My father, Roy Cockburn was in the 43rd and was on the Derrycunihy when itbwas blown up. He is still alive and very interested in was memories. Unfortunately he does not use the Internet so I thought I would register for him. I think he is in the regiment photo posted by Mariner1, far left in the back row. If anyone remembers him and would like to pass on a message I'd be glad to do so. I am scanning in some of his war photos and will put them up on the forum when I have worked out how to do it!
Rdc23 welcome to the forum. Great another Recce! Please post any photos as other forum members will look forward to seeing them. Lesley
I hope Roy is well and hearty.My dad did not talk about his war service so i hope the pictures of the 43rd are of use to him keith falla son of edwin(ted )falla
Rdc23 welcome to the forum, looking forward to seeing you photos. If you are having trouble posting your photos please PM me. Cheers Paul
Here is a photo from my father's collection of the officers of the 43rd regiment, Eastbourne 1944. That's the only information I have about the photo. I hope it is of some interest. I hope this has worked! Please let me know if not and I will try again
Not all the men in this photo are from the 43rd but some are. It is of the participants of a recce course held from 10th February 1944 to 8th march 1944 at Derwent camp, Keswick, Cumberland.
Hi all, thank you for the messages and for the interesting photos etc you have posted. I have a few more photos to add. When the war finished, my father was posted to Hermannsburg. These three photos come from his time there. The first and second photos were taken in the garden of the house where he was billeted. In the first photo, my father is is the middle, on his left is Dick Langham and on his right Jim Hornbrook. The same two men appear in the next photo with others. I do not know their names. The third photo shows my father taking the salute at a march past of the squadron.
Hi, my Granda was Walter Jamieson and he was a Sergeant in the 43rd recce (he was in the Royal Scots Fusiliers to start with, then the 15th recce, which was the Scottish recce regiment and then the 61st recce after the 43rd was disbanded). He was also a survivor of the sinking of the Derrycunihy. Unfortunately my Granda passed away 3 years ago. If anyone remembers him, it would be really nice to hear any stories. Thanks Lynne
Lynner, Hello and welcome to the forum. A personal friend of mine was present on the deck of the ajacent ship to the Derrycunihy when it exploded due to the mine. He was on deck at the time as he was not a good sailor and was feeling unwell due to seasickness. He told me that seeing it exploding really shook him up. It would appear that your grandfather was lucky to survive as many perished and the Recce were left so depleted that they had to be replaced. Regards Tom
i was sent this picture of the derrycunihy taken shortly after the explosion.My dad was one of the lucky ones, as always when i look at it my thoughts go out to the fallen keith
Hi all, thanks for the posts and the photos. My father, Roy Cockburn, is still affected by his memories of the Derrycunihy sinking. The photograph is shocking but it is a record of what the men went through. I found two more photos. Both of them were taken at Sandhurst but all the men are from the recce regiment. They were taken in April 1943, I think. According to my father, four or five of the men in the photo were Canadian.
Hi, my Granda was Walter Jamieson and he was a Sergeant in the 43rd Recce. Lynne 3130876 Sgt. Walter Jamieson at Eastbourne, May 1944. Regards Paul
Hi, My Granddad was in one of the photos posted by RDC23 - Jim Hornbrook - and I'd be extremely interested if anybody were to know of any information about him in the War or the regiment. He died when I was 14 in 2000 and, as is usual, you never ask as many questions as you wish you had. I have quite a few photos of that time that he gave me which we used to discuss. If anybody is interested I can certainly scan them and post them up; must be a good dozen. Thanks in advance. Regards, Adam
