I have come across several men killed with this unit in the last days of the war. Anyone know anything about it? I can't seem to find a War Diary in DEFE2 at Kew?
Nine listed on Geoff's Wonderful SE: 001 BULL E D PO/X 111557 27TH BN 30/04/1945 ROYAL MARINES 002 CLAY H W CH/X 109545 27TH BN 05/03/1945 ROYAL MARINES 003 HEPBURN R S -27TH BN 02/05/1945 ROYAL MARINES 004 HOLMES-CROUT S S 1947 27TH BN 06/05/1945 ROYAL MARINES 005 HOWARD G CH/X 101036 27TH BN 24/03/1945 ROYAL MARINES 006 JARVIS F J PO/X 112532 27TH BN 01/05/1945 ROYAL MARINES 007 MARTIN D PO/X120736 27TH BN 10/02/1945 ROYAL MARINES 008 THOMAS R B PO/X 108788 27TH BN 29/04/1945 ROYAL MARINES 009 WEBSTER G W PO/X108897 27TH BN 29/04/1945 ROYAL MARINES
As the Allied armies advanced towards the Rhine, the Marines in the little ships were withdrawn gradually in order, as they thought, to train for operations in the Far East. But by now it wwas the turn of the Army to feel a shortage of manpower, and to meet the shortage the Marines of the Landing Craft Flotillas were converted into infantry to form the 116 and 117 Infantry Brigades, Royal Marines. The Marines Were There Lockhart It mentions 28 Bn RM being in 116 Bde, so it's odds-on that 27 Bn were part of the same. 116 Brigade was the first to be ready and and, going into action on the Maas under command of the Canadian Army, took part in the operation that formed the hinge of the great sweep across the Rhine and North-west Germany and finally reached the German ports. The 28th Battalion of this Brigade distinguished itself in the advance to Oldenburg under the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, whose G.O.C. Major-General Voke, paid high tribute to their services. I'd have thought their records would be in the Admiralty files?
Yes those are the ones I've found but I just wondered if anyone knew anything about the unit? It's an odd unit name for the RM in WW2.
The Marines Were There Lockhart It mentions 28 Bn RM being in 116 Bde, so it's odds-on that 27 Bn were part of the same. 116 Bde "formed the hinge of the great sweep across the Rhine and North-west Germany and finally reached the German ports." Many thanks for that - that's a good start.
Just checked Orders of Battle: 116th Infantry Brigade Royal Marines 27 Royal Marines - 15.1.45 to 31.8.45 I have a list of CO's, Higher Formations and Theatres if your interested Paul.
Lockhart does go on to give a brief overview of 28 Bn's war; I assume 27 Bn's was similar: disarming German troops in the ports etc. Will also add a bit to the quote above that I skipped...
Thanks for that - Andy, if that's from Jocelyn, must say I never thought to look there. Wish I could track down their War Diary at TNA but doesn't appear to be one.
snippet here In March 1945 I was with 27 Bn Royal Marines in Holland and we chased the Germans all the way up to Williamshaven. BBC - WW2 People's War - HMS Exeter- a Royal Marine's Story
Thanks for that - Andy, if that's from Jocelyn, must say I never thought to look there. Wish I could track down their War Diary at TNA but doesn't appear to be one. Paul ADM 202/121 Rob You are here: Home > <A class=breadcrumbs href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/searchthearchives/">the Catalogue > Search the Catalogue: Full details Piece reference ADM 202/121 27 Battalion Jump to : Summary Context ADM Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies Division within ADM Records of Royal Marines ADM 202 Admiralty and Ministry of Defence: Royal Marines: War Diaries, Unit Diaries, Detachment Reports and Orders 104 TRAINING BRIGADE (renamed Training Group HQ, Apr. 1943) 116 Infantry BrigadeTop of pageRecord Summary Scope and content27 Battalion Covering dates1944 Aug., Sept., Dec.- 1945 JuneHeld byThe National Archives, Kew Former reference (Department)Serial No. 49Legal statusPublic Record(s)Top of page
snippet here In March 1945 I was with 27 Bn Royal Marines in Holland and we chased the Germans all the way up to Williamshaven. BBC - WW2 People's War - HMS Exeter- a Royal Marine's Story Thanks for that - great.
27th RM Battalion The Battalion was one of several raised from cadres of former LC crews and recruits, as Beach Battalions for service in the Far East and on a war establishment appropriate to troops in a light division. Formed at Dalditch on 24 August 1944, CO Lt–Col P. W. O’H. Phibbs, the Battalion was trained in Scotland during December. On 4 January 1945 the Battalion came under command of 116 Infantry Bde RM for service as infantry and the war establishment was changed to that for an army rifle battalion. Lt–Col N. H. Tailyour was appointed CO on 8 January 1945. On 12 April the Battalion was detached from the Brigade, and under US Army command, prepared for the assault on Bremerhaven (Lower Saxony), but about the 26 April the Battalion was switched to the command of 4 Canadian Armoured Division for the assault on Wilhelmshaven further west (see chapter 7). Later ‘A’ Coy was detached to take the surrender of ships in Emden, ‘B’ Coy went to Sengwarden where it ‘chaperoned’ naval personnel in that former German HQ, and the Battalion Anti–Tank Platoon was billeted in Wilhelmshaven Dockyard. In taking the surrender of ships’ crews, the Poles of Conrad (formerly HMS Danae) assisted the Marines. The Battalion returned to the UK on 27–8 June (see 116 RM Bde history summary), and provided parties that autumn to work on farms while based at Beacon Hill Camp (nr Falmouth). On 27 November it moved to Chedworth (nr Cheltenham), before becoming a training battalion at Windrush Camp (west of Burford, Oxfordshire) early in 1946 and absorbing the 33rd RM Bn. On 1 April the Battalion became the training cadre at the Infantry School RM, Bickleigh (RMRO 323). From here
Had a look at the War Diary today - very interesting. Will post some material from it over the next couple of days.
I was a member of the 27th Bn Royal Marines from 1944. We trained in Devon, and on the Isle of Arran in early January 1945, until departing by troopship to Antwerp and onwards to Holland as an infantry battalion.. We were in s'Hertogenbosch, Bergen op Zoom, Haarsteeg on the RIver Maas facing the Germans on the far bank, and Hengelo(O) where we were billeted in private homes. We arrived in Hengelo, in Spreeuwenstraat, to find the residents had liitle or no food, nor lighting, nor heating.The members of my company returned to our mobile kitchen and 'claimed' any tins of food (M&V), white bread which no-one in Hengelo had seen for years, and anything else that was available. The two of us in our billet sat down with mother, father, daughter and son by the light of gas cape 'wicks' stuck in petrol filled cigarette tins and enjoyed their great delight at what for them was a truly memorable meal. We went on into Germany and had a few casualties. On the 2nd May 1945, six days before the war ended, while we were dug in in slit trenches in open countryside, my platoon commander Lt R S Hepburn and his batman, were killed when leaving a village from which, they were told by the inhabitants, the German soldiers had left but who in fact were lying in ambush. He is buried in Becklingen War Cemetery. My billet-mate, Cyril Jones, was with them but effected his escape by crawling along ditch. We went on to Wilhelmshaven at the end of the war in Europe. We returned to Falmouth in the U.K.where some of us were lucky to spend out time on the beach dismantling invasion defences.
Hi Watman Welcome to the forum and hope to hear more from you I hope Admin will pick this up and perhaps move your member status into Veterans TD
Thanks Dicky. I think at getting on for 90 I can claim to be a Veteran of some sort. I attach a picture of some of us in Wilhelmshaven: I am in the middle. Watman
Welcome Watman. Thank you for posting the photograph. Really hope we hear some more from you. Cheers Maria
Hello and thank you for this. I would like to get in touch with you as I am writing a book on the last days of WW2 and want to include this incident in it.