Does anyone have any information regarding the German gun emplacements known to the Allies as Hillman and Morris? These guns were duly turned to fire at Caen after the invasion and my Father in Law Tom Mansell was involved in raids on both. Spitbloke over and out
Certainly do know about them...Was there at the time, later after we had taken it, we used "Hillman" as a base. Sapper
Sapper that's fantastic to know. You say you were there after they'd been captured. What was your unit. Tom was with the Suffolks though he also served with The Norfolks and latterly The Bed's and Herts. Anything you can share I'd be pleased to hear. The Regimental historians have not been the most prolific it has to be said in this respect and as Tom gets older his memory and ability to actually put his story into words is not as good as it was. I know roughly where the two guns were but not with any great accuracy. I believe that there is a monument nearby to The Suffolks? John Spitbloke over and out
Fine.. later we used Hillman as a base (Not inside) but between the positions. This is an explanation about Hillman by Lt Heal from my Company. 246 Field Co *8th brigade third British Infantry div. This Lt Heals RE. account by PM
John, Sapper's mob built life-sized replicas of both 'Hillman' and 'Morris' in the hills around 3 Div's Battle Training School at Moffat in the Scottish Borders. The locations are lost, but I've been trying to find them for years to compare them with the 'Atlantic Wall' D-Day area at Sheriffmuir in Stirlingshire. Think it would be fascinating to find, excavate and then compare them to the real targets.
Somewhere in the house I have Captain Edwards RE full accoun of the Scots location..If only I could find it? Sapper
John, Sapper's mob built life-sized replicas of both 'Hillman' and 'Morris' in the hills around 3 Div's Battle Training School at Moffat in the Scottish Borders. The locations are lost, but I've been trying to find them for years to compare them with the 'Atlantic Wall' D-Day area at Sheriffmuir in Stirlingshire. Think it would be fascinating to find, excavate and then compare them to the real targets. I agree It really would be an interesting excavation and comparison. sapper, sorry for the frustration here's my email addy percymewgull@yahoo.co.uk catch you later....must nosh Spitbloke over and out
I have searched and found Captain Edwards recall of the training in Scotland I don't know if it is what you are looking for? It is rather long and during the letter recognition many spelling mistakes were made .I have to prepare the document and that takes time. Perhaps I could post a bit each day? But first I have to go over the whole thing as the recognition software did not recognise numbers. What do you think? Sapper
Brian, Any chance you could take digital photos of the document & then post them here? Rather than use recognition software. I believe that there is a monument nearby to The Suffolks? spitman, here's some info on Paul's website. Hillman Strongpoint 1st Suffolk Regiment
Crikey, I did miss a lot. I'm more used to getting no response on forums, than the almost immediate way that folks respond here. Thankyou so much. It's 09:00 hrs right now I have to pop out for a while, but I'll get down to all of this when I return. Sapper, May I suggest If you have a scanner that you scan the docs, then convert the resulting bit map to a Jpeg....most scanners allow for that or at least your computer's photo handling software will. Many thanks once again....chat later Spitbloke over and out
Paul mate...Hillman was not cleared by Bangalore torpedoes. It was cleared initially by hand by Lt Arthur Heal RE and two Sappers (L/Cpl Boulton and Sapper Ellis R) working on their bellies, cutting the wires and lifting mines under heavy fire. First a "Sheep track into the site then a path wide enough for tanks. The bravest act by anyone on the whole of the invasion coast, that deserved a VC. They were members of my company. It is odd, but I constantly come across information that does not tie up with what happened at the time. Even some of the official info is guilty of this! I am fortunate in having a fine long term memory....I can recall damn near everything as clear and sharp...... And a shocking short term memory! I did lose some memory blocks when the war injuries took me to the edge.... with that big old grey bloke with his damn great big scythe. Some areas of memory I never regained... Try as I may Sapper
Some photos I took last week regarding Hillman and Morris. Morris is just about 'buried' in a building estate or hidden amongst peoples gardens...
More interestingly the Morris Strongpoint pictures.... any additional help/info on these wouldn't go amiss...