Hi, Can anyone help fill in the blanks or point me to some useful reading material? I'm researching Sgt Frank Kempster 5436300 (nicknamed the "trapper") - with 1st platoon A company, 7th Parachute Battalion. He dropped on D-Day and died of wounds on August 19th, 1944. https://www.paradata.org.uk/people/frank-g-kempster It would be fantastic to learn how his drop went... was he directly involved with the fighting around Ranville or was he miss-dropped and so on. What wound did he sustain that cost him is life and how/where did it happen. If anyone knows of any mention of him in diaries and books and so on I'd be grateful for the tips as the Battalion diary is quite high level and does not mention him by name. Many thanks in advance Paul
Hi Paul, see this is your first post, so welcome. Not my scene, so can't personally help but it is always worth using the forum's search facility (top right, under your log in name). Some results here that may be of interest: 7 Para DDay books Personal accounts of 7 Para DDay
Perhaps the first site is yours? Buriton D-Day hero honoured in Portsmouth | Buriton Community Website Also: Fallen Heroes of Normandy | Detail
Hi Paul, Welcome to the Forum. Sorry I don't have a lot on Sgt Kempster. The book, "The Tale of Two Bridges" has a Kempster listed as a Section Commander with 1 Platoon, 'A' Coy which I suspect is your man. I say that as I noticed there was another Kempster listed on an earlier Ringway jump course. As for book recommendations you can't go wrong with Neil Barber's "The Pegasus and Orne Bridges". Give me a bit and I'll look around. Regards ...
Hi Paul. This is Alex from the 7 Para FB page. As with Cee’s comment above, we’ll see what we can find. Alex.
Hi Paul, Michael Pine-Coffin has asked me to post the following on his behalf. Michael's Grandfather was the CO of the 7th Parachute Battalion, Lt-Col Geoffrey Pine-Coffin MC. ------------------------- Sgt Frank Kempster is listed on the 7th Battalion (Light Infantry) The Parachute Regiment Order of Battle (ORBAT) As being a section Sergeant, in 1 Platoon A Company, the Platoon was made up of three sections, each commanded by a Sergeant, The Platoon Sergeant Sgt Villis and Lt Temple, were in charge of the platoon as Platoon Sergeant and Platoon Commander. It is known that Lt Temple was wounded on D-Day and evacuated back to England, where he died of his wounds. Sgt Villis commanded 1 Platoon during the battle for Benouville, the small village just South of Pegasus Bridge on D-Day. He died of his wounds on the 7th of June. A Company put up a gallant fight, whilst cut of from the rest of the battalion against much superior odds on D-Day, armed only with small arms they held off numerous attacks from self propelled guns supported by infantry, whilst under almost continuous mortar and sniper fire. All the officers were wounded, but the 2 I/C of the Company Captain Jim Webber, despite being wounded on three separated occasions managed to crawl back to Battalion HQ next to Pegasus Bridge to request urgent reinforcements. He then led a small force of men back into Benouville and arrangements were made to get the wounded men out, using vehicles that had recently arrived from the beaches. Lt Archdale the Mortar Platoon commander, who had no mortars, as they had been lost on the drop took over temporary command of A Company. He names Sgt Nobby Clarke, the Platoon Sgt from 2 Platoon as being the most senior NCO left of the small group of about a dozen men still able to carry on fighting out of the 70 odd men from A Company who entered the village at the start of the day. It is known that Walter Dyton from 1 Platoon dropped off the Drop Zone and was missing for nine days, it is likely that Frank Kempster was also dropped off the DZ on D-Day and this is the reason why he was still serving with A Company later in the Campaign. Walter Dyton had many signatures on the back of his battalion photograph, one of which was signed “Frank the Trapper” of 31 High Street, Burlior, Portsmouth. All the other sergeants from 1 Platoon had signed the photograph with their nickname and surname: Criminal Villis, Cheeky Harris, and Curly Kingston. Checks on the internet showed Frank Kempster as coming up on the Portsmouth War dead, as coming from Burlior, Portsmouth. Frank was with A Company for Operation Paddle, the break out from the beachhead. The war diary gives the following information: 17th August 1944 Place: Le Bas de Ranville 0830 - News received by IO ( Intelligence Officer) that enemy was withdrawing on Div front (6th Airborne Division front) and that Div was following up. Bde ( 5th Parachute Brigade) at 1 hr's notice. 1100 – CO (Commanding Officer) to Bde HQ for conference. News received that 3 Bde had reached TROARN and BURES and crossed river. 1620 - After recce by IO, bn (7 Parachute Battalion) to area road triangle 140703. Warning order received from IO Bn to move off at 0430 on 18th. 18th August 1944 Place: Troarn 0755 - Bn marches off, reaches TROARN and crossed river. In posn from 205701. 1840 - Warning order received at 1840 for Bde attack and Bn moved off at 2330. 19th August 1944 Road shelled whilst moving up to the start line (2 ORs killed 2 wounded). 0120 - CO informed plan changed. Bn advances across railway and contacts enemy at 0550. Advance continues to PUTOT-EN-AUGE and completed. Enemy casualties - 14 killed, 50 PWs. Nick Archdale had now been posted to A Company and remembered what happened, this is from an interview that he gave several years ago: “There was a bridge across the river, the C.O. said that I had to take this Bridge. I was terribly concerned about this. It was open ground all the way to the bridge. I could not see how the hell I was going to do it. It was going to mean very heavy casualties. We were sitting in the courtyard of this pub, while we waited to go. Then a shell landed in the courtyard, which killed and wounded one or two of my men (Sgt Kempster killed). The C.O. then came and said we could cancel the attack.” Coincidentally my Grandfather who was the CO was also wounded in the shelling as they moved up to the start line. Fortunately for him the shell splinter grazed his chest and he was able to remain on active service until the Division was withdrawn from Normandy in the beginning of September. -------------------------------
Thank you for the effort here and for sharing about your grandfather. Interesting you deduce Frank Kempster was likely mis-dropped on the 6th June when his Platoon Commander Lt Temple and Sgt Villis became casualties almost immediately. As so few emerged from the fighting by the bridge area unscathed it’s a fair conclusion. Is there anything solid to confirm this and does Nick Archdale refer to Kempster by name as the casualty in the pub courtyard?
Hi Paul, Being a Buritonian are you related to Sgt Frank Kempster in anyway. Michael directed my attention to a web page here. Attached is a picture of younger Frank from their PDF. According to the 7th Parachute Battalion WD 'A' Coy flew out of Fairford Airfield in Stirling Aircraft, CN143 to CN149. CN stands for the number chalked on the aircraft and they would have taken off in order. My father who was with 2 Platoon was on CN145. So the best guess is that I Platoon was split between CN143 and CN144. Sgt Villis did make it to the Bridge and was given command of the remnants of 1 Platoon when Lt. Temple failed to show. Unfortunately there are no stick lists for many of the 7 Para aircraft but going by other accounts it does appear that one of the I Platoon Stirlings dropped men to the south of Ranville. Not all the men from 'A' Coy who did make it to bridge are named in the various accounts of the battle in South Benouville. All that can be said with certainty is that Sgt Kempster's name does not turn up. With regard to the shelling incident on June 19th the WD gives two men wounded and two killed. The RoH for 7 Para has the following me listed for August 19th: 19/08/44 - 5436300 - KEMPSTER, Frank George - Sgt - 30 19/08/44 - BALDWIN, John - Pte - 20 19/08/44 - FAY, Victor Charles - Sgt The WD gives map reference 205701 as the battalion position before they moved up to the start line. This would have been on the "Island", the elevated dry ground between the flood-lands of the River Dives and the Grand Canal. The shelling would have occurred very early on the 19th of August. The report by Lt-Col Pine-Coffin doesn't mention the shelling itself but you get an idea of what the plan was to capture and cross the bridges over the Grand Canal. As for Lt. Archdale's account presumably Sgt Kempster's name in brackets was added by Michael - not sure. Looking at previous clusters of incidents where 7 Para men were killed and wounded I can see no evidence that Sgt Kempster was among them and coincidentally died later on August 19th. Also as Lt. Archdale was posted to 'A' Coy the casualties on August 19th would be from the same Company. No idea where the pub referred to by Lt. Archdale is located. It may very well have been on the D675 the main road through the area at the time. There is a restaurant/bar in Les Places today not far from the bridge over the Grand Canal. The village of La Chollerie is another possibility? Regards ...