Reconstructed Trenches RAF Halton

Earlier this month Guild Members Bob Darby and Piers Storie Pugh were invited to visit a reconstructed trench system at RAF Halton. This is a project funded by the RAF and carried out by young airman under training at Halton and between courses. The original trenching system was the work of Kitchener K3 volunteers before leaving for France.

The reconstruction has been carried out using drawings from the original Field Training Manuals. The site is within the grounds of RAF Halton and therefore not open to the general public.

Who were the first to land in Normandy on D Day?

Further to the claim at Deadman's Corner Museum near St Mere Eglise the following responses have been received from members.

Pete Hawtin

The DMC sign is probably correct. Team A of 502nd Pathfinders jumped at 0015hrs commanded by Captain Frank Lillyman and landed on DZ A near St Mere Eglise. they landed intact and set up their beacons for the main force. To be switched on at 0040hrs. In the US Official History no mention is made of times but Devlin in his book 'Paratrooper' states that 'the first man to land was Captain Frank L Lillyman a 101st Pathfinders who set down at 0015hrs'

The first intact fighting troops to land were John Howard's glider-borne company of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry at the Benouville Bridge (Pegasus) at 0016hrs with the caveat that the US Pathfinders were ordered to avoid contact and to take evasive action if discovered.

Valmai Holt

Gallic enthusiasm is a wonderful thing! The memorial plaque on the Marie at Benouville claims to be the first Marie liberated at 2345hrs on the 5th June! Trying to decide upon the 'first' anything in France and you will have trouble!

John Howard said that his watch stopped at 0016hrs.

Tonie Holt

Gordon Brown in his book 'Wartime Courage' says the first allied soldier to arrive in Normandy on D Day was SAS Lieutenant Noel Poole who landed at 0011hrs whilst taking part in Operation 'Titanic' the distribution of the Rupert 'dummies' around Carentan. This information came to Brown via Professor M R D Foot the historian for SOE who was also a Captain in, and IO for the SAS


I think it is probable that the US Pathfinders as a formed body were first to land, but the first to 'close with the enemy' was John Howard's action at Benouville Bridge

Tank turret at Arnhem

Bob Hilton
Member of the
Guild of Battlefield Guides

Here are several photo's taken recently on a walk around the Arnhem area. They are unusual and show a Sherman tank turret (possibly a Firefly), minus its barrel, on the side of the lower road on the way into Arnhem from Oosterbeek. I wondered if anyone had seen this before or if anyone knows about it?


Wybo Boersma
Member of the
Guild of Battlefield Guides
Badge Number 30

It is very simple. In the 1950’s we had to defend Holland along the river IJssel. The plan was to inundate the whole area around that river with defensive positions. To have enough water a special harbour was made west of Arnhem in the river Rhine. It is still there. Then we put some caissons in the river so the water would flow into the river IJssel rather than going back to the North Sea. To protect the harbour the army used a number of old tank turrets manned by conscripted soldiers. After the idea of “forward defence” in about 1960 of moving the front line to West Germany, the defence system we had put in place was no longer required and subsequently deserted. Some of the tank turrets are still there on both the north and south of the Rhine. Because the vegetation very few people had noticed them before now. Since the vegetation was cleared round this turret so it can be seen, it has been subsequently protected as a historical object. It has nothing to do with the Battle of Arnhem, but it is a leftover from the Cold War.

Opposite the tank turret look at the house no 134. There is a new plaque near the door to mention  four soldiers of the 18 pel. C Coy, 2nd batt. The South Staffordshire Regiment who were taken POW by the Germans SS troops in  September 1944.

The Battle of Casteau and St Denis 14th August 1678

 
By Ian Woodbridge
Member of the
Guild of Battlefield Guides

The Battle of Casteau and St Denis was a little known action which took place just to the north of Mons in Belgium at the culminating point of the war between the Dutch and French which commenced in 1672. 

Whilst a little known action, it is controversial as the draft Treaty of Nijmegen had been signed on 10 August, 4 days beforehand, which should have brought the 6 year conflict to a close.  There is evidence that both William of Orange commanding the Allied Army and Duke of Luxembourg commanding the French Army went ahead and fought the battle anyway.

Both sides were evenly matched, the French at approximately 40,000 and the Allies consisting of some 50,000 Dutch, Spanish and various German contingents (men from Munster, Brandenburg, Zell and Osnabruck 15,000) and the Anglo-Dutch Brigade commanded by the Duke of Monmouth (Charles II illegitimate son).  The main English Army of 16,000 was not present as it had just disembarked in Holland.  At the time John Churchill was Charles II personal liaison officer to William and so it is possible he was present at the battle.

The battle was also extremely costly in terms of lives for the period with 3000 men killed and 4000 wounded.  The allies on the attacking lost approximately 2000 killed and 2500 wounded and the French lost 940 men killed and 1560 wounded in defending.

The battlefield is largely unspoilt to this day.  The action commenced at the Abbaye of St Denis, the period gates of which are in the photograph below.   It finished with vicious hand to hand fighting at about midnight in the manor house and castle which stood on the site of the current farm built in 1711 (located in Casteau) where 800 Huguenots fighting for the Dutch were put to the sword.  

 
 

Q-fever

   
By Wybo Boersma
Guiding Member of the
Guild of Battlefield Guides
Badge Number 30

20 March 2010: There is no danger of Q-fever in the Northern parts (Nijmegen, Groesbeek, Arnhem and Oosterbeek) of the Market Garden Battlefield.
    
   
By Rob Lemmens
Member of the
Guild of Battlefield Guides

In the south of the Netherlands there's an outbreak of Q-fever. As it transmitted through the air anyone in the area can be infected. It seems to be a very resistant bacteria (a new mutant) that survives in very harsh (heath, sun etc.) circumstances. People can get very sick from this infection and in some cases (1-5%) suffer a life time damage of the heart.

The infected area is more or less the "Market Garden" campaign area.

wwwnc.cdc.gov
www.nhs.uk

Riqueval Bridge

  
By Dermot Gallagher
Member of the
Guild of Battlefield Guides

Photograph taken last weekend of Riqueval Bridge spanning the St. Quentin Canal north of Bellinglise, which was captured intact on the 29th September 1918 by Captain A.H.Charlton and nine of his men from the 1/6th Battalion North Staffordshire Regt.

Sicily - Ponte Primasole Bridge

 
By Mike Peters
Guiding Member of the
Guild of Battlefield Guides,
Badge Number 19

I visited Ponte Primasole in company with Tim Saunders on Tuesday 9 March 10.  Much to my surprise and Tims the objective of 1 Parachute Brigade during Operation FUSTIAN is no more!  The bridge including its footings has been removed and there is no immediate prospect of it being replaced.  For any members intending to cover the fighting around the bridge or indeed the route of 4th Armoured Brigade up to Catania this presents a small logistic problem.  The opening of the new Autostrada has removed the traffic from the area - it is VERY quiet now however, access is an issue.  The Durham Light Infantry Memorial is still in place in the Nature Reserve car park but is now the only physical link to the action of 1943.  You will have to decide which bank you intend to use for your stand as there will be a significant time penalty in transit if you intend to view the crossing from both the North and South banks.  I would suggest the North bank is the better option - with the DLI memorial at hand.

The photographs show how bare the river bank is on both sides without the bridge that replaced the origional.

Battlefield Archaeology

By Bob Darby
Guiding Member of the
Guild of Battlefield Guides,
Badge Number 29

Battlefield archaeology can best be described as the artefacts of war which remain visible long after an action or battle from a previous time. Those who guide on the battlefields of the Great War and the Second World War will be aware of the trench lines and fortifications which still remain. Much has disappeared with recent development but there is one arena of 20th century conflict where much can be seen.

I recently visited the Falkland Islands fought over less than 30 years ago where the artefacts of war still remain. It was the wishes of the Islanders that nothing should be removed from the battle sites as a reminder to others as to what happened there.

I cannot think of any other battle site where a guide can follow the debris trail of action so closely. Because of their remoteness and sparse population the artifacts of the 1982 conflict will be viewed by visitors well into the 21st century with little or no change.

The following images will explain what I mean by battlefield archaeology.

Top to bottom:

• Remains of an Argentine Dagger (Mirage) shot down by Sea Harriers over Pebble Island
• The same Dagger on Pebble Island with just the Port wing and engine still relatively intact shot down by an air to air missile strike on the tailplane
• Empty ammunition boxes 105 mm shells on Mount Kent
• Personnel sangar (shelter) for Royal Artillery gunners on Mount Kent
• 81mm Mortar Bomb carrier on Mount Kent
• Cleaning the Ian MacKay VC Marker on Mount Longdon