249th (Airborne) Field Company RE on D-Day and Battle of Normandy

Discussion in 'Airborne' started by PRADELLES, Jul 9, 2015.

  1. PRADELLES

    PRADELLES Well-Known Member

  2. Jon Reid

    Jon Reid New Member

    I read it in the book 'Operation Tonga', he gets a mention. I've heard several accounts on how he died, from an MG raking the glider on landing and he died in Ranville aid station, although my Grandmother is adamant he died from a sniper a few hours later whilst commanding the bulldozers that were clearing the poles.

    Incidentally my Grandmother was best friends with Kay Sommerby, Eisenhowers driver !
     
  3. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Hi Jon,

    Is your Grandfather seated with the Officers in the group photo of 286 Field Park Coy as seen on ParaData?

    286 Field Park Company RE, October 1943

    Any ideas as to where his glider might have landed. I couldn't find any ground photos of CN 41 on or near LZ N. There are a few clues in Staff Sergeant Taff Evans account although it is easy to misinterpret what he actually meant.

    Regards ...
     
  4. Jon Reid

    Jon Reid New Member

    Sorry but I dont recognise him from the photo
    other than he landed near a road (ref book operation Tonga) I dont know the exact landing position
     
  5. PRADELLES

    PRADELLES Well-Known Member

    Hi all,
    I need help to know if some unit of the 6th Airborne have practised in Dartmoor Area ? When ? I don't know...
    Regards,
    Xavier

    PS : A family of a soldier sent me a map...
     

    Attached Files:

  6. PRADELLES

    PRADELLES Well-Known Member

    Hi all,

    I open a new thread on this subject...

    Below, the story of sapper Dyke :
    Thank you to his son Howard Dyke.

    "He was born in a small village called Stoke Bruerne which is about 10 miles south of where I live in Northampton.

    He did his basic training at Quebec Barracks Wooton which is a village south east of Northampton. These barracks were still open and being used when I was young but they have now been built on so there is no trace of them left.

    His list says he then went to the Royal Engineers training camp in Logmoor near Liss and then for further training at Cairn Ryan camp near Stranrair with the 201 field company RE.

    There is another note saying Bordon 50th RHU, not sure what that means.

    Then he did training which I am pretty sure was in the Horsa glider at West Grinstead with 3rd Div RE Assault.

    He then did more training in Inverary with the 3rd Div RE where its says he joined 249 Field Company where he trained with the 6th Airborne traing with the Horsa Gliders.

    From there he was sent to Tarrant Rushton to be attached to 2nd Battalion Ox and Bucks.

    They were sealed in the camp there three weeks before the invasion.

    I remember him telling me that he and his friend went to a church service on the 4th June expecting to go that night in the 5th but as we know they did not leave until the night of the 5th to land at Pegasus just after midnight.

    He told me very little of what happened at the bridge. His job was to clear the explosives that were put on the bridge to blow it up but he said they were never there in the cradles that were put there for the job. He told me they cleared mines during the morning in between getting shot at from snipers just down the canal a few hundred yards away.

    He remembers meeting a young girl who was the daughter of the owners of the Cafe at the bridge and the family still owns the café. We meet the lady who was the girl in 2006 and she is now the patron of the Pegasus raids who attacked the bridge that night.

    He told me that some wine was found from somewhere and they were allowed to have a drink.

    He told me he left the bridge on 7th June and in July was attached to 51st Highland Div but I never thought to ask if it was still with the 249 Field.

    He did watch the massive air assault on Caen in July when the allies Unfortunalty destroyed Caen.

    He told me he travelled through Caen just after.

    There is a list of places I think he visited in this order.

    Caen
    Rouen
    Dieppe
    Lille ( I know he built a bridge here )
    Arras
    Brussels
    Burgh
    Antwerp ( Christmas day Boxing Day 1944 )

    This was during Battle of the Bulge where he was sent to the River Muse to blow up a bridge

    Its was very difficult to get any detailed information from him as I am sure you know they saw things no one should ever see. I know he had nightmares often so I never pushed him too much because of this.

    I know after Normandy he was sent back to Britain as he was one of the youngest at 19 to begin training for the invasion of Japan which thankfully never happening as I would probably not be here writing this email!

    They did complete the training at Troon golf course and travelled down to Liverpool to embark to the USA before going to Japan but hours before the ship left it was all called off as the Bomb was dropped and Japan surrendered>

    He went back up to Edinburgh for guard duty at the castle until the war was officially over and this is when he returned home.

    He finished his service in Port Said dumping unused ordinance with German Prisoners until March 1947 when he was demobbed."
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2018
  7. PRADELLES

    PRADELLES Well-Known Member

    Hi all,
    For information, on the picture below, these Sappers are of Number 2 Platoon, 9th (Airborne) Field Company, Royal Engineers. On the right is Captain Eric O'Callaghan OC of Number 2 Platoon ...
    Thank you Patrick Johannes Pronk.
    Not the 249th RE.
    Regards,
    Xavier
     

    Attached Files:

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  8. PRADELLES

    PRADELLES Well-Known Member

    Finally, it'snt the men of the 249th on this picture.
    It is a mistake, those men are from the 294th Field Company Royal Engineers, 49th Division.
     

    Attached Files:

  9. PRADELLES

    PRADELLES Well-Known Member

    I am back...
    How are you ?
    I research photos of the gliders n°4, n°5 and n°6 of "Coup de main party", who could help me ?
    Regards,
    Xavier P
     
  10. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Xavier,

    As you probably know there are quite a few photos and the odd film of No. 4 ( CN 94) at the Dives River Bridge. Now that you mention it other than aerials I can't think of any ground level photos of No. 5 and 6. Anyway here are a few of No. 4 from the Calvados Archive, Beeldbank and The Dives River Association.

    8156-Beeldbank CN 94.jpg Horsa 94 Dives Bridge - Calvados Archives.jpg André Bosquain Collection CN 94.jpg

    Regards ...
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2018
  11. Thank you Cee. I have two of these photos but not the third.
     
  12. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Brithm also put up a number of photos of Glider No. 4 in another thread.

    2 Ox & Bucks Airborne & PoW help

    Still no luck finding any of No. 5 and 6.

    Regards ...
     
  13. PRADELLES

    PRADELLES Well-Known Member

    Not exactly the same subject. But, on these two pictures the glider n°5 wasn't on the same place. Do you know why ?
    Regards,
    Xavier P
     

    Attached Files:

  14. brithm

    brithm Senior Member

    It may have been moved by the Heavy Glider Servicing Unit, not too sure. I don't know if they removed parts of it and could not remove it in its entirety

    It's addressed in the thread on Orne River Bridge: Why was glider 95 moved?


    brithm
     
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  15. Back to YORK 1 Bailey bridge discussed in various posts in this thread, IWM B6177 by Sgt Mapham shows an ad hoc armoured Caterpillar D6 bulldozer working near the telltale house.
    Royal Engineers use an armoured bulldozer to level ground on the approaches to a Bailey Bridge over the Caen Canal, 28 June 1944
    [​IMG]
    THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORMANDY 1944. © IWM (B 6177)

    Michel
     
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  16. The same dozer appears in the two IWM clips mentioned by Cee in his post#139 above:

    These clips are viewable on either the main IWM website in 480p definition (A70 61-3):
    ACTIVITIES NORTH OF CAEN, JUNE - EARLY JULY 1944 (PART 10) [Allocated Title]

    or on their film website in the lower 360p definition (A70 61-1):
    ACTIVITIES NORTH OF CAEN, JUNE - EARLY JULY 1944 (PART 8) [Allocated Title]

    In these clips or on B6177 the AoS serial number [34a] with the 1 Corps formation sign as well as the number 1590 are visible:

    A70 61-3 - 480 - 1944-06-28 - Gross - 0.11 - YORK 1 br ad hoc armd D6 1590 AoS [34a] 1 Corps.jpg

    Assuming that this 1590 is the Mobilisation Serial Number, this would mean 105 Corps Field Park Company Royal Engineers, which was to land a total of three Angledozers Class II on D Day at H + 9 hours on NAN Sector, two from LST LTIN 1745 and the remaining one from LST LTIN 1746.

    Michel
    Edit: the AoS serial number 34 with white bar above is given as the Corps Troops Field Park Company RE by Hodges & Taylor, which thus further confirms the ID of this unusually armoured angledozer
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2018
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  17. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

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  18. PRADELLES

    PRADELLES Well-Known Member

    Hi all,
    Is there a map where we can see all the chalk number (or glider number) of the gliders who landed on LZ N ?
    Regards,
    Xavier
     
  19. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Xavier,

    I have never run across a map or aerial photo which plots the glider chalk numbers for LZ N or any of the other Normandy LZs for that matter. There is an aerial on Paradata which shows the entirety of LZ N on or just after D-Day. It's not very good quality unfortunately and Paradata no longer has the zoom-in function.

    Regards ...

    Edit: Gliders! There are of course maps which plot the drop lines of the various Parachute Battalions.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2018
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  20. Iain D Dewar

    Iain D Dewar Member

    Here are some faces to names mentioned in Reg Clarke's account of Juno Beach Landing. My father was also in 176 Field and Park Coy but he landed on Sword Beach, and I haven't got to researching him yet, still researching my wife's father's four and a half years in North Africa. Iain
     

    Attached Files:

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