly surprising given the work my father and his colleagues were undertaking 24/7, 365 days per year. For 399 Signals Unit was the RAF arm of the GCHQ security establishment - originating in Bletchley Park and subsequently consolidated into custom built secure buildings in Cheltenham Gloucestershire. This particular day was destined to be far from ordinary however.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnCbuL_nWNvQnjloidKcMYiAGVC0Dh7Vh5hO7uXU2h9LtnnvPWfF5hC0azxmUTt_R4e5G99p6Xn1rOKLmxS-FpoYnsxJXmHjzjjKxPu2k1EK4g43IHbRDtsq0hCIt9zBIiKgQvPBxR1_4A_f5IdHntejUdKKuaXhgernvwXSPrtyspNONSCELVdPF1hU/s3438/Digby.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2603" data-original-width="3438" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnCbuL_nWNvQnjloidKcMYiAGVC0Dh7Vh5hO7uXU2h9LtnnvPWfF5hC0azxmUTt_R4e5G99p6Xn1rOKLmxS-FpoYnsxJXmHjzjjKxPu2k1EK4g43IHbRDtsq0hCIt9zBIiKgQvPBxR1_4A_f5IdHntejUdKKuaXhgernvwXSPrtyspNONSCELVdPF1hU/s320/Digby.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RAF Digby House Journal / 399 Signals Unit Plaque</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In later years, my father was able to give some insight into the work he was doing and since his death I have learnt more from his U.S. National Security Agency counterpart, Tim Weekley, who served with him at GCHQ in Cheltenham through until the 1990s. Whilst at Digby my father, who had trained as a meteorologist, was mainly concerned with providing regular weather reports to Bomber Command in order to inform targeting decisions for the UK V-bomber force - the stand-by Vulcan Squadron at RAF Waddington. Over the years his work gravitated towards more specialist intelligence activities - primarily interpreting decoded Soviet weather reports in order to identify movements and changes in the deployment of Warsaw Pact military assets - for example the location of submarines or the construction or expansion of airfields.</p><p>So why was 13th September 1968 different to any other day? </p><p>Shortly after 9:00am, the base was locked down by the military police and one of the team, RAF Sergeant and Signals Chief Technician Douglas Britten, was arrested on charges of espionage. The full story emerged during Britten's trial a couple of months later and was published in a number of contemporary newspapers, copies of which were retained by my father whose opportunity to appear as a key prosecution witness was curtailed when, during the trial presided over by Lord Chief Justice Hubert Parker, the defendant declared himself guilty (thereby receiving a reduced jail sentence of 21 years).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDcmv9KXnKYy9bx2r-op6mnhgjNi79C9zZ9ZdJC7mUnIqOeaCmvY1SJZEKe5BIN8uzndXMlofe92RdnQCir06o7QHBvb3Lucm7W0shTbPUAdLRlr8HIQBJS_u-XmC9gPx0qDsLq7odqhv6ULr96FUJArkT_Web6fUHGKKpwzaIoARFPPteMXC81nVzvs/s1408/Master%20and%20Tool.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1408" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDcmv9KXnKYy9bx2r-op6mnhgjNi79C9zZ9ZdJC7mUnIqOeaCmvY1SJZEKe5BIN8uzndXMlofe92RdnQCir06o7QHBvb3Lucm7W0shTbPUAdLRlr8HIQBJS_u-XmC9gPx0qDsLq7odqhv6ULr96FUJArkT_Web6fUHGKKpwzaIoARFPPteMXC81nVzvs/s320/Master%20and%20Tool.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Traitor and his Soviet Contact</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Britten, an amateur radio enthusiast was first approached by a member of staff from the Soviet Embassy in the Science Museum, London. Feigning an interest in a particular radio part, Britten agreed to sell the required component. With his marriage failing and with major financial difficulties, Britten passed on some low grade snippets of information thus opening himself to blackmail. The combination of the threat of exposure and substantial amounts of cash was enough for Britten to betray his country. Over the cause of six years - firstly in Cyprus and subsequently in Lincolnshire - Britten sought out sensitive information for his Soviet masters. As the relationship deepened so, allegedly, did the pressure - with his minders threatening to kill Britten and / or harm his family. Frustrated with the quality of information that Britten was providing the emphasis moved to identifying key personnel whose proclivities were likely to make them susceptible to blackmail - financial problems, extra-marital affairs, gambling habits, all were levers that skilled Soviet agents could pull on. Britten was eventually caught when his Soviet contact failed to make a drop and he decided to hand-deliver a sheaf of documents to the Soviet Embassy (an act of monumental stupidity, fortuitous though it was). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyz28im0ZH6YrdvwOY-sWcnHglM9xWiLSSugonGCzcHGhdc0G4eGUNDPZbYvGDeQCsGKmhT9grs-1YMlB_9MnR6EVFC9P17raA5M6rV-vegYCFn-rY_k8q7eJaUb7Dro8LhHDjUQnp-HUTQGaSiGfPehWWTR9PVWKOL5LtVtCKdmiGyDNBKmgAE3F4fZ4/s3052/IMG_0232.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2962" data-original-width="3052" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyz28im0ZH6YrdvwOY-sWcnHglM9xWiLSSugonGCzcHGhdc0G4eGUNDPZbYvGDeQCsGKmhT9grs-1YMlB_9MnR6EVFC9P17raA5M6rV-vegYCFn-rY_k8q7eJaUb7Dro8LhHDjUQnp-HUTQGaSiGfPehWWTR9PVWKOL5LtVtCKdmiGyDNBKmgAE3F4fZ4/s320/IMG_0232.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>According to the Daily Express, espionage equipment found at Britten's home included a time-table of Soviet radio broadcasts, a book of call signs and a list of one time code words. In a side panel of his Volvo car, investigators found a spy camera disguised s a cigarette case. It worked with a mirror and lens, 9mm film in a tiny capsule and a tiny dry battery. Interviews with Britten revealed a catalogue of dead drop locations, protocols for meetings and details of what information the Soviets were looking for. For example when meeting with his minder, Yuri (actually Alexandra Ivanovitch Borinsko, nominally First Secretary in the Cultural department of the Soviet Embassy in London) at Arnos Grove near Southgate on 14th January 1967, Britten was to carry a copy of Autocar magazine under his arm. When asked the way to Edmonton Cemetery he was to answer "You catch a 219 bus" and the contact would answer "Greetings from Cyprus". My late father was adamant that one drop point was in Sleaford, Lincolnshire but since he was not called to testify at the trial this insight never reached the public domain.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDL-5w7fzlqI5mnjXwH-4XX4RqqDq7y3NApT_ROJE5HmlYB_ETlxOnWPoT-9w9yXphDlPbWRHvvFL8NkO2d_q3m5PQfhF0WMsoDrrg69D0d-Zbgl-GYQssKL2AP_XS0ftR46sf6LTHWO4TRaQApwkQFDcvDnhkgVcBdAP3RmOmcnGQW_gwSg8BEbQCk8/s3840/Michael%20Curme%20-%20Meteorologist%20-%20RAF%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="2750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDL-5w7fzlqI5mnjXwH-4XX4RqqDq7y3NApT_ROJE5HmlYB_ETlxOnWPoT-9w9yXphDlPbWRHvvFL8NkO2d_q3m5PQfhF0WMsoDrrg69D0d-Zbgl-GYQssKL2AP_XS0ftR46sf6LTHWO4TRaQApwkQFDcvDnhkgVcBdAP3RmOmcnGQW_gwSg8BEbQCk8/s320/Michael%20Curme%20-%20Meteorologist%20-%20RAF%20copy.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My father (right) RAF Thorney Island</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In August 1999, the U.S. CIA record of these events was made available to researchers. The document records that two Soviet Embassy officials were recalled after Britten's arrest - the handler Borisenko on 20th September 1968 and his comrade Col. Valentin Elistratov in November. Furthermore, the report reveal that the landlord of the digs were the Russians were staying said "They left unexpectedly at the same time, with hardly any notice". The report goes on to say, rather pointedly, that the size of the Soviet Embassy diplomat roster had grown to 79 (a yr on yr increase of 12) but that there had been no commensurate increase in Anglo-Soviet trade. Clearly the uncovering of Britten's duplicity and the even more impactful spying activities of Geoffrey Prime another GCHQ based traitor were demanding more embassy resources! The two cases prompted a major overhaul of security but there was no blame attributed to the positive vetting procedures which Britten, my father and others were subjected to at the time. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">An interesting footnote: Cognisant of her sons' rather dangerous profession, in 1979 my Grandmother wrote to the UK Prime Minister, James Callaghan, expressing her concern about nuclear weapons. The PMs' cabinet colleague, William Rogers, replied "I am sure we are all deeply distressed by the need for nuclear weapons, wherever they may be". He went on to say that an adequate defence must be maintained and that "following the recent decision of NATO Ministers*, positive steps will be taken to which the Soviet Union will feel able to respond". </span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">*Salt II.</span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A further footnote: My mother remembers my father coming home on the day of the arrest, and all he said was "Douglas Britten kept looking over my shoulder to see what I was doing". He was very shocked. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-11834713331510014072023-12-11T11:49:00.005+00:002023-12-12T17:11:05.308+00:00Oddball's Tank (1970)The scene in the 1970 film Kelly's Heroes, where three Sherman tanks emerge from a railway tunnel and destroy a German Army camp, is a highlight from one of my favourite World War II movies. Operating ten miles behind lines the three tanks, commanded by the eccentric hippy Sgt Oddball, are on a quest for 14,000 bars of gold along with Infantry Private Kelly himself, played by Clint Eastwood. Kelly, who had been busted down to a Private from the rank of Lieutenant led a platoon which included Sergeant 'Big Joe' portrayed brilliantly by Telly Savalas. Whilst on a family holiday on the lower Danube recently my ears pricked up when I heard that we would be visiting Novi Sad in Serbia. I'd read recently that Oddball's tank is still parked up in the town.<div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5ElvCFR8VVVQZeoXwApbffxVtsiqZM-gJKuYCdn8IzW2VTUIb1vl40P5K7Jl4a8V7Zt72s5USQDWTW2oc2ASGANODqh6gObb7RP0Be731HSt_QvnohJ1GazQ7wnK4uONAMA6EQeFIZUkp6oJlLLdjZ14nOaokc16fXoCwk5Bt4j7elxMQ1M4LwWaQHw/s5184/IMG_0470.JPG" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5ElvCFR8VVVQZeoXwApbffxVtsiqZM-gJKuYCdn8IzW2VTUIb1vl40P5K7Jl4a8V7Zt72s5USQDWTW2oc2ASGANODqh6gObb7RP0Be731HSt_QvnohJ1GazQ7wnK4uONAMA6EQeFIZUkp6oJlLLdjZ14nOaokc16fXoCwk5Bt4j7elxMQ1M4LwWaQHw/s320/IMG_0470.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oddball's Tank. Or is it?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />
</div><div>Eschewing the local tourist attractions (such as they are), my wife and I set off to track down the tank. Sure enough, we found the Sherman outside the Museum of Modern Art near the waterfront. It's in a sorry state and sits next to a number of WWII era artillery pieces. Apparently 599 Sherman M4A3E4 Sherman Tanks were taken on by the Yugoslavian Nation Army (JNA) under the U.S. instigated Mutual Defence Aid Programme. They were taken out of service in 1966 and whilst most were scrapped, some were retained - including three that were used in the 1970 film Kelly's Heroes.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVNJAriYnTPy6xmfmuHPdU96KnPknuHHic4zyInFOhRkzATeoQcM3BJT6Evjc37hRCRQmiojx0VZ9WBWFeLRKjIUeb6hEF2DyValmuXdkrhU9N-22n5I1dXVg3wbyWfqov0MGOwaGGFy8Jg-sAXjh2tZdyMW1tBjl2MimE8xmxdtbCvGn9U_bM_XMEHo/s2891/IMG_0739.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="2891" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVNJAriYnTPy6xmfmuHPdU96KnPknuHHic4zyInFOhRkzATeoQcM3BJT6Evjc37hRCRQmiojx0VZ9WBWFeLRKjIUeb6hEF2DyValmuXdkrhU9N-22n5I1dXVg3wbyWfqov0MGOwaGGFy8Jg-sAXjh2tZdyMW1tBjl2MimE8xmxdtbCvGn9U_bM_XMEHo/s320/IMG_0739.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly's Heroes - Command Tank</td></tr></tbody></table><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzrGqPCxg-y8khTJch0NTlNYXeYayQNUPzXS-fQwnZSgz4B0NgxQwNkdynE4vgiJlvcrCZTc-NHF88XyyjUQCdOSb1gkKx92cq1cw2e7vR2rsO6hT2JEJpR3mSNyVZA-fCBBp5tC8CQwXJnYzEJNOW7aLr0F_MInp8RwePmNlEbyinU0SbN0Pwwu7jzQ/s3193/IMG_0741.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="3193" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzrGqPCxg-y8khTJch0NTlNYXeYayQNUPzXS-fQwnZSgz4B0NgxQwNkdynE4vgiJlvcrCZTc-NHF88XyyjUQCdOSb1gkKx92cq1cw2e7vR2rsO6hT2JEJpR3mSNyVZA-fCBBp5tC8CQwXJnYzEJNOW7aLr0F_MInp8RwePmNlEbyinU0SbN0Pwwu7jzQ/s320/IMG_0741.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oddball - avoiding negative waves!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>The film is set in France in late 1944 and the three Shermans were pretty authentic, sporting as they did, the 1944 pattern 76mm gun. The Tiger tanks which appear later in the film are carefully modified Soviet T34s - notwithstanding the care that went into the modifications for the film the big giveaway is that their turrets are set much to far forward on the tanks' chassis. Oddball had made a number of bizarre modifications to his command tank in the film. Firstly, a large loudspeaker was affixed to the turret (during the aforementioned tunnel attack, the loudspeaker is blasting out 'All for the love of sunshine' by Hank Williams Junior). Secondly, in some scenes metal tubing was added to the gun to make it look like the calibre was more than 76mm. Thirdly, munitions were modified to fire red paint (which came as a surprise to a Tiger Tank commander towards the end of the film).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5guKybKvYdHZfUeccK95GvPG2ZbDPzzVTk8jl0GZTCkj3bPWBHu2XVy1WYWNvVOefG2lLfSXS7hyuKmz_fQovj8xIwSnHXPMgalel7QicsP9dnTaMr1icm2v5xfkRrZSjPr9h60dNQIAdar6UNwRKnc0v5o-ghRjdGBiFgZbZAFjiPt0Q-J5CxDbpRI/s5184/IMG_0471.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5guKybKvYdHZfUeccK95GvPG2ZbDPzzVTk8jl0GZTCkj3bPWBHu2XVy1WYWNvVOefG2lLfSXS7hyuKmz_fQovj8xIwSnHXPMgalel7QicsP9dnTaMr1icm2v5xfkRrZSjPr9h60dNQIAdar6UNwRKnc0v5o-ghRjdGBiFgZbZAFjiPt0Q-J5CxDbpRI/s320/IMG_0471.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Novi Sad - Sherman Tank</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Kelly's Heroes was filmed in the picturesque Croatian village of Vizinada on the Istrian Peninsula. Obviously, in 1970 Croatia was part of the Republic of Yugoslavia and so it is entirely feasible that the tank should end up where it is. There are plenty of references to the Novi Sad tank having been used in Kelly's Heroes but are there any clues to nail this down definitively? One thing is clear in that the tank is not the one that Oddball rode in and which featured predominantly in the film. That tank was D68454, whereas the Novi Sad tank is designated 822 (see magnified portion on the photo below). </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOu13QBNC8a9_IJHUQFEjFWH-kYCLchSbg_IQ88_zUqyRM6r6g6T615QR69eKowUKZQ3x860Cwbof4gM4PdjRE8MoIPoT652Ks7JGG82MMVANH0nWjZXO4S-Ucjd-MvEpDHZKMA9EbXnv5kRdXAW4KmU0yBhzr9kt1ylnOXlW0rGDdRqDtlWDZlwKxfo/s3856/IMG_0744.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2050" data-original-width="3856" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOu13QBNC8a9_IJHUQFEjFWH-kYCLchSbg_IQ88_zUqyRM6r6g6T615QR69eKowUKZQ3x860Cwbof4gM4PdjRE8MoIPoT652Ks7JGG82MMVANH0nWjZXO4S-Ucjd-MvEpDHZKMA9EbXnv5kRdXAW4KmU0yBhzr9kt1ylnOXlW0rGDdRqDtlWDZlwKxfo/s320/IMG_0744.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Command Tank - Kelly's Heroes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteEH-jh9-Nei9NshIX9oKsMSXFwNeW_kEUQzWRfM7cSD0H4s_O2guYCsi9asvSjQtVOhnaXo3JlE6z980fCvWG5yCq2lW5l_vwvqXcHLKrJCdOgXcXojHi1bud0AHPRBQHqFfh-RishZB-_mIqFgsYVkby73yfXOSinMDlxtWPrRzwkjgDPZ9IYBlmV8/s740/Screenshot%202023-12-11%20at%2011.29.22.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="740" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteEH-jh9-Nei9NshIX9oKsMSXFwNeW_kEUQzWRfM7cSD0H4s_O2guYCsi9asvSjQtVOhnaXo3JlE6z980fCvWG5yCq2lW5l_vwvqXcHLKrJCdOgXcXojHi1bud0AHPRBQHqFfh-RishZB-_mIqFgsYVkby73yfXOSinMDlxtWPrRzwkjgDPZ9IYBlmV8/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-11%20at%2011.29.22.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Novi Sad Sherman - 822</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Where does this leave us? Well, notwithstanding the fact that the tank was not the one driven by Oddball, it is entirely feasible that it was one of the other two featured in the film. Sadly, I've not been able to hit the pause button quickly enough to spot the turret numbers in the movie but I think there is enough circumstantial evidence to conclude that there is a link. As for Oddball's tank - it's probably parked up in the garage of the mansion he bought with his share of the loot. But then again, he did trade it up for a Tiger at the end of the film. I guess we'll never know!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-5229971432917125802023-12-07T17:06:00.002+00:002023-12-07T22:35:00.431+00:00The Siege of Vukovar (1991)<p> Nowadays it is possible to cruise the River Danube's lower stretches, apart from the point at which it reaches the sea where the delta area is dangerously close to the current conflict in Ukraine. The journey from Budapest traverses four countries - Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. It also winds its' way through areas that were fought over during what the Serbians call the 'Yugoslavian Civil War' and the Croatians call the 'Croatian Homeland War of Independence'. The Croatian town of Vukovar is pleasant enough nowadays, but in 1991 it suffered an 87 day siege and attracted the epithet 'the Stalingrad of the Balkans'.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5dVZ3sviHt12rDqHj0zNZpUlPEoziICyhR9h6zTkAuqe3op_EptLM7Dg3qwwmD3ekeMc_yZ_fNyQZd4v4SupQEHI18zKwTrPMrxYr5m0JeB3x_SIpmTPyqOEKLmfeDO96C5anB0NMO-bsem3rv-ms2W-GeToIJqNWcDH4t3Dggi53Y0z65TMBrIsD5I/s1920/IMG_9992%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5dVZ3sviHt12rDqHj0zNZpUlPEoziICyhR9h6zTkAuqe3op_EptLM7Dg3qwwmD3ekeMc_yZ_fNyQZd4v4SupQEHI18zKwTrPMrxYr5m0JeB3x_SIpmTPyqOEKLmfeDO96C5anB0NMO-bsem3rv-ms2W-GeToIJqNWcDH4t3Dggi53Y0z65TMBrIsD5I/s320/IMG_9992%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Vukovar from the River Danube</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> The tragedy of the Balkan upheaval following Tito's death still resonates today. Whilst Croatia is enjoying renewed prosperity - partly through its' membership of the EU, tensions remain in the region. Some a human legacy of the conflict and others concerned with disputed geography and issues of self-determination - in particular Kosovo. However, with just a few hours to visit the town, my focus was on an imposing waterside structure which the Croatians have elevated to the status of a national icon - the Vukovar Water Tower.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPwA9HpLw5I8DeG48qQTedB1kqFIixej1Z7LefEQZg7fmawzsDUzaYnYO5UPDSlzUIZ3oeIzNE1txKEyHCfgqvfAhfP15o96vc_SH1LD1pNIgMqEjJLjp-EpFHt4mIFuoOejA1xwAc92FFvtj-OxnPdqdhUaFEx4g2MrhlKKx6k5XvBTIxIPVWqikmHo/s4191/IMG_9954%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3098" data-original-width="4191" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPwA9HpLw5I8DeG48qQTedB1kqFIixej1Z7LefEQZg7fmawzsDUzaYnYO5UPDSlzUIZ3oeIzNE1txKEyHCfgqvfAhfP15o96vc_SH1LD1pNIgMqEjJLjp-EpFHt4mIFuoOejA1xwAc92FFvtj-OxnPdqdhUaFEx4g2MrhlKKx6k5XvBTIxIPVWqikmHo/s320/IMG_9954%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vukovar Water Tower comparison chart</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiis1od5GKRT6ryjnKI521HxusIPGE5SVPvf79lKrLoAJmccx33M1Utc_yByxRAb0W1vGhNtKstNfp5675s4YWX240S_rPgFCO_WBeafPsRvHUdVh4INAaFVV5q_ziiEr7vcUAzjnCmDQ3UJj9HofGGuJqit3sp22cm5Z1ExqO18cPmVqAvGACyBnaaRAs/s5184/IMG_9976%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5184" data-original-width="3888" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiis1od5GKRT6ryjnKI521HxusIPGE5SVPvf79lKrLoAJmccx33M1Utc_yByxRAb0W1vGhNtKstNfp5675s4YWX240S_rPgFCO_WBeafPsRvHUdVh4INAaFVV5q_ziiEr7vcUAzjnCmDQ3UJj9HofGGuJqit3sp22cm5Z1ExqO18cPmVqAvGACyBnaaRAs/s320/IMG_9976%20copy.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vukovar Water Tower</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Those under siege were defended by elements of the Croatian National Defence force. Croatia had declared independence and the Serbian controlled Yugoslav National Army (JNA) assisted by Serbia irregular troops sought to capture this strategically important town. Arguing that they needed to protect the minority Serbian population, the JNA used maximum force to take Vukova and the surrounding settlements. The bomb and artillery strikes are still evident in that there are many shattered homes and factories in the vinicity.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSX3y_VbdjYtT2iQpziOnnYvh9e58i-xgaXpHjHtTV8HIP9T1YWR7CqtYBNs4XWNd3fdbSODwtPSK7MLoWc0hG-inTpwUoEdAtTNbWEm0heZsQyVRQ2uxlJsps-dnFtzJDeTe7vc64uXCdsu4Bwi4ZXo7QFn6Ns2QT6X0OHi1D5E_uzr9waSzrwgoQ30Y/s5184/IMG_9936%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSX3y_VbdjYtT2iQpziOnnYvh9e58i-xgaXpHjHtTV8HIP9T1YWR7CqtYBNs4XWNd3fdbSODwtPSK7MLoWc0hG-inTpwUoEdAtTNbWEm0heZsQyVRQ2uxlJsps-dnFtzJDeTe7vc64uXCdsu4Bwi4ZXo7QFn6Ns2QT6X0OHi1D5E_uzr9waSzrwgoQ30Y/s320/IMG_9936%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Semi-derelict building in the centre of Vokovar</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The Water Tower is a fifteen minute walk from the centre of town - a walk that passes by facades damaged by shrapnel, plots once occupied by bombed out dwellings and wall murals celebrating Croatian war heroes and martyrs. Local legend has it that during the siege a local fighter climbed the smashed water tower every night after dusk in order to replace a Croatian flag which was regularly ripped apart by Serbian artillery fire. It was, apparently, an ideal sniper position. The shattered structure has been left in its' original state but an impressive iron framework has been erected inside - with several galley floors, audio-visual interpretation and a lift for easier access to the roof which now sports tiered terraces and a giant Croatian flag. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWPnv-pSE2Jwu3-fGq-sQh6nTCXZHL3nOnF6OvJbZgtL2-dNCndFOzULeLFdNt1eyToL4sxHNLoY6FSDFqqxBi4Ejnyne1pe_QpwZIwRto7OLyqeYUv3HXl8Aqz6vD2verTUipLjtHr7L19r9PG5MSQMNmnPMX2oKznaosKp5kfpCPPCLBPPVPu49B7c/s1414/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%2016.41.07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="1414" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWPnv-pSE2Jwu3-fGq-sQh6nTCXZHL3nOnF6OvJbZgtL2-dNCndFOzULeLFdNt1eyToL4sxHNLoY6FSDFqqxBi4Ejnyne1pe_QpwZIwRto7OLyqeYUv3HXl8Aqz6vD2verTUipLjtHr7L19r9PG5MSQMNmnPMX2oKznaosKp5kfpCPPCLBPPVPu49B7c/w400-h168/Screenshot%202023-12-07%20at%2016.41.07.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hero's Footsteps</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The exploits of the brave individual who climbed the tower every night are marked in a very literal way. Footprints embedded on the rooftop flag stand and a striking graphic at the bottom of the access stairs. The siege ended in a JNA victory notwithstanding the bravery of the Croatian defenders. In 1998 the town was consolidated into modern day Croatia after a period of political manoeuvring. Subsequent to the resumption of Croatian control evidence of was crimes was uncovered and two former JNA officers were convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal for their part in what is known as the Vukovar Massacre.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6Zy2B48pU38h8P76O56NsMGkeQaDYqaXPgK_0WnoLOx5CqkOKXJ_LJRHDcUUrK_vj6c7Up6_aifWUw9zX-wI7m6j7scFklhuPU9-5frYCgbzaLMBLw308SFoOEt2x6rxk4X7jfbq3YusuiQ4f3x5DZJh-a1zVtYapXn3F4JXPF0hrB4vJjotJAr103k/s5184/IMG_9958%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6Zy2B48pU38h8P76O56NsMGkeQaDYqaXPgK_0WnoLOx5CqkOKXJ_LJRHDcUUrK_vj6c7Up6_aifWUw9zX-wI7m6j7scFklhuPU9-5frYCgbzaLMBLw308SFoOEt2x6rxk4X7jfbq3YusuiQ4f3x5DZJh-a1zVtYapXn3F4JXPF0hrB4vJjotJAr103k/s320/IMG_9958%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot from Water Tower visual presentation</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I have read that the town is still divided along ethnic lines - Serbians on the one hand, and Croats on the other. One would hope that such divisions will dissipate over time and the fact that tourists are now regularly visiting, must be a positive - driving as it does, local employment and improved prosperity. </div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-39090210216165947622023-10-18T11:07:00.013+01:002023-10-19T07:24:23.853+01:00The Battle of Verdun - The Left Bank (1916)<p> In his post-war memoir 'General Headquarters 1914-1916 and its Critical Decisions' General Von Falkenhayn identified the flaw in the German plan for <i>Operation Gericht </i>(the attack on Verdun); namely that <i>the danger that as we got forward on the east bank of the Meuse we should come under a harassing, long-range flanking fire from the enemy artillery on the west bank was recognised. </i>Despite this concern the initial attack at Verdun went in on the east bank only, and the risk apparently identified, soon turned in to reality. Opinions differ as to why the German Army didn't attack on both sides simultaneously but the answer would seem to be a desire to concentrate the attack on one axis and a degree of complacency about the strength of the French defences.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmUoFWsRglG255MdnF2XFeCPmyUgzEL4FseQODp947hGZWjIHaI5KdXaW1wF_KwiK_n3FzDGrmV0A8f0HDGzf3lgKA-2_LNW6bhwmJBH8VQ9L9zJwdi1xZeGu8qCCFtj_oQ3CYcOq0dZQhx1TQFr2A8G2pxmvlNte9z9KYxxksxTfkzqXutVNxekahmk/s1920/IMG_8354.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmUoFWsRglG255MdnF2XFeCPmyUgzEL4FseQODp947hGZWjIHaI5KdXaW1wF_KwiK_n3FzDGrmV0A8f0HDGzf3lgKA-2_LNW6bhwmJBH8VQ9L9zJwdi1xZeGu8qCCFtj_oQ3CYcOq0dZQhx1TQFr2A8G2pxmvlNte9z9KYxxksxTfkzqXutVNxekahmk/s320/IMG_8354.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Mort Homme</i> from Chattancourt (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sure enough as the German assault butted up against the forts on the right bank, the French artillery on the <i>Mort Homme</i>, the <i>Cote de l'Oie</i> and <i>Cote 295 </i>exacted a heavy toll on the attackers. Within a couple of weeks of the initial attack, the German planners realised that in order to make progress, it would be necessary to eliminate the French artillery on their western flank. The key to the <i>Mort Homme </i>was <i>Cote 304 </i>and from late March until May both hills were repeatedly attacked. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVWVpJKhgI3-6dj6cRQ1Zc6rlFJ_z6M3ZQXGxdO3C4yR3h9LvKy-BTtybGjyhVv_kYv2228uZMSJc9eAYPRDwfXjuUeqmw3PHz6XqQNa53I_GcV59K6bjkZg2xDXrvgnnhIeXVSjiFf6G6Uk5MmhAuF74ONHXlfug0rc2eBCwQDux-FxvWI2bwCYXYzk/s1920/IMG_8377.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVWVpJKhgI3-6dj6cRQ1Zc6rlFJ_z6M3ZQXGxdO3C4yR3h9LvKy-BTtybGjyhVv_kYv2228uZMSJc9eAYPRDwfXjuUeqmw3PHz6XqQNa53I_GcV59K6bjkZg2xDXrvgnnhIeXVSjiFf6G6Uk5MmhAuF74ONHXlfug0rc2eBCwQDux-FxvWI2bwCYXYzk/s320/IMG_8377.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The southern face of the <i>Mort Homme</i> (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Using our trusty Michelin Guide 'Verdun and the battles for its possession' we left our hotel in the ideally situated town of Vacherauville and headed up towards the village of Chattancourt which sits just in front of the furthest point that the Germans advanced to during the battle - on the 24th May 1916. The top picture above shows the road up from the village to a French military cemetery (mainly containing North African troops). The French front line in May was on the edge of the tree line which can be seen just beyond the graves. A few hundred metres beyond the tree line is the high-point of the <i>Mort Homme, </i>now reputedly several metres lower than it was in 1916 due to the huge number of artillery strikes on the ridge. Indeed, if the nadir of the British experience during the First World War was Passchendaele in 1917 then the fight for the <i>Mort Homme, </i>eighteen months earlier might be considered the French equivalent. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaVa34kdEuQbJbe19snLCcyy3neSu78UHFcSIFNYe5AfPU3gn49lOlrWUnc2hSLQx5waE-QgOp_KpHuqrURlsvneMoECfBVlulo5lnbze40oh9DwFCM-h4wNSO_4W-0elie_bALM5TMHdQYWpFijx43jwBTfzaAsfl8drC9JHhFsad3EtkuuKXYWmwXU/s1920/IMG_8388.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaVa34kdEuQbJbe19snLCcyy3neSu78UHFcSIFNYe5AfPU3gn49lOlrWUnc2hSLQx5waE-QgOp_KpHuqrURlsvneMoECfBVlulo5lnbze40oh9DwFCM-h4wNSO_4W-0elie_bALM5TMHdQYWpFijx43jwBTfzaAsfl8drC9JHhFsad3EtkuuKXYWmwXU/s320/IMG_8388.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Iron Harvest - <i>Mort Homme </i>(Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyt514kDXxQK6YmsWvTR7jRBm752i_kEimR1GoQvnFESsXOx2pfrw-fxVLDDIdaIn0YxlQhdQa8RPuLtfEKNrRAxuyNtQo8AQKSo4rc5S0Nt_R6Cp8AJ_ecKgk82OT83OYcsbQdfvrkEUw2yuW6zZKRFTQkq5tALP8Bhf_MGKaUuAwQR4dzfWEQRjE5l8/s1920/IMG_8389.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyt514kDXxQK6YmsWvTR7jRBm752i_kEimR1GoQvnFESsXOx2pfrw-fxVLDDIdaIn0YxlQhdQa8RPuLtfEKNrRAxuyNtQo8AQKSo4rc5S0Nt_R6Cp8AJ_ecKgk82OT83OYcsbQdfvrkEUw2yuW6zZKRFTQkq5tALP8Bhf_MGKaUuAwQR4dzfWEQRjE5l8/s320/IMG_8389.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fuses - <i>Mort Homme</i> (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Unlike elsewhere on the old Western Front, most of the battlefield around Verdun was never returned to agriculture. Indeed, nine villages were never rebuilt and much of the surrounding land is fenced off and marked as the 'Red Zone' because of the abundance of live munitions which remain in the ground. There is the occasional ploughed field on the approaches to the ridges and the pictures above illustrate the danger that exists for the local farms who are seeking to cultivate the land. Unlike the right bank which has been developed to some extent for battlefield tourism, the left bank is quiet - sleepy villages, narrow roads and original regimental memorials scattered amongst the well-kept French military cemeteries. For the Germans, the key to taking the <i>Mort Homme </i>was <i>Cote (Hill) 304 </i>which directly abutted the main objective - divided by a shallow valley.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxlpf8eJZLmxe3VsbBEngFx_SPp62vbvev3YQ48iq5ZvubCg0gsfKQB1uSPAJUNC0itPcg5eaew99q3kdN87GO59_x4qyAKgMkFxFgMXRIOJYCakX7G-h1uIz3WkElQp3MBdySoDHh9Dts5844CDEtLnEO6aXjEvCe63eUZFynrKwt1OB7ZTOWutLTAY/s624/Cote%20304%20-%20Then%20&%20Now.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="462" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxlpf8eJZLmxe3VsbBEngFx_SPp62vbvev3YQ48iq5ZvubCg0gsfKQB1uSPAJUNC0itPcg5eaew99q3kdN87GO59_x4qyAKgMkFxFgMXRIOJYCakX7G-h1uIz3WkElQp3MBdySoDHh9Dts5844CDEtLnEO6aXjEvCe63eUZFynrKwt1OB7ZTOWutLTAY/w296-h400/Cote%20304%20-%20Then%20&%20Now.png" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cote 304 - Then & Now (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The comparison image above was taken on the Chattancourt to Esnes-en-Argonne road. Hill 304 is in the centre of the picture and the <i>Mort Homme </i>is just out of shot to the right. For those who aren't familiar with the conventions of military mapping the label '304' denotes the height in metres. <i>Mort Homme </i>in English, is of course, 'Dead Mans Hill' and this is an apt description given the tens of thousands of French, North African and German soldiers who died on those muddy slopes. After two months of hard slog in the face of a tenacious defence the Germans succeeded in taking both hills in May, only to be pushed off again by the French in August of the same year. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqRovcFnsE0J4RXhzbx8W5-w87lr2YIEY6IiwRZzlw7ZgpWc0o58L6UcQ4uZy5lxlTNWZPb7pED0_iR0KYSdi50PZKpjKev5Uo8oq4NvMZgUAzhs9yo6CE57hwvJ3YmRbbcRQrzrBYpHs9h_mb73lwE689B05Kcbz2YHIPtD3SAniZ2jkbADCWajDpQI/s1920/IMG_8359.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqRovcFnsE0J4RXhzbx8W5-w87lr2YIEY6IiwRZzlw7ZgpWc0o58L6UcQ4uZy5lxlTNWZPb7pED0_iR0KYSdi50PZKpjKev5Uo8oq4NvMZgUAzhs9yo6CE57hwvJ3YmRbbcRQrzrBYpHs9h_mb73lwE689B05Kcbz2YHIPtD3SAniZ2jkbADCWajDpQI/s320/IMG_8359.JPG" width="180" /></a></div><div>On the highest point of<i> Cote 304 </i>there is a monument commemorating the twelve French Infantry Divisions which defended (and retook) this strategically important highpoint. Whilst a 360 degree view is obscured by post-war tree growth, a short walk down any of the forest rides reveals an impressively expansive view of the landscapes below and - to the east - the slightly higher 'peak' of the <i>Mort Homme. </i>It is very evident that French gunners on this spot would have had an excellent field of fire onto the <i>Mort Homme </i>which was totally devoid of vegetation from the beginning of the March attacks onwards. Hence the need for the Germans to secure it before prosecuting their final attack on the main objective.</div><div><br /></div><div>To reach the top of the <i>Mort Homme </i>we took a minor road past the destroyed village of <i>Haucourt</i> before turning right towards the Meuse river and then right again at the village of <i>Bethincourt.</i> As mentioned in my blog entry 'Verdun - the Right Bank' the destoyed villages are atmospheric places, typically consisting of a chapel of remembrance, a memorial and the footprint of broken houses and outbuildings.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the highest point on the <i>Mort Homme, </i>one can find the hugely impressive ILS NONT PAS PASSE memorial commemorating the dead of the French 69th Division. They Shall Not Pass! </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGsCJLVOGkjiijEcmVEG2FXw90hjOA0XO0dfRyNbV-4nnDFp5PncS6pm6ubv_-eWR4-bxIURwbGDBN1JrtNP5Ast-Q6r-3GCaM_B0ez_v3QllIEKcgaHQ7Pxj2HInbHUfgs5bccCj-rhOb1Qoae0gDCnlKh5N-L20ejIJujN60IOWl6l7UzQwyX4UdhQ/s1920/IMG_8375.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGsCJLVOGkjiijEcmVEG2FXw90hjOA0XO0dfRyNbV-4nnDFp5PncS6pm6ubv_-eWR4-bxIURwbGDBN1JrtNP5Ast-Q6r-3GCaM_B0ez_v3QllIEKcgaHQ7Pxj2HInbHUfgs5bccCj-rhOb1Qoae0gDCnlKh5N-L20ejIJujN60IOWl6l7UzQwyX4UdhQ/s320/IMG_8375.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They Shall Not Pass (Phil Curme collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>So, did the final successful assault on the <i>Mort Homme </i>unlock the deadlock on the right bank? Well, whilst the French artillery were pushed off these heights, the attack on the left bank did not facilitate a breakthrough. True, the Germans did make some inroads on the right - storming<i> Fort Vaux</i> and sweeping through <i>Fleury</i> (now home to the excellent Verdun Museum) but the German offensive effectively ended on the 12th July 1916. It is no coincidence that almost two weeks earlier the British (along with French forces) had initiated the Battle of the Somme - a threat to the German Army which required a transfer of reserves to the north and away from Verdun. The German strategy to destroy the Allies' will to fight by attacking a place that the French would need to defend at all costs, had failed. Falkenhayn lost his command and their further attempts to break the deadlock on the Western Front would wait until the launch of the <i>Kaiserschlacht </i>in the Spring of 1918.<br /><div><br /></div></div><div>For 'The Battle of Verdun - The Right Bank' <a href="https://www.walkingthebattlefields.com/2023/10/the-battle-of-verdun-right-bank-1916.html">click here</a>.</div><div>To see my portfolio of photographs from Verdun <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAUyPt">click here</a>.</div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-52622937062116080502023-10-12T13:54:00.008+01:002023-10-18T09:42:09.764+01:00The Battle of Verdun - The Right Bank (1916)<p> In his rather intriguing memoir 'General Headquarters 1914-1916 and its critical decisions' General Von Falkenhayn articulated the logic behind Germany's decision to attack Verdun in 1916. <i>The strain on France had already reached breaking point ... if we succeeded in opening the eyes of her people that in a military sense they had nothing more to hope for, then breaking point would be reached and England's best sword knocked out of her hand.</i> Falkenhayn had succeeded Helmuth Von Moltke as German Chief of Staff in September 1914 following the failure of the Schlieffen Plan and remained in command until the Battle of Verdun ground to a bloody halt in late summer 1916. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaybrq2bySWvA92eTIkb1Lfw4UJ51s54hZROA0KHDyy8zpClhvz_HiKCtuuc5R7Etwx9wHaR7Px-IVC-m1nwrB9oMlvDhsk1ozV-T3Zp32afIVfCcWTDHvBblF63E9FpnV0pHg7qwi4YEKGWOhmFP1YFEOFkkgN5UDT0rBE988EmKZhyQJC9paPs2Btc/s1920/IMG_8199.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaybrq2bySWvA92eTIkb1Lfw4UJ51s54hZROA0KHDyy8zpClhvz_HiKCtuuc5R7Etwx9wHaR7Px-IVC-m1nwrB9oMlvDhsk1ozV-T3Zp32afIVfCcWTDHvBblF63E9FpnV0pHg7qwi4YEKGWOhmFP1YFEOFkkgN5UDT0rBE988EmKZhyQJC9paPs2Btc/s320/IMG_8199.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the <i>Voie Sacree</i> (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Armed with an original 1920s Michelin Guide we started our exploration of the battlefields at the old 2nd French Army G.H.Q. in the town of Souilly which was midway along the only real access route for reinforcements, the <i>Voie Sacree </i>(Sacred Road). The villa in question is now the town hall and there is a small museum adjacent to it. The Michelin Guide helpfully included an image of Generals Joffre and Petain on the steps, and I couldn't resist the opportunity of a 'then & now' comparison. Joffre is looking towards the building (probably contemplating one of his renowned lunches!) whilst Petain is looking straight to camera. </div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHLZhLc5RNx4O8fmD63S7LvUi3kauzRjbEwv369yx-ziMeqdStRlNzbeOAqoShsSjd1tT1lU-5b_EatnCpm49ENEOyZwr2rJ4Bf6rlMz0EOg1Zb2p0ySoBF92iOZ9bjx90az1XdW5JpaTIpi0k-r9ORSuqt0_dIGr2biIdf_JQ-jL-u498DPCZWhUJrQ/s972/Then%20and%20Now.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="682" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHLZhLc5RNx4O8fmD63S7LvUi3kauzRjbEwv369yx-ziMeqdStRlNzbeOAqoShsSjd1tT1lU-5b_EatnCpm49ENEOyZwr2rJ4Bf6rlMz0EOg1Zb2p0ySoBF92iOZ9bjx90az1XdW5JpaTIpi0k-r9ORSuqt0_dIGr2biIdf_JQ-jL-u498DPCZWhUJrQ/s320/Then%20and%20Now.png" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd Army GHQ, Souilly</td></tr></tbody></table>The road up to Verdun is incredibly evocative. Original post war marker stones mark the route and modern large-scale display boards show images of the men who traversed the road and the vehicles that transported them along with the huge quantities of supplies needed to keep the French Army in the field - and effective. Straying in to a ploughed field alongside the road, I picked up a French soldier's drinking cup (subsequently verified as an original 1916 battlefield relic). I couldn't help reflecting on whether the <i>Poulie</i> who originally lost it, had returned to his family after the war or whether his bones rested in the huge ossuary and military cemetery a few miles to the north east. <br /><div><p>Our first true battlefield walk was at the extreme top end of the battlefield on the right bank of the Meuse - a river which divided the theatre of operations and drove much of the tactical thinking throughout the siege. The<i> Bois des Caires</i> was the spot where two battalions of <i>Chasseurs </i>under the command of Colonel Emile Driant fought a heroic defensive action at the very start of the battle. Driant had been a member of the French parliament prior to the start of the war, where he had voiced concerns about the state of the French Army's defensive capabilities. Despite being above the age of enlistment, Driant had pulled strings to get himself involved when war was imminent. A walk through the woods reveals Driant's original command post, the spot where he fell (see image below), his restored gravesite and a memorial to his unit. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NWgVkKVmACVxX4BYOSN86vfj0aX7LukiEeP_Lx3fTUyXU1DcFKwgBlW5Rx7ODM4Ugpuq3kvgLp-sS2aSVmKUrmcjp3Gbvw6IQumgR5UIRUzeZFlF8ha4mqrU52Taj6pX0SertYDp7iD0W6wHDBVjsA94wgCvSPCUmg0BiphMQwMBWBeNZGLkBZfkrkc/s1920/IMG_8309.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NWgVkKVmACVxX4BYOSN86vfj0aX7LukiEeP_Lx3fTUyXU1DcFKwgBlW5Rx7ODM4Ugpuq3kvgLp-sS2aSVmKUrmcjp3Gbvw6IQumgR5UIRUzeZFlF8ha4mqrU52Taj6pX0SertYDp7iD0W6wHDBVjsA94wgCvSPCUmg0BiphMQwMBWBeNZGLkBZfkrkc/s320/IMG_8309.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spot where Colonel Driant fell (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>After walking up Wavrille Hill to the south of the Bois de Caures in order to explore a number of old artillery positions and French bunkers, we travelled across territory that had been totally smashed during the conflict and where the destroyed villages were never rebuilt. All that remains of places like Beaumont, Ornes, Louvemont and Bezonvaux are broken buildings and post-war memorials and remembrance chapels.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_xq6ApnPa2R401xHWs6I4-aJXwM5Sj8qJS0WcWWXk8693-79X4rKZS6MaXlzM_r3jATiJw6wk3LMtSEDUN9ZhGH6tWKs6_mO4CvFdkGRR0sN86sAl_MewGRu18DRGW5Fe0Em6WfmaB3C9GGy-6zbgG-ercpLqCFxDSA9ydHXMrZpzm7L3sZYSeT0bA4/s3875/IMG_8226.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2906" data-original-width="3875" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_xq6ApnPa2R401xHWs6I4-aJXwM5Sj8qJS0WcWWXk8693-79X4rKZS6MaXlzM_r3jATiJw6wk3LMtSEDUN9ZhGH6tWKs6_mO4CvFdkGRR0sN86sAl_MewGRu18DRGW5Fe0Em6WfmaB3C9GGy-6zbgG-ercpLqCFxDSA9ydHXMrZpzm7L3sZYSeT0bA4/s320/IMG_8226.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The site of Bezonvaux village (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The German attacks on the right bank (of which there were many) were blunted and eventually stopped amongst the hills and defences which were capped by a series of forts - now synonymous with the intensity of the fighting. Denuded of effective artillery and well below strength, the forts at Douaumont and Vaux fell to the Germans in the early stages of the battle. The capture of the former came as a particular shock to the French, as it was achieved by a mere handful of German soldiers with the defending garrison putting up very little resistance. Subsequent assaults on the forts, by both sides, were hard-fought and costly in terms of human lives. Both forts are now museums and by visiting them you can get a sense of how awful it must have been, fighting in confined spaces and being concussed as massive artillery rounds landed on the casement above. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0i1ewAwJfltoAHfI4-pRXsK11RPQWe93aXPSqG1ODZlRYG9AE3m7jVEKtTUBAfr0QQvsSKicNp4dlgJpUnXCt1dpG0OU5TTI3QJ2ctrqeGYC64GBcjSl92Dit6IeYB45niYQDu1qj4j6AoIFN5a6P65fYkgMbpuD70YnGdRnZ1FRXN0wvqsnk7iKNzo/s4032/IMG_8238.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0i1ewAwJfltoAHfI4-pRXsK11RPQWe93aXPSqG1ODZlRYG9AE3m7jVEKtTUBAfr0QQvsSKicNp4dlgJpUnXCt1dpG0OU5TTI3QJ2ctrqeGYC64GBcjSl92Dit6IeYB45niYQDu1qj4j6AoIFN5a6P65fYkgMbpuD70YnGdRnZ1FRXN0wvqsnk7iKNzo/s320/IMG_8238.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casement - Fort Douaumont (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bAr4MrKv9n0CezR-Wn7cAbqFJKHPR5AqoNovvaOkEn0dKQWTK3VliExvMirblJYCaJCqax29D9ZX5nQjg_oFc81LRziNpHeetbX4oCoZU4k_sjBLkIBdngTrdGrDJ94Vef6f_lqjdcjo-yJu_CQ79AGCXTuZ5YB_LGKakTzbCLlfNGXR5B55ZuVElT0/s4032/IMG_8241.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bAr4MrKv9n0CezR-Wn7cAbqFJKHPR5AqoNovvaOkEn0dKQWTK3VliExvMirblJYCaJCqax29D9ZX5nQjg_oFc81LRziNpHeetbX4oCoZU4k_sjBLkIBdngTrdGrDJ94Vef6f_lqjdcjo-yJu_CQ79AGCXTuZ5YB_LGKakTzbCLlfNGXR5B55ZuVElT0/s320/IMG_8241.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reverse Elevation - Fort Douaumont (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>If one has any doubts about the ferocity of the fighting around Verdun then a visit to the National Cemetery and Ossuary at Douaumont will serve to disperse such thoughts. the site is a sombre place centred on the ossuary building itself. The enclosed tower contains articles picked up on the battlefield but these are but a distraction when it comes to absorbing the true magnitude of what the ossuary represents. The interior has a high vaulted ceiling straddling a long hall decorated with commemorative plaques and centred on a small chapel. Underneath the hall, there is a large vault containing the bones of over 130,000 combatants which one can glimpse through viewing windows at ground level on the outside of the building. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfw-1oXca_Tl86jNSzK0Ma4XyaZTw6OOFC7R8yWwOQZCEo5KLrWrDBW50qDImjzxJcZZYSUCPEQzDoNnChYf29x0txteYkM_NoZ650feZOTJqZVF38sVKwqJKwrAFHTOvZypZ4QGXeAU8bCSrvyU0UkkLNYkLUBv7SQVStpsja9NxanEx2HU2odX_y9k/s4032/IMG_8272.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfw-1oXca_Tl86jNSzK0Ma4XyaZTw6OOFC7R8yWwOQZCEo5KLrWrDBW50qDImjzxJcZZYSUCPEQzDoNnChYf29x0txteYkM_NoZ650feZOTJqZVF38sVKwqJKwrAFHTOvZypZ4QGXeAU8bCSrvyU0UkkLNYkLUBv7SQVStpsja9NxanEx2HU2odX_y9k/s320/IMG_8272.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exterior - Verdun Ossuary (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAQEavYwora8Z9L0QfTKZDthzwyRQL8hIOZ86CW06xwQAe3pcLeq-1qpWxAL_RiMoZAkWQb4blkvACU3ZXHMPvpt0qqJ1IF1klaSXNIyctZFGIM9gjTfvYXr-yiQHO-uk-k_pYmJV1gPVNubuVp1zJGmsl6DAOLRgYgpFMe9aEt-lLsziPuGlV9MML3o/s4032/IMG_8260.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAQEavYwora8Z9L0QfTKZDthzwyRQL8hIOZ86CW06xwQAe3pcLeq-1qpWxAL_RiMoZAkWQb4blkvACU3ZXHMPvpt0qqJ1IF1klaSXNIyctZFGIM9gjTfvYXr-yiQHO-uk-k_pYmJV1gPVNubuVp1zJGmsl6DAOLRgYgpFMe9aEt-lLsziPuGlV9MML3o/s320/IMG_8260.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior - Vedun Ossuary (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The title of Alistair Horne's outstanding history of the battle, 'The Price of Glory' sums up the meaning of this monument perfectly. to the south of the vast cemetery which frames the ossuary building, is a moving memorial to the French colonial troops who 'died for France'. My overall impressions? The fact that the battlefield was left as it was after the battle, gives an eerie feel to the place. The destroyed villages, the cemeteries, the smashed forts - all are gradually being reclaimed by nature. The landscape may be softening, but the impact of the structures that remain tell a different, violent story. </div><div><br /></div><div>For my Flickr collection of images from the Verdun battlefield <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAUyPt" target="_blank">click here</a>. </div><br />Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-76061431013657431692023-09-07T14:49:00.003+01:002023-09-07T14:49:56.365+01:00The Oaklands Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital, Clevedon (1915-1919)The unspoilt Victorian promenade in Clevedon is a pleasure to stroll along. Near the bandstand above what locals call the 'Green Beach', there are a dozen or so benches all carefully positioned to give a stunning vista of the Bristol Channel, the Welsh Coast and views of the spectacular sunsets for which this coastline is famed. Had one passed these seats during the later years of the Great War then many of them may well have been occupied by service men men dressed in 'Hospital Blues'. Men who were recovering from injury or coming to terms with lost limbs, disfigurement and other physical and mental afflictions. Often they would be accompanied by nurses in their characteristic white and red garb. The journey to Clevedon for most of these men, would have started in the trenches of France and Belgium. Injured in battle they would typically have passed through a front line dressing station, on to a Casualty Clearing Station, then a Base Hospital and finally to a hospital in the UK. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxTGRykVNLDi3vh0jMv3Ggx30SqnAIliz_rzid5XOcTVo7dyI4gTwHuTjFdWyqLJNZPzqNvPGpUeHLToR_z2kF0D505I2tlmjXKmXZuxbTkAVr5tqv6n3FZ6lC4sYWt4_SowNzAbqO-Z7FhrXg6b-0XBpy2ztpKgELkMdI4Q2x7ArIxrFZfsxQDOFs5Q/s1337/Oaklands,%20Clevedon.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1337" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxTGRykVNLDi3vh0jMv3Ggx30SqnAIliz_rzid5XOcTVo7dyI4gTwHuTjFdWyqLJNZPzqNvPGpUeHLToR_z2kF0D505I2tlmjXKmXZuxbTkAVr5tqv6n3FZ6lC4sYWt4_SowNzAbqO-Z7FhrXg6b-0XBpy2ztpKgELkMdI4Q2x7ArIxrFZfsxQDOFs5Q/w400-h240/Oaklands,%20Clevedon.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oaklands Hospital, Clevedon (Copyright Phil Curme)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The Oaklands Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital, which was situated directly behind the aforementioned Green Beach, was set up in a private summer residence offered up by the owners (Mr and Mrs Ernest Wills) after Clevedon had been designated as a convalescence base under the jurisdiction of the 2nd General Hospital, Bristol. Later, the Oaklands Hospital was affiliated to the Beaufort Military Hospital in Bristol - indeed over 25% of the 3,500 men rehabilitated at Clevedon, came from that particular facility. The men came from a huge variety of units and there was a mix of nationalities. When the Oaklands first opened as a military hospital on the 9th November 1914, having been kitted out by men and women from the Somerset 33 (Clevedon) Voluntary Aid Detachment, it had ten wards and forty five beds. </div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVd5aSNq9nxmM1eBVi_Td5dertUTz7gcbLdNLoNA90cCD8B7cV_IvR6-lwBpOwnIq5HqY9GwacxIzwGDjHJ-8e7SKfBPsIv0M7tZ3kMyh4YNB_XQW1yfUbWH_c_XPPDd0XXXYk3NLnLC-1ou5Aej9u5_RF258Mf568KGpiNYGpmmruQ5C8blfamhM4Gk/s1795/Collection,%20Jacko.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1795" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVd5aSNq9nxmM1eBVi_Td5dertUTz7gcbLdNLoNA90cCD8B7cV_IvR6-lwBpOwnIq5HqY9GwacxIzwGDjHJ-8e7SKfBPsIv0M7tZ3kMyh4YNB_XQW1yfUbWH_c_XPPDd0XXXYk3NLnLC-1ou5Aej9u5_RF258Mf568KGpiNYGpmmruQ5C8blfamhM4Gk/w400-h233/Collection,%20Jacko.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fundraising for Oaklands, Clevedon (Courtesy of Campbell Estate)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Ten extra beds were added in July 1915 and a further ten in November of the same year. Additional capacity was created by the conversion of a nearby tennis pavilion and the erection of two huts. During 1916 the garage and coach house were turned into a billiard room - known to the patients as 'the dugout'! By the end of 1917 a large marquee had been erected in the grounds and the number of beds had been increased to 120. Shortly thereafter an annexe was created at 'The Grange' on the corner of Hallam and Victoria Road. This provided an additional six wards, with forty beds plus associated facilities. The VAD nurses and medical personnel were housed in 'Margency' on Victoria Road which became known as the 'Red Cross Nurses Hostel'. Medical expertise came from Major Moxey and Captain Handfield-Jones both of the Royal Army Medical Corps.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglS77uAJpt6rKmvEl092zTYDj3etL-El3ad5MllN3dK_f0ImBwL8t6Snp3v_oVeQKGVmReanCq37tq1pXRYyvwqVYnvLmUpLSR_sSw-wh3QMLNchR8OWDDFEjBMVXENHWCWzSdYdqNGfrULFHi_gvzd5vbjd4WGy1vz4p3Zi9Z5bMiTxfKQzNFXHN8maU/s1587/Oaklands%20Hotel.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="996" data-original-width="1587" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglS77uAJpt6rKmvEl092zTYDj3etL-El3ad5MllN3dK_f0ImBwL8t6Snp3v_oVeQKGVmReanCq37tq1pXRYyvwqVYnvLmUpLSR_sSw-wh3QMLNchR8OWDDFEjBMVXENHWCWzSdYdqNGfrULFHi_gvzd5vbjd4WGy1vz4p3Zi9Z5bMiTxfKQzNFXHN8maU/w400-h251/Oaklands%20Hotel.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pre-War Oaklands Hotel (now demolished) Campbell Estate</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Major Alfred Bond Trestrail VD (65 years old in 1914), a retired industrial chemist, worked as the unpaid commandant at Oaklands right up until the hospital was decommissioned in May 1919. For his serrvices to Oaklands and his VAD unit the Major was awarded an MBE. The welfare of the patients was overseen by Lady Blanche St John Bellairs, wife of a Major-General who had distinguished himself during the Crimean War. The nurses came from all over the country, though a fair few were local. </div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOoGs2is5rw5tcBcK_RYnBR7tqGQjcpuyHy5p-rnuKmXsQbrbHb5x83OOaqRcSNo46_K3Ung-KephxgL6pl0Wh0eXZ0VwxsE_2XOvJjP14vqBzNMWCP2HTLDLY3U5MQqXJ43v5eMURMORBPUhUWE7iFkVPEUOT2Eo986qEvJp5rmCPbOzWWunYt-3CEA/s3505/IMG_9480.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3505" data-original-width="2309" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOoGs2is5rw5tcBcK_RYnBR7tqGQjcpuyHy5p-rnuKmXsQbrbHb5x83OOaqRcSNo46_K3Ung-KephxgL6pl0Wh0eXZ0VwxsE_2XOvJjP14vqBzNMWCP2HTLDLY3U5MQqXJ43v5eMURMORBPUhUWE7iFkVPEUOT2Eo986qEvJp5rmCPbOzWWunYt-3CEA/s320/IMG_9480.jpeg" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lady Blanche St John Bellairs</td></tr></tbody></table>Postings for the trained nurses lasted from a few weeks to about a year. Sister Catherine Waddell, the matron, who hailed from Tullibody in Scotland, served for the entire time that Oaklands was operational. A number of local people volunteered to serve at the hospital, including Private F. Pritchard, Somerset Light Infantry, who had been honourably discharged from the army - he served as an orderly. One of the more colourful characters who helped, was a local corn merchant John Brewer, kmown as 'Jacko'. Jacko offered to take on the role of transport officer and ended up arranging patients to be driven from the local station or the Beaufort hospital in vehicles lent by people from around the town. <div><br /></div><div>Realising that a vehicle was required to transport stretcher cases, Jacko set up a fund which was granted charitable status in 1916. The Jacko ambulance became a fixture of the operation, carrying patients to and from Oaklands. Another local, Mr R. Stephens, invented an ambulance stretcher carrier for lifting patients into the vehicle. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2niYmS3Glv1GoZTFWazZ5LhAfACUGFRac0JqDQVmNra9CtQ0KDYSQC72ocRsLGtZ8ZXT8_uRHI6mFc3aQRUij3BFSsbokrFwgsFQnpO86F7Ysz_SAFTIbYpxP8wGEhTVBl-1woXU3LI60tux68FNwcgH4MDUhyT0bbv3M1ZV6gW8n_PzvGSqP8fAcbTs/s1639/Jacko%20Ambulance.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="1639" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2niYmS3Glv1GoZTFWazZ5LhAfACUGFRac0JqDQVmNra9CtQ0KDYSQC72ocRsLGtZ8ZXT8_uRHI6mFc3aQRUij3BFSsbokrFwgsFQnpO86F7Ysz_SAFTIbYpxP8wGEhTVBl-1woXU3LI60tux68FNwcgH4MDUhyT0bbv3M1ZV6gW8n_PzvGSqP8fAcbTs/w400-h233/Jacko%20Ambulance.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacko Ambulance (Campbell Estate)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHeAS51XjBp5XCTkheoouRPWyg4ddIogkmKlwVFtrqK7KjzogVdN09Fjd1JaEx1XKWpaZk6WYXyMiEoAjayQx0xjafPXfmyN8tIRSA0Pp8g6u51liqQtVw0p1mp8YfdYfQq9FdB4Va2bLpXV_vV22RtgXeON5IWG6LnLTYhLKNc2qezH4Wqy1HzXJI5c/s1534/Jacko.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="1534" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHeAS51XjBp5XCTkheoouRPWyg4ddIogkmKlwVFtrqK7KjzogVdN09Fjd1JaEx1XKWpaZk6WYXyMiEoAjayQx0xjafPXfmyN8tIRSA0Pp8g6u51liqQtVw0p1mp8YfdYfQq9FdB4Va2bLpXV_vV22RtgXeON5IWG6LnLTYhLKNc2qezH4Wqy1HzXJI5c/w400-h249/Jacko.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacko Ambulance (Campbell Estate)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>One of the men transported was Sergeant Harry Cator of the East Surrey Regiment, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery on Easter Monday during the Battle of Arras having already been awarded a Military Medal on the Somme. Cator had been injured by high-explosive shrapnel, which broke both his upper and lower jaws and was transferred to Clevedon from the Beaufort Military Hospital. A flavour of how the patients felt about Clevedon can be discerned from a poem written by Private A. Broadley of the 1st Cameron Highlanders in 1917, which can be read <a href="https://www.walkingthebattlefields.com/2023/09/the-oaklands-red-cross-hospital-poem.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The hospital was renowned for its entertainment both by visiting performers, local artists and the patients themselves. The Oaklands concert Parties were undoubtedly a big draw - helping physical and mental recovery, but also raising funds. Messrs J.N. and Victor Cox granted free admission to the Curzon Cinema and also supplied the electrical equipment needed to re-charge the various batteries used in the hospital. The nurses would have participated fully in such activities and the warmth of the relationship between them and the men in their care is hinted at in an autograph book left by one of their number, Miss Catherine Horwood - and now held in the Clevedon Pier & Heritage Trust Community Archive. </div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5HPrFDHOdNN1cHEVqqXEzBFWoXxdVLDF6qR6HpjIJKvQ_JTL7HUzkbMjYMMRhyrzW841tASNCjnD_duOycC0RNTbNf447_IJl9_9WrOkl-BM1Wtwc3DilqhWb9zpaHJhyBiaKCafQ38nHk0rJLaMowkN4wfVuwvKtqkZ6A7C8I40kDBYpXllRLI279A/s1306/IMG_2301%20copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1306" data-original-width="1059" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR5HPrFDHOdNN1cHEVqqXEzBFWoXxdVLDF6qR6HpjIJKvQ_JTL7HUzkbMjYMMRhyrzW841tASNCjnD_duOycC0RNTbNf447_IJl9_9WrOkl-BM1Wtwc3DilqhWb9zpaHJhyBiaKCafQ38nHk0rJLaMowkN4wfVuwvKtqkZ6A7C8I40kDBYpXllRLI279A/s320/IMG_2301%20copy.JPG" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extract from Horwood book (CP&HT Archive)</td></tr></tbody></table>One of the less sentimental entries, provides some interesting insights. Private F.J. Vowles of the 10th Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was wounded during the Battle of the Somme on July 28th 1916, at Delville Wood (spelt incorrectly in the book). The entry is dated 18th October 1916. Other entries express affection for the nurses and an appreciation of Clevedon. As one would expect there is plenty of humour evident as well. <div><br /></div><div>The 1918 armistice was greeted with a celebratory tea and an evening of entertainment at 'The Towers' restaurant. The festivities ended with a rendition of 'Keep the Home Fires Burning' and the National Anthem. </div><div><br /></div><div>Once the hospital had been decommissioned in 1919, the building was offered at auction on a reserve (which was not reached) of £2,600. The proceeds were invested in a pair of memorial cottages for ex-servicemen - on Bay Road, Clevedon. Sadly, just over a decade ago, the cottages were sold for development and the charity was wound up. It is believed that the sale proceeds were donated to the Royal British Legion. The site on which the Oaklands Hotel stood behind the Green Beach is now occupied by a modern apartment block which - appropriately - retains the name 'Oaklands'.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSg8Uv5N2L687VpZAQLC3XEWMAAmCsWmwfro4uI2CIa2bp4Q8wQPgS2eJvh829cbMwwwz12txq2unqR7bxmzQsJRh47qcjAdeG2M-oRvjPNAzto2CDlrNkggMifOPEACroxGdwdJpX-8MT1kkv_GxV_QiQk9cGrKFnTr9rh29garyqxAgQy6oZFUv2OA/s1837/image0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1837" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSg8Uv5N2L687VpZAQLC3XEWMAAmCsWmwfro4uI2CIa2bp4Q8wQPgS2eJvh829cbMwwwz12txq2unqR7bxmzQsJRh47qcjAdeG2M-oRvjPNAzto2CDlrNkggMifOPEACroxGdwdJpX-8MT1kkv_GxV_QiQk9cGrKFnTr9rh29garyqxAgQy6oZFUv2OA/w400-h244/image0.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Concert Party, Oaklands Military Hospital, Clevedon (Copyright Phil Curme)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><span style="color: #999999;">This article was prepared for the Royal British Legion temporary shop in Clevedon (which will be operational Oct - Nov 2023). My thanks to Norma Campbell, for providing the research notes and some of the images from her late husband's papers. For a fuller account of the Oaklands Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital in Clevedon then search out a copy of 'Clevedon's Own: The Great War 1914-1918 by the late Rob Campbell. Other sources include the Clevedon pier & Heritage trust Community Archive and the authors' own collection. </span></div><div><div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-51902079816157320712023-09-05T17:55:00.003+01:002023-09-05T17:56:50.257+01:00The Oaklands Auxiliary Red Cross Hospital Poem (Clevedon, 1917)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uk5KuSLR5cIhgSX_BXh-9a5ePAKc8k9bcr_3xdlffFuyvuMmBaw4LiOdLC6tZDFtoRy1Wxk8xX_0h9qOUJFyKc6X984hf6-crxVGaqw9zzHdwtba0pXFzSyFjwaosT366AkuUHuxIwU-gxZWr2rjFEZZMnuaA5mdsnUfUuKfvCKKpM3_VkCJ9M2VD2s/s1337/Oaklands,%20Clevedon.JPG" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1337" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uk5KuSLR5cIhgSX_BXh-9a5ePAKc8k9bcr_3xdlffFuyvuMmBaw4LiOdLC6tZDFtoRy1Wxk8xX_0h9qOUJFyKc6X984hf6-crxVGaqw9zzHdwtba0pXFzSyFjwaosT366AkuUHuxIwU-gxZWr2rjFEZZMnuaA5mdsnUfUuKfvCKKpM3_VkCJ9M2VD2s/w400-h240/Oaklands,%20Clevedon.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oaklands Hospital, Clevedon (Copyright Phil Curme)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The following poem was written by Private A. Broadley, 1st Cameron Highlanders in 1917. Private Broadley was convalescing in the Oaklands Red Cross Auxiliary Hospital, Elton Road, Clevedon. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span>Clevedon</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>Often, I've thought when the meadows were green,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>and the sun on the hills made a beautiful scene,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>that the village of Clevedon so quiet and quaint</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>was as tempting a sight as an artist could paint.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>For the good of my health, I was sent there to stay,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>and as long as I live, I'll never forget that day,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>that I first set foot in that dear little place,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>and felt the fresh winds bring a glow to my face.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>Tis the 'brain workers' paradise' someone had said,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>and no other name can I give it instead;</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>for naught but a paradise could be so fair</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>or boast of the sights that one meets while there.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>If by Salthouse Fields you should happen to stray,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>and look to the west at the close of the day,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>you will never forget, 'tis a sight that will hold,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>that glorious sunset of scarlet and gold.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>And then in the mourn when the mists heavy veils</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>have lifted, you will see the green hills of South Wales.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>Above Cardiff and Newport, you see the smoke cloud</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>from the factories hanging all o-er the shroud.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>Dial Hill, also commands a fine view</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>of woodland and meadows all sparkling with dew,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>and the castle at Walton, tho' now derelict,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>stands out with pride of old Norman decay.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>Many artists and poets in days that are gone</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>have brough Clevedon to notice in picture and song,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>but naught can describe all the beauty that's there,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>'tis so quiet, oh homely, so peaceful and fair.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>For art it is famous, the great Elton ware</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>is designed by the Lord of the Manor down there.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>He's a mater in pottery, also in paints,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>and he made the bronze crucifix at All Saints.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>'All Saints' is the parish out Eat of the town,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>'tis a beautiful spot where the woods sloping down</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>have formed the Swiss Valley, and there the church stands;</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>It looks like the work of some great artists' hands.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>And when my toils on this wide world are o'er,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>and my spirit sets forth for yon beautiful shore,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>this is my last wish if to me be given,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span>to be buried in Clevedon - the brainworkers' heaven.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div></div>
</div><br /></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-36772682173689683552023-08-04T15:32:00.013+01:002023-08-14T07:20:20.959+01:00The Bombing of the Somerton Milk Factory (29 September, 1942)<p>Whilst visiting the small West Country town of Somerton last month I was struck by the rather impressive war memorial in the Market Square. A First World War soldier in service dress, stands with his head bowed and his hands resting on a reversed rifle. In addition to a roll-of-honour showing men who fell in the Great War, a closer examination revealed a list of nine civilians lost in the Second World War, under an inscription that reads 'KILLED IN LOCAL AIR ATTACK 29-9-1942'. I needed to know more. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoaTt2HalYzzLBZAh4YJKWxK-EIRAi0psLs0A37-LZrXhEXQAYApWCdeqZB8ThGol90UerUKqWuJAiq9wXeiON3vEkLbflrzz_p8vmCple1dh86tlijymrOrPAdUCJmjq5jTUv4KvHWNn2JTUAK3Tk8R0P0S4zfPsoi9t70_0QyIhF4dpGVBWRdnS5nk/s2048/Somerton%20-%20Bomb6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVoaTt2HalYzzLBZAh4YJKWxK-EIRAi0psLs0A37-LZrXhEXQAYApWCdeqZB8ThGol90UerUKqWuJAiq9wXeiON3vEkLbflrzz_p8vmCple1dh86tlijymrOrPAdUCJmjq5jTUv4KvHWNn2JTUAK3Tk8R0P0S4zfPsoi9t70_0QyIhF4dpGVBWRdnS5nk/s320/Somerton%20-%20Bomb6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somerton War Memorial</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A quick online search revealed that nine local workers were killed when the nearby Cow & Gate milk processing factory was bombed by a lone Luftwaffe aircraft. Since becoming interested in this story, I have been in contact with Denise Lazenby who, with the help of local Somerton historian, Nancy Schooling, has researched the incident and interviewed a number of witnesses to the sad events of that fateful day. </p><p>The milk factory was built in the late 1920's to process milk derived from dairy herds reared on the prime agricultural pastures around the town. The factory produced pasteurised milk and powder for infants. It was completely self sufficient, generating on-site electricity by means of steam engines driven by water drawn from a nearby well. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwyMZIbUUg0iR91_QuSXKBO11zT4-o18eWirkrJn8HMmbIxWFawJ98MITLqKQDTqfJ6aHK9rnjuNFVCUnFf0AXKOtAn5OUYlcDSe88oVrByxEZtVr1jXevUawyn97z2Gqr_foZ4LQv2wVtnKBpxUxXdEBx7FV7bN3eQyYRSKWZXB3ENXYTnHRcnoNqNI/s580/Britain%20From%20Above.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="580" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwyMZIbUUg0iR91_QuSXKBO11zT4-o18eWirkrJn8HMmbIxWFawJ98MITLqKQDTqfJ6aHK9rnjuNFVCUnFf0AXKOtAn5OUYlcDSe88oVrByxEZtVr1jXevUawyn97z2Gqr_foZ4LQv2wVtnKBpxUxXdEBx7FV7bN3eQyYRSKWZXB3ENXYTnHRcnoNqNI/s320/Britain%20From%20Above.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Somerton Milk Factory - Historic England</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The weather on the morning of the 29th September 1941 was overcast with light rain falling. A number of witnesses recall seeing a lone German aircraft shortly after 8am, and one recalled seeing the bomb-bay open and four bombs falling. One can see from the picture above, that the factory offered an attractive target - the high chimney was an ideal aiming point. According to Denise, the bombs had a thirty second delay and this provided a brief moment when some of the workers could take cover (the factory employed 40 individuals at the time). The processing plant received the worst damage, exacerbated by the fact that there was a glass block floor upstairs. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BSAcK7Jr_JS1Cjm3SifFE1Kogbk4l_pGoHU75wYl2Uc_u-tX73mZNKiDNq6S4yN3V4Tmt5WkDxruWV72vIKLOQETllN1ugJo26y2n3zWF1myo9x0JgwYnXN9_zlUQZU2h6S1GM5PGXaqQ_GDXFKqT804hem2AW3z_AVQ0TBrv6etzgKjJcDThFIKqIk/s2048/Somerton%20-%20Bomb5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1438" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BSAcK7Jr_JS1Cjm3SifFE1Kogbk4l_pGoHU75wYl2Uc_u-tX73mZNKiDNq6S4yN3V4Tmt5WkDxruWV72vIKLOQETllN1ugJo26y2n3zWF1myo9x0JgwYnXN9_zlUQZU2h6S1GM5PGXaqQ_GDXFKqT804hem2AW3z_AVQ0TBrv6etzgKjJcDThFIKqIk/s320/Somerton%20-%20Bomb5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Civilians Killed at Somerton - 29-9.1942</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The factory itself was largely destroyed, though ironically the tall chimney that had presumably attracted the attention of the Luftwaffe pilot was undamaged and wasn't taken down until 1962, when the bomb site was cleared. The school that now occupies part of the site, was opened in 1966. Ten nearby houses in Elsome Terrace were badly damaged. Seven people were killed instantly, and two more (Charles Phear & Dennis Cook) died of injuries soon afterwards (including brother and sister, Harold Cribb and Gladys Bennett). The dead were taken to nearby Mowries Farm which served as a temporary mortuary. Thirty seven others were injured and they were taken to the Parish Rooms for first aid, with some subsequently being taken to hospital. Shortly after the attack the Nazi broadcaster William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) announced that an ammunition factory in Street had been destroyed, so maybe that's what the German raider thought was the target.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2xfORjMyizxCmRVeRUbsdcfi1I6HRXQmGIhmcf-JJXGr7rtflj79RFLE70XV3If00jH3YknDKdwsnpi8ea3E29LOc1ouRoQyqO7WFvwr7KnHvMF4wHezu4rfHSuHeHHPEZV9veGnIvo1TBlMG7leCaYXqlTNVBZWCq_KplJ0BVyxufQL-WIKNiNAJVs/s2048/Somerton%20-%20Bomb1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2xfORjMyizxCmRVeRUbsdcfi1I6HRXQmGIhmcf-JJXGr7rtflj79RFLE70XV3If00jH3YknDKdwsnpi8ea3E29LOc1ouRoQyqO7WFvwr7KnHvMF4wHezu4rfHSuHeHHPEZV9veGnIvo1TBlMG7leCaYXqlTNVBZWCq_KplJ0BVyxufQL-WIKNiNAJVs/s320/Somerton%20-%20Bomb1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Etsome Terrace Memorial Garden</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-OolzgTjURuzv3BRHfhqIvPfJbiI7BUBoFQ4HikuGHeOhudkVVJPe9TEtafJIlcmK29nY2ZCOpq-LMXyBiVIiimSnFk5iq6mSjRQ50hukn8WLA1N6L_8EPrfRzUa21L_2TUDWm7jgHd7HVIX-IBbhrONmqHAHni67nB9fPEmvt-y3ygxCXA_c_USciY/s2048/Somerton%20-%20Bomb3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-OolzgTjURuzv3BRHfhqIvPfJbiI7BUBoFQ4HikuGHeOhudkVVJPe9TEtafJIlcmK29nY2ZCOpq-LMXyBiVIiimSnFk5iq6mSjRQ50hukn8WLA1N6L_8EPrfRzUa21L_2TUDWm7jgHd7HVIX-IBbhrONmqHAHni67nB9fPEmvt-y3ygxCXA_c_USciY/s320/Somerton%20-%20Bomb3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commemorative Plaque<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Sometime after the war, after the site was cleared and the Cow & Gate Company gave part of the site to the community, for a children's playground - in perpetuity. On the 80th anniversary in 2022, Denise recalls that local people gathered to remember those killed on the fateful day. Nine trees chosen by relatives of those lost, were planted and in anticipation of the anniversary a memorial gateway was erected with a commemorative plaque nearby.</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbCce7qojzNAXWbHD1uQ5zZ2EgsRzstIer4WqodKTlC2IjmPJZ9CpBHXmf3VP2z5Nrp1UD0zocwCv6J2VYcGDbSz1RsVV8pIe92Gp1Eina3CSOj4FTx8ysqhPCk1LDCNhyNA7UtOhodzEywbQde8R37JgueoMtybzTmtwixL4hsyAsTmrCIK-ODrG2fA/s3894/IMG_9342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3894" data-original-width="2377" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbCce7qojzNAXWbHD1uQ5zZ2EgsRzstIer4WqodKTlC2IjmPJZ9CpBHXmf3VP2z5Nrp1UD0zocwCv6J2VYcGDbSz1RsVV8pIe92Gp1Eina3CSOj4FTx8ysqhPCk1LDCNhyNA7UtOhodzEywbQde8R37JgueoMtybzTmtwixL4hsyAsTmrCIK-ODrG2fA/s320/IMG_9342.JPG" width="195" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henry Gardner and his Father</td></tr></tbody></table><div>With the exception of Reginald Tanner, who was buried at his home village, Henton near Wells, those who died are buried in the cemetery at Behind Berry, Somerton - quite close to the site of the destroyed factory. Two of the names are recorded inconsistently - William Surmon is recorded by the CWGC as 'Turmon' and William Gardener is shown as 'Gardner'. In the latter case an examination of the contemporary census record shows that the name was spelt incorrectly on the original memorial, with the error being repeated on the more recent plaque in the Memorial Garden.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Let us remember those who lost their lives on that day: Mrs Gladys M. Bennett, Stanley Childs, Harold Cribb, Henry Gardner, Austin Greaves, Reginald Tanner, William Surmon, Dennis Cook and Charles Phear. </span></div><div><br /></div><div>With thanks to Denise Lazenby, for providing the information and filling in quite a few gaps.</div><div><br /></div><div>The grave of Dennis Cook in Somerton Cemetery - <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/212148462/dennis-albert-cook" target="_blank">view here</a>. </div><div>The grave of Henry Gardner in Somerton Cemetery - <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195690151/henry-james_moore-gardner" target="_blank">view here</a>.</div><br />Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-48631215129644952262023-07-20T17:12:00.000+01:002023-07-20T17:12:10.958+01:00The German Crown Prince and the Butte de Vauqouis - Meuse-Argonne (1914-18)<p> General Von Falkenhayn's 1919 memoir 'General Headquarters 1914-1916 - Critical Decisions' is surprisingly light on the battle that defined his leadership, and ultimately cost him his command. Indeed, Verdun features on perhaps ten of the two hundred and ninety two pages in the book. I will be talking about Verdun, and the leaders that directed the battle in a future blog entry but in the meantime I'm picking up where I left off having completed the Sergeant York Battlefield Trail at <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Chatel</span><span style="background-color: white;">-</span><span style="background-color: white;">Chéhéry. Amongst the many sites associated with the First World War in the area, I was intrigued by a map references to the <i>Abris du Kronprinz</i> on the slopes of an escarpment topped by the <i>Bois de la Gruerie </i>and the nearby hill known as the <i>Butte de Vauquois. </i></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKD-CNb7I0ADKgUw8IrfladPQ6ewiDWiVqtWe0B60XYPLely-LbMowWk3_Thu8vMO4JZUQuzUwZLZ9wDYGNCS_30Nj2iNhDBk10Aumj7DhCOlXDIbJTm6m6x83Y5l2bKCYYJ2cQB-zfkW1y1z5_hJmE4wBoeFGJcfWDis5PI4gz9RMHTChkWt5r6ISTRA/s1920/IMG_8482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKD-CNb7I0ADKgUw8IrfladPQ6ewiDWiVqtWe0B60XYPLely-LbMowWk3_Thu8vMO4JZUQuzUwZLZ9wDYGNCS_30Nj2iNhDBk10Aumj7DhCOlXDIbJTm6m6x83Y5l2bKCYYJ2cQB-zfkW1y1z5_hJmE4wBoeFGJcfWDis5PI4gz9RMHTChkWt5r6ISTRA/s320/IMG_8482.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crown Prince - Field Accommodation</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The <i>Kronprinz </i>referred to on the map, was of course, Wilhelm the eldest son of the German Kaiser - Hohenzollern heir and commander of the Army Group Crown Prince, and for the duration of the Battle of Verdun, and a little time afterwards, the officer commanding the German 5th Army. Falkenhayn's memoir speaks little of personalities and is strangely detached in its language. His references to the Crown Prince are invariably tied in with the name 'General Schmidt von Knobelsdorf' and this is significant. The Crown Prince had not commanded anything more than a regiment and had no real experience of war. Knobelsdorf, the 5th Army Chief of Staff, was a seasoned and experienced commander and the man who conceived and executed the German attack on Verdun. The Kaiser had asked his son to defer to Knobelsdorf's judgement. The two would have had some tense conversations, particularly after the failure of the initial German assault. With these pen portraits in mind, our small group headed off to find the Crown Prince's field headquarters.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpMbWhVsEY8e3VRhSPCslpSDVVPP4y1gTBLnmHwdDT0GAS5B0GVJkDIFqTwu0VQ3fS1NTtVBVMRiQJ-eB95e2B3FVGBXsA096GSvmEDDK6u-FIcjy22cckoWJmmk1hsLRN1fYlwO0_4XYfCFJ6ci-HZ_zSGITyGyFWMhjMykiXP2tKsVqv6zOmaZhVUs/s1920/IMG_8480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpMbWhVsEY8e3VRhSPCslpSDVVPP4y1gTBLnmHwdDT0GAS5B0GVJkDIFqTwu0VQ3fS1NTtVBVMRiQJ-eB95e2B3FVGBXsA096GSvmEDDK6u-FIcjy22cckoWJmmk1hsLRN1fYlwO0_4XYfCFJ6ci-HZ_zSGITyGyFWMhjMykiXP2tKsVqv6zOmaZhVUs/s320/IMG_8480.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Command Bunker - Bois de la Gruerie</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The location is straight-forward to find, a couple of hundred metres up a gravelled road branching off the D.38 to the west of Varennes-en-Argonne. The site is pretty much undisturbed with not interpretation panels or access restrictions (thankfully). Our small group explored the small number of concrete structures which were pretty much as one might expect. Two or three rooms, reinforced concrete ceilings and very basic facilities. Functional and unadorned. A little way from the main concentration, we stumbled across a bunker which really stood out. The external aesthetics had been enhanced by the incorporation of a bay window. Inside there is, what was once an ornate fireplace and the finishings included architectural flourishes like ceiling roses and coving around the edges of the ceilings. We had found the Crown Prince's quarters! </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUPDgRc2qyQ9tiBzHpIO0grM12b1WP03KXY9vkBXAISrX_yx-b2ZyPyTxDlF6bR2O_PyYgND_haFPYyMGHRgZWSXKkiCZHfPhoPhNTvwsCOQRhPhEwEEChsVSA_G1LGsVXW0vw1iyfl8FA9mVvwA0W-alc9gebW7-aNLJVUuvRifqHgP2urLGjmDcJXZI/s1920/IMG_8484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUPDgRc2qyQ9tiBzHpIO0grM12b1WP03KXY9vkBXAISrX_yx-b2ZyPyTxDlF6bR2O_PyYgND_haFPYyMGHRgZWSXKkiCZHfPhoPhNTvwsCOQRhPhEwEEChsVSA_G1LGsVXW0vw1iyfl8FA9mVvwA0W-alc9gebW7-aNLJVUuvRifqHgP2urLGjmDcJXZI/s320/IMG_8484.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior of Crown Prince Bunker</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>At the time, I couldn't help reflecting on the fact that the Prince and his tutor, Knobelsdorf, might well have spent time in front of that fireplace arguing about the progress of the battle as German losses mounted over the summer of 1916. (Having reflected on this, I think my impressions might have been rather fanciful as these bunkers were not really a sensible forward post from the 5th Army HQ at Stenay. The more likely scenario is that the bunkers were used by the 5th Army staff during the 1918 Meuse-Argonne Offensive). A thrill to visit the site nevertheless.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmYeRP51DXlFy_RRMucGZejUErRWq_r3yoUdpUrxbICbZ6sYzsbZdxOe5_Fplkjlng6VgZarzNYa6ZmzI90QZo6QBp8iBG409S0LwBSTTSxAiTXIWgTGORZqCGm3i0ugcD-ilm2QLjJYgaYcnXzWsU-4tdhul0sWoLELXnXDzdrclr1F0i9v2R-b0l4Y/s1920/IMG_8450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmYeRP51DXlFy_RRMucGZejUErRWq_r3yoUdpUrxbICbZ6sYzsbZdxOe5_Fplkjlng6VgZarzNYa6ZmzI90QZo6QBp8iBG409S0LwBSTTSxAiTXIWgTGORZqCGm3i0ugcD-ilm2QLjJYgaYcnXzWsU-4tdhul0sWoLELXnXDzdrclr1F0i9v2R-b0l4Y/s320/IMG_8450.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French Monument - Butte de Vauqouis</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Nearby is one of the most authentic First World War battlefields that I've ever come across. The Butte de Vauquois appears almost untouched since the end of hostilities, and it must surely be one of the most hotly contested pieces of ground from the Great War. Our visit was fleeting and I'm not familiar with the history so I have turned to one of my earliest website chums, Tom Morgan, who published a short history on his website 'Hellfire Corner' back in 1997. The Butte is a small hill, 290 metres high, that dominates the valley between the Argonne massif to the west, and the Mort Homme / Hill 304 massif to the east. In 1914 the small village of Vauquois sat astride the summit, though nothing remains from that period. Over the course of the war a staggering 531 mines were blown on the hotly contested hill. There is a useful map showing the main craters and there orientation in the surrounding lanscape.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4PTs3kq7jWo430HsQKT-imORV_VrugowDDifIWrHtwnEPT8TazV5B8JTRi0x0cfM5iWWkGPlLCuoQ8BXme1398eEUJdWU5VN9C0JOR93fAd6TbKXUL-zwMWEz_hQlP4RCOY6EkRzxkuntgqSs4eFtlLAtuZBkdUEg-tC_mfQqCwjAqHabWXcaPHzG88/s1920/IMG_8462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4PTs3kq7jWo430HsQKT-imORV_VrugowDDifIWrHtwnEPT8TazV5B8JTRi0x0cfM5iWWkGPlLCuoQ8BXme1398eEUJdWU5VN9C0JOR93fAd6TbKXUL-zwMWEz_hQlP4RCOY6EkRzxkuntgqSs4eFtlLAtuZBkdUEg-tC_mfQqCwjAqHabWXcaPHzG88/s320/IMG_8462.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Craters and Viewpoints</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYc6THl3NE4A1M_n7XrtAqWo8A1IsxyIwY0zj_l6JnXVoFJA794VMl_hBpf8sxLuY9p5Uqs0KwU4BfbFraI1uat4nhH-DrS0IQUWVKQS_p3UBhyZS56EXoUtq4o9ZwnUrix3RmD08dJkgCvh_zOEX5HsVwdbT6Wvs57eou6jqJ40yy5e3oeCRWAW6U-E/s1920/IMG_8458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYc6THl3NE4A1M_n7XrtAqWo8A1IsxyIwY0zj_l6JnXVoFJA794VMl_hBpf8sxLuY9p5Uqs0KwU4BfbFraI1uat4nhH-DrS0IQUWVKQS_p3UBhyZS56EXoUtq4o9ZwnUrix3RmD08dJkgCvh_zOEX5HsVwdbT6Wvs57eou6jqJ40yy5e3oeCRWAW6U-E/s320/IMG_8458.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mine Craters - Butte de Vauquois</td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div><div>According to Tom, the French made four unsuccessful attacks between 28 Oct 1914 and 28 Feb 1915. They finally took the German trenches on 1 May 1915 and then fought a bloody five day battle to fend of counter-attacks. With the two sides entrenched on either side of the hill, tunnelling operations moved to an unprecedented level. It wasn't until the first day of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive on 26 Sept 1918 that the American 35th Division eventually cleared the hill. Nowadays one can wonder along the trenches, and explore the underground passages and dug-outs - some French, some German. On the top of the hill stands the Memorial to the combatants and dead of Vauquois which features a sculpture of a poilu who has a grenade in one hand and a rifle in the other. If approaching the Butte from the nearby road, there is a war relic German trench mortar marking the bottom of the steps. All-in-all a stunning battlefield to explore.</div><div><br /></div><div>for the Sgt York Battlefield Trail <a href="https://www.walkingthebattlefields.com/2023/06/the-sergeant-york-battlefield-1918.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. </div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-11606582807870661052023-07-07T07:51:00.002+01:002023-11-16T10:59:58.629+00:00The Abbots Leigh Battlefield Crosses
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">As the number of men killed whilst fighting on the Western Front during the First World War
mounted, it became necessary to consider how the final resting places of the dead could be
marked and registered. Initially, dedicated British Red Cross ambulance units operated
alongside the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), but the scale of the losses soon
overwhelmed what was a relatively small-scale operation. Fabian Ware, a director of the Rio
Tinto Company, served as a commander of one of the ambulance units having volunteered
at the outbreak of war. Ware went on to apply his considerable organisational skills to the
setting up a system of recording grave sites. In March 1915 the unit which Ware had
organised for the British Red Cross, was transferred to the British Army and named the
Graves Registration Commission (GRC). From its' inception the GRC dealt with enquiries
from relatives and requests for photographs, and this expanded mandate was formally
recognised in the Spring of 1916 when it became the Directorate of Graves Registration and
Enquiries (DGR&E).
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1slcA7G47DPNS74hKNjSEeM60PBu-V4ZpdOFDFS4_S9oWGaPGX26OxOKaP_Np_L6erhyv2MyPWo1D9wOJ16dLY4MdJEayIUstryNRbtl1Iyxy01w9V5Tn6sX0s7k8vuI2kWRGhQwNFodJKn-VcvzKUWizLnO_wZHquhGVL0ZojyN5tiO1EvVSftxb3Q/s3582/IMG_8890.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2543" data-original-width="3582" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1slcA7G47DPNS74hKNjSEeM60PBu-V4ZpdOFDFS4_S9oWGaPGX26OxOKaP_Np_L6erhyv2MyPWo1D9wOJ16dLY4MdJEayIUstryNRbtl1Iyxy01w9V5Tn6sX0s7k8vuI2kWRGhQwNFodJKn-VcvzKUWizLnO_wZHquhGVL0ZojyN5tiO1EvVSftxb3Q/s320/IMG_8890.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example DGR&E Enquiry Response</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">From 1917, the Labour Corps supplied Grave Registration Working Parties - known as
Graves Registration Units (GRUs) - which were attached to the DGR&E. Initially numbering
about 1,500 men these working parties were at first tasked with building and exhumation
work in cemeteries taken over from Corps and Divisions of the British Army in France and
Belgium. After hostilities ended on the Western Front, the job of exhumation and the
concentration of graves and cemeteries was scaled up ten-fold with much of the manpower
coming from China. Given the state of the battlefield and the quantity of unexploded
munitions in the ground, the work was difficult and dangerous.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_P-1TPy1aTHP4e66WeQ6v1QcmnG2m7biuPpu4F2q7IRf2fo2NYq-_L1EK2Xgmc2-o4zPF9_GYk2DObQgytWc8pCV1b-irsZWZnxQNGym9t3hn36FxfVfM1DXNZfVVY3wgd1wIfj0sfW4JaHITDMALD8BlahzZhrKkor-fmvzk2biJtglp8zraBZkMmJU/s2304/Noyelles-sur-mer%20Chinese%20Cemetery%20-%20Gate%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2304" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_P-1TPy1aTHP4e66WeQ6v1QcmnG2m7biuPpu4F2q7IRf2fo2NYq-_L1EK2Xgmc2-o4zPF9_GYk2DObQgytWc8pCV1b-irsZWZnxQNGym9t3hn36FxfVfM1DXNZfVVY3wgd1wIfj0sfW4JaHITDMALD8BlahzZhrKkor-fmvzk2biJtglp8zraBZkMmJU/s320/Noyelles-sur-mer%20Chinese%20Cemetery%20-%20Gate%20copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noyelles-sur-Mer Chinese Cemetery</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">On 21 May 1917 the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) was established - an
organisation which, in 1960, was renamed the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
(CWGC). The fascinating history of the IWGC / CWGC is beyond the scope of this story, but
suffice to say that by 1921 the Commission had established 1,000 cemeteries based on
architectural principles set out by Sir Herbert Baker, Sir Reginald Blomfield and Sir Edwin
Lutyens, garden design from Gertrude Jekyll and memorial inscriptions by Rudyard Kipling.
Once the new cemeteries had been built, all temporary grave markers were to be removed
and replaced by a generic headstone. The information on each headstone was prescribed </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">and the resultant uniformity plus the fact that the repatriation of bodies had been banned
from 1915 onwards, meant that all were equal in death irrespective of rank or status. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">At the
point where wooden grave markers were replaced by formal headstones, British and
Commonwealth families (with the exception of New Zealand casualties) were offered the
opportunity to add a personalised inscription. Unlike the Canadian Government which
offered the service free of charge, British families were asked to pay three and half pence
pence per character (in equivalent current value £100 for the maximum of sixty letters).
They were also given the chance to take ownership of the original displaced grave marker,
on the proviso that they paid for shipping and collection. Many of these original markers
were repatriated and they can often be found in parish churches, museums, archives and
occasionally in other settings. There are two such markers in the Holy Trinity Parish Church
at Abbots Leigh in North Somerset. These two markers look very different to each other,
and it is interesting to understand why this is so.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BcoZDiF8lAz5_tw9vrQi37UpTkojbdVSmDi9VmrC7XQ-c53aE73koflmIcbviT5w-BPBr-YD3nrqI9FUn2OJPaBqTaZivGVQFQJNddZHJG4jjCm5WMiIn6DCTbljDRDYg32e_OaobTPGfL4pcuP91sgDJkJkdQU5jwpZQ8Vk5CrJISkfgJSaMrZ1s1s/s1704/Gittings.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="1704" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BcoZDiF8lAz5_tw9vrQi37UpTkojbdVSmDi9VmrC7XQ-c53aE73koflmIcbviT5w-BPBr-YD3nrqI9FUn2OJPaBqTaZivGVQFQJNddZHJG4jjCm5WMiIn6DCTbljDRDYg32e_OaobTPGfL4pcuP91sgDJkJkdQU5jwpZQ8Vk5CrJISkfgJSaMrZ1s1s/w400-h206/Gittings.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James W. Gittings - Abbots Leigh</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">The simpler cross of the two, is the one that originally marked the grave of Lance Corporal
James Walker Gittings (Service No. 2594), 1st Battalion Hertfordshire Regiment who died on
19 July 1916. We know from the 1911 Census, that pre-war James was a gardener at
Tyntesfield House (the ancestorial home of the Gibbs family and now in the care of the
National Trust). James was entitled to the 1914 Star, so it seems that he originally went to
France with the BEF in September 1914. As far as the circumstances of Gittings' death is
concerned, the Battalion had taken over a frontline trench system in the Festubert area on
the 15 July 1916. The relevant War Diary entry for the 19 July four days reads as follows:</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">A party of three Officers and sixty Other Ranks raided the enemy
trenches at 10:40pm. The part of the trench that had been evacuated
by the Germans. The party was in the enemy trenches for ten minutes
as arranged but was bombed from the support line. No prisoners
were taken. Our casualties on the evening were three Officers
wounded, three Other Ranks killed, one Other Rank missing, twelve
Other Ranks wounded.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Gittings is buried with two of his companions at Le Touret Military Cemetery, Richebourg-
L'Avoue so it is safe to assume that he was amongst the three Other Ranks specifically </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">mentioned as having been killed during what had proved to be an unsuccessful trench raid.
It is unlikely that Gittings would have been buried by his comrades-in-arms at the point
where he fell in the German lines, so it is probable that his body was recovered later, date
unknown. The cross, in this instance, is a simple wooden crucifix with the standard Graves
Registration Unit (GRU) information attached on metal strips - the date of death, the IWGC
plot reference, service number, name, rank and unit.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iJ9lZ_L8vg5Noc8VhpA4_nqQLiztzf87AmuZQYkmdsGYN5OEpBnMwZz923Utcr2R-E12Vz4DvUeioFTWrg2i8jeX9RruePtxbmdIxy4F05pmQJ4Qz5NCmNC5WTcXQT5-qShnExJVz4xG3PkX_ie5ndtyE_RawKai1MNj_OuaqJKXwEGZqTbzV20DZyc/s5184/IMG_8730.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iJ9lZ_L8vg5Noc8VhpA4_nqQLiztzf87AmuZQYkmdsGYN5OEpBnMwZz923Utcr2R-E12Vz4DvUeioFTWrg2i8jeX9RruePtxbmdIxy4F05pmQJ4Qz5NCmNC5WTcXQT5-qShnExJVz4xG3PkX_ie5ndtyE_RawKai1MNj_OuaqJKXwEGZqTbzV20DZyc/s320/IMG_8730.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gittings is remembered on Abbots Leigh War Memorial</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 3"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">It is likely that James's parents, Charles and Emma Gittings (who lived in a cottage in the
grounds of Abbots Leigh Priory) sought the return of the marker. Indeed, the chosen
inscription on Gittings' headstone at Touret reads 'Dearly Loved Son of Mr and Mrs Gittings,
Abbots Leigh, Bristol'. Charles and Emma died in 1936 and 1931 respectively and James is commemorated on his mothers' grave in the churchyard at Abbots Leigh. Whether they
ever had the chance to visit their son's grave is unknown but having his original grave
marker in their local church would, no doubt, have provided a small degree of comfort.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">The second, more elaborate battlefield marker, carries none of the standard GRU
nomenclature. In this instance the basic crucifix configuration is augmented by four quarters
of curved wood giving the appearance of a circle around the point where the vertical and
horizontal pieces of wood intersect. The marker carries the message 'In loving memory of
L.Cpl. S.H. Hall' along with the service number, the name of the regiment Hall served with
(The Somerset Light Infantry), the date of death (7 June 1917) and the words 'Killed in
Action' plus 'RIP'. From this we can conclude that the grave was established at the time of
Hall's death and remained extant until the IWGC moved to replace the marker with a
generic headstone.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDaa8txC3wGQHU5DQIu6SsidEdEt580TOV0lEdGwUU6Ot8_Y9TmFLdQ92TaTHi4R9vAuWZkLVf_y2-eEPbPd_kQ5xGOGVKafBkSA0kuLCRUAFPpA4Z_RhKhUtdpHNo6ENntnBDXIjdb0915RxBekjM7JM_VJYTrYV2mC2MlgeaVs34aW7E8m45Jw3kro/s5184/IMG_8716.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDaa8txC3wGQHU5DQIu6SsidEdEt580TOV0lEdGwUU6Ot8_Y9TmFLdQ92TaTHi4R9vAuWZkLVf_y2-eEPbPd_kQ5xGOGVKafBkSA0kuLCRUAFPpA4Z_RhKhUtdpHNo6ENntnBDXIjdb0915RxBekjM7JM_VJYTrYV2mC2MlgeaVs34aW7E8m45Jw3kro/s320/IMG_8716.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lance Cpl Stanley Hall - original grave marker</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Interestingly, unlike James Gittings, Lance Corporal Hall is not commemorated on the
Abbotts Leigh War memorial or the village Roll of Honour. He is, however, listed on a
neighbouring village war memorial - that of Pill. The reasons for this can be surmised in the
movements of the family over the First World War period. Stanley Herbert Hall, known as
Bert, was born in Pill in 1881 - his father was a master mariner and there were five siblings -
John, William, Jim, Sophia and Ada. On the 1911 Census Stanley is recorded as a school
teacher in Pill. That same year he met Nellie Maud Hare, the daughter of James William
Hare, the headteacher at Abbot Leigh School. Their marriage on 21 December 1911 was </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">quickly followed by the birth of three children - Sybil, Lillian and Herbert and the family
settled at Severn View in Abbots Leigh.</span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 4"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDjnOL6gm0Nc3aP7JqIoZH7ehn5k--I9_pViLDbIloic4GNe00F7BRQx3azr2OSrhDDi6W6fQxxtVLUMvmbWLzb5NHsEQYMyiQD_qOMnIZzoou4UsdmkX8YhdsuE6LQrc2vPBAP4VHhbAVMhuIauFksboDvkg3F9V0VthDIlOEoVy4NfSHrm69JI9HAk/s3404/1913.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="3404" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDjnOL6gm0Nc3aP7JqIoZH7ehn5k--I9_pViLDbIloic4GNe00F7BRQx3azr2OSrhDDi6W6fQxxtVLUMvmbWLzb5NHsEQYMyiQD_qOMnIZzoou4UsdmkX8YhdsuE6LQrc2vPBAP4VHhbAVMhuIauFksboDvkg3F9V0VthDIlOEoVy4NfSHrm69JI9HAk/s320/1913.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lodway Cricket Club 1913 - Hall is bottom right</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;"><br />Unfortunately, Stanley Hall's service record was destroyed (along with thousands of others)
when the War Office warehouse (Army Records Office) in Arnside Street, London, was set
alight by a German incendiary bomb in 1940. However, by cross referencing other sources,
it is possible to establish that he attested under the so-called 'Derby Scheme' which was a
fairly heavy-handed process for getting men aged between 18 and 41 to make themselves
available for service - operating in Oct, Nov and Dec 1915. It is likely that Hall attested in
December 1915, was mobilised in June 1916 and joined the British Expeditionary Force
(BEF) in October 1916. The 7th Somerset Light Infantry (SLI), a 'Kitchener New Army'
battalion, had suffered heavy casualties during the 1916 Battle of the Somme and Hall was
included in one of the replenishment drafts which joined the regiment in October of that
year.
</span><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">The 7th Bn SLI War Diary entry for 7 June 1917, the date of Stanley Hall's death, is
particularly informative. The Battalion had moved into the frontline trenches near
Lagnicourt the day before. The German positions in front of them were formidable, bring
part of the heavily fortified German Hindenburg Line. For less experienced units, the first
few days in the front line invariably saw a spike in casualties - it took time for the relieving
Battalion to understand where the hot spots and points of vulnerability were. Knowing
where to duck as one traversed the duckboards could be the difference between life and
death. It seems that this was so, for the 7th Bn SLI as their War Diary reveals.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">7th June 1917. Battalion in line. Seven casualties; three sniped and
four shell-fire - all killed.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlemgG7sFNrJ3O-0w1fGIa-zBoqOoqhvJAvPlssqMfwfznAuIo7wyWkgZZd_lOZzl_tBF6KSE7Pkf2PEytu-J67WcXF7wuieH478MMUfW7f__oPQHNp75rwgLGog95Noq7igHRU6IiBxbeFwnSINR8Jw_8Td8dfcjz5gRSlotyPDU6Z2XU821hgEFoZg/s878/Hindenburg_and_Drocourt-Queant_Lines,_1918.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="878" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlemgG7sFNrJ3O-0w1fGIa-zBoqOoqhvJAvPlssqMfwfznAuIo7wyWkgZZd_lOZzl_tBF6KSE7Pkf2PEytu-J67WcXF7wuieH478MMUfW7f__oPQHNp75rwgLGog95Noq7igHRU6IiBxbeFwnSINR8Jw_8Td8dfcjz5gRSlotyPDU6Z2XU821hgEFoZg/s320/Hindenburg_and_Drocourt-Queant_Lines,_1918.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hindenburg Line - Lagnicourt</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Four of these casualties (including Stanley Hall) are buried together in Lagnicourt Hedge
cemetery - a small plot containing just 63 graves of which the majority are from the 7rh Bn
SLI. This original battlefield cemetery was incorporated into the IWG 'estate' without further
alteration, and this explains Hall's grave marker. He lies where he was originally interred,
and the cross was likely to have been constructed and placed by men who served with him.</span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="page" title="Page 5">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">So why is Lance Corporal Stanley Hall's grave marker in Abbots Leigh and not in Pill where
his name is included on the local memorial and the associated Roll of Honour? One can't be
certain, but it is probably a question of timing. The Christ Church War Memorial in Pill,
which carries Hall's name was unveiled on 8 July 1920 (Mrs H.J. Palmer had moved quickly
to raise funds for the memorial, on which her son is named). Given that Hall's family had
deep roots in Pill and that he was an active member of the local Lodway Cricket Club, it
would have been odd for him not to be included. Abbots Leigh War Memorial, which does
not include Hall's name, was unveiled nearly a year later on 19 June 1921. It may have been
the case that a family decision was made not to duplicate the name, given that the two
memorials are within a couple of miles of each other. Whether the decision to return Hall's
grave marker to the church in Abbots Leigh where Nelle Hall worshipped was made at the
same time, or later, is unknown. The family did commission an epitaph on Hall's CWGC
headstone at Lagnicourt Hedge which reads 'Until the day dawns and the shadows flee
away' a biblical reference from the song of Soloman (there were a number of 'stock'
epitaphs which were published in pamphlets at the time, although it is not known whether
this one was chosen from such a source).
</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JTg3wCUPlzyLeKaClCpKLAh2vAv1-g_gxZUZtA1JrKd216hdsPWhEj-Bsbx1neJ-4ARNMrew15cIssLTCJqA9iVD6r5jCU4UgGlFXkbgNOCCj02mOUT35-ls8dG2o2DHzuYJ0v7TxBNHW__WeAC64b4kPide4361NT-P6Umoy4BAcH-0HJNgJvxpOTY/s1742/Hall.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1742" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JTg3wCUPlzyLeKaClCpKLAh2vAv1-g_gxZUZtA1JrKd216hdsPWhEj-Bsbx1neJ-4ARNMrew15cIssLTCJqA9iVD6r5jCU4UgGlFXkbgNOCCj02mOUT35-ls8dG2o2DHzuYJ0v7TxBNHW__WeAC64b4kPide4361NT-P6Umoy4BAcH-0HJNgJvxpOTY/w400-h199/Hall.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stanley Hall - Restored grave marker & CWGC headstone</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">In 2023 the two crosses at Abbots Leigh were found to have been taken down from the
church wall and put to one side. They are in the process of been remounted in a corner of
the church which also features the original First and Second World War Rolls of Honour
along with some framed newspaper cuttings relating to the unveiling of the nearby war
memorial). Whilst this corner is ideal for ease of access and visual impact, it is interesting to
note that when Arthur Mee visited Abbots Leigh in 1940, whilst researching the Somerset
edition of his 'The Kings England' series of guidebooks, he noted that facing the Miles
monument on the wall of the church tower 'there are two things much simpler and more
deeply moving, wooden crosses from France, both looking as they must have looked when
brought back from the battlefield'.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 6">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700;">The Project Team</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">: Simon Talbot-Ponsonby, Murray Stewart, Maggi Stowers, Nick Ball and
Phil Curme. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700;">Sources</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt;">: The National Archives, The CWGC, The Great War Forum, The South
West Archive, 'The Returned' website, Lodway Cricket Club, Crockerne Pill and District History Society and Abbots
Leigh Civic Society, </span></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div><p>
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-53702613678555271002023-06-13T09:21:00.000+01:002023-06-13T09:21:19.890+01:00The Sergeant York Battlefield - 1918<p> <span style="font-family: ArialMT;">Ever since I reviewed Michael Kelly's book 'Hero on the Western Front: Discovering
Alvin York's WW1 Battlefield' for the Western Front Association, I've wanted to visit
the Meuse- Argonne area and walk the Sergeant York Trail. The fame of
Congressional Medal of Honour winner Sergeant York was amplified considerably by
the Academy winning film 'Sergeant York' which was released in 1941, just in time
for the USA's entry into the Second World War. Alvin York (played by Gary Cooper)
was a modest man with strong family values - a true 'all-American hero'. His profile
would have resonated with many of his fellow countrymen, and this would not have
been lost on the authorities who had the responsibility of mobilising the population
for a later war.</span></p><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQraH7i3zLtRx5ZmhcsfBsoGUk_k6454IAGYF42s8aC-Sjhfa3gYjZhU79g3FXCqwZknY7FjlGoGDawsTRI7OfY52MNkN20DzB6BBoWAR4Mq9LrQOB8bzaI5qjDNFB2ZA4DLbPul4osrGLmXTSfWzaxal-f1OGkr4rscx1Xvsn7Pa8Axplws7f7A3X/s1920/IMG_8493%20copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQraH7i3zLtRx5ZmhcsfBsoGUk_k6454IAGYF42s8aC-Sjhfa3gYjZhU79g3FXCqwZknY7FjlGoGDawsTRI7OfY52MNkN20DzB6BBoWAR4Mq9LrQOB8bzaI5qjDNFB2ZA4DLbPul4osrGLmXTSfWzaxal-f1OGkr4rscx1Xvsn7Pa8Axplws7f7A3X/s320/IMG_8493%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sergeant York Trail - Chatel-Chéhéry</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: 'ArialMT';">Sergeant York's heroism is well documented and is the stuff of legend. A Corporal at
the time of the action, York was serving with the American 328th Infantry Regiment.
Operating in the Argonne Forest in October 1918, the Battalion was pinned down by
machine gun fire. Sergeant Bernard Early sent a party of seventeen men - including
the then Corporal York, to infiltrate the German position and neutralise the guns. In
pressing forward the group came upon a large group of enemy troops having their
breakfast. Taking them all prisoner, the Americans came under fire from German
machine guns which left eight of their number killed or wounded. York was the senior
man left and under his superb leadership and through his personal bravery the guns
were taken-out and 132 of the enemy brought back to base as prisoners.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUe2kVUNHNSaOv70LyGBVrO4c32Y32BUYB2vwpC7d1o0yGQXXec1hLERUURuQepmyDFFL_GcMHIVRzgPrZWpJzGyaGr3J569BdYR3QwmqpQoPPezZbbykaRQheeab9pO89tCpsCfTWaU4nhpP8O1kaIEZZwThEvUUK0GDOQcRyAnUPczIBaxZOgU0/s1920/IMG_8494%20copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUe2kVUNHNSaOv70LyGBVrO4c32Y32BUYB2vwpC7d1o0yGQXXec1hLERUURuQepmyDFFL_GcMHIVRzgPrZWpJzGyaGr3J569BdYR3QwmqpQoPPezZbbykaRQheeab9pO89tCpsCfTWaU4nhpP8O1kaIEZZwThEvUUK0GDOQcRyAnUPczIBaxZOgU0/s320/IMG_8494%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Start of the Sergeant York Trail</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'ArialMT';">En-route to Chatel-Chéhéry our small group decided to stop off at Montfaucon which
was liberated from the German 37th Division on September 26-27, 1918. My 1919
Michelin battlefield guide 'The Americans in the Great War: Volume 3 Meuse-
Argonne Battle' contained some intriguing pictures of the destroyed church and a
nearby observation post which the German occupiers had built using the old
stonework. To our amazement the post is still there, preserved as part of a memorial
site. The rubble has been cleared but the 'before and after' photos still make
compelling viewing.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dlqSxEeEc9Nd4zpRYTD63UTu2MFX0W5rRsGTBlt0olJz-SIsqnGsrMpm_ix6E8nC0B9aS2U2BFI2KkmghIBaxFlINbtVgNX3T8u5zp6CSf-MnDKaAQsYuxUKyzh7K1q_HFfDmRlFE_NSm5gAbZjS86aQ3KJYTLZZ78PprKyHirXMjZ_Ls6ILOsjX/s1920/IMG_8399%20copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dlqSxEeEc9Nd4zpRYTD63UTu2MFX0W5rRsGTBlt0olJz-SIsqnGsrMpm_ix6E8nC0B9aS2U2BFI2KkmghIBaxFlINbtVgNX3T8u5zp6CSf-MnDKaAQsYuxUKyzh7K1q_HFfDmRlFE_NSm5gAbZjS86aQ3KJYTLZZ78PprKyHirXMjZ_Ls6ILOsjX/s320/IMG_8399%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montfaucon - German Observation Post - 2023</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb18hz_eraIJvj9IkFS3ZPf6hhANC26LqJXDTYDhdBd899Ua3d8On6SxM-Ua75ZxNAhaReZGa5p1eoJWJf4QT7Ok3yN1CaDKHU78uOw6fmu6xgaPMKAiuLCd00-c2S83x1ohhdx-28I5Jq1i9vamq34hOQCEDlmV4MkkGQ7ttrc7STKt8q-tBxNgx/s1063/IMG_8400%20copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1063" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb18hz_eraIJvj9IkFS3ZPf6hhANC26LqJXDTYDhdBd899Ua3d8On6SxM-Ua75ZxNAhaReZGa5p1eoJWJf4QT7Ok3yN1CaDKHU78uOw6fmu6xgaPMKAiuLCd00-c2S83x1ohhdx-28I5Jq1i9vamq34hOQCEDlmV4MkkGQ7ttrc7STKt8q-tBxNgx/s320/IMG_8400%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montfaucon - German Observation Post - 1918</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'ArialMT';">The capture of Montfaucon came at a heavy cost. According to the signboard on the
site, over 150 men of the attacking American regiment (numbering 4,000) were
killed. About 150 Germans were captured from the surrounding dugouts (many of
which remain). Eleven large artillery pieces were captured, in addition to more than
150 machine guns. There is a huge memorial column on the site (currently closed for
repairs) - dominating the landscape for miles around. One of my fellow travellers was
somewhat disingenuous when he observed "bloody hell, they turned up late and still
get the biggest monument in the area and a car park the size of Wembley Stadium!".
He was suitable chastened when we later visited the magnificent American Meuse-
Argonne Cemetery with its' rows of white crosses.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjZ2qiLazIDxFhOeQfnd06sVMvxwKqr9VnCP7y49cc_uHMdLuriFiIRj8EV2q8IvLS7T9zB-cs5X09Pn-0aMcdg-jSD91gb_mof9hH2xPalmh1C7e1QauFlkqRWrTyaPFE6rHNBpgcvKBPdk3yjTzN95B5akk0wkQYZjQsnZx--2SkcF_bNoDM1Uf/s1920/IMG_8392.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjZ2qiLazIDxFhOeQfnd06sVMvxwKqr9VnCP7y49cc_uHMdLuriFiIRj8EV2q8IvLS7T9zB-cs5X09Pn-0aMcdg-jSD91gb_mof9hH2xPalmh1C7e1QauFlkqRWrTyaPFE6rHNBpgcvKBPdk3yjTzN95B5akk0wkQYZjQsnZx--2SkcF_bNoDM1Uf/s320/IMG_8392.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montfaucon American Monument</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'ArialMT';">The site of Sergeant York's action at Chatel-Chéhéry is nearby. One of the things
that pricked my interest in Kelly's book is that this small battlefield must be the most
studied of all such similar sites. Unlike the site of most First World War battles, the
ground was fought over only once. This means that archaeological methods have a
particular relevance. Every shell case, every bullethead and every contemporaneous
artefact is from the action that York was involved with. Never has a heroic action
been so thoroughly investigated, and indeed validated. The town is a typical </span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">provincial French community. There is a plaque to York outside the Town hall and
the well-sign posted trail starts from a point about 200 metres beyond this point.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEcFqd_uH0c94Y-R7herMt8bTED0cVBviZmwbZTINQ8qUbyZUkD5suq-MaOTGLFj59wfXeptOyQLhb0cGB97brt1WG7M42nVERz9V4dHFhMDOhdC8pglHThmuugQ1hRDeFdg0a9ud1PHw1sdiTiFxRlf0x7HVTejyra775g_2pk2phl8OrurZe3U_/s1920/IMG_8500%20copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEcFqd_uH0c94Y-R7herMt8bTED0cVBviZmwbZTINQ8qUbyZUkD5suq-MaOTGLFj59wfXeptOyQLhb0cGB97brt1WG7M42nVERz9V4dHFhMDOhdC8pglHThmuugQ1hRDeFdg0a9ud1PHw1sdiTiFxRlf0x7HVTejyra775g_2pk2phl8OrurZe3U_/s320/IMG_8500%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signboard on the Sergeant York Trail</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: 'ArialMT';">The walk is a couple of miles. The trail skirts around a small lake, runs along the mid-
point of a ridge turns in a horseshoe through woodland before returning to the start-
point. There are eight information boards and directional signs. At the point where
York charged and neutralised one of the German machine guns there is a memorial
listing the names of the Americans involved in the action. It also references the trail
funders (the Weider family) and the builders (Nate Eggert and his Eagle Scout
group).
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuH3uOofID6Ln013ZJSYqbXgrhZARPapaDCsGGmCdCe_-FDKNN0dEFTVDi48IJuYQHtw1soMbHNzHnIipB8m2sTqE9CJcR7Mt5R_W8bv9KMGDQYkr--ceT37q3V6xEE-uiObxENtwG8LRl_IwmwknzDfvD0dfKbzNzZvumwf6aA1oEnbSI94CqlxUp/s1920/IMG_8415%20copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuH3uOofID6Ln013ZJSYqbXgrhZARPapaDCsGGmCdCe_-FDKNN0dEFTVDi48IJuYQHtw1soMbHNzHnIipB8m2sTqE9CJcR7Mt5R_W8bv9KMGDQYkr--ceT37q3V6xEE-uiObxENtwG8LRl_IwmwknzDfvD0dfKbzNzZvumwf6aA1oEnbSI94CqlxUp/s320/IMG_8415%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'ArialMT';">To complete the day, we visited the stunningly moving Meuse-Argonne American
Cemeterv - 130 acres containing 14,246 burials. The site is very impressive and
features tree-lined walkways, a central fountain, a chapel and a visitor centre. We
weren't able to visit the latter. Maybe next time? My review of 'Hero on the Western
Front: Discovering Alvin York's Battlefield' is <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qDo7U9cmjyO-F-sxey7MCjv8rYyM7czo/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>.
</span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-82221241865304795662023-03-11T16:18:00.004+00:002023-03-11T17:25:58.070+00:00The Battle of Imphal (March - July 1944)<p> The road down from the Kohima in the Himalayan foothills down on to the plain below played a vital part during the Battle of Imphal. The Japanese 33rd Army had successfully cut in behind the 17th Indian Division further south on the Tiddim Road and when the only metalled road into Imphal from the north was also severed then the Allied ability to hold Imphal was, for a number of weeks in, jeopardy. When the relief of Imphal did come, the Allied attack was launched from the north. Earlier, on the same road, the Japanese had attacked - unsuccessfully - a large scale Allied defensive 'box' at Tangla Tongbi. Our journey was interrupted by informal checkpoints set up to protect various villages en-route. Money changed hands and we were allowed to pass. The one official checkpoint is on the Nagaland / Manipur border is a triumph of Indian bureaucracy!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMJ0A_qW7DpV_5X2i4YmQYZn5uz2Cy8uJIaC4M6dqRsSkblnbsgcK6cgd1luLyA2JXiATcp7FEGkyvR4woHotgPSCPyLt0qFv2MyNrcJT5iE5zdLs4ynvKH9P9PoiqgRpK3HmCHpOqGSWsw4HXleWcRbgGjBV620CkB7ZSGgvVguFRjTRhmqxlQMc/s4032/IMG_6134%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMJ0A_qW7DpV_5X2i4YmQYZn5uz2Cy8uJIaC4M6dqRsSkblnbsgcK6cgd1luLyA2JXiATcp7FEGkyvR4woHotgPSCPyLt0qFv2MyNrcJT5iE5zdLs4ynvKH9P9PoiqgRpK3HmCHpOqGSWsw4HXleWcRbgGjBV620CkB7ZSGgvVguFRjTRhmqxlQMc/s320/IMG_6134%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Advance to Imphal started her - 7 June 1944</td></tr></tbody></table><p>If one is so inclined, it is possible to get a tourist-eye view of Nagaland at the Kisama Heritage Village which is a useful stopping off point on the way down the valley. It is here that the famous Hornbill Festival is held every year and there is an arena dedicated to this culturally important event. Opposite the festival grounds is the recently built '2nd World War Museum' which offers a collection of artefacts dating back to 1944, various audio-visual presentations and some informative and well-balanced interpretive panels.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-x6KbTu4-ssunzPQOoilhQnt_GDx_2CSDd01GID9E2EZEh4xGhu0Pqyu4mwQMzTk3NmD1y95EM7GVuWyb7TdDnY-6MRgGowGIa2J0QfkitEcGbSjFWzoqEYrsyGqreu6yGHt--tCEYZONBfAJlkL7WvrdjbDF7xOw7zkZX5-r54RUjiE6eR375N23/s4032/IMG_6132%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2686" data-original-width="4032" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-x6KbTu4-ssunzPQOoilhQnt_GDx_2CSDd01GID9E2EZEh4xGhu0Pqyu4mwQMzTk3NmD1y95EM7GVuWyb7TdDnY-6MRgGowGIa2J0QfkitEcGbSjFWzoqEYrsyGqreu6yGHt--tCEYZONBfAJlkL7WvrdjbDF7xOw7zkZX5-r54RUjiE6eR375N23/s320/IMG_6132%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kisama - Second World War Museum</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UKBya8nbWhxnWCvOafSl6MpCOX-9GUxrYvqUEJ6c3mt6RnPQBaP5CZRYTXCVdjyciUaSdJBI1ISeqEXJKrZetPBRjoykz3wbTCMRRsKr-SUipbJcYgv0c5lGjEfIkTnfsYczX1xAGt6y5P9zBCWeGKGFdcfwyWktoZHm-OHRRnPYbkP6e8JtL4jr/s4032/IMG_6123%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UKBya8nbWhxnWCvOafSl6MpCOX-9GUxrYvqUEJ6c3mt6RnPQBaP5CZRYTXCVdjyciUaSdJBI1ISeqEXJKrZetPBRjoykz3wbTCMRRsKr-SUipbJcYgv0c5lGjEfIkTnfsYczX1xAGt6y5P9zBCWeGKGFdcfwyWktoZHm-OHRRnPYbkP6e8JtL4jr/s320/IMG_6123%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese Artefacts, Kisama Second World War Museum<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Heading through Imphal, taking the Tiddim Road towards the Myanmar border, one can easily find Maibam Lokpaching (Red Hill) which was the closest that the Japanese got to Imphal during the four month long battle. The Japanese losses in and around this small settlement were extremely high and this may account for the fact that the only Japanese memorial to the battle, is located at the foot of the hill. The so-called 'Peace Shrine' was built by veterans of the Japanese Army's 33rd Division (the White Tigers) and has since become a place of pilgrimage - more so now that an 'Indian Peace Memorial' has been constructed nearby, along with another museum which places a degree of emphasis on the Indian National Army (INA) which fought in the area, on the side of the Japanese. </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZWYHX4aKCqJQikkNCoxnMCCnGD-SxGq2bEktWmotB5ybvUNbwhFEuv6oLGnczkdr4amBALVT_xdpb1os_3RZoNU3TAWNtSjGoN4aUfemUuJRaBSAjhtoxKwe6iHAlSdLv0gu7U2xWLwSPtoYWDaOaHFojTuHqVn2hHvap0Muh4jw6kkoWXkbl68r/s4032/IMG_6145%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZWYHX4aKCqJQikkNCoxnMCCnGD-SxGq2bEktWmotB5ybvUNbwhFEuv6oLGnczkdr4amBALVT_xdpb1os_3RZoNU3TAWNtSjGoN4aUfemUuJRaBSAjhtoxKwe6iHAlSdLv0gu7U2xWLwSPtoYWDaOaHFojTuHqVn2hHvap0Muh4jw6kkoWXkbl68r/s320/IMG_6145%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese Peace Shrine - Maibam Lokpaching</td></tr></tbody></table></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMo4G5uQCnbn-M1XcJXzlLqntb1kdTOolhDmTjKmFYoT5XJu3THTlp_51k-LO2Vbx09zM51vVAke4RzUEhO4ht21CjSDpolfIfxms0mSc4cq3HvFX9pI_LiM59QAxOiYeisiqlecrC0aA5rid8b6YeYtH3iTBhJua0S2w8AQXClTIWPKNzW4zekuRi/s4032/IMG_6157%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMo4G5uQCnbn-M1XcJXzlLqntb1kdTOolhDmTjKmFYoT5XJu3THTlp_51k-LO2Vbx09zM51vVAke4RzUEhO4ht21CjSDpolfIfxms0mSc4cq3HvFX9pI_LiM59QAxOiYeisiqlecrC0aA5rid8b6YeYtH3iTBhJua0S2w8AQXClTIWPKNzW4zekuRi/s320/IMG_6157%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maibam Lokpaching Indian Peace Museum</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Beyond Red Hill, the Tiddim Road circumvents Loktak Lake - a huge expanse of water and a haven for wildlife (now the Keibul Lamjao National Park). To go further is impossible as the Myanmar border a few miles beyond, is closed to visitors. We tracked back to Moirang where one can find the INA Memorial Complex which is essentially a showcase for the nationalist ideas propagated by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the INA leadership. If you have the stomach for it, you can peruse the gallery of pictures showing Chandra Bose hob-nobbing with Adolf Hitler, and others who shared a similar world view.<br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenzWLT5cG3gwd5uXsTdPmttQxIdB_IvbCcvOvH_qVHRdc7zRyI2cmZBT6Q4gIIroFtLE8e1c6qMEKkY66RceAdoLaNvBUnXiT1CfG9iVw_iv_xL2P7mq-KO6Ks1ugncTVE8obb8INkdOPElCjTVU5I4vuNtP-3omaxzWapVJTDtHkm3WSPlE7H5Vv/s1920/IMG_6199%20copy.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenzWLT5cG3gwd5uXsTdPmttQxIdB_IvbCcvOvH_qVHRdc7zRyI2cmZBT6Q4gIIroFtLE8e1c6qMEKkY66RceAdoLaNvBUnXiT1CfG9iVw_iv_xL2P7mq-KO6Ks1ugncTVE8obb8INkdOPElCjTVU5I4vuNtP-3omaxzWapVJTDtHkm3WSPlE7H5Vv/s320/IMG_6199%20copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishermen on Loktak Lake</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>As the Japanese advanced along the Tamu / Palel axis to the east of the lake, as a result of orders received, Acting Major-General Douglas withdrew his 20th Indian Division to a series of hills called the Shenam Saddle - more easily defended. Yamamoto (no, not that one!) force, consisting of elements from the Japanese 33rd and 15th Divisions - supported by tanks and artillery attacked the Saddle and heavy fighting amongst the five peaks took place from 8 - 22 April 1944. We chose to explore this battlefield and were rewarded with spectacular views, trenches, dugouts and clear evidence of the intensity of the fighting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnA9EORrvrcuYSUguHobDlXAs0bzadkVQ2Me7KluEL1CWFJ5hlhnv6dvi_c1QDLonvL4iGAbWn5ZynguZpKoEeYGbaox0v4GhcxMOY7xP0juhTS7WFjnCVMB0UT0CUXNfsaHE6oVax1LrjAdYFxrVFrugeh5q86EzFh0SKIvkDEl7pYNaOxXjK2IXa/s4032/IMG_2567%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnA9EORrvrcuYSUguHobDlXAs0bzadkVQ2Me7KluEL1CWFJ5hlhnv6dvi_c1QDLonvL4iGAbWn5ZynguZpKoEeYGbaox0v4GhcxMOY7xP0juhTS7WFjnCVMB0UT0CUXNfsaHE6oVax1LrjAdYFxrVFrugeh5q86EzFh0SKIvkDEl7pYNaOxXjK2IXa/s320/IMG_2567%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking the Shenam Saddle</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mBmSR9mjL55CnvzL2AaUONW1Tjffsr31_bOTz_1j9vaP0Etpw1dDtC-zHWC7X_-GC4C7qO9KCyLsPBFaUyoLLL3lR0U6Kjelyc5sCo89ES8ml24lPHgMtC2onNOKYxKXe-2wNgr8MVBuUO_fqOboPZv2Up-PTyxASbyPL8mhyadm1TlorQnatcm3/s4032/IMG_2563%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mBmSR9mjL55CnvzL2AaUONW1Tjffsr31_bOTz_1j9vaP0Etpw1dDtC-zHWC7X_-GC4C7qO9KCyLsPBFaUyoLLL3lR0U6Kjelyc5sCo89ES8ml24lPHgMtC2onNOKYxKXe-2wNgr8MVBuUO_fqOboPZv2Up-PTyxASbyPL8mhyadm1TlorQnatcm3/s320/IMG_2563%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Major Lindsay Adams and I - Recce Hill towards 'Gibralter'</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Imphal was never taken by the Japanese but nevertheless it is an interesting place to explore. Manipur is very different to Nagaland but shares a similar history - 'hill people' with distinct cultures and a history of turbulent regional politics. We didn't have time to visit the Khongjom War Memorial (Anglo-Manipur War 1891) but there was ample opportunity to learn more about this conflict in the Kangi Palace (Fort) grounds where there is evidence of the destruction visited on these historic buildings by vengeful British troops following a local 'uprising'. Also of interest is Slim's bungalow in the grounds, sadly in disrepair but occasionally used socially by Officers of the Assam Rifles.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfhyLu-hkbHqWkBNJPMYrNIPQgUCFtHt5fQ6ioxzYE0K94vK1IJjiR3I6bnV2PM8fmujk07h6iaUlXaD_eU5p9gF4jzO0w6kpphLiSC-L0k4v1ZdQ2MTfyT0ViFk2n0CoM4C7S9-kX5HSOD6vCZboTvwsw_fL9hT-D9Slf01NgLlhqtUMs9YDQ9lD/s4032/IMG_6339%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXfhyLu-hkbHqWkBNJPMYrNIPQgUCFtHt5fQ6ioxzYE0K94vK1IJjiR3I6bnV2PM8fmujk07h6iaUlXaD_eU5p9gF4jzO0w6kpphLiSC-L0k4v1ZdQ2MTfyT0ViFk2n0CoM4C7S9-kX5HSOD6vCZboTvwsw_fL9hT-D9Slf01NgLlhqtUMs9YDQ9lD/s320/IMG_6339%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Replica Statues - Kangla Fort</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dn4Wfgjn9QNpIX_PdDLEXskXeedc9nVwktWXppw2ztP5zOm7LlgW5ynt6_5EpzUVJRKjdyNuCVtiQuFw8svBQEtNNool7PstKlUbX1gqN_SwlWRqbcU2tB9VhtAch2QEGeq_9ON9V0Vn7PotJw5ySVLP0RgJtOLLcKefGus486yE1ZQBUIT__Slu/s4032/IMG_6337%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dn4Wfgjn9QNpIX_PdDLEXskXeedc9nVwktWXppw2ztP5zOm7LlgW5ynt6_5EpzUVJRKjdyNuCVtiQuFw8svBQEtNNool7PstKlUbX1gqN_SwlWRqbcU2tB9VhtAch2QEGeq_9ON9V0Vn7PotJw5ySVLP0RgJtOLLcKefGus486yE1ZQBUIT__Slu/s320/IMG_6337%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slim's Cottage</td></tr></tbody></table>The sign outside Slim's cottage reads: <i>This cottage was constructed in 1901 and initially was the residence of the Co. 4 of the Assam Rifles. During the Second World War this was the residence of Field Marshall W.J.Slim, KG. GCB. BC. MG. GCVO. DSO. MC commander of the Allied Forces. Later it was the residence of IGAR (North) and thereafter it housed GOC Mike Sector. Presently it houses the Officers Club of HQ Manipur Range (9 Sector). </i>Then, back to Kolkata ... and home.<div><i><br /></i></div><div>For my portfolio of Imphal photographs, <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjArgBD" target="_blank">click here</a>. </div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-87737853681163158442023-02-28T17:42:00.002+00:002023-03-02T17:04:47.279+00:00The Siege of Kohima (April 1944)<p> Nagaland is unlike any other part of India. Located tight against the Myanmar border the Naga people have a distinct cultural and linguistic identity, having more in common with their Burmese neighbours than with the bulk of the Indian population with whom they share a common nationality. Unlike the rest of the sub-continent the area is predominantly Christian. Indeed, the Nagas have worked hard to maintain their own unique cultural and ethnic identity, eschewing attempts to paint them as 'Indian'. This has, in recent years, manifested itself in violent protest which is why Nagaland has been closed to foreigners for most of the post war period. Now, however, it is possible to go there - and so, with the help of a travel firm called Cultural Experience, I did just that.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5wYh1BXIVLK8f06hDB_rmF33Sbh1MbFRkXiTb_FL90jvFu68PTsythN3C9UwbI_lkODhHaqBanH2Xs43fusvzIkQ-bjf76YT3T0GwjRRbqgzZUpUvz98KPif3Vmm9Ipacsy_JE2AeQLxuJJoGtnkfzGSqL-gMgHdH4-L6fmBqfS_TRaxXMSJEja8/s4032/IMG_5911.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5wYh1BXIVLK8f06hDB_rmF33Sbh1MbFRkXiTb_FL90jvFu68PTsythN3C9UwbI_lkODhHaqBanH2Xs43fusvzIkQ-bjf76YT3T0GwjRRbqgzZUpUvz98KPif3Vmm9Ipacsy_JE2AeQLxuJJoGtnkfzGSqL-gMgHdH4-L6fmBqfS_TRaxXMSJEja8/s320/IMG_5911.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wartime bridge on the Dimapur / Kohima road</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In her book 'Naga Path' Ursula Graham-Bower, offered up her impressions of Nagaland. <i>A fantastically dramatic setting - knife edge ridges and hills looming blue and green out of the cloud - razor-backed spurs sweeping down into deep valleys. </i>Graham-Bower was a remarkable women. Appointed by Slim as a senior British Army commander she was a key figure in mobilising V-Force as an intelligence gathering operation after Japanese successes in Burma, which had brought them up to the border where they were in a position to threaten British India. Looking out of the window during our flight from Calcutta to Dimapur, I could see what Graham-Bower was getting at in her description. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-Owiwg39MbvWgIc7D-6vGhd2K1WMHWKh_gbUGF6l5saRdNnXcvwl8fQzGKROoMfvycZRmlM-jHWWosgCIFup2zqgh4WD2UPxB4S0AP-pkv4t6sLqyS6nIgRnTkHyVZYUb67vWoXVWtacu5ycgvST3qlhbFMSjtkxsXIoZJatvwyVPB0m4O5RG4C5/s3875/IMG_5905.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2906" data-original-width="3875" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-Owiwg39MbvWgIc7D-6vGhd2K1WMHWKh_gbUGF6l5saRdNnXcvwl8fQzGKROoMfvycZRmlM-jHWWosgCIFup2zqgh4WD2UPxB4S0AP-pkv4t6sLqyS6nIgRnTkHyVZYUb67vWoXVWtacu5ycgvST3qlhbFMSjtkxsXIoZJatvwyVPB0m4O5RG4C5/s320/IMG_5905.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nagaland from Calcutta to Dimapur flight</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>It somehow seemed appropriate that our journey started from Dimapur as during the Second World War this town was a strategically important rail hub and the starting point for the transfer of supplies, by road, up to Kohima. Actually, taking the road in question, one quickly comes across a bridge built by military engineers in 1942. Unused now it is sobering to think that in 1944 all road traffic going up to Kohima traversed this historic structure. Nowadays the road to Kohima is mostly metalled but the route it takes has not changed over the years - following an ancient track and winding its way through stunning mountain scenery.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKYXHziPRmusN7hTtoMa8pRAq_h-nLmPhuczMHvNRJDf-mcCYNhPqImhjNfiCHfNbf8TAKP-OoROjFV7wCoCO4yOrFTKeRdE09zCYT3TIYSG080CL4FiRKcZiEXIpG3KGwK4HOuy5ja0uazX-ikn2YPg4yA8Xayde67tEFqXh6uXQkQx6UNVFE1nM/s4032/IMG_5912.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKYXHziPRmusN7hTtoMa8pRAq_h-nLmPhuczMHvNRJDf-mcCYNhPqImhjNfiCHfNbf8TAKP-OoROjFV7wCoCO4yOrFTKeRdE09zCYT3TIYSG080CL4FiRKcZiEXIpG3KGwK4HOuy5ja0uazX-ikn2YPg4yA8Xayde67tEFqXh6uXQkQx6UNVFE1nM/s320/IMG_5912.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kohima from hotel window</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In 1944 Kohima was a relatively small village. It sits on the Kohima Ridge which Robert Lyman, in his excellent book, 'A War Of Empires: Japan, India, Burma and Britain 1941-45' describes as <i>an enormous physical barrier, especially so to an army intent on moving farther west towards Dimapur; consequently it's defence and retention are critical if this route is to be barred to an invader. </i>Furthermore if Kohima fell then Imphal would be starved of supplies. The storm did come of course - the U-Go offensive into India was a massive endeavour and the attempt by the Japanese 31st Division (of the 15th Army) to take the Kohima Ridge in April 1944 was thwarted by a heroic defence and eventual counter-attack by British and Indian forces who, under General Slim's leadership, had regained confidence and rebuilt fighting capability after major defeats in Burma over the previous eighteen months.</div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWz5QBMQpd1LcpPOiSJ35Wnz70rN-nXvwObj41yKVjPDXVDhALms_gro3x_oNh4k1-030HwM2q_cdh6YR_zLUuEc_Q9abr5vufmmhISlCQ3GRk7GZxSLeVaRUHSjrXfoq-8Thn4lP3-rr-Feh0RlhaLzRZyaPvBe2oKXU4dkzvK2RFtvizSJlAn19f/s1920/IMG_6076.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWz5QBMQpd1LcpPOiSJ35Wnz70rN-nXvwObj41yKVjPDXVDhALms_gro3x_oNh4k1-030HwM2q_cdh6YR_zLUuEc_Q9abr5vufmmhISlCQ3GRk7GZxSLeVaRUHSjrXfoq-8Thn4lP3-rr-Feh0RlhaLzRZyaPvBe2oKXU4dkzvK2RFtvizSJlAn19f/s320/IMG_6076.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Kohima from Garrison Hill</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>During the siege, which started on the 4th April 1944, the 2,500 strong garrison was commanded by Colonel Hugh Richards, a man who some feel was treated quite shabbily afterwards. Under his command, Richards had one Battalion of the Queen's Own Royal West Kents (under Colonel John Laverty) and one Company of the 7th Rajput Regiment - both from 161st Brigade. In addition, Richards had a raw battalion from the Royal Nepalese Army (the Shere Regiment) and various detachments of rear-echelon troops. Nowhere was the fighting more intense than within a small perimeter on Garrison Hill in proximity to the Deputy Commissioners bungalow. Fighting was fiercest around an asphalt tennis court which served as 'no-mans land' during hand-to-hand fighting. Fittingly, the spectacularly sited Kohima Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery is located on this spot and the tennis courts have been remarked in the grounds.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4U7vJ_ybwQR7HKh4445DbZZJ3MR5Ao0ASv5jOQzl2al6CB2M5sktTVZROZh6JA2umr9uhY3ZKTYEcQ4x0FGr1x3IJZ86cbxekuKsmtA08Y23EyMwfFadYiZzWo61ITmSQN11-D3XDW9MZo4LUGavjUEKAMYQgO9FnWpo9py45ik0pUBT4JRi-6mG/s1920/IMG_5967.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4U7vJ_ybwQR7HKh4445DbZZJ3MR5Ao0ASv5jOQzl2al6CB2M5sktTVZROZh6JA2umr9uhY3ZKTYEcQ4x0FGr1x3IJZ86cbxekuKsmtA08Y23EyMwfFadYiZzWo61ITmSQN11-D3XDW9MZo4LUGavjUEKAMYQgO9FnWpo9py45ik0pUBT4JRi-6mG/s320/IMG_5967.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cross of Sacrifice - Tennis Court</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0n_JMoWslgvNOEombbavvICzJYFl9MjxKiaHLhwtLQ29J2S3glyOQr3-Zgsqak-hEj7J016LBd7mRrDsfHYe-Anq-CK9eLBkcS6AmbsirPxPMsLytiNUMlniLiqK9B4w2UsGy0hbcP0-7snWvYBuSRZYm0ShMS3fl_zPCLVkrSvtBVRGwVRwW0pdk/s1782/IMG_5968.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1027" data-original-width="1782" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0n_JMoWslgvNOEombbavvICzJYFl9MjxKiaHLhwtLQ29J2S3glyOQr3-Zgsqak-hEj7J016LBd7mRrDsfHYe-Anq-CK9eLBkcS6AmbsirPxPMsLytiNUMlniLiqK9B4w2UsGy0hbcP0-7snWvYBuSRZYm0ShMS3fl_zPCLVkrSvtBVRGwVRwW0pdk/s320/IMG_5968.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kohima CWGC, Garrison Hill</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>During this first tage of the Battle of Kohima - the siege, the defenders were supported by 161st Brigade's artillery which was deployed in the Jotsoma area, about two miles from the epicentre of the fighting in Kohima. The picture below is taken from just above the main gun positions and one can see Garrison Hill on the horizon about a third of the way in from the left. Relief for the defenders of Kohima began to arrive on the 18th April in the form of Major General John Grover's 2nd Division. The 1st Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment of the 5th Brigade being the first to pierce the Japanese encirclement.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDL6YXQzG1ak4K7huqWOW7IP35xO4347TUTJdx3hqcXhxWtRQ_f1Djc0wK4P9hLEJDtDF6QkL-SjZ7i9K1zewkOe6xghT2PnEXVHJry8EoT7enE3d56i51isN-lm8tucVLxD65lqSDODY_uulgxMU_imLf_2-Y17Glyb3_LtKOzuqJp9ovQMwclUy/s8176/IMG_5989.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="8176" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDL6YXQzG1ak4K7huqWOW7IP35xO4347TUTJdx3hqcXhxWtRQ_f1Djc0wK4P9hLEJDtDF6QkL-SjZ7i9K1zewkOe6xghT2PnEXVHJry8EoT7enE3d56i51isN-lm8tucVLxD65lqSDODY_uulgxMU_imLf_2-Y17Glyb3_LtKOzuqJp9ovQMwclUy/w400-h94/IMG_5989.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Garrison Hill (far distance, left hand side) from Jotsoma</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>An authentic battlefield relic can be found at the foot of Garrison Hill in the form of a Lee Grant tank still in the position where it came to rest on May 6th whilst supporting troops of the 2nd Division. An information board nearby gives the detail:<i> Under treacherous monsoon condition, the tank careered down the hill, lost a track and crashed against a tree, where it came under enemy fire. The crew jammed the triggers of the tank's machine guns to fire continuously, set the turret to rotate and escaped back to British lines.</i> It remains in place as a memorial to the heroism and sacrifice of all of those who fought in the battle. As can be seen in the image below, reading the information panel was not easy.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeALzAKsqe4Bh2gT8FFHMZRFuVhXDS_mntYp8H0B0Oc7ln4H2Usjo0o3bxr7z_PMVmqZkWIczbcomuzZjWM_x6j7URfg3NtRdNPhkNuVQf1LRyBSXsoam9d_46Pkr8g4oMHhJ_0yGp8wbOpTFiMi6CA8hFCWNlm-jyJK0sPhgW6tbeMRx9DJsVf190/s1920/IMG_6060.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeALzAKsqe4Bh2gT8FFHMZRFuVhXDS_mntYp8H0B0Oc7ln4H2Usjo0o3bxr7z_PMVmqZkWIczbcomuzZjWM_x6j7URfg3NtRdNPhkNuVQf1LRyBSXsoam9d_46Pkr8g4oMHhJ_0yGp8wbOpTFiMi6CA8hFCWNlm-jyJK0sPhgW6tbeMRx9DJsVf190/s320/IMG_6060.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee Grant Tank - Kohima</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzKvT881j4YxbEvW6YSe7lMYpVHTDaw4F4XvOqOVsVad6HnxnsqsSyuUterz_BZZImYhEHEknHfDZ02GYB5M0F9cXfeDD6_EPdqb3VvsBjngPa-__Lk0jVjFCwT2zuekOBy_dFUbOJg41s6w42TxhV7D66XtoPbOJHWUumd00sADXe-QD6W6haRfn/s1920/IMG_6061.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzKvT881j4YxbEvW6YSe7lMYpVHTDaw4F4XvOqOVsVad6HnxnsqsSyuUterz_BZZImYhEHEknHfDZ02GYB5M0F9cXfeDD6_EPdqb3VvsBjngPa-__Lk0jVjFCwT2zuekOBy_dFUbOJg41s6w42TxhV7D66XtoPbOJHWUumd00sADXe-QD6W6haRfn/s320/IMG_6061.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lee Grant Tank - Information Boards</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Even after the relief had started, Lieutenant General Sato's 31st Division continued assaulting Garrison Hill although they were eventually forced into a defensive posture with four Battalions seeking to hold the Kohima Ridge in the face of a concerted British counter-offensive. Faced with a deteriorating supply situation, confused orders and decisive Allied advances Sato pulled back on the 1st June. This, despite no explicit orders to do so from the overall Japanese Commander of 15th Army, General Mutaguchi.</div><div><br /></div><div>For more images from Kohima click<a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjArkaV" target="_blank"> here</a>.</div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-80519739026890581242023-02-21T17:28:00.004+00:002023-02-21T17:30:46.900+00:00The Battle of Sangshak (March, 1944)<p> The 1944 Japanese 'U Go' offensive was bold to say the least. Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi had successfully argued that the Allied war effort in Northern Burma and Nationalist China could be severely compromised by a large scale advance through the Brahmaputra Valley in British India, taking in Imphal and Kohima. Furthermore, it was felt by some in the Japanese High Command that if disaffected Indian combatants could be mobilised in sufficient numbers then the British grip on Bengal might be loosened - with massive political implications for the future of the sub-continent. The invasion involved three Japanese Divisions - the 15th, 31st and 33rd (approximately 85,000 men, supported by units of the Indian National Army). The epic battles at Kohima and Imphal are the stuff of legend, and the fight at Sangshak was critical to Allied success in that it delayed the Japanese advance by several days - buying valuable time for the defenders of Kohima in particular.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQSVREnVFS2nqGYaLO8wGSTyqACaVU88S1zFte4vKeSfVJG19BeZK3AQlsXdQMvKtrwhoEQStkG3uJBL8uyVcyOzIGQHk0hl6zFB2PkP2QhqQfINaf54WpgVh8zvGuQkLQy7VVoASzwPIqdc_KP13xGHo2kuOTMYbsco8G8jvl0bwKklUc1KIpG07/s4032/IMG_2442.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQSVREnVFS2nqGYaLO8wGSTyqACaVU88S1zFte4vKeSfVJG19BeZK3AQlsXdQMvKtrwhoEQStkG3uJBL8uyVcyOzIGQHk0hl6zFB2PkP2QhqQfINaf54WpgVh8zvGuQkLQy7VVoASzwPIqdc_KP13xGHo2kuOTMYbsco8G8jvl0bwKklUc1KIpG07/s320/IMG_2442.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Imphal Valley from the Ukhrul Road</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The village of Sangshak is way up in the Naga Hills, accessible (just) via the Imphal to Kamjong Ukhrul Road. The journey is a long and arduous one, made more so by the occasional checkpoint and diversions caused by landslips and roadworks. Its an area that has been closed to visitors for many years. Indeed when we eventually reached the village, at over 5,000 ft elevation, we were told - through our local guide - that we were amongst fewer than 100 'white men' who had visited the area since the end of the Second World War!</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJe8UR-dNaxR1ppGmExAXbbVCJgsMN0skCOI94DFLb_aZQr6hZsHMO4xnCyej2061XmWcEpxo6gaK8qURr-UfmSk6Gr2JpILHIeeftkB41iURWQ43cBNbdb3y4ibEeEadsRFe_vefUH2hM-L4KlVNPQ6jAidipUfO5D2dF4UOCdx-mBUUlelEU4C9/s4032/IMG_6228.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJe8UR-dNaxR1ppGmExAXbbVCJgsMN0skCOI94DFLb_aZQr6hZsHMO4xnCyej2061XmWcEpxo6gaK8qURr-UfmSk6Gr2JpILHIeeftkB41iURWQ43cBNbdb3y4ibEeEadsRFe_vefUH2hM-L4KlVNPQ6jAidipUfO5D2dF4UOCdx-mBUUlelEU4C9/s320/IMG_6228.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sangshak Village - Lower Reaches</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Why the Japanese didn't follow their standard (and proven) tactical doctrine of bypass and infiltration is something of a mystery. However, elements of the Japanese 31st Division (en-route to Kohima) and the associated 15th Division (en-route to Imphal) converged on the village which at the time of the battle was held by the understrength 50th Indian Parachute Brigade commanded by Brigadier Hope-Thompson. Hope-Thompson also had a Battalion of the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry and two companies of the Nepalese Kalibahadur Regiment under his command. The fighting was brutal - 'see-sawing' across the heart of the village and often consisting of Japanese 'Banzai' charges against shallow trenches occupied by the exhausted defenders.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctZi_pzEqlG_YKduJhVWb3qY2x0IS_icoI6HYjbWvKQ4G7EEfZ0uWbAkgPUMx4MangZ5mNhbLHL6jinEONygtizj4Px5hEPgqHA2VTVAQ0AJcKY_lX6X-x5HmMPJR8eQTeLAIPqJQMIdkmhikZ9KStXAD8n-enVH_fzunXf7_0Ql_a7bjNIacCUVm/s4032/IMG_6240.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctZi_pzEqlG_YKduJhVWb3qY2x0IS_icoI6HYjbWvKQ4G7EEfZ0uWbAkgPUMx4MangZ5mNhbLHL6jinEONygtizj4Px5hEPgqHA2VTVAQ0AJcKY_lX6X-x5HmMPJR8eQTeLAIPqJQMIdkmhikZ9KStXAD8n-enVH_fzunXf7_0Ql_a7bjNIacCUVm/s320/IMG_6240.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allied line - looking towards Japanese positions</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Our arrival in the village caused something of a stir. Local children seemed particularly intrigued - paying close attention to our expert guide, Robert Lyman, as he explained the heroic actions that took place on this spot. Our 'field' lunch was splendid - freshly cooked vegetables, pulses and meats all sourced from within a few hundred metres of the kitchen where the food was prepared. Anyone who has read the extraordinary memoirs of Slim's only female commander, Ursula Graham-Bower, will have an inkling of how special Nagaland is. Hill tribes who have more of affinity with the Burmese populations across the nearby border, than with their Indian compatriots. Each village has its own language and cultural proclivities. All share a common faith - Evangelical Christianity brought to them by American Baptist missionaries at a time when most of the Naga tribes were still head-hunting!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWlf9UjYDu-rgG17XZUX217SiHoF386FbM9Px667ooWorwkGHjLWJNmbS4Wt0ofH7HKuHomQf9_OUyJa9wKNqUFD1JYJ-DPWMPCAEcwe8gfYdgu8WfriIVENhd3ODjdKiTS-Lc-dMOzZ3JhveX00VKaXq6tqEbTGPtP4lgSAkKTXZr3SenM5t2D9_/s4032/IMG_6243.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWlf9UjYDu-rgG17XZUX217SiHoF386FbM9Px667ooWorwkGHjLWJNmbS4Wt0ofH7HKuHomQf9_OUyJa9wKNqUFD1JYJ-DPWMPCAEcwe8gfYdgu8WfriIVENhd3ODjdKiTS-Lc-dMOzZ3JhveX00VKaXq6tqEbTGPtP4lgSAkKTXZr3SenM5t2D9_/s320/IMG_6243.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our lunch hosts</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Losses during the battle were an indication of the intensity of the fighting. By the time that Maxwell Hope-Thompson withdrew his force, the Indian Brigade had lost over 650 men. Japanese losses were of a similar magnitude. History has not been kind to Hope-Maxwell. Whilst he went on to serve with distinction in Europe, some historians have been critical of the manner of the 50th Parachute Brigade's withdrawal where there is some ambiguity in the sequencing of events and orders. The conclusion of our group? Such criticism was grossly unfair. The stand that the Brigade made at Sangshak was an incredible feat of arms which delayed the Japanese 31st Division's advance on Kohima for a critical few days.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsL3REJUztfMRnYya1gpyyAGVCqHrjhqm-KS1QyEoMuGCNcdv2vRG8qv5zKi4eHwIOTvUsOBgFPWe0urHwCFySpXy8Lz4AgxJ-a7QR0FTptQOe0LX7cuGHzxGjVUxkrYPNpBXl7OYLbwVDVD2spClKLOhi4FIRpA9aaQMYoHL84DAJZluF7fkwl4W/s4032/IMG_6247.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsL3REJUztfMRnYya1gpyyAGVCqHrjhqm-KS1QyEoMuGCNcdv2vRG8qv5zKi4eHwIOTvUsOBgFPWe0urHwCFySpXy8Lz4AgxJ-a7QR0FTptQOe0LX7cuGHzxGjVUxkrYPNpBXl7OYLbwVDVD2spClKLOhi4FIRpA9aaQMYoHL84DAJZluF7fkwl4W/w150-h200/IMG_6247.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>Since the battle was fought, Sangshak has changed a little. True, everyone has a smart phone ... but the townswomen still fetch water from the wells at the bottom of the hill. The dwellings are much as they were, often patched up with 44 gallon fuel drums beaten in to flat panels for walls or roofs. The two hills which 'book-mark' the flat ground at the centre of the village, are surmounted by huge church buildings - a phenomenon that can be witnessed in every Naga settlement. Venture into the jungle on the hill sides around the village and one soon stumbles upon extensive trench lines and firing positions. We had the benefit of a local man and his son, who showed us the way and chopped away vegetation to clear a path.</div><div><p>Images from our trip to Imphal (including Sangshak) can be found <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjArgBD" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>With thanks to Yai Kangjam (Battle of Imphal Tours), Robert Lyman (Author of 'A War of Empires: Japan, India, Burma and Britain 1941-45') and Alan Rooney (The Cultural Experience).</p></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-77598543414622175862023-02-15T16:54:00.015+00:002023-02-16T17:34:25.417+00:00The Battle of Plassey: The Victory that won an Empire (1757)<p> The road from the old imperial capital of Kolkata (Calcutta) up to the site of the battlefield at Plassey is not for the faint hearted. An arterial route running alongside the Hoogli river it passes close to the historic town of Barrackpore and winds its' way up through countless towns and villages before reaching a recently installed memorial arch which 'announces' that Plassey has been reached. We chose Indian National Day to travel, not the wisest move - but something that did enrich the journey somewhat as everyone seemed to be dressed in their very best finery - a riot of colour.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vwACMcnkyT29GBWTJBwnY60QVfDY01GzpfkU-E_Hyu3cyB10qUcpiqc6KboGnj0eCib3NR0t0LyKOIP5_GuqKpGekWEg_CPld_sTC-vU1thzK0ij2zPsU1rROKsQQEvNBM_UbTE0XLsl1qsnghy7Q-X8M8pkwHMM443kU_zoTbOKAzE7MuRX0-e2/s1920/IMG_5876.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vwACMcnkyT29GBWTJBwnY60QVfDY01GzpfkU-E_Hyu3cyB10qUcpiqc6KboGnj0eCib3NR0t0LyKOIP5_GuqKpGekWEg_CPld_sTC-vU1thzK0ij2zPsU1rROKsQQEvNBM_UbTE0XLsl1qsnghy7Q-X8M8pkwHMM443kU_zoTbOKAzE7MuRX0-e2/s320/IMG_5876.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Road to Plassey</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Robert Clive (Clive of India) famously made his reputation at Plassey and on the way up we swung by the decaying ruins of his once great house, in the suburb of Dum Dum (near the ammunition factory), Kolkata. Sadly the place is in a dreadful state, unstable and gradually collapsing. There is talk of a preservation effort, but even securing the site would be difficult given that there are a number temporary looking dwellings within the perimeter of the building. Those who live there would need to be rehoused and compensated.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYV-80Ooqt59PKtI1sXzYZQAtMYWQmUTgUVSp2zWArKNzpRPRceH5tSOLw65IzrfErxwhD5NGSt1_9GGWotjX1qmjmuz33kXZLIIIg_eGfcZJzf_HEBj9BvADNy_gJcvxZwQEBlbZy5Ig0hTAy5HWD27JrnCcspHzqn5BP-5orHUWkP5Ab3PW8lwUW/s1920/IMG_5815.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYV-80Ooqt59PKtI1sXzYZQAtMYWQmUTgUVSp2zWArKNzpRPRceH5tSOLw65IzrfErxwhD5NGSt1_9GGWotjX1qmjmuz33kXZLIIIg_eGfcZJzf_HEBj9BvADNy_gJcvxZwQEBlbZy5Ig0hTAy5HWD27JrnCcspHzqn5BP-5orHUWkP5Ab3PW8lwUW/s320/IMG_5815.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clive's House, Kolkata</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The town of Barrackpore (Barrackpur) was the first British barracks complex (cantonment) built in India. It's colonial history goes back to 1772 after the British Crown had assumed control of the area from the East India Company - as a result of the British victory at Plassey. We were unable to gain entry to the recently refurbished Flagstaff House or the extensive grounds. This was a shame as, apart from the house itself, we were keen to see the old British statues which had been displaced from public spaces in Kolkata post 1947. The town has a prominent place in the Indian nationalist historical narrative as the Indian Rebellion (Mutiny) of 1857 was sparked on one of its' parade grounds when Mangal Pandey declined to accept an order from his British Commanding Officer. Pandey is now feted as a national hero across the sub-continent. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lDv2xAJhCXBf2-rxyjtvguJUJt27aPKZ0d_Xxgfl_Pe8oIDxtwNrJFT3m6bDAwps8IDo49DM70MiKoZRtoPTw3bClrvEOEmbULcnMy2be6Jrys4sBfdQ7VWSVDYHtM_MqtDkVtDL_bbqp4KxNjZlTVrcwZIZgJ90-RyuK5jEo6g9bO6UGntyjACk/s1920/IMG_5854.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lDv2xAJhCXBf2-rxyjtvguJUJt27aPKZ0d_Xxgfl_Pe8oIDxtwNrJFT3m6bDAwps8IDo49DM70MiKoZRtoPTw3bClrvEOEmbULcnMy2be6Jrys4sBfdQ7VWSVDYHtM_MqtDkVtDL_bbqp4KxNjZlTVrcwZIZgJ90-RyuK5jEo6g9bO6UGntyjACk/s320/IMG_5854.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British Statues in the grounds of Flagstaff House</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div>There are few battles in history, that had as profound a set of consequences as Plassey. Towards the end of the Eighteenth Century Britain was emerging as Europe's most powerful nation - to the discomfort of France. British influence and control in the sub-continent was exercised through the trading and policing activities of the increasingly powerful East India Company. The ruler of Bengal, Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah, sought to put an end to this dominance and enlisted the help of the French. The culmination of this military challenge came at Plassey where, in a handful of hours, Robert Clive's 3,000 strong combined force of British soldiers, Sepoys and East India Company men saw off a Franco-Bengali force numbering 18,000.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieB2Q-vUKYEuuVIj7tF8esjWgJwpl_lCKsEyqU_u9SNSbmLVFWrt0Rn9I_Ag4nXgznm_bPAPEoNaL3QdwYPhzfdGZe7B0GbvKUN61pGERmIrK3bxalg8HiAbIQ6590X5RVqv5zJ5wvcUQ6d8zv53Z8JKDvsEUnx-RHRu4XMH5lbRcVhijHkETmk7Pp/s1920/IMG_5897.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieB2Q-vUKYEuuVIj7tF8esjWgJwpl_lCKsEyqU_u9SNSbmLVFWrt0Rn9I_Ag4nXgznm_bPAPEoNaL3QdwYPhzfdGZe7B0GbvKUN61pGERmIrK3bxalg8HiAbIQ6590X5RVqv5zJ5wvcUQ6d8zv53Z8JKDvsEUnx-RHRu4XMH5lbRcVhijHkETmk7Pp/w320-h180/IMG_5897.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Plassey Monument - Erected 1857</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The memorial on the battlefield was built on the first centenary of the battle in 1857 on the site of the Hunting Lodge which sat at the heart of Clive's positions on the east bank of the River Hoogli. We spent quite a bit of time pouring over contemporary maps and whilst the Hoogli has changed course over the year, the consensus was that the memorial was almost certainly in the 'right place'. That can not be said about the memorial stones purportedly capping a battlefield gravesite centred on the Nawab's main position (his 'camp'). This latter memorial, erected in 1973, consists of a raised brick plinth surmounted by three obelisks each commemorating a named individual. </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27fzmFMkpZr-cN8iZhVQ_FX6oyHMyeoRbAC7SzdESum4tduSh54lgxYZB8J1aQ_722PbARWmdDCDSWFEAPfdgtW_Pg_3ruSlBTX9GU75DVjziKG5YGHFG9ZW3MjhX7ZICoNaS5Kg9api7Fc8aE0fi_NvA1g5Jo9IMwlRO7cfrrDcOfwrOgzVzxDM8/s1920/IMG_5884.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27fzmFMkpZr-cN8iZhVQ_FX6oyHMyeoRbAC7SzdESum4tduSh54lgxYZB8J1aQ_722PbARWmdDCDSWFEAPfdgtW_Pg_3ruSlBTX9GU75DVjziKG5YGHFG9ZW3MjhX7ZICoNaS5Kg9api7Fc8aE0fi_NvA1g5Jo9IMwlRO7cfrrDcOfwrOgzVzxDM8/s320/IMG_5884.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Plassey Battlefield - India National Day</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFcA0SgI8zDzbBmtBgwhQmqpkpWGWrcKujX8bU5EcZHDNef8zI-a8heHwZ_cjLeEJbFdrB-E0kNquZvLXPXUdbZTPzwnOIIN5pfxLlIbqMnr5Ihoj95sUHeg7ZQHiLnxT84pLX5F6UorZ6h7-lsr6vx0fEiXojaVLjuX-8Ek2y1YbGxE5_vaCSIcu/s1920/IMG_5891.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFcA0SgI8zDzbBmtBgwhQmqpkpWGWrcKujX8bU5EcZHDNef8zI-a8heHwZ_cjLeEJbFdrB-E0kNquZvLXPXUdbZTPzwnOIIN5pfxLlIbqMnr5Ihoj95sUHeg7ZQHiLnxT84pLX5F6UorZ6h7-lsr6vx0fEiXojaVLjuX-8Ek2y1YbGxE5_vaCSIcu/s320/IMG_5891.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Nawab's Memorial - Erected 1973</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The battle started with an artillery duel during which two large water tanks providing some cover for Clive's men. There are water tanks on the battlefield today - large water-filled rectangular reservoirs but these are almost certainly not in the same place as the originals. As the fight developed, a mixture of tactical superiority, better disciple and changing weather (heavy rain) meant that the balance tipped towards the British and with the death of one of the senior Bengali commanders, Mir Madan, and the Nawab's flight from the battlefield victory was secured. Clive had no cavalry so the pursuit was not prolonged, but the battle had been decisive and British hegemony in Bengal was secured.</div><div><br /></div></div><br /><div>For photographs of Plassey and Barrackpore click <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjArf52" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-30979313586379224192022-12-17T08:37:00.008+00:002023-11-22T23:53:36.351+00:00Three Husbands & Four Brothers - A First World War Story<p>My family got away relatively lightly during the First World War. A number of them served, including my maternal grandfather, Frank Saunders, who trained as an RAF Observer and qualified just as the Armistice was signed. Imbued with stories from the Canadians and Australians whom her served with, Frank emigrated to Canada where he spent a halcyon few years enjoying the delights that North America had to offer. Frank had nine brothers and sisters, and one of his siblings - Dorothy - wasn't so lucky. She lost one husband in action, another - a veteran - through ill health and her third (and last) husband was the only one of five brothers to have survived.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDmncN9qjvd3ggfzIMHnc5--TS9Ai0tS1n6inmM2QXUzMYLojiMl3o41E_7MbyMrV46kv-uixH6oiEzccFoBCrnNA27l8z6icbfCMx-SIyd40AunxFs8mlH7GBPd-puqiY-zqXtRes_CsVgaYpZJ10YzyQ0vbAL-Ax8KrLdnbBjl1-JLn0VflmWWy/s1081/Dorothy%20Saunders%20-%20in%20Hat%20copy.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="679" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDmncN9qjvd3ggfzIMHnc5--TS9Ai0tS1n6inmM2QXUzMYLojiMl3o41E_7MbyMrV46kv-uixH6oiEzccFoBCrnNA27l8z6icbfCMx-SIyd40AunxFs8mlH7GBPd-puqiY-zqXtRes_CsVgaYpZJ10YzyQ0vbAL-Ax8KrLdnbBjl1-JLn0VflmWWy/s320/Dorothy%20Saunders%20-%20in%20Hat%20copy.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorothy Francis Saunders</td></tr></tbody></table>Dorothy 'married well' on 2nd July 1910 at the age of twenty. Her husband was a young naval officer - Stephen Brown, a man with the prospect of a good maritime career ahead of him. Stephen was a gifted amateur artist and a number of his paintings are still in the possession of my family including one of Dorothy which he painted whilst on home leave in 1915.<div><br /></div><div>Sadly, Lieutenant Engineer Stephen Brown was killed in action on 17th October 1917. HMS Strongbow, on which Brown was serving, was on convoy duty en-route to the Shetland Islands. Two German cruisers were mistaken for friendly ships. Strongbow was engaged at 3,000 yards by the SMS Brummer and suffered catastrophic damage. After two further attacks she sank with the loss forty seven lives - all of whom are commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRka4CtmcRaW8NoeUG4XQPBhvTYFhcupFWoZ9X7JEcrox5XYLbsADZ0A7JDGbsYM8iV-I_mVtYvGU1ojcqbdG4mvk7xUjXjIMohq5vBGxzg2HRGbKBK9eObTZFhgkLf3TKTiSm06Tdz8B-aqOkg2-NQvJjjniUUffkMDotD2kQYfa7kByvrXTzgeTw/s1265/Stephen%20Brown.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="1265" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRka4CtmcRaW8NoeUG4XQPBhvTYFhcupFWoZ9X7JEcrox5XYLbsADZ0A7JDGbsYM8iV-I_mVtYvGU1ojcqbdG4mvk7xUjXjIMohq5vBGxzg2HRGbKBK9eObTZFhgkLf3TKTiSm06Tdz8B-aqOkg2-NQvJjjniUUffkMDotD2kQYfa7kByvrXTzgeTw/s320/Stephen%20Brown.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stephen Brown and his painting of Dorothy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Family legend has it that Dorothy was 'consoled' in her loss by a senior naval commander who later took her hand in marriage. Whatever the truth of this story, Dorothy 'married well' again. Her second husband was Engineer Rear Admiral William Jordan Deans - affectionally known as 'Jumbo' Deans. Jumbo enjoyed a very successful naval career and a measure of his status can be found in the fact that a head and shoulders photograph of him hangs in the National Portrait Gallery (<a href="https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp126612/william-jordan-deans" target="_blank">click here to view</a>). Dorothy was obviously proud of her second husband's career progression. There is a photograph of her wearing Jumbo's service jacket and cap. She is holding what looks like a stick of chalk and is clearly of a happy disposition.</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrHgWXxCiohBHEZV694WXCIxkSNm1AM_y8vdQoUOeACJ0O7s65xTLDQutOO3lgmS0AM3NfL4o1yOaUcDysg3pyiVoMlYR4fyqBh8I07aXMn7tl0Q6OSCYUeucoI18QxW1M2hMJki7QThGjZrgr3bkj2MhSjgoU9uqucyXsMar2mbZjNasSFQpDTXc/s898/Dorothy%20Daunders%20-%20Uniform%20copy.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="626" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrHgWXxCiohBHEZV694WXCIxkSNm1AM_y8vdQoUOeACJ0O7s65xTLDQutOO3lgmS0AM3NfL4o1yOaUcDysg3pyiVoMlYR4fyqBh8I07aXMn7tl0Q6OSCYUeucoI18QxW1M2hMJki7QThGjZrgr3bkj2MhSjgoU9uqucyXsMar2mbZjNasSFQpDTXc/s320/Dorothy%20Daunders%20-%20Uniform%20copy.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorothy Francis Deans</td></tr></tbody></table>In the 1930s Jumbo had served on Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, which was then a working relic of the Battle of Trafalgar in Portsmouth Harbour (family legend has it that one of HMS Victory's bell once served domestically in the porch of the family home). Rear Admiral Deans was placed on the Reserve List in 1936 'to facilitate the promotion of junior officers' and was retired in 1941. he died five years later in 1947.<div><br /></div><div>Dorothy's 'social ascendency' continued after Jumbo's death, when she married Noel Sutton of Suttons Seeds - a large-scale commercial enterprise located in Reading, Berkshire. Suttons and the Huntley-Palmer biscuit manufacturers dominated commercial life in the town during the early 20th Century. Noel, was one of five brothers but, incredibly the other four were all killed in the First World War leaving him as the only survivor - and Leonard Sutton's only male heir to the family firm. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lieutenant Alex Sutton, 7th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment was killed in action on 2nd Jan 1918 at the age of 19. Lieutenant Eric Sutton of the Royal Berkshire Yeomanry, who had won the Military Cross in 1915, was killed in action on the 8th April 1917 - at the age of 21. The third brother, Lieutenant Victor Sutton of the Royal Engineers was killed in action on the 13th November 1917 and is buried in the Ramleh War Cemetery in Israel. Lieutenant Eustace Sutton of the Rifle Brigade was killed in action on the 24th March 1918. Their stories can be viewed <a href="https://hub.suttons.co.uk/blog/suttons-history/suttons-sons">here</a> and in Andrew Tatham's fascinating book 'I Shall Not Be Away Long: The First World War Letters of Lt Col Charles Bartlett'. Also Richard Van Emden dedicated his excellent book 'The Quick and the Dead' to the Sutton brothers. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0t7WUZPim4RahE0iw_17f693SRtF31BPT4LCsXF8IkByGIjQp34jwyCm22wcgiObqRTPH2ifSY0iS9K6twj8RMuChtZLyyUsHitLzlLU3tT-uRLQzSpQiifH1qTMFPNLQPBv47CxX7tQRf70yCPR7dx6YkfyGsq9M5oXcevrSdLGJsbAt841KwMi0/s1713/Sutton%20Brothers.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1713" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0t7WUZPim4RahE0iw_17f693SRtF31BPT4LCsXF8IkByGIjQp34jwyCm22wcgiObqRTPH2ifSY0iS9K6twj8RMuChtZLyyUsHitLzlLU3tT-uRLQzSpQiifH1qTMFPNLQPBv47CxX7tQRf70yCPR7dx6YkfyGsq9M5oXcevrSdLGJsbAt841KwMi0/w299-h400/Sutton%20Brothers.png" width="299" /></a></div><br /><div>The only surviving brother, Leonard Noel Sutton (known as Noel), came very close to death also. Noel served with the 1/1st Berkshire Yeomanry - operating in the the Western Desert of Egypt in 1916 and then moving to the Suez sector in December of that year. From 1917 onwards he was involved in the advance into Palestine. Captain Noel Sutton, along with his fellow Berkshire Yeomen, was on board the SS Leasowe Castle en-route to Liverpool on the night of the 26th / 27th May 1918 when the ship was sunk by the German submarine UB51 off the coast of Tunisia, south of Gibralter.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisR8ur00wrUFwSkoa2UM5clUg3N8IPO-GsrJvi-b7cnlvcv3sT4Ii0dBWqB3UJEhLlW1LRHMUphXRLouOm00O6iweLQE0O5mSphUp6yLAqXma_JcgzF-kkIvrDgrSVOMmwgc88mE706yXpZUITYlfs0n5j3D4OoX6IM_qpkIxkvCzSJPWkEAg8AaPC/s983/Screenshot%202022-12-17%20at%2007.46.50.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="983" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisR8ur00wrUFwSkoa2UM5clUg3N8IPO-GsrJvi-b7cnlvcv3sT4Ii0dBWqB3UJEhLlW1LRHMUphXRLouOm00O6iweLQE0O5mSphUp6yLAqXma_JcgzF-kkIvrDgrSVOMmwgc88mE706yXpZUITYlfs0n5j3D4OoX6IM_qpkIxkvCzSJPWkEAg8AaPC/w351-h246/Screenshot%202022-12-17%20at%2007.46.50.png" width="351" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noel Sutton - 1915 & 1936</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Noel, whose father was the Deputy Mayor of Reading, recounted his ordeal in a letter home which was subsequently published by the Reading Standard (now in the Reading Borough Libraries Collection). After describing the impact of the torpedo and the way in which the men aboard were evacuated, Noel recounted the ship "going down in a rush" and the efficient recovery of 1,100 survivors. He regretted leaving 400-500 photographs in his cabin but was thankful that he could swim.</div><div><br /></div><div>"We've now had a taste of nearly every form of war, bar gas and liquid fire, but we shall not make a fuss. We've never done that. The auxiliary ship which picked us up had two torpedoes loosed off at her while she was getting us on board, but both were misses, thank God. We have a lot to thank God for really. I was thankful I had no relations on board".</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a family tradition that Leonard asked for his son, Noel, to be returned to the UK after Eustace (the last of his four brothers to have been lost) had been killed. (I would really like this 'Saving Private Ryan' type story to be true, but suspect that it isn't).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95dLgvGcwP8BQxpvgs5LpdBhyVse6uSPCQrdHuHq2YQgRQeCAqJH2-rJQW9YkcfNT0lTM_R76_557Rztup0KxFn4gWyKffqTo8xLN9Lmsz2c7BJC_4P70a4fRo7tnmR4yEniKS6uqaQLU7LdYtKLYLYZ-0tts0UriN4vKR7EkC6nrMX0gigRF5Hu-/s1740/Sutton%20Seeds%20Memorial.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1740" data-original-width="704" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95dLgvGcwP8BQxpvgs5LpdBhyVse6uSPCQrdHuHq2YQgRQeCAqJH2-rJQW9YkcfNT0lTM_R76_557Rztup0KxFn4gWyKffqTo8xLN9Lmsz2c7BJC_4P70a4fRo7tnmR4yEniKS6uqaQLU7LdYtKLYLYZ-0tts0UriN4vKR7EkC6nrMX0gigRF5Hu-/w161-h400/Sutton%20Seeds%20Memorial.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>Note: The Suttons Seeds War Memorial (now in the Museum of Rural Life Museum Archive, Reading) lists three of the Sutton brothers. Eustace is not shown which could mean the memorial pre-dates his death on the 24th March 1918. <div><br /></div><div>After discharge Noel Sutton rejoined the Berkshire Yeomanry in 1921. In 1922 the Berks Yeomanry was paired with the Buckinghamshire Hussars to form the 99th (Bucks and Berks) Yeomanry Brigade R.F.A. (TA). Later Noel transferred to the 395 (Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Battery in Reading (see photo above). He finally resigned from service on 1st March 1937. Thanks to Andrew French of the Berkshire Yeomanry Museum for this information. Andrew has no record of Noel serving in the Second World War but says that he might have served in the Home Guard.</div><div><br /></div><div>Upon his retirement Noel presented the Officers Mess with a piece of silver which is still on display in the Guildhall at Windsor.</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ44udtmcDpNxLb9t9quWgbjqqZ7uqyAupHUZvBbJT47-HCV_LJFFdIlIEs3wLy3BYdFnAziQg9turSqpY0WuS3x3WHkPlefCCAwbPYp-9bpJ6rcXV8PwF6ecGad70wIeoFfvhssiCqPoM716SUcgZr2IetS5gpyrQxbInwt39gMO8Sis97cm3ClPN/s1200/5a92a75c3630c_HungerfordStarFeb2018(6).jpg.112a07e850347fe90be304831ecd1928.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1200" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ44udtmcDpNxLb9t9quWgbjqqZ7uqyAupHUZvBbJT47-HCV_LJFFdIlIEs3wLy3BYdFnAziQg9turSqpY0WuS3x3WHkPlefCCAwbPYp-9bpJ6rcXV8PwF6ecGad70wIeoFfvhssiCqPoM716SUcgZr2IetS5gpyrQxbInwt39gMO8Sis97cm3ClPN/s320/5a92a75c3630c_HungerfordStarFeb2018(6).jpg.112a07e850347fe90be304831ecd1928.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silverware gifted by Major Noel Sutton</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div>Dorothy and Noel married at the Parish Church of St George in Hanover Square, London on the 26th April 1949. The couple enjoyed 16 years of marriage prior to Noel passing away in 1965. Dorothy lived to be over 100 years of age and spent much of her later life at the family home 'Sutherlands' in Reading. I have many happy memories of visiting the house where Dorothy's housekeeper, Emma, would be obliged to keep my sister and I entertained whilst the adults 'took' afternoon tea with Dorothy in her very posh drawing room. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEOtcFTuV-5z3YTI_IK5kDcISI42rQyS_pD2DD7uc49eGzBu7kFSlQf1UJCwHqk3WDRgVQdTHRtrT4EjpMLx2izNgpNA9GOrevCkp0UfQouy2Xo9Nev9JlmIlcLcbhwbFjDI6CbyfHd0B4GgbAaFxt7UMVPRMPeGHiC_bOmjttyoWUcyiiw3X9wK8/s4032/Sutton%20Graves%20After.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEOtcFTuV-5z3YTI_IK5kDcISI42rQyS_pD2DD7uc49eGzBu7kFSlQf1UJCwHqk3WDRgVQdTHRtrT4EjpMLx2izNgpNA9GOrevCkp0UfQouy2Xo9Nev9JlmIlcLcbhwbFjDI6CbyfHd0B4GgbAaFxt7UMVPRMPeGHiC_bOmjttyoWUcyiiw3X9wK8/s320/Sutton%20Graves%20After.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I recently took a trip to Reading and rediscovered the Sutton family plot tucked away in a corner of the Reading Old Cemetery. The last time I was there, was for Dorothy's interment in 1992. The names of Noel's four brothers are inscribed on the headstone - Eric, Eustace, Victor and Alexander Killed in Action 1916-18.</div><div><br /></div><div>My thanks to Jeremy Banning, Andrew Tatham, Richard Van Emden, Reading Museum and the Museum of Rural Life archive in Reading. Also to Hilary Sutton for access to the Sutton family papers.<br /><p><br /></p></div></div></div></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-85539699926685519682022-11-30T16:30:00.006+00:002022-11-30T22:34:49.337+00:00The 82nd Airborne on the Cotentin Peninsula (June 1944)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The population of the South-West of England, including Bristol, were saved the trauma of V-Weapon attacks by the success of Operation Overlord - the huge scale amphibious attack on German occupied Normandy by Allied forces on 6th June 1944. The loss of the Cotentin Pensula over subsequent weeks put paid to German plans to activate launch sites in the Cherbourg area. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last month I spent a week in Normandy exploring parts of the battlefield. The weather was glorious and conditions were perfect for hiking. I started by exploring the ground covered by Major General Matthew Ridgeway's 82nd 'All-American' Airborne Division to the west of <span style="background-color: white;">Sainte-Mère-Église</span> in the vicinity of <span style="background-color: white;">La Fière</span> and Eteinville. Landing by parachute and glider the 82nd Airborne were to assist with the capture of <span style="background-color: white;">Sainte-Mère-Église</span>, secure the approaches to the Utah Beach landing areas and push westwards to capture a couple of crossing points over the River Merderet.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3kQkPyepswDNfX4QG_220PVYABDIcGmqs3YUYims_Kaus5LlgHVFpEemfezxeq4FK3_YGCazJt55dahvNbBel6txzuFbTvi4Dg3pBGTxjXJZCmG6uooiqja2Kktopj4UaqT4N41D0CCafagKcnzcWEAp8Q0kGcX1O6rzSiqpDAUOI0D09ayKLPfo/s1920/IMG_2144.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3kQkPyepswDNfX4QG_220PVYABDIcGmqs3YUYims_Kaus5LlgHVFpEemfezxeq4FK3_YGCazJt55dahvNbBel6txzuFbTvi4Dg3pBGTxjXJZCmG6uooiqja2Kktopj4UaqT4N41D0CCafagKcnzcWEAp8Q0kGcX1O6rzSiqpDAUOI0D09ayKLPfo/s320/IMG_2144.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">'Iron Mike' statue at La Fiere</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Using Paul Reed's excellent book 'Walking D-Day' as a guide, I parked up in the car park near the church in <span style="background-color: white;">Sainte-Mère-Église</span> where a dummy parachutist representing John Steele of the 505th Parachute Regiment, 82nd Airborne is suspended from the church tower. Steele's parachute was caught on one of the pinnacles of the church tower and he hung there for two hours before being cut down and taken prisoner by the enemy (he escaped a few hours later). Walking due west from the centre of town brings one to the site of the river crossing at <span style="background-color: white;">La Fière</span>, easily discernible because of the striking 'Iron Mike' statue overlooking the bridge.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfAVC08o8T7k77MqO8Y-dDZPqlbcOlrr48IoYFvICmYHO9fpt0CK7GA4sDYXsi2XJO6KRFQynoJK3SFNhYiAh3QH8JATV3up3eNInBe-LNXLeBklJi0iYNXB0XaadWrtInvD4JdToVJImscwouJhN3sAIpu2YwDsEW-NpX-0Jr7TrwR32ni-vg-8Q/s1920/IMG_2135.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfAVC08o8T7k77MqO8Y-dDZPqlbcOlrr48IoYFvICmYHO9fpt0CK7GA4sDYXsi2XJO6KRFQynoJK3SFNhYiAh3QH8JATV3up3eNInBe-LNXLeBklJi0iYNXB0XaadWrtInvD4JdToVJImscwouJhN3sAIpu2YwDsEW-NpX-0Jr7TrwR32ni-vg-8Q/s320/IMG_2135.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sainte Mere Eglise - John Steele Dummy & Parachute</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nowadays the river runs in an orderly fashion underneath the bridge and the causeway beyond offers a raised roadway over green fields. On the 6th June 1944 the river valley had been deliberately flooded so the causeway offered the only real way of getting men and material across - so as to cut the Carentan / Cherbourg road and railway routes. The bridge was secured on D-Day but was recaptured by the Germans shortly thereafter. The battle to secure the area raged for four days and the situation was finally resolved on the 10th June with the help of the 90th Division which had landed on Utah Beach during the original assault.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPg3-PmTr6rr3PxeO4H1U6o6GWUDZcKD1FXB9XQZc19FjkVfv6fauGtIC_pVlNWPkjgQWtIVMRgJ1_ftXEHipgr_aBwHy8_q6ekPkZAT8aDJ3vmmIrKUKzs5KYDux_sE6Lj4_uFm1KY0UC_P3V-cAI2Gi1_h11GTWsP6UojZD1qPVy2FpHzeV4D7y/s1920/IMG_1843.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPg3-PmTr6rr3PxeO4H1U6o6GWUDZcKD1FXB9XQZc19FjkVfv6fauGtIC_pVlNWPkjgQWtIVMRgJ1_ftXEHipgr_aBwHy8_q6ekPkZAT8aDJ3vmmIrKUKzs5KYDux_sE6Lj4_uFm1KY0UC_P3V-cAI2Gi1_h11GTWsP6UojZD1qPVy2FpHzeV4D7y/s320/IMG_1843.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Memorial Area on Utah Beach</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following Paul's advice I walked over the bridge to La Chapelle de Cauquigny on the other side. The church and the surrounding buildings were taken by men from the 507th PIR under Captain Robert Rae on the 10th June, an attack by men from the 325th Glider Regiment having been repulsed 24 hours earlier.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVswfnQCxb8_bsJfBlxTSr060Di9giBIogbWrvVlrRwv5fWUbHfpifbIv_rKK8AacnQJoK9_r0DiRbKNrUE54cCZDMLglJLhaZDSn_ghLSDI03ANeElEyeACXT7vC7Hs8UruLAHmgL-y40EylqPktjMbDnv8DkveAhRhLsh6RkgUn038bQgwir24Mo/s997/IMG_5210%20copy.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="531" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVswfnQCxb8_bsJfBlxTSr060Di9giBIogbWrvVlrRwv5fWUbHfpifbIv_rKK8AacnQJoK9_r0DiRbKNrUE54cCZDMLglJLhaZDSn_ghLSDI03ANeElEyeACXT7vC7Hs8UruLAHmgL-y40EylqPktjMbDnv8DkveAhRhLsh6RkgUn038bQgwir24Mo/w106-h200/IMG_5210%20copy.JPG" width="106" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is a memorial plot outside the church and a rather striking stain glassed window to the 82nd inside. From the 10th June the causeway was open and available for traffic but the fight at <span style="background-color: white;">La Fière</span> had taken a heavy toll - more than 250 American lives. From the church I struck out across the fields to the right where many of the gliders from the 82nd Airborne landed during the initial assault. Today the paths are rarely trodden and the surrounding countryside is a peaceful place. One can only imagine the impact that the 'All-American' airborne assault had on the area all those years ago.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5LI0phegwcWyNzEmJBEX9WkqFO9JKLrYDVvFh1H0oSBS2aVIPTY3ytfs9Dvgt_9DzaqkXx4AAOudB2Q7_KGYFQ72TERsoVnP9bWyEApjIvNgYgvvLostTkU4wOL-O3aNZxD_q9Wh-Lcm1q2LL9A571JWU6oYYLDFB7UnjF38P1ZF6o1_uP3YgK__/s1920/IMG_2172.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5LI0phegwcWyNzEmJBEX9WkqFO9JKLrYDVvFh1H0oSBS2aVIPTY3ytfs9Dvgt_9DzaqkXx4AAOudB2Q7_KGYFQ72TERsoVnP9bWyEApjIvNgYgvvLostTkU4wOL-O3aNZxD_q9Wh-Lcm1q2LL9A571JWU6oYYLDFB7UnjF38P1ZF6o1_uP3YgK__/s320/IMG_2172.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bridleway near La Fiere</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following the path through the fields one passes the apple trees which mark what is known as 'Timmes Orchard'. Colonel Charles Timmes held on here from D-Day to the 9th June with a mixed force of men from 325th GIR, and 507th and 508th PIRs until linking up with the troops who had managed to get across the nearby causeway. Further on one comes to the outskirts of Amfreville where on the Rue de la Rosiere there is a large barn that was used as a German field hospital in June 1944.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-pwttS6ESgIaw9pKYPRM5wglo_-oHjeDGJMEUQlIBIiPPrRp3D9sshVGYf9X9vzwWXKB4Ru99c__ODnOhagW0XoY8FMQ1cP0XqIhZKSlW2uelRCeROQlm_IEHdZ7fQsyuphsrywoaiPkPcbZil2QiR_Xk1D-Nzk60ZpB_OxNUwcoqIIndiU0FX4d/s1920/IMG_2164.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-pwttS6ESgIaw9pKYPRM5wglo_-oHjeDGJMEUQlIBIiPPrRp3D9sshVGYf9X9vzwWXKB4Ru99c__ODnOhagW0XoY8FMQ1cP0XqIhZKSlW2uelRCeROQlm_IEHdZ7fQsyuphsrywoaiPkPcbZil2QiR_Xk1D-Nzk60ZpB_OxNUwcoqIIndiU0FX4d/s320/IMG_2164.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Timmes Orchard</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The walk continues past the entrance to a private road leading to what the Airborne troops called 'The Grey Castle', a chateau visible across the fields. The nearby church at Amfreville was used as an opbservation position until the tower was destroyed by naval gunfire from a US battleship anchored off Utah Beach. I followed the rest of Paul's walk up on to the high ground known as 'Hill 30' and then on to the site of the second contested river crossing at Chef du Pont. Again, at the time of the battle much of the river valley in this area was flooded.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPxWvtsdk5HQ7JkvI0XpydfK7oIYfDOKnlTDdQQ8gtUur7d9IMUWLWq9Kg-jszkukaIWsmWdHiuFbOJv2X-zRSkGvL3Va9uI2qDgdP6uja8TcJ3YM37QyOg5GOrWcqn4nRSjcV_LML7pqV4tdEC-x5r60fV1cnn98Xk3MgQ3wNfpPdlvYPgjf9fPQ/s1920/IMG_2169.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPxWvtsdk5HQ7JkvI0XpydfK7oIYfDOKnlTDdQQ8gtUur7d9IMUWLWq9Kg-jszkukaIWsmWdHiuFbOJv2X-zRSkGvL3Va9uI2qDgdP6uja8TcJ3YM37QyOg5GOrWcqn4nRSjcV_LML7pqV4tdEC-x5r60fV1cnn98Xk3MgQ3wNfpPdlvYPgjf9fPQ/s320/IMG_2169.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unexpected encounter near Amfreville</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">After returning from the walk, I would definitely recommend the American Airborne Museum in <span style="background-color: white;">Sainte-Mère-Église</span>. I'm not one for museums generally - preferring to walk the ground, but this one is definitely worth visiting - picking up, as it does, the linked actions of both the 82nd 'All-American' Airborne Division and the 101st 'Screaming Eagles' Airborne Division </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFX3rCk3X9BdKuS4PX9JlPATRYnhBNYVbMBFqXKdg2WckJi7EhOa4WJXyLZAKIgrCmKKq5AJd6uEarGWZuePsbK4ac0ZRlwRUcZFKNsjqU4h-sOQ1THsfUXKdjQr6zbE-Q5fJCRUxQkunSFbVzlJBLvaWAsgO2oje5vXGiuVZwmblsFogqnbMayAn/s3883/IMG_5196%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1735" data-original-width="3883" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFX3rCk3X9BdKuS4PX9JlPATRYnhBNYVbMBFqXKdg2WckJi7EhOa4WJXyLZAKIgrCmKKq5AJd6uEarGWZuePsbK4ac0ZRlwRUcZFKNsjqU4h-sOQ1THsfUXKdjQr6zbE-Q5fJCRUxQkunSFbVzlJBLvaWAsgO2oje5vXGiuVZwmblsFogqnbMayAn/s320/IMG_5196%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQa8Wrauz0qfLv6Ctsw2VnIY7x65rlvnkvBzj0ftQ6I3WGZDH3hg3zanumb2rXzbLVar1CaHuC9m1iDZMzr0OFi5PvCi5ea_TOo-wSRKErM6Ov8Fuq2dlT34MJZi-gkGYYF22pNyscxxOCdL7guuI2sgZqZKQeKTHZPqqsNF7VOgyPekwBUwFMrztK/s1920/IMG_5226.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQa8Wrauz0qfLv6Ctsw2VnIY7x65rlvnkvBzj0ftQ6I3WGZDH3hg3zanumb2rXzbLVar1CaHuC9m1iDZMzr0OFi5PvCi5ea_TOo-wSRKErM6Ov8Fuq2dlT34MJZi-gkGYYF22pNyscxxOCdL7guuI2sgZqZKQeKTHZPqqsNF7VOgyPekwBUwFMrztK/s320/IMG_5226.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The American Airborne Museum - Normandy</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The museum houses a C47B Dakota and a Waco CG04 glider - the two main workhorses of the airborne assault. In addition there are hundreds of contemporary artefacts including weapons and uniforms. The displays are complemented by compelling film footage and a vast array of letters and personal documents. </span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">For my full portfolio of photographs taken during this trip to Normandy (including this 82nd Airborne walk) click <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAdbmA" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-31460292771068600392022-10-14T10:40:00.008+01:002023-10-22T17:12:20.292+01:00Clevedon's Own Lancashire Lads<p>One day in May 1915, twenty or so young women from Clevedon took an excursion to Tidworth in Wiltshire. Their trip was not without purpose, for it is no coincidence that men from the 56th Infantry Brigade had moved to Tidworth to complete their military training having spent three months in Clevedon from January of that year. It is very likely that one of the day-trippers was Rhoda Cooper of Old Street. After a whirlwind romance, Rhoda had married Private John Stainton of the 7th King's Own, Royal Lancaster Regiment just a few weeks before. Sadly, as will be come apparent as this story unfolds, Rhoda's new found happiness was to be short lived.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1At7pb5f81sxU0OfnymZ_v3-dwy53_srPM5Niu_QgGibhwMGRuAMeT6Er1WcaJPkbFbw0PZXA5Tc0XgKTSvteXJWo992qwVnk0JnLurP9pMkzNdkTLlH__anbgBf-YwmGGpoX0gfIE1tDnA38Jak6YLvM5L-V3ahqGFS_vccd4wLRFA0QYO6Sto8/s3479/Cecil.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2277" data-original-width="3479" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1At7pb5f81sxU0OfnymZ_v3-dwy53_srPM5Niu_QgGibhwMGRuAMeT6Er1WcaJPkbFbw0PZXA5Tc0XgKTSvteXJWo992qwVnk0JnLurP9pMkzNdkTLlH__anbgBf-YwmGGpoX0gfIE1tDnA38Jak6YLvM5L-V3ahqGFS_vccd4wLRFA0QYO6Sto8/s320/Cecil.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7th L.N. Lancs, Clevedon - (Phil Curme Collection)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The 56th Infantry Brigade was raised in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. It's four Battalions - each about 800 strong - were composed of 'Kitchener' volunteers from Lancashire (mainly) and the North of England, part of the second tranche of 100,000 green recruits known for obvious reasons as 'K2 men'. Many of the men had joined with their workmates - a typical example being Company D of the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment who were colloquially known as the 'Preston Businessmen & Clerks' Company). On the reverse of the photo above, which was taken at the bandstand on Clevedon seafront in April 1915, the sender has written "do you rcognize Cecil on the front, he is bound to be in it?". </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9E1YARQxOb8V_bdjb1Ib3zAeH1ltPKiEb9Yg0uwlgPB8mMhjrwqihKjVPlfIMIALlTP02TVjkNOjlQS797dHmdNy4LhEN19I2oDKcSCo0UfwWtDi-90R9a20GGy7tqJQNQ-W1pONJSysq1ee4nUD_srqJqwnIKiEnLXjozSlGMKm0meYRvCr202Dn/s2867/7th%20Kings%20Own%20Lancaster%20Regiment.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1691" data-original-width="2867" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9E1YARQxOb8V_bdjb1Ib3zAeH1ltPKiEb9Yg0uwlgPB8mMhjrwqihKjVPlfIMIALlTP02TVjkNOjlQS797dHmdNy4LhEN19I2oDKcSCo0UfwWtDi-90R9a20GGy7tqJQNQ-W1pONJSysq1ee4nUD_srqJqwnIKiEnLXjozSlGMKm0meYRvCr202Dn/s320/7th%20Kings%20Own%20Lancaster%20Regiment.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from 'Clevedon's Own' by Rob Campbell</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Given that the population of Clevedon was approximately 6,000 in 1915 the arrival of almost 4,000 Lancashire lads in the town will have made quite an impact. The Brigade HQ was set up at No.2 Bellevue Terrace - until recently an HSBC bank branch. The Battalion HQs were all within a short walking distance from this main hub - the 8th East Lancs at St Gabriel's Convent on Marine Hill, the 7th South Lancs at 'Caer Leon' in Princes Road, the 7th North Lancs at Duncan House on Chapel Hill and the 7th King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment at 'Hawkesbury' in Linden Road (all of these properties still stand, albeit some have different names now). The men were billeted in households across the town - often four or five in a single property.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNDa_D-BXgIV-S647g7l1IpFp27Gkgk4F4gt0OfMU0cVVQ1ZGA3D4qRYtKcsuWLxGlsx8VLAoLDPQ923cxlL_yU29Us12j8xp1MOW1hYUm9AtWWiyPCZ9J20lHLZRdcEGx7W6jHKCEOWNevEvnUQqpFffmLRCCttWHHBbW7w9N7FXpxQX2SE510EB/s914/Bellevue%20Road.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="914" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNDa_D-BXgIV-S647g7l1IpFp27Gkgk4F4gt0OfMU0cVVQ1ZGA3D4qRYtKcsuWLxGlsx8VLAoLDPQ923cxlL_yU29Us12j8xp1MOW1hYUm9AtWWiyPCZ9J20lHLZRdcEGx7W6jHKCEOWNevEvnUQqpFffmLRCCttWHHBbW7w9N7FXpxQX2SE510EB/s320/Bellevue%20Road.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kings Own Regiment Museum Archive, Lancaster</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77JS974c3TWV-ipXHXhPxWDNBe1q6rYrNN4a6qsbWep8E9vNSqGGrRH0ltt3eWaXbSAQmX9H23KJomVZoAcphXa-tk-olEYICEkIlX57xYq8P-cXOcE_IRmhOLJ-U5sHtB9CW-yVKlbzEZVdh3vncGzI2r3HA8Mz05M0eUDWULiyNbQjDvPHq5Eby/s916/Wains%20Hill.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="916" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh77JS974c3TWV-ipXHXhPxWDNBe1q6rYrNN4a6qsbWep8E9vNSqGGrRH0ltt3eWaXbSAQmX9H23KJomVZoAcphXa-tk-olEYICEkIlX57xYq8P-cXOcE_IRmhOLJ-U5sHtB9CW-yVKlbzEZVdh3vncGzI2r3HA8Mz05M0eUDWULiyNbQjDvPHq5Eby/s320/Wains%20Hill.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kings Own Regiment Museum Archive, Lancaster</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>The top picture above, shows four officers outside the Brigade HQ at No.2 Bellevue Road. As the sign says, part of the building served as the Officer's Mess. The photo was taken by 2nd Lieutenant Charles Roberts of the 7th Battalion, Kings Own Loyal Lancashire Regiment. The four officers pictured are all Captains - Openshaw, Nunn, Bradbury and Dawson. Training in Clevedon consisted of various exercises such as live firing at The Butts, bridging and trench construction on the Land Yeo and route marches up to Cadbury Camp or through the surrounding villages. The bottom picture shows machine gun practice on what looks like Wain's Hill (given the ship visible on the horizon).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwaI9KEsR-sjeOX8-Ft-EsqcqpKQ13BcukNb95zGFdNPbw1ni-Ri7zN7lPCCn0gFyVhpGIwcWm3yUC3ZbnGTbQocMTWPfR7rolNwuAtKYjkKmZR9jAjgt0Ro1Dz0FuYetReUXn44WWLegPWWVd_oNgAerOAeo6gFdOCgqbJT80A0dxElftbkwYQ9P/s2022/Lancs%20in%20Clevedon%2019156%20copy.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="2022" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwaI9KEsR-sjeOX8-Ft-EsqcqpKQ13BcukNb95zGFdNPbw1ni-Ri7zN7lPCCn0gFyVhpGIwcWm3yUC3ZbnGTbQocMTWPfR7rolNwuAtKYjkKmZR9jAjgt0Ro1Dz0FuYetReUXn44WWLegPWWVd_oNgAerOAeo6gFdOCgqbJT80A0dxElftbkwYQ9P/s320/Lancs%20in%20Clevedon%2019156%20copy.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Triangle - Clevedon - Imperial War Museum Archive</td></tr></tbody></table><br />When the Brigade departed Clevedon by train for Tidworth Camp and then onwards to the Western Front in May 1915, the town must have seemed very quiet. Happily, the Brigade's departure was captured on a Pathe News film which has been digitised by the Archive team at the Imperial War Museum and is available online <a href="http://ww1lit.nsms.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/5527" target="_blank">here</a>. One of the Lancashire lads remains in Clevedon though; that is Rhoda Cooper's husband John Stainton who is buried in the consecrated ground at St Andrews Church in the shadow of a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone - albeit mysteriously showing the initial 'T' instead of 'J'. <div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xbvh_g0C8SnJnc1wcvndnIIBqSzukAyVXp7-2IwAV0Hw6HVmCGHKBPRYhAKdrnDQ5gcbYmREimU_CRMddpQC41NZFoK0VqwoiblzjSlNiqwYCM6fnYOGSO2HqtYf-MgjZUoKHoo6Q2EGfxmN-e4ppMuZzPNATepcWEaS4aCUMpHZeyI5bo2OmpkM/s4032/IMG_2971%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xbvh_g0C8SnJnc1wcvndnIIBqSzukAyVXp7-2IwAV0Hw6HVmCGHKBPRYhAKdrnDQ5gcbYmREimU_CRMddpQC41NZFoK0VqwoiblzjSlNiqwYCM6fnYOGSO2HqtYf-MgjZUoKHoo6Q2EGfxmN-e4ppMuZzPNATepcWEaS4aCUMpHZeyI5bo2OmpkM/s320/IMG_2971%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Private John Stainton (CWGC) - Phil Curme Collection</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPCpSxxHSNT4UAOsspNfWh0b5z8HusToONHORBWEknBaHgkphS9z-WQQLVDO4_-Fg1ZZjrURfXRjc_2O1Yt0kLFKnliLnHqmHOPis5OYrtiZQo74jYjePi7yFnGL-nybq8kAl0j2ogTpclrFZGoekGNbjM6TfpG3G5Yi1ejyPXQ7AeVakTmevNQUhY/s1066/Lancaster_Clevedon%20Pub.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1066" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPCpSxxHSNT4UAOsspNfWh0b5z8HusToONHORBWEknBaHgkphS9z-WQQLVDO4_-Fg1ZZjrURfXRjc_2O1Yt0kLFKnliLnHqmHOPis5OYrtiZQo74jYjePi7yFnGL-nybq8kAl0j2ogTpclrFZGoekGNbjM6TfpG3G5Yi1ejyPXQ7AeVakTmevNQUhY/s320/Lancaster_Clevedon%20Pub.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Men of the King's Own (Lancs) in Clevedon - Phil Curme Collection</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>John Stainton was born in Ambleside Westmoreland and enlisted in the 7th King's Own, Royal Lancaster Regiment at Barrow-in-Furness on 31st August 1914. The 1911 census shows him to have been married to a woman called Mary. Stainton was an agricultural labourer and he and his then wife were lodging with a workmate and his family in Barrow. Intriguingly, when asked whether he was married when he signed-up, Stainton answered "no". It's not known whether he was a widower or whether he was being 'economical with the truth'! Private Stainton's service record also shows that he had served in the 2nd Battalion of the same Regiment during the Second Boer War and had seen action at the Battle of Spion Kop in 1900. It seems that Private Stainton was a bit of a rogue - he was pulled up three times during his training for 'dereliction of duty' and in one baffling incident was accused of 'losing' a pair of handcuffs.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDrOWM3ntgK00bSlXFDeDjADW6e2kZ1c43fWqWAO35fx98oSw7K3BkciGXk7YMi9_x6q0dXKZF65HCVreiRn61HlVT9dptNbXzVMGPvTX1JSAd7iTwMJP6c2qldPhgpWU4agD0L3e5bTtUyh_DI-DqhWYQTkLS2mhTbS4vaPH1j7TaPpllgayn9QN/s1334/Map%20-%20La%20Boisselle%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="1189" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDrOWM3ntgK00bSlXFDeDjADW6e2kZ1c43fWqWAO35fx98oSw7K3BkciGXk7YMi9_x6q0dXKZF65HCVreiRn61HlVT9dptNbXzVMGPvTX1JSAd7iTwMJP6c2qldPhgpWU4agD0L3e5bTtUyh_DI-DqhWYQTkLS2mhTbS4vaPH1j7TaPpllgayn9QN/s320/Map%20-%20La%20Boisselle%20copy.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Boisselle - German Defences</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>Private Stainton's date of death is recorded as 11th August 1916 by which time his Regiment had been overseas for over a year. So why is he buried in Clevedon? The answer, of course, lies in his love for Rhoda Cooper in that Stainton's mother was insistent that her son should lie in the town where he had married fourteen months previously. </div><div><br /></div><div>A lovely example of the ways in which the Lancashire lads connected with local girls can be found in an autograph book originally owned by Miss Catherine Horwood (now in the Clevedon Pier & Heritage Trust Community Archive). Private R.G. Burton (7th Battalion, East Lancs) wrote "Wherever I may always be, my thoughts shall always be with thee'. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6LhbZAONJrkvYYylUSuWC_ILzqhEx7g3jM3HJiOBPdr61xfbBtlj1QrXiqdVB32Jt18aMTzFvKcA6-KZUK6ZxlzfvRozRFaJC1_EPkWeZTT5LOQOh9LETQYF9QpDze94cXeZDv0tSeyRswISMYk4TUZNMOwFtAd82RQMPr437P4pDRcsD_efcLNq/s1327/IMG_2295.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1327" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6LhbZAONJrkvYYylUSuWC_ILzqhEx7g3jM3HJiOBPdr61xfbBtlj1QrXiqdVB32Jt18aMTzFvKcA6-KZUK6ZxlzfvRozRFaJC1_EPkWeZTT5LOQOh9LETQYF9QpDze94cXeZDv0tSeyRswISMYk4TUZNMOwFtAd82RQMPr437P4pDRcsD_efcLNq/s320/IMG_2295.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pte Burton's entry in Catherine Horwood's autograph book</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>After completing training at Tidworth the 56th Brigade were transported to France - as part of the 19th (Western) Division (known as the Butterflies on account of their rather pretty Divisional emblem). The Brigade's War Diary (National Archives - WO/95/2075) records that 'Clevedon's Own Lancashire Lads' were active on the Western Front from the 24th July 1915. The Brigade saw some involvement in a diversionary action during the Battle of Loos in September 1915 but the real baptism of fire came on the 4th July 1916 where the 19th Division were asked to take the strongpoint of La Boisselle. The 34th Division had failed to take the village on the 1st July, and sustained massive losses trying to do so despite the detonation of two huge mines under the German defences. The crater left by the larger mine known as 'Lochnager' is still very evident today and its eastern lip served as a jumping off point for some of the men involved in the 4th July attack. The 19th Division took the ruins of La Boisselle that day - with the 7th King's Own on point. <br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWPH_MHUsxifv00RdkJFagh2RvAvRpcgdxH8uKByooTwGhn6tK_vpvnBfBXhDCe_i7mLBOiwofCLu7ACGqIyIBPLzyYFS8FR8m0qjdA3cirF3hyHzstp7EQeAh4VMClDBJ5PTuXzBMgsC91saeQ_YLH_1r55VIc4qzed97WLSAVF_zJSkPJtgUjKv/s2176/Lochnagar%20copy%202.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1446" data-original-width="2176" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWPH_MHUsxifv00RdkJFagh2RvAvRpcgdxH8uKByooTwGhn6tK_vpvnBfBXhDCe_i7mLBOiwofCLu7ACGqIyIBPLzyYFS8FR8m0qjdA3cirF3hyHzstp7EQeAh4VMClDBJ5PTuXzBMgsC91saeQ_YLH_1r55VIc4qzed97WLSAVF_zJSkPJtgUjKv/s320/Lochnagar%20copy%202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lochnager Crater, La Boisselle</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>John Stainton suffered a fatal wound a couple of months later. The Somme Battle had developed slowly and by the end of July the Battalions of the 56th Brigade were rotating in and out of the lines near High Wood. Like the majority of First World war battlefield casualties, Stainton was hit by the burst of an artillery shell which left him wounded in the shoulder, face and thigh. Treated in a Casualty Clearing Station he was transferred to a base hospital on the coast before being repatriated to the English General Hospital in Cambridge. John Stainton succumbed to his wounds on the 11th August 1916 and now lies to the north west of St Andrew's Church. A poignant reminder of the lads from Lancashire who spent three months in the town readying themselves for their participation in what was then known as the Great War.</div><div><br /></div><div>Main Sources: The National Archives, Kings Own Regiment Museum, The imperial War Museum Archives, The British Newspaper Library, 'Clevedon's Own: The Great War 1914-18' by Rob Campbell.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-36398476187808426902022-07-05T20:23:00.005+01:002022-07-25T15:49:19.874+01:00Yanks in Clevedon: 1943-44<p> In December 1943 an U.S Army jeep appeared on the Six Ways interchange in Clevedon. The occupant, Major Barney Oldfield, and his driver, Corporal Max Shepherd, were scouting for 'a village site in the West Country' which would take about 700 men. </p><p>Right in front of the GPO exchange on Six Ways stood a man in a top hat and tails wearing a morning coat - rather formal for a vacation type seaside town thought Oldfield who nevertheless stopped his vehicle and approached the man in question.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"I'm from a an American town about the same size as Clevedon, called Tecumseh, so landlocked you have to go half way across the united States to smell salt water."</p></blockquote><p>The Clevedonian listened, stiff as a board before asking "what sort of unit are you bringing to OUR town?".</p><p>In recounting this meeting in the Tecumseh Chieftain newspaper in the early 1990s, Colonel Oldfield remembered the apprehension in his tone. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"I told him they were media people, that they would form the press facilities and support for the American and Canadian field armies when Europe is invaded - no convoys of lorries, Just the odd two and half ton truck".</p></blockquote><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpgs3bZE6d6zgYN7GHAfib21F2nSyQqd8qNlp4hD_FKknRCkiwYzouvICkOKzwpyK3alcOr06WnoMIBTlVEIjsypWwV9-SlpsOM4WgE-DbSHs-82m69o2rwnqE2vfbdl_Ij-25h-t01Dy7PWr4otdq3ANAlQ4GhJBfQQSkRzx64ZHO5Yf9HzRMc61/s563/Major%20Arthur%20'Barney'%20Oldfield.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="563" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpgs3bZE6d6zgYN7GHAfib21F2nSyQqd8qNlp4hD_FKknRCkiwYzouvICkOKzwpyK3alcOr06WnoMIBTlVEIjsypWwV9-SlpsOM4WgE-DbSHs-82m69o2rwnqE2vfbdl_Ij-25h-t01Dy7PWr4otdq3ANAlQ4GhJBfQQSkRzx64ZHO5Yf9HzRMc61/s320/Major%20Arthur%20'Barney'%20Oldfield.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Major Barney Oldfield - Public Affairs Alumni Association </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>The unit which arrived in Clevedon following Oldfield's recce, was pretty unique. The Publicity and Psychological Warfare Battalion consisted of several hundred journalists, photographers, PR men, linguists, radio operators and drivers. The unit had been set up by Jack M.Redding a newspaper man from Chicago, who had obtained a commission in the Air Corps. Oldfield remembers his boss as 'having a ferocious scowl, which he wore in various styles for various occasions'. </p><p>Oldfield's conversation with the smartly dressed man on Six Ways brought the required result. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"He faced down each of the streets, punched his clenched fists in the air and lo, the streets were full of ladies - some with babies in prams, a-wheeling kids or scooters. He had a village map of housing available showing the number of rooms in each building suitable for offices and lodgings."</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">" We were taken down to the Pier and Ma Cole's pub (Note: this was the bar of the Pier Hotel). There were nearly 200 locals down there with great smiles and I was introduced as 'a fine American chap'. I told them I was bringing a lot of new neighbours from all over America - one of them a little odd. Roy Wilder from North Carolina who wrote for the New York Herald-Tribune. You'll have to put up with a lot of strange smells when he gets care packages from his homefolks containing things called chitlins (Note: a delicacy made from the intestines of domestic animals). There was another, a fellow named Lt James W Campbell who was a Tennessee bureau chief for the United Press. Newspaper people tended then, to write with a cigarette butt lip-clenched, the smoke coming up in to their eyes. I told how he'd licked that by using a 14 inch cigarette holder which took the acrid smoke well beyond his nostrils".</p></blockquote><p>The unit was in town for almost six months, and by all accounts made quite an impression. Oldfield felt that as a result of the incursion, Clevedon 'became a highly sophisticated - even intellectual - centre'! When the press camps left to join their First and Third Armies on the eve of D-Day Clevedon apparently became 'a ghost town'.</p><p>Local resident Val Seeley remembers the American soldiers. "Some of them were billeted in the Walton Park Hotel and they used to walk past our house on Wellington Terrace. We quickly learnt to say 'got any gum, chum?' and they always had sweets for us kids. Lovely guys". </p><p>So where did this eclectic mix of characters go when the war moved onto the European continent? </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyB21PH-cnhkWHgUeUMdsjCXFwLOZLzaBZdptZBrVUAeD0W2le1XsnO9_Njsdjf_GKOLwCd3COLyLvecyQrrVIpbKEp3KxVsFD-pSjDSUVZTL7wrzSIASw_RakSNvNHdvDSJKpmgZWDCV8o_320zqivWbbzVzrZVB1-m8QBN2G1VZJ2ysFKlEyYJy/s521/IMG_4148.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="442" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyB21PH-cnhkWHgUeUMdsjCXFwLOZLzaBZdptZBrVUAeD0W2le1XsnO9_Njsdjf_GKOLwCd3COLyLvecyQrrVIpbKEp3KxVsFD-pSjDSUVZTL7wrzSIASw_RakSNvNHdvDSJKpmgZWDCV8o_320zqivWbbzVzrZVB1-m8QBN2G1VZJ2ysFKlEyYJy/s320/IMG_4148.jpeg" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Major Barney Oldfield - Nebraska State Historical Society</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Major Oldfield had understood that airborne troops would be at the forefront of the fighting and he therefore arranged for a number of the press corps to be trained for parachute jumps. Colonel James M.Gavin was sceptical of the need for imbedded journalists but nevertheless acquiesced to the training that Major Oldfield was suggesting.</p><p>The men of The Publicity and Psychological Warfare Battalion were to serve their cause with distinction throughout the remaining period of the European war. With the invading troops on D-Day, through to the liberation of Paris, onwards into Holland (Oldfield with the Ninth Army) and then reaching Berlin after hostilities had ended - prompting some interesting interactions with the Red Army.</p><p>Colonel Barney Oldfield (since promoted) recounted his exploits in his book 'Never A Shot in Anger' published by Duell, Sloan and Pearce in 1951. He dedicated his book to 'all the correspondents, all the military public relations crews, and all the brave men they knew, whether they like it or not'. Oldfield had access to the senior Allied commanders and his observations on their leadership and relationships make fascinating reading. The short stay in Clevedon obviously left a strong impression on him and he spoke of the town in glowing terms.</p><p>After his wartime service had ended, Oldfield worked closely with General Eisenhower in the early days of NATO before resuming his career as a Hollywood agent working with many big name stars including Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Janis Paige and Elizabeth Taylor. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b3wthQnjViyvB8o-tr_cuKwCtGwM2CdjXcDEc-Mro-byCwRN0iMqRS-zeVsGtHGyIfS598M_TgyTBRaTLqb7psNS82PwO2zc3otNSU0_fwLNfpH3BrEiUUiyhfnblKvRQRhYF3dxi1eFfAYHcJPGcyoJKn6w-tLbjN1EpGgbSt5p9V1oy2OSrVdv/s238/hof-oldfield-reagan.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="238" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b3wthQnjViyvB8o-tr_cuKwCtGwM2CdjXcDEc-Mro-byCwRN0iMqRS-zeVsGtHGyIfS598M_TgyTBRaTLqb7psNS82PwO2zc3otNSU0_fwLNfpH3BrEiUUiyhfnblKvRQRhYF3dxi1eFfAYHcJPGcyoJKn6w-tLbjN1EpGgbSt5p9V1oy2OSrVdv/s1600/hof-oldfield-reagan.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oldfield & Reagan - Public Affairs Alumni Association</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Colonel Oldfield returned to Clevedon for a visit in 1951. He was working in London on a NATO project and decided to call Ma's Pier pub (The Pier Hotel). </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>"Ma started to cry and she said over and over - Barney you get on the next train at Paddington Station and come on down here. My son Jack will meet you at Bristol Temple Meads Station. So I went. Jack met me in a top hat and morning coat and a chauffeured 1926 Rolls Royce. The whole town was there to meet me when I reached Clevedon and I was showered with 'what happened to' questions."</p><p>"Late that evening a stood at the big window with Ma Coles, watching ships outbound from or inbound to Bristol, Cardiff and Newport. Ships always blacked out before, sparkled like a country fair. 'Ah Barney' said Ma Coles. 'I come here every night and think I'd even put up with a war if I could you and all my boys back again. You were a lovely lot. Remember how the others drank stouts, ales, beers and sometimes the hard stuff? But only you drank orange squash!'." </p></blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvj-VOffGfPc-6aJPGWH4d_UDH9aTNO0ljGz-qrxvm7PHQeG1rKV4oJR4RFZgKRtsY9mSWc6Dw-ATez7lXgncu_KEX0ROtRZI4B6_aHDGdBYfn6hHamEjyIAio4ngBlxVjXp46qAxUniBoDA0YJFYuqP98XyOubGWDMg0YLbsol52q_SExvuAlsv9/s222/hof-oldfield-book-cover-222h.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="150" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvj-VOffGfPc-6aJPGWH4d_UDH9aTNO0ljGz-qrxvm7PHQeG1rKV4oJR4RFZgKRtsY9mSWc6Dw-ATez7lXgncu_KEX0ROtRZI4B6_aHDGdBYfn6hHamEjyIAio4ngBlxVjXp46qAxUniBoDA0YJFYuqP98XyOubGWDMg0YLbsol52q_SExvuAlsv9/w216-h320/hof-oldfield-book-cover-222h.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barney's Book</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Barney Oldfield died in April 2003, aged 93. In his obituary he was described as Variety's Nebraska correspondent, a Hollywood press agent and a retired USAF colonel. He was the first journalist to become a paratrooper and served as press aide to General Dwight D. Eisenhower. On D-Day Oldfield was assigned to write Allied communiques about the invasion before joining 12th Army Group in France. In 1945, he organised and established the Berlin Press Club in the home of former Hitler finance minister Walter Funk.</p><p>Note: I came across this story by chance having picked up a copy of 'Never A Shot in Anger'. The post war recollections from the Tecumseh Chieftain newspaper were collected by David H Wood, a volunteer at the now defunct Clevedon Heritage Centre. Happily, his research is now preserved by the Clevedon Pier & Heritage Trust.</p><p>As an aside, the British Army had a similar outfit - the British Army Film and Photography Unit. At the 'We Have Ways' military history festival in July 2022, I was lucky enough to spend time with the living history team who are reenacting what they did, what they wore and what they carried. They operate as part of the 'Monty's Men' group and pride themselves on total authenticity. The group have recently acquired one of the original movie cameras used on the front line from D-Day through to the end of the Second World War.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnQwN-_7vfXw__T8UEi217j69Zt6tQT9q8vnp1QI3N_CitdywNw6RW3gqlqgxCMrOmblM-1CIWBmBuD8IB-4TbL_eWRKr7fLpceekBpynb9VJfDsj8Tnw0CNlRKpr36DNfZxre1TptzhfHMq6Ji0TZfwibvk4wwkUFkzqt9FrGYXlYSQUMb-lOxDl/s5184/Army%20F%20&%20P%20Unit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="5184" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnQwN-_7vfXw__T8UEi217j69Zt6tQT9q8vnp1QI3N_CitdywNw6RW3gqlqgxCMrOmblM-1CIWBmBuD8IB-4TbL_eWRKr7fLpceekBpynb9VJfDsj8Tnw0CNlRKpr36DNfZxre1TptzhfHMq6Ji0TZfwibvk4wwkUFkzqt9FrGYXlYSQUMb-lOxDl/s320/Army%20F%20&%20P%20Unit.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Living History - the BAF&PU </td></tr></tbody></table></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGq0TSaX422NziwFJz1Jy-0KjuKA2syHvkCxjG4okxQ8zF2C4I_HkzR21mPp0zj3ei-AchuClPz0uG4mWryKcsx9jotoy9GofZ1hBk0vgGx1298vdzTtqnuUge5DaaUGVxmVIeAyQqrHhVMTxYrmjSslSeOA4VkhwbIDQD0uwaeTq8YFAL9Dw8kVog/s2016/Army%20F%20&%20P%20Unit%20Camera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGq0TSaX422NziwFJz1Jy-0KjuKA2syHvkCxjG4okxQ8zF2C4I_HkzR21mPp0zj3ei-AchuClPz0uG4mWryKcsx9jotoy9GofZ1hBk0vgGx1298vdzTtqnuUge5DaaUGVxmVIeAyQqrHhVMTxYrmjSslSeOA4VkhwbIDQD0uwaeTq8YFAL9Dw8kVog/s320/Army%20F%20&%20P%20Unit%20Camera.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original BAF&PU Camera</td></tr></tbody></table><p>To hear Barney Oldfield talking about his wartime experiences <a href="https://youtu.be/eAFy0LKucKw" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p>Local historian Mike Horsfield interviewed Maisie Coles in the 1980s. Maisie had a lot to say about the Yanks in Clevedon and you can read a transcript <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lXrRtxuwxb7-DFLg1yYc6bkJabCSumed/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-46235131917663392082022-07-04T20:15:00.006+01:002022-08-03T10:49:30.366+01:00Tom Neal - From the Navy to the RAF (1939-40)<p> On the night of the 14th and 15th November 1940, my cousin once removed, Tom Neal, was killed in action whilst at the controls of a Whitley Mk V bomber over Berlin. Tom was serving with the Royal Navy so how could this be? The answer is that having taken a short service commission in the Fleet Air Arm a year earlier, Tom had volunteered to serve with Bomber Command at the height of the Battle of Britain. During this critical time, Bomber Command had lost over a thousand aircrew - approximately 800 killed and 200 taken prisoner. Short of qualified personnel, the RAF had sought temporary replacements from the Fleet Air Arm. Sub Lieutenant Thomas Alfred Neal was one of sixty pilots who had offered their services. He had already flown a number of missions before the one in which he was killed - hence his position as pilot and status as the senior officer aboard. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kJjIODzEWTSl_klBpZK3nWrZ4NSHsYRbRReXwxOZiAodj0f1MTyEN5MPoRSqJLiFbPCKfS7qt9RZVb2tOc3slHNqg9b5aDBEiYH0xfj34QLzfF2CeDvi1Bahc_2V31R9Ss7mSJixLXfsO4pgyMtHYzWgm8zKGXrVZL-AQUNiMSj6I51g0Wg7wa2h/s1068/Tom%20Neal%20R.N.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="671" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0kJjIODzEWTSl_klBpZK3nWrZ4NSHsYRbRReXwxOZiAodj0f1MTyEN5MPoRSqJLiFbPCKfS7qt9RZVb2tOc3slHNqg9b5aDBEiYH0xfj34QLzfF2CeDvi1Bahc_2V31R9Ss7mSJixLXfsO4pgyMtHYzWgm8zKGXrVZL-AQUNiMSj6I51g0Wg7wa2h/s320/Tom%20Neal%20R.N.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Neal - Royal Navy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Tom was just 21 years old when he was killed, and the impact on his family was profound. He left a younger brother, Jim Neal, who wrote about Tom in his unpublished autobiography 'Foot slogging, Pen Pushing and Publishing'. Jimmy was a journalist by trade and by the end of his career was the editor of the Yorkshire Post. During the war years Jimmy served in North Africa and Italy - a story for another day.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwDM8F4gBX5c1d0Ktu3rsgv49FIg6p0HP_9YbPO4vdpWKkdUjaxwa971IqXYnFnUbaOTDZoPyeA0Mc25hLUaxDGgt_QA1Jp6Lnrgph2-98wVNtk-xyoddQKGf3fjvfVKnBzNy7JtZjks5Eril3zcM9J4DObNWur_CnM09jPnca7h2RjIgG_XUbrWU/s858/Tom_Neal_in_Toy_Car_1925.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="858" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwDM8F4gBX5c1d0Ktu3rsgv49FIg6p0HP_9YbPO4vdpWKkdUjaxwa971IqXYnFnUbaOTDZoPyeA0Mc25hLUaxDGgt_QA1Jp6Lnrgph2-98wVNtk-xyoddQKGf3fjvfVKnBzNy7JtZjks5Eril3zcM9J4DObNWur_CnM09jPnca7h2RjIgG_XUbrWU/s320/Tom_Neal_in_Toy_Car_1925.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Neal in a Toy Car - 1925</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Neal boys were born in Alton Hampshire. Their father, Thomas, was an Assistant Manager at the local branch of lloyds Bank. His wife (my Great Grandmother) is described by Jimmy as being a 'wonderful, almost saintly woman'. Jimmy recalls Tom 'discovering everything' before he did and had an early memory of making bows and arrows. He remembers Tom buying an elderly Austin Seven having saved his wages from a job at the GPO. In his spare time, Tom was studying for a degree in engineering. He also remembers Tom playing a rather elaborate joke on a posh neighbour using an imitation dog turd!<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QMZFuVyWhLcCDTYqiUxO1P4POIK6Q8cMMuwJdsP5ket9CNgHa6r1z3u-mPoazrqdoJRdzkGgYkS7zESMfQ0G6sqItEPGYFhVyUP_eMaMEgISgt4VpQLzhbip25AVXdoMiR2IOmAAUveeq5uzNu_QvIfRs8YVS5i31Vuo-9a5oflBV71hFzxGmDDi/s900/Jimmy__Left__&_Tom%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="566" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QMZFuVyWhLcCDTYqiUxO1P4POIK6Q8cMMuwJdsP5ket9CNgHa6r1z3u-mPoazrqdoJRdzkGgYkS7zESMfQ0G6sqItEPGYFhVyUP_eMaMEgISgt4VpQLzhbip25AVXdoMiR2IOmAAUveeq5uzNu_QvIfRs8YVS5i31Vuo-9a5oflBV71hFzxGmDDi/s320/Jimmy__Left__&_Tom%20copy.jpg" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimmy Left, Tom Right</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Tom learnt to fly with a friend called Charles Tate, whose father was the Tate of Tate and Lyle, the sugar manufacturers. Jimmy remembers that 'the two of them had just taken off from an aerodrome near Oxford when the plane crashed at Wallingford - neither were seriously hurt but there were plenty of cuts and bruises'. Tom shared his three golden rules: 'If the engine stalls don't turn, if the engine stalls don't turn and if the engine stalls don't turn!'. Not long after that Tom accepted a short service commission in the Fleet Air Arm. He completed his training at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, and became a Fleet Air Arm sub-lieutenant. As was mentioned earlier, Tom volunteered for Bomber Command and was posted to 77 Squadron at Topcliffe, nr Thirsk in Yorkshire - flying Whitley Mk Vs. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwydFTKJDLnatwu9FnEhrtLuBoWgCQ4w91orkmJtmX3xXyiiQjE7vhF5W1vzidEvm1fijKxvZUl2Ks1omWE8rbSmeLTcI9tzYG7RwZnki6CTmQljf2Wu9oqYEvofJKF68jA0sjmas343nd3cMNz44uqYsSTW51RqTBtSjUEoZdug-c3B2YRq_FFRjm/s1878/Whitley%20Bomber.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1878" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwydFTKJDLnatwu9FnEhrtLuBoWgCQ4w91orkmJtmX3xXyiiQjE7vhF5W1vzidEvm1fijKxvZUl2Ks1omWE8rbSmeLTcI9tzYG7RwZnki6CTmQljf2Wu9oqYEvofJKF68jA0sjmas343nd3cMNz44uqYsSTW51RqTBtSjUEoZdug-c3B2YRq_FFRjm/s320/Whitley%20Bomber.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt's 'The Bomber Command War Diaries: An Operational Reference Book 1939-45' records that on the night of 14/15th November 1940, 82 Wellingtons Hampdens and Whitleys raided Berlin, hamburg and various airfields. 50 targeted Berlin but only 25 reached the city. 10 aircraft were lost - 4 Hampdens, 4 Whitleys (including Tom's aircraft) and 2 Wellingtons. It was the heaviest loss of the war so far. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zaE4EOJxMtNb3hSKx93IIG3U_PQ6mWAC1H8WD58vTkuVqO3zrP3fz9hGxVghVIH2yYhyMNREymADZ3nijF291V-vUM4okF8LHJ4lcuB6jGWtD-_VCtuacNFmTZaP71UGjqYaL3mcH3VQdQ05AqyeMBKAVDVd9LRzRF9Wl0H-LZc5SzG3aIyAEycE/s411/Tom%20Neal%20CWGC%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="411" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zaE4EOJxMtNb3hSKx93IIG3U_PQ6mWAC1H8WD58vTkuVqO3zrP3fz9hGxVghVIH2yYhyMNREymADZ3nijF291V-vUM4okF8LHJ4lcuB6jGWtD-_VCtuacNFmTZaP71UGjqYaL3mcH3VQdQ05AqyeMBKAVDVd9LRzRF9Wl0H-LZc5SzG3aIyAEycE/s320/Tom%20Neal%20CWGC%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berlin CWGC Cemetery</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBwUTz9PEOHtu2WZDiXkgVpCggqocxcUE_Z-HwvMkhUtxMqz9rPV6bnrqIIwRJ1cH26QjojX7m3cv4Apfb8-8eQ-AlYbWU_ECYtRlp51lTYERnSb0GFEXgkHaFHK7RcGkESY19wggc3Usm5yZzuo1vbjdtpg69MJ2PkJ1MONkn5MPllZ_5twDODsm/s423/Tom%20Neal%20CWGC.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="285" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBwUTz9PEOHtu2WZDiXkgVpCggqocxcUE_Z-HwvMkhUtxMqz9rPV6bnrqIIwRJ1cH26QjojX7m3cv4Apfb8-8eQ-AlYbWU_ECYtRlp51lTYERnSb0GFEXgkHaFHK7RcGkESY19wggc3Usm5yZzuo1vbjdtpg69MJ2PkJ1MONkn5MPllZ_5twDODsm/s320/Tom%20Neal%20CWGC.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Neal</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Jimmy recalled the moment he heard of his brothers loss in his autobiography: </div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Father had left our Haslemere home furnished and had moved to a private hotel in Petersfield, Hants. I joined him there on a seven-day leave pass and was expecting Tom to be with us when we received a telegram to the effect that he had failed to return from a bombing mission over Berlin and had been posted as missing. I was glad that I was with my father at this sad time and we both lived through anxious days hoping against hope that better news would arrive. Sadly, it didn't and many months passed before Tom's death was confirmed and the Admiralty sent my father a picture of his son's grave in East Berlin.'</i></div></blockquote><p>Jimmy went on to write the following, before moving to active service with the British 8th Army shortly thereafter: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Tom had been, not only my brother, but my best friend. The loss was devastating, and I could only resolve, if I got the chance, to fight the enemy even more strenuously than i might otherwise had done. The war was becoming a rather more personal battle.</i></div></blockquote><p>Tom and his crew are buried in the main Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Berlin (quite near the 1936 Olympic Stadium). His all RAF crew lie with him - Pilot Officer G.D. Bailey, Sergeant J.C. Steel (19 years old), Sergeant R.W.Toomey and Sergeant V.H.Louis (air Gunner). Tom's grave acknowledges that he was a Royal Navy pilot seconded from HMS Daedalus. </p><div><br /></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-51979763042946516062022-06-21T09:40:00.004+01:002022-06-21T10:19:36.845+01:00Swavesey Roll of Honour (The Great War)<p style="text-align: left;">Sometime in the mid 1990s I decided to find out more about the men on the local war memorial in Swavesey, Cambridgeshire - which is where I was living at the time. It was pre-internet so my starting point was the local phone book and microfiche newspaper records. When the internet did arrive, I learnt to write HTML and published my findings online. This opened up a whole new world for me - leading to many friendships, loads of battlefield walking and, eventually, a Masters in Military History at the University of Birmingham. Having cleaned up my old website I thought I'd make my findings available through my blog. </p><p align="Center"><big>The Roll of Honour of Swavesey Men who were Killed in Action, or who Died from Wounds or Disease in the Great War, 1914 - 1919</big></p><p align="Center"><big><i><cite><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">"Their name liveth for evermore"</span></cite></i></big></p><p align="Center"><big><i><cite><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzE2vSrUIoyfIjCtm4ItTblxmhRtiA9pslVkw9xRNpGHFZDmAyFiNNSuIONrWtAvQncHA6t5xMXsmrAwkwyi2iDikJ8idNzARMmYGhmZRxQlGTlUDJVxVh5iFcwwYbg7bVDuU1rRkfNaOJHXwH5JGQqK83xeeoRkDW7o-60h2D6aG-VrPuiS-0LcBA/s351/swav5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="351" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzE2vSrUIoyfIjCtm4ItTblxmhRtiA9pslVkw9xRNpGHFZDmAyFiNNSuIONrWtAvQncHA6t5xMXsmrAwkwyi2iDikJ8idNzARMmYGhmZRxQlGTlUDJVxVh5iFcwwYbg7bVDuU1rRkfNaOJHXwH5JGQqK83xeeoRkDW7o-60h2D6aG-VrPuiS-0LcBA/s320/swav5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Memorial Hall, Swavesey, Cambridgeshire</td></tr></tbody></table></cite></i></big></p><p align="Center"><big><i><cite><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">1.</span></cite></i></big></p><table align="Center" border="" cellpadding="2" style="background-color: #ffff80;"><tbody><tr><td><b style="background-color: white;">George Brooks</b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">1st East Lancashire Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Killed in Action 14 Nov.,1914</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vg6J6E45LN9wItuPk4pLrPNmshn5bGQv/view?usp=sharing" name="Henry Beaumont" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Henry Beaumont</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">7th Canadian Infantry</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Missing, believed Killed 24-26 April,1915</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y1jaV4-EqmC-HjCBTnXeufvjlIKeh5lw/view?usp=sharing" name="Jonas Dodson" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Jonas Dodson</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">11th Suffolk Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Missing, believed killed 1 July,1916</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y1jaV4-EqmC-HjCBTnXeufvjlIKeh5lw/view?usp=sharing" name="James William Prior" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">James William Prior</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">11th Suffolk Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Missing, believed killed 1 July,1916</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vg6J6E45LN9wItuPk4pLrPNmshn5bGQv/view?usp=sharing" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Wilfred Hepher, D.C.M.</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Royal Engineers</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Killed in Action 15 Sep.,1916</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RPoi1Ms4CGfP0Za6wzG7nQJb45yd-bou/view?usp=sharing" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Walter Neal</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">1st Bedford Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died of Wounds 12 Sept.,1916</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I9-RZtl84IDTwe84jQjGTXheLoGl5Wah/view?usp=sharing" name="George Henry Norman" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">George Henry Norman</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">7th R.W.Kent Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died of Wounds 3 Oct.,1916</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dfSq4Yf4v86dBCVAgqv2r8JSrT7oU_ZK/view?usp=sharing" name="Alfred Aaron Linford" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Alfred Aaron Linford</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">11th Suffolk Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Killed in Action 28 April,1917</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dfSq4Yf4v86dBCVAgqv2r8JSrT7oU_ZK/view?usp=sharing" name="James William Hepher" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">James William Hepher</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">11th Suffolk Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Missing, believed killed 28 April,1917</span></td></tr><tr><td><b style="background-color: white;">James Harold Parish</b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">11th R.W.Kent Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Killed in Action 1 Aug.,1917</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/11kCTNY7Yr0c6ySuBSN2AwT4VAd-iDjt0/view?usp=sharing" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Samuel John Froment</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">10th Queen's (R.W.S.) Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Killed in Action 5 Aug.,1917</span></td></tr><tr><td><b style="background-color: white;">Walter Metcalf</b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">11th R.W.Kent Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">missing, believed killed 20 Sept.,1917</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VGbiQmMh7Cu2hxpD04vjX67crtNkCgQ5/view?usp=sharing" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Henry George Graves</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Royal Garrison Art.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died of Wounds 25 March,1918</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ff0UbgAlZ-ETnQDaepQgXZrx3f2teNbb/view?usp=sharing" name="George Beaumont " style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">George Beaumont, MC</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">13th East Surrey Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died of Wounds 9 April,1918</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UCSZsWwwOHTjadb-ks5AvH6zm1riKsW2/view?usp=sharing" name="Harold Charles Howlett" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Harold Charles Howlett</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">11th Suffolk Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Missing, believed Killed 9-19 April,1918</span></td></tr><tr><td><b style="background-color: white;">William Harden</b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">5th Shropshire L.I.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died (Bronchitis) 29 april,1918</span></td></tr><tr><td><b style="background-color: white;">James William Goad</b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Royal Army Service Corps</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died (Dysentry) in Italy, 28 July,1918</span></td></tr><tr><td><b>Walter Coulson</b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Royal Engineers</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died of Wounds 2 Oct.,1918</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/14TUUCczaoQPxvsOMv2IkSbGJfJq9_cC1/view?usp=sharing" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Joseph Barker Parish</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">1st East Kent Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died of Wounds 11 Nov.,1918</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RPoi1Ms4CGfP0Za6wzG7nQJb45yd-bou/view?usp=sharing" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Cyril George Hepher</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">7th East Yorks. Regt.</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died of Wounds 30 Nov.,1918</span></td></tr><tr><td><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nVp1PsmsBzFYj2d-5QKhzMPuQ2zNJVTm/view?usp=sharing" name="Alfred Large" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Alfred Large</a></b></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">1/1st Yorkshire Dragoons</span></td><td><span style="background-color: white;">Died (Pneumonia) 29 April, 1919</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>2.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="Center" border="" cellpadding="2" style="background-color: #ffff80;"><tbody><tr><td><p align="Left"><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iemYeHR0a7Yj4fx1k2PbrNCOw1L0PlxR/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Watson Trundley</a></b></p></td><td><p align="Left">1st Royal Scots Fusiliers</p></td><td><p align="Left">Killed in Action 25 September.,1915</p></td></tr><tr><td><p align="Left"><b>Herbert James Martin</b></p></td><td><p align="Left">2nd Suffolk Regt.</p></td><td><p align="Left">Killed in Action 30 Sept.,1915</p></td></tr><tr><td><b>Alfred Charles Dodson</b></td><td>2nd Essex Regt.</td><td>Killed in Action 15 Aug.,1918</td></tr><tr><td><b>Arthur George Ding</b></td><td>4th Rifle brigade</td><td>Died of Wounds when Prisoner of War in Bulgaria,16 Aug.,1918</td></tr><tr><td><b>James William Wright</b></td><td>2/7th W.Riding Regt.</td><td>Killed in Action 1 Nov., 1918<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p align="Center"><big><big><big><big><tt>The Swavesey Chronicles</tt></big></big></big></big></p><p align="Center"><tt><big><big>Stories from a Fenland village during the 1914-1918 War</big></big></tt></p><ul style="text-align: start;"><li><p align="Left"><tt><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/14SW7I1-fZXn-CSuo2ik_OJNtCQUwhoWq/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"> John Symonds</a> - An interesting account of life in a POW camp following Lance Corporal Symonds' capture on the 22nd March 1918 at the start of the Ludendorff Offensive. </tt></p></li></ul><p align="Left"></p><ul style="text-align: start;"><li><p align="Left"><tt><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/14-WEf6R0lhQ87WNGdHubMgQAmIqUQW_K/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Arthur Beaumont</a> - Arthur's own account of his wartime experiences. A fascinating supplement to "The Beaumont Boys".</tt></p></li><li><p align="Left"><tt><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PyfScTpb4oH-poXHtS_BbY5F-H61cp_R/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Gunner G.E. Canham</a> - A Swavesey man's experience with the guns in Mesopotamia.</tt></p></li><li><p align="Left"><tt><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18yRjBLxV2V-2vtB8MFGzwC4b0QL13dmA/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">The Memorial Hall</a> - The story of how the Swavesey community viewed the war. Includes an analysis of developing media attitude and the response of various local institutions.</tt></p></li><li><p align="Left"><tt><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gxwe_1Qo4u2u0ShoKd-7lqOuIuWV4eUu/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">A series of recollections by F.C.Wood B.A</a>. Cantab. (now deceased). The writer was the son of Charley Wood, the school master. The family lived in the school house opposite the village playing field.</tt></p></li></ul></div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8064940871747164274.post-40298757496690297502022-05-08T18:26:00.005+01:002022-05-10T06:17:18.603+01:00Victory Day - 9th May - Reflections from a Brit<p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the saddest consequences of Putin's war in Ukraine is the enmity that is
building between erstwhile friends and allies. On the 9th May, as the Victory Day
parades that will take place in virtually every Russian city and town unfold, the false narrative which has been so assiduously propagated by unscrupulous politicians
and media commentators will manifest itself in overt displays of anti-Western
sentiment.</span></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Twenty years ago today (9th May 2002) I attended the Victory Day parade in the city
of Volgograd. In the Winter of 1942 / 43 the city, then known as Stalingrad, had been
reduced to ashes in an encirclement battle which ended in the comprehensive defeat
of an entire German Army. A great many veterans were still alive and as they
marched from Victory Square down to the shores of the River Volga, local children
pressed bunches of flowers into their arms. Joining hundreds of thousands of jubilant
people making their way up the highest point in the city, the Mamayev Kurgan, was
an incredibly moving experience. At the top, in the shadow of the awe inspiring
'Motherland' statue veterans basked in the atmosphere of joy and adulation - happy
to tell their stories to curious locals.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGRLMttha8G7y9b5-EZyHvgaKkl3IiVsaSD3FmdegxW0ir2XIlcq2w9zRLItElQlO2TyDGL7FMI2X5ETTBaDqTVKOjOrH05AvsU2XQKwPjkVgXVtetAXoy74DzVyMVOFNcGghXm-54q5riKt7CPKA7tPW0ZoeE1OoO8iVVgNHKLj_vlloybW-enga/s795/P.Batayeva%20and%20N.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="795" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieGRLMttha8G7y9b5-EZyHvgaKkl3IiVsaSD3FmdegxW0ir2XIlcq2w9zRLItElQlO2TyDGL7FMI2X5ETTBaDqTVKOjOrH05AvsU2XQKwPjkVgXVtetAXoy74DzVyMVOFNcGghXm-54q5riKt7CPKA7tPW0ZoeE1OoO8iVVgNHKLj_vlloybW-enga/s320/P.Batayeva%20and%20N.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Army Veterans - Rossoschka - 9 May 2002</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Later that day I sat near the newly constructed German cemetery at Rossoshka with
a couple of women who had fought with the Red Army. Whilst sipping vodka, I asked
them to write down their thoughts in my notebook. Polina Ivanovna Batayeva, who
had experienced the battle in the city centre wrote:
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The people of Russia and England have always been friends. Thank-you to the
British for their help in rebuilding our home city of Stalingrad.
</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Polina Fyodorovna Yatsenko (previouly Chekhlova), who had driven trucks from
Tehran to the eastern bank of the Volga in the war years, wrote:
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I had the great honour of receiving a gift from Her Majesty the Queen during the
Great Patriotic War 1941-45. Heartfelt thanks to the British nation for their help in the
struggle against fascism. We remember everything - the clothes, medicine and food.
You saved us in a difficult time. We wish you health, happiness, peace and success.
We bow our greying heads to her majesty, may her memory live for ever.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Over the last two decades I have attended eight Victory Day parades in as many
different towns and cities, including one in Sevastopol, Ukraine. Over that period
much has changed, and I fear that the biggest transformation of all will come this
year when a new generation will speak for the veterans, delivering a message that
many of them would have been saddened by. The two friends whom I spent time
with on the Soldier's Field at Rossoshka would certainly not have recognised the </span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">narrative that Putin and his cronies have inculcated into the minds of many Russian
people.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCC9z2VFOjjXiDb6kzwy11zrh3jEoQP_FIZUScMuXbpI6hSRX2MEd0I7tJeM3vypyjByPeRMZaqPA-LRcki_8Jh8eMUhKuBH9JajiHhRTXLhYZ2ZHeU9_mwoIugDB4tD3pEmuyKT5PprncdyZCeEEZA-_YxjlBv74JZGVDBhTjdri15B7sGbLXXA-1/s2304/Siege%20Survivors.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2304" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCC9z2VFOjjXiDb6kzwy11zrh3jEoQP_FIZUScMuXbpI6hSRX2MEd0I7tJeM3vypyjByPeRMZaqPA-LRcki_8Jh8eMUhKuBH9JajiHhRTXLhYZ2ZHeU9_mwoIugDB4tD3pEmuyKT5PprncdyZCeEEZA-_YxjlBv74JZGVDBhTjdri15B7sGbLXXA-1/s320/Siege%20Survivors.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leningrad Siege Survivors - 9th May 2006</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Perhaps as many as 24 million lives were lost in the Soviet Union during the Second
World War. Four in every five German soldiers killed in combat, died on the Eastern
Front. No wonder then, that the legacy of the conflict should still be alive. The city of
Leningrad (now St Petersburg) endured a 900 day siege during which tens of
thousands of civilians died of hunger and cold in an episode that shames the
civilised world. Victory Day in St Petersburg has a special poignancy and I will never
forget the sight and sound of siege survivors marching with linked arms - singing
patriotic songs, on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Nevsky Prospect</span>. Video clip <a href="https://youtu.be/16Rs8CVTqiQ">here</a>. Such stoicism in the face of evil.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImxax2REt83u7nBr2KgL7gj2N4_nvqDHK4BDbOtCWLYxnQwGr3ioQwk2ne0lATXVgADthD75__tW6CfbbWV9Odm6c_At5WEOsc12r2kGXdR_BJevqHaqObjz5bAPXvk8S01UsrwiQ_KSmd-QHD6hOSCfj6hjDp9QXuIgxLEKV5xI9L9_PkuSYmQS1/s871/Crimea%20-%202004%2086.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="871" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImxax2REt83u7nBr2KgL7gj2N4_nvqDHK4BDbOtCWLYxnQwGr3ioQwk2ne0lATXVgADthD75__tW6CfbbWV9Odm6c_At5WEOsc12r2kGXdR_BJevqHaqObjz5bAPXvk8S01UsrwiQ_KSmd-QHD6hOSCfj6hjDp9QXuIgxLEKV5xI9L9_PkuSYmQS1/s320/Crimea%20-%202004%2086.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russia & Ukraine - Crimea - 9th May 2004</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">A couple of years later I attended the Victory Day celebrations in Sevastopol,
Crimea. Volgograd had offered up a day of celebration, St Petersburg was a
veneration of the siege survivors but in Sevastopol the day was a purely military
affair. I stood on the empty streets watching the rehearsal on the 8th May and it was
quite surreal seeing large formations of sailors and marines marching under Russian
and Ukrainian flags. Somehow more impressive than the actual event the following
day.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">There will be no blue and yellow flags on <span style="font-style: italic;">Grafskaya Wharf </span>this year.
</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73glT3cRn6vsi707Yil-gz6QIVBKbnc0ePsk1nzMKDjMKl_6DgqcEigdXmw7W8iccALPDAiZUbW4_rKY3fSQpqDVIIuuK9g5QKPG-jQpyGtHLkGhM_MipP4ES8u3ES4hJ5IooXbLIkKKeCsDv-rR6QFcM57XMnsAi1Gn83vusDaPOZ6HuG0VP2oyE/s984/Crimea%20-%202004%2046.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="984" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73glT3cRn6vsi707Yil-gz6QIVBKbnc0ePsk1nzMKDjMKl_6DgqcEigdXmw7W8iccALPDAiZUbW4_rKY3fSQpqDVIIuuK9g5QKPG-jQpyGtHLkGhM_MipP4ES8u3ES4hJ5IooXbLIkKKeCsDv-rR6QFcM57XMnsAi1Gn83vusDaPOZ6HuG0VP2oyE/s320/Crimea%20-%202004%2046.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Veterans - Sevastopol - 9th May 2004</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Now the veterans are fewer and less mobile. They no longer join the parade, but sit
on podiums awaiting the crowds that flow into the main thoroughfares and city
squares. In May 2016 I was able to experience two very different Victory Day
parades in the Kursk region. The first was in the small town of Bolkhov and the
second in the nearby major city of Orel. The contrast was striking.
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;">In Bolkhov, it seems that the whole town had turned out. What seemed like the entire
population paraded down the main street before congregating in front of the main
Government building to pay respects to the veterans and listen to patriotic speeches
from local politicians. Unlike Victory Parades I'd seen elsewhere virtually all of the
young people were in uniformed groups - reminiscent of the days of the Soviet
</span><span style="font-family: times; font-style: italic;">Komsomol </span><span style="font-family: times;">organisation.</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IECKiSwC_xDWznvC3utpIrAHQiQbiuTDGkzx-W6zHYomZMX4NkG5RqTHwXfTzD6u4lLzX7hT6My4KmpS92iFGWVutNdKu_9T84dOGQX3nFkgmiqJCzHot3ZpRt6W5pPDuDmkrg1m-pJHmQxYKitXLAI_8DyTDuDjyyFbTFNyJ32M8ri3HYUT25IP/s4866/Victory%20Day%20Parade,%20Bolkhov,%20Russia%20XII.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2472" data-original-width="4866" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7IECKiSwC_xDWznvC3utpIrAHQiQbiuTDGkzx-W6zHYomZMX4NkG5RqTHwXfTzD6u4lLzX7hT6My4KmpS92iFGWVutNdKu_9T84dOGQX3nFkgmiqJCzHot3ZpRt6W5pPDuDmkrg1m-pJHmQxYKitXLAI_8DyTDuDjyyFbTFNyJ32M8ri3HYUT25IP/s320/Victory%20Day%20Parade,%20Bolkhov,%20Russia%20XII.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bolkhov - Parade - 9th May 2016</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV586yrOoQCak6qiq405nfy6y6kpIGVke7435ySrsmTaMhzcFsBCrWiuT4l8KIF1k9aGzUNu9sykhePWrZtzodrTmsqJEOmi_XA_SLg6r9urbI65elMtLyA7hMlt19P4Jc01o_S7uMdmpn3mFA4vjb9ZMIcayWCHWeaf2YSaSHf1ugyUQWD68CmB3k/s4896/P1060591.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3672" data-original-width="4896" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV586yrOoQCak6qiq405nfy6y6kpIGVke7435ySrsmTaMhzcFsBCrWiuT4l8KIF1k9aGzUNu9sykhePWrZtzodrTmsqJEOmi_XA_SLg6r9urbI65elMtLyA7hMlt19P4Jc01o_S7uMdmpn3mFA4vjb9ZMIcayWCHWeaf2YSaSHf1ugyUQWD68CmB3k/s320/P1060591.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bolkhov - Veterans - 9th May 2016<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">The scenes in Orel were truly awe inspiring. The public buildings were draped in
huge images of the Great Patriotic War and the streets were thronged with excited
onlookers. Myself and a small group of friends stood on the main street for three or
four hours watching a constant stream of people walking by and singing. The vast
majority were carrying pictures of relatives who served in the Great patriotic War and
many children were dressed in 1940s era uniforms. Video clip</span><a href="https://youtu.be/9LNu-nv8Qlo" style="font-family: times; text-align: left;"> Orel</a><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;">. A truly monumental
demonstration of national pride and patriotism.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoCDh2-6ZdGThFzB3CfSte7LTVvCn296t3z9QEVRp6T3Y6albRN3J1rVDMzVGqyrTpotlfQlcJinGUEuKA7xb8JeQxxcAC0ijQ6S-m2cEDiLmadR5ebjK5Fl9M4J_d80lKEzBv-jW7vO-CdHVQknVgprTEpk3ehxnDkjq2iHoKCRQRa9U7-4ilEXO/s4896/P1060649.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3672" data-original-width="4896" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoCDh2-6ZdGThFzB3CfSte7LTVvCn296t3z9QEVRp6T3Y6albRN3J1rVDMzVGqyrTpotlfQlcJinGUEuKA7xb8JeQxxcAC0ijQ6S-m2cEDiLmadR5ebjK5Fl9M4J_d80lKEzBv-jW7vO-CdHVQknVgprTEpk3ehxnDkjq2iHoKCRQRa9U7-4ilEXO/s320/P1060649.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orel - The Big Parade - 9th May 2016</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
</div>
</div>
</div><p>
</p><div class="page" title="Page 3">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So, what are my main impressions? Firstly, the difference between the way in which
the Russian people mark the end of the Second World War and the way we, in
Britain, do so. For the Russians, it is a celebration of victory and a day to honour
those who survived. For us, in the west, the annual 11th November Remembrance
Day is a sombre commemoration of those who were lost. Secondly, the way that
Victory Day events have changed over the years - as the veterans have faded away
so pride in family members who have served has come to the fore (see below).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQFnD2KGoetXIfvLN93JiIVmOqNrM2_10ErSgickEX90tu-NL5G_fdiQ8ZYTf1PxwvnVQ3zLEYUYZ37aL5HVs4g22I32iMvmpF5LHpuQ3VVO5OpNXcjB7Urs5A6s1S9UxAJNsg_S4RtQDPOmoL6yaezdX_7HFWAV9-a8_5Es5uiyE9EsgKQpyGM_T/s3600/Victory%20Day%20in%20Orel,%20Russia%20-%20%22That's%20my%20Boy!%22.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3524" data-original-width="3600" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQFnD2KGoetXIfvLN93JiIVmOqNrM2_10ErSgickEX90tu-NL5G_fdiQ8ZYTf1PxwvnVQ3zLEYUYZ37aL5HVs4g22I32iMvmpF5LHpuQ3VVO5OpNXcjB7Urs5A6s1S9UxAJNsg_S4RtQDPOmoL6yaezdX_7HFWAV9-a8_5Es5uiyE9EsgKQpyGM_T/s320/Victory%20Day%20in%20Orel,%20Russia%20-%20%22That's%20my%20Boy!%22.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orel - Four Generations - 9th May 2016</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> Finally - this year
- the usurping of history to fit a narrative that will do nothing but disrespect those who
fought as allies to defeat Nazi Germany in the Second World War. </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>Curmohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01727930580023117340noreply@blogger.com