Photo search 8th Rifle Brigade Hill 112

Discussion in 'British Army Units - Others' started by 8RB, Jul 8, 2018.

  1. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    I am looking for a good digital file of attached photo. Attachment has been copied from a book in which it is shown over 2 pages, so quality is not that great. Although not showing up when searching the IWM files, apparently this is IWM photo B6186. Confirmation of this being correct or not and about the photographer (would like to be sure if this is an AFPU photographer) would also be of help.

    05c - 8RB opening Compo crate.jpg
     
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  2. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

    Number is correct and I have 'Nr Etterville Lcpl Ellis and Driver Girling June 29th'.
    One of a couple of pics of 8 RB aroung June 29

    B6185nkkkl,-tileGGG.jpg B6194   8th RB.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2018
  3. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    Thanks! Given their names they are F Company men, the one one the right being Ellis (being Riflemen they had their rank stripes only on their right arm).

    And also very interesting to learn the PIAT photo is also of Riflemen (I have looked up the caption to it and they are also F Company men). Didn't know that! Do you also have the number for the lower photo. I am not aware I ever consciously saw it and certainly didn't know he was Rifle Brigade and would like to look up also the caption to that picture. If you are interested I also have the names of three F Company men in the top right photo (these are not shown in the IWM caption but I have them on the back of an original press photo).
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2018
  4. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

    With numbers
    B6185-tileGGG B.jpg B6194   8th RBC.jpg
     
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  5. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    Thanks again!
     
  6. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    Maybe too much to ask: can't find B6189 on IWM website. Do you have the caption that goes with it?
     
  7. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

    The 2 photos are probably from a Heimdal book so would need to go through a few but the gist is SS 'Flak' POWs which would mean crews for the 12 x 8.8cm Flak guns in a Pz/Pz Grenadier Division.
     
  8. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

    Found my source book. Heimdal's La Bataille De L'Odon

    Amazon.fr - La bataille de l'Odon - George Bernage, Stephane Cazenave - Livres

    But the captions add nothing to the two pics you are interested in. The book also names the men in all the other IWM photos. There are a couple of grainy German photos of men captured on Hill 112 including 2 described as Officers if you are interested.
     
  9. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    Certainly interested... and interested in the book itself. Although my french is a little poor I think I will manage and I have just ordered a copy. Many thanks for all the great information!
     
  10. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

    The pics mar2018124.jpg mar2018122ff.jpg mar2018123.jpg mar2018122.jpg
     
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  11. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

  12. Tom OBrien

    Tom OBrien Senior Member

    Michael,

    The pictures of the British POW’s seems a bit odd as I couldn’t find any missing 8 RB officers for this period. I don’t suppose they are mid-captioned from Villers Bocage?

    Regards

    Tom
     
  13. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    Great footage, especially the Mk.IV and the camouflaged Shermans of the 23rd Hussars in part 2.
     
  14. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    I suppose you refer to the photos above? Looking at the "pips" they are not 8RB. 8RB officers had black on dark green rank insignia, there are whitish.

    Kind regards, Ronald.
     
  15. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

    I checked the Villers negatives. There are 7 photos of bodies in the ditch at VB and all were taken later than the 'action' pics. The German soldiers present are the ones messing around with the Firefly either the same day of next and there are also 'body' pics for the series of the Luftwaffe men on the Firefly. There are no soldiers in combat mode or in camo. It means the Villers dead were left lying for at least a day if not longer. There is another PK pic (which I think says it is one of 3) of the bodies being removed but again not combat soldiers. The Villers area does not have the 'bushes' seen in the ones posted here.
     
  16. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    Why are you thinking of VB? As you say yourself in post #8 the photos come from Heimdal's La Bataille De L'Odon, which is about Epsom and Hill 112. As mentioned by me above, given the colour of the pips on their shoulders, these officers are certainly not Rifle Brigade. As you can see in attached photos their pips were very dark in colour.

    8RB Pips.jpg RB pip.jpg
     
  17. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

    I am replying to a comment in post number 12. I don't think they are the same but I can understand why the 2 sets of photos could be confused. They look similar.
     
    Last edited: May 12, 2019
  18. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    It is all getting a bit confusing. In post #14 and #16 I was referring to the photos in post #10, the only post in which photos of British POWs are shown, so I suppose post #12 from Tom is also referring to those photos and those POWs. All photos in #10 come from pages 164 and 165 of Heimdal's La Bataille De L'Odon, where the officers are mistakenly captioned as being of 8th Rifle Brigade. With my reply (post #16) I just wanted to make clear they clearly are not Rifle Brigade officers, so any discussion about these officers being 8RB on Hill 112 or 1RB at Villers-Bocage doesn't make much sense...

    To come back to the title of this topic: always interested in any material showing the 8th Rifle Brigade, on or near Hill 112 or anywhere else in Europe!
     
  19. Tom OBrien

    Tom OBrien Senior Member

    Hi Michael and 8RB,

    Sorry if I led thread off topic, I was just confirming (as I think we have done) that the German photos of British dead and POW in post #10 were not of 8 RB.

    Regards

    Tom
     
  20. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    Hello Tom,

    No worries. My remark about the topic was not meant to be taken too serious. And besides that: nice to have a discussion about these details!

    Cheers, Ronald.
     

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