Location of D-Day photos by Sgt. Jim Christie and Others

The Sherman V DD tanks on the first and third photos are definitely 13/18 H, both of 'B' Sqn.

No.41 was (almost certainly) the second tank in SHQ, commanded by 'B' Sqn's 2iC T/Capt Robert Morier Sheffield NEAVE (95880) of Orsett, Essex (awarded the MC on 31 Aug 44).

The third photo shows No.54 whose commander is unknown to me, but was likely to be the 4th Troop Serjeant's tank.

As for the tank in B5294, I very much doubt that it belonged to 13/18 H because of the smoke dischargers on the turret, which of the three regiments in 27 Armd Bde only the Staffordshire Yeomanry retained. Almost certainly not an OP tank from an arty regt either, in spite of what looks like a telephone wire reel under the camo net, because the hull does not sport the RAC "flag" worn by all arty tanks or SP guns of 3 Br Inf Div - see B5033 for example:

D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944. © IWM (B 5033)IWM Non Commercial Licence

It might still be a replacement tank for 13/18 H though (quite unlikely I think).

No idea of where these photos where shot however...

Sorry if I strayed from the topic

Michel

 

Hello Michael,

B5347 is indeed the photo with No.54 DD's floatation screen smouldering (third photo in Cee's post #19 above):
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205226236
Caption: "Troops of 12th Parachute Battalion help put out a fire on a Sherman tank of 13th/18th Royal Hussars during a German counter-attack on 6th Airborne Division's landing grounds near Ranville, 10 June 1944."

I take it you meant B5346. I am quite sure this is it (from Georges Bernage et al's Memorial Album Overlord, pages 520-521):


B_005346 almost certainly - No.10 Balaclava in field with gliders - 10 Jun 44 - G.Bernage Overlord p520-1

It was shot (by Sgt Morris this time, according to the caption) from roughly the same location as B5345 but with a wider angle, and is partially mislabeled:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205374232
"Distant view of a Sherman tank of 13th/18th Royal Hussars hit by enemy fire during a German counter-attack on 6th Airborne Division's landing grounds near Ranville, 10 June 1944."

No.10 "BALACLAVA" (the CO's tank) is not "hit by enemy fire" but simply has its (Diesel) engine running. No microparticle filters in those times :biggrin:.

Michel

 

Michel and Michael,

Just fabulous stuff, well done gentlemen. Thank you for all the sourcing and catalogue numbers. I need all the help I can get when it comes to tanks. So B5294 is a bit of an anomaly. I noticed in the IWM description the word "probably" was used - a word I often employ when I don't really know the answer. It's curious that Sgt. Morris should take a shot close by where Christie took his. Some of the knocked out tanks may appear on good quality aerials if taken not soon after June 10th.

Regards ...

 

The B series numbers are not all chronological. You must never assume photo 5600 was taken after (say) 5500. In general they do but there are enough exceptions to make it vital you check out every detail before opining.
My big mistake in forming my 'shadow' B series Normandy collection was not noting the photographers names. I suspect a collection indexed by photographer would be of more use for fixing dates and locations.
Cross checking the stills with the film holdings description can often help as the cameramen seem to have travelled in pairs, captured the same subjects and the films are nearly always dated..

 

Quite right Michael I shouldn't be making assumptions on who shot what when with so little evidence to go on.

Guy Hudson identified one of the Commandos seen in Jim Christie photo B5203:

"The Commando at the front staring at the camera is Frank Barton, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and 6 Commando. He was captured during the Battle for Steamroller Hill. When he transferred to a POW camp in Italy he met his brother Fred who had been captured at Tobruk. They both escaped together and made it back to Allied lines."



Thanks Guy!

Regards ...

 

Troops join their colleagues after landing on the DZ - Ref: BHC 007076

There is not much information on our next photo to be analyzed. The above title comes from the Battlefield Historian site and shows an Airlanding soldier cautiously heading into a field with gliders in the distance.



If you zoom in a line of men who just recently arrived on the June 6th Op Mallard fly-in can be seen leaving the area to the left while others mill about near their gliders with tails still in tact. Overhead there are 3 pairs of aircraft which I assume are tug/glider combinations heading for their release points.



The photographer is unknown but I wouldn't be surprised if it's another photo taken by Sgt Jim Christie either coming from or heading to the north end of LZ N.

Regards ...

 

Planeur dans la Plaine - LZ "V"

In a Illustrated article recently posted by brithm a group of Airborne men on a 1946 reunion tour can be seen gathered around Horsa, CN 71, that carried Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Bray (GSO-1) to Normandy.



Glider Pilot Major John Royle described their landing in the early hours of June 6th in his report:

"Due to cloud (700 ft. to 2000 ft. approx) and flak, my tow rope broke over the coast at 0323 hours at LES PANORAMAS 1979 [Map Reference], and Glider No. 71 forced landed in a minefield 4 miles EAST of L.Z. "N" 165746. Both crew and passengers were unhurt, except for Lieut-Colonel Bray who suffered slight concussion, but the Glider was badly damaged, with the nose-wheel broken, perspex and underneath of fuselage smashed, and back broken at tail unload joint. It was decided to leave the jeep, trailer and motor-cycle, owing to the difficulties involving the unloading, and close proximity of enemy troops (there was a flak battery ¼ mile away, and small arms fire and shelling close at hand). Succeeded in cutting German telephone wires with port wing before landing!

The party, consisting of Lieut-Colonel Bray, Lieut. Smith, a colour-sergeant, five other ranks of Div. [Divisional] HQ and myself, then proceeded to move across country towards L.Z. "N". There were several "brushes" with enemy troops and snipers, but no casualties were caused. Lieut-Colonel Bray was injured falling off a wall! Several parties of 9 Para Bn. [Battalion], Canadian Para Bn., and 224 Para Fd. Amb [Field Ambulance] were met on the way."

Major Royle's coordinate doesn't show a glider, but there is one just west in a nearby field. In fact this is the only glider I've come across that actually landed in a LZ "V " area. The glider as shown in the aerial is still intact. According to Major Royle it's back was broken at tail unload joint. The red lines mark the approximate boundaries of the "Planeur" photo below.



In a photo taken sometime after the war found at the Dives River Association site a Horsa is captured in a deteriorated condition sitting in a field. Despite the poor image quality an examination of the damage when compared to the above Illustrated photo reveals it to be CN 71 in my opinion.



The photo, "Planeur dans la Plaine", belongs originally to the collection of Pol Regnier of the Ferme de la Riviere.

Added later:

Two more views of what could very well be the same Horsa that brought Lt-Col. Bobby Bray to LZ 'V'. Found by Forum member brithm.



Regards ...

 

Glider Relics

Ludo sent a couple of interesting photos of gliders near the first Commando HQ at La Haute Ecarde D-Day that will be familiar to many of you. In the first you can see Major-General Gale's Horsa (CN 70) in the foreground and "Churchill's Reply" (CN 5 Op Mallard) to left background with wing on stone wall. The second photo I believe shows the Gale glider from the rear.

I'm not sure of the date but there is quite a bit of deterioration evident. According to Ludo they were shot by "a local (from Deauville) who probably took random photos of the landing area after its liberation."



Regards ...

 

Inside the cockpit of a Horsa glider ...

I recently checked the attached photo B 5197 on the IWM showing the cockpit of a Horsa in flight during Operation Mallard and was surprised to discover it now included new information possibly from the backside. The photo is attributed to Sgt. Jim Christie AFPU and establishes the fact he arrived in Normandy by glider D-Day evening.



There are a few interesting features seen there that may be of interest to the Horsa enthusiasts. For example what are we looking at with the holder to top left and and the long metal box just left of the pilot's hand?

When I discussed the photo with Guy Hudson he pointed out the pinup attached to what looks like a modern monitor. Then proceeded to astonish me by finding a reference to the image in a period magazine which shows photographer James Jarché demonstrating to a fashion model how best to pose on a polar bear rug ...



Regards ...

 

German Pan of Gliders on LZ

In the German propaganda film "1944-06-14 - Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 719" at one point there is a long pan with pauses showing gliders on a LZ. The narrator tells us, " A number of gliders landed here and the crews were captured before they could even get a taste of battle".

I spliced together stills from the pan the best I could to create a very wide image, originally from a video on hdarchives, Youtube. It's quite an interesting shot despite the poor quality. The German cameraman must have took this early on D-Day using a telephoto lens from the west side of the Orne Valley (LZ 'W'). The gliders captured in the footage landed on LZ/DZ 'N' above Ranville during Op Tonga.



Regards ...

 

The IWM Confirm this is probably Christie, Link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944

IWM also confirm the photo in post 4 (above / on the first page), is a cropped in version of this photo THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944

 

An old thread and my first location finding effort. Over the top to start off and then we move around a bit. Guess what - I made a PDF, surpise, surprise!

D-Day Photos - Sgt. Jim Christie & Others.pdf - Icedrive

Regards ...

 

The glider the photographer (Christie) is standing on is likely CN 34 A GLIDER FIELD IN NORMANDY (B 5596)
The photograph just prior to this B 5595 shows what looks to be an undamaged Tonga Glider A GLIDER FIELD IN NORMANDY its Chalk number is unfortunately not visible.

The PDF's are an incredible resource by the way!

 

Hi,

B5595 B5596

Another outstanding observation by SH. Below is a stitch of the two photos (B5595 and B5596) taken by Sgt. Jim Christie while standing on another glider, Chalk 34, on June 15th.



Regards ...

 

For the location of CN34 near the Amfreville Road see attached aerials. Gliders marked with an 'X' were moved to those positions post D-Day. As yet no tales of the flight or landing have been found. A few data points:

Airfield - RAF Brize Norton
Squadron - 297 Sqn.
Glider - Chalk 34
Group - 5 Para Bde, CNs 29 - 45 (under Capt. J.F. Smellie, 'B' Squadron, flying CN29)
Landing - on LZ 'N'
Tug - Albemarle (V.1781)
Pilot - F/Lt. Cowderoy
Glider Pilots - S/Sgt Apps, W. and Sgt Briggs, G.
Times - .01.10 - .03.40 - .04.50

GP Sgt. G. Briggs (6294891) was later killed at Arnhem.



Regards ...

 

I have gone through the first part of Sgt Christie's Photographs as indexed by the IWM and listed all those I could find below. This list aims to be exhaustive between B 5198 and B5602, although there is a chance I might have missed one or misattributed one as I haven't double checked all the index cards (apologies if this is the case).

Many (if not most) of the photos appear elcewhere in this thread although for the few that have not yet been discussed I have endeavoured to fill in any gaps, those that do not yet have locations are in bold and listed as TBC.


Short Assumed Narrative of Events
Based of the locations and photographs listed below, Christie seems to have landed on the 6th of June in the evening and taken photographs of the glider fields, and gliders landing before sunset. On the 9th of June Christie travelled to various 6th Airborne Locations, mostly near to DZ N. He likely started in Amfreville alongside a BBC correspondent, before heading south to Pegasus and Orne Bridges. Christie remained in the area on the 10th and 11th of June, photographing tank operations alongside a fellow photographer. on the 15th of June Christie returned to the area again, this time to photograph more of the glider fields and general Gale's Glider, I believe this may coincide with photographs of a ceremony in the nearby quarry but will need more time to investigate this.



Below are listed Sgt Christie's photographs with Grid References and IWM links.


Gliders Landing on D Day - 06th June?
B 5198 -0.250840214973271 49.2323433426591link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5199 -0.250734102067211 49.2356737072792link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5200 LOCATION TBC Link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5201 -0.267807282846954 49.2405569613498link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5202 -0.250510945578646 49.2433210120045link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5203 -0.251651208549199 49.2452320180953link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5204 -0.251388762651256 49.2456578081111link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5205 -0.254849407350866 49.2403349905217link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5206 -0.254777189355363 49.2404134604112link: D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944
B 5207 ENGLAND TAKEN PRIOR TO B 5198

Ranville and Pegasus including DZ X- LOCATIONS TBC - 08th June
B 5230 - -0.26623 49.2399 THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5231 - -0.26962 49.23911 THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5232 - -0.27355 49.24168 THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5233 - -0.27321 49.24139 THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5234 - -0.27386 49.24255 THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5235 - -0.24821 49.24702 - THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944

Amfreville - LOCATIONS TBC - 09th June
B 5278
B 5279
B 5280
B 5281
B 5282
B 5283
All are likely near: 49.25025028230655, -0.2317585025039363 but exact locations are TBC
B 5284 Tank in Bush BRITISH FORCES IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944


Pegasus Bridge 09th June
B 5285 -0.274732500001799 49.2427785710231link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5286 -0.274606754312675 49.2427809284301link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5287 -0.274698464850417 49.2428774571951link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5288 -0.274736157798398 49.242871192236link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5289 -0.275970472293541 49.2432078933099link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5290 -0.274650346918669 49.2427046624301link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944


Various DZ N 09th June
B 5291 -0.258356958705203 49.2349253402569link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5292 -0.250060076622041 49.2461628841327link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944


Tanks on DZ N - 10th / 11th June
B 5343 49.2396, -0.2566 Suspected Location (TBC) ALLIED FORCES DURING THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5344 49.23968, -0.25548 THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944 - Note: Fence was still present in Street View imagery from sept 2013 i.e. before the new house was built. Most of the fence has since been removed.
B 5345 -0.258009395746245 49.2369453686446link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5346 -0.258037232347851 49.2368713867916link: BRITISH FORCES FORCES DURING THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5347 - LOCATION TBC - Discussed in thread above (Post 19) BRITISH TANKS IN NW EUROPE 1944-45
B 5348 - -0.24393 49.23186 - Discussed in thread above (Post 19), located based on CN39 THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5349 -0.254481060790614 49.2401273049271link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5350 -0.25454094776914 49.2401375217408link: BRITISH FORCES DURING THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5351 -0.264221774757949 49.2331643785744link: BRITISH FORCES DURING THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5352 -0.264122126811984 49.2331054706608link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORMANDY 1944
B 5353 -0.26408388229955 49.2331306908043link: BRITISH FORCES DURING THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944


Glider Field on DZ N - 15th June
B 5592 -0.248363675896967 49.2460615777239link: A GLIDER FIELD IN NORMANDY
B 5593 -0.248293594301064 49.2460503481721link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944
B 5594 -0.247228868144404 49.2447927245298link: THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-1945
B 5595 -0.247310384866845 49.2445085696671link: A GLIDER FIELD IN NORMANDY
B 5596 -0.247199743948365 49.2446605879834link: A GLIDER FIELD IN NORMANDY
B 5600 -0.248899900077453 49.2465673475665link: SPEARHEAD OF THE DIVISION
B 5601 -0.248171934627813 49.2467029543977link: SPEARHEAD OF THE DIVISION
B 5602 -0.248396570946738 49.2466669902509link: SPEARHEAD OF THE DIVISION
B 5603 - Amfreville - LOCATIONS TBC
B 5604 - Amfreville - LOCATIONS TBC

There are some more Christie photos from the area including some that look to be from around the quarry with numbers after B 5602. I will at some point go through these additional photos and when done either make a new list encompassing them all, or add to this list.

Map and CSV
Attached is a CSV file for all the pictures / locations listed above. This CSV can be drag and dropped into google earth (or other similar software), and contains the active links to the IWM website so essentially works as an interactive map whereby (once set up / imported correctly) clicking on a photograph location takes you to the correct page on the IWM website. - If this doesn't work please let me know as I have had to convert it to txt due to the file extension not being supported.

I have also attached a JPG map showing most of the photograph locations for anyone who doesn't want to import the CSV.


CN 34
Great work with the image stich, and interesting story about CN29 and CN39 also.

CN 29-45
Regarding these chalk numbers, and additional story's I'm fairly confident my grandfather (Bob) was on one of the Brize Norton Chalks in this range of CN's (not sure on which number though) he clamed he landed in the early hours of D-Day, the glider being undamaged and carrying a Jeep and 2 trailers of ammunition. I will update later with number of men on board Bob's glider but will need to check with my dad first.

Edit: - Glider occupants, "4 men" (possibly 5 as not sure if he included himself when speaking about it) "2 pilots", "Jeep carrying ammunition and rations in support of a parachute battalion" glider contents also included 2 trailers and 75mm Ammunition.

Edit:2&3 - Minor corrections / typo removal, addition of B 5603-B5605. Discovering B2530 was also a Christie photo and adding a new sub heading to encompass this new batch of pictures. Removed 5606 as this is Laing.

Edit(s): 4 - Locations added as we find them for: B 5235, B 5348, B 5344, B 5343.

Best Regards,
SH

 

Here is a better copy of the image, compared to the low-resolution preview at the IWM website ...





The next photo of Sherman No. 69 is dated 10 June 1944. Does anyone recognize the man closest to the camera? Initially I thought he had sergeant stripes on the front of his helmet, but on closer examination it's probably just dirt or mud splatter on the mesh cover.



THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944

 

Have you managed to identify any of the gliders in this footage / the stitched pan? I've given it a go and will come back to this later but cant quite figure out which part of DZN we are looking at. If we know a couple of them, it shouldn't be too much work to use their scale and positioning to figure out where the Cameraman was standing espushialy as we have a road with evenly spaced telegraph poles in front.

 

Yes many are identifiable. It doesn't appear to catch General Gale's glider to the north (left side). I think it does capture the small house and the glider that struck it. These are Tonga gliders only shot by a German cinematographer before the arrival of the Mallard gliders. Not the best quality, but still an interesting pan from across the Orne Valley on the morning of the 6th before the British over ran the area (LZ 'W'). The Breville Ridge rises up in the background.

For a bigger, original splice download from here:

German Pan LZ N June 6th.zip - Icedrive

Regards ...

 

Hi,

Here's the small house. Other info on CN72 and the later photo of it by Christie can be found in this post:

Location of D-Day photos by Sgt. Jim Christie and Others



Regards ...