Major Barff MC - 18th Field Regiment RA

Discussion in '1940' started by skimmod, Aug 18, 2017.

  1. skimmod

    skimmod Senior Member

    Happy Friday all,

    Whilst taking some time to do some research today I came across a snippet of information about the retreat of the 6th Seaforths on the morning of the 27th May from Verbrandenmollen back to the canal and I'm hoping someone might have these bits to hand? (finger crossed!)
    Does anyone have the War diary of the 18th Field Regiment R.A - just the extract that tells us of the withdraw past their OP? can i have a copy of that page please?

    Also
    Does anyone have a copy of the Military Cross Citation for Major Barff that talks about the situation here also?

    thanks loads in advance.

    (I'm finally writing up 15 years of Royal Scots Fusiliers research for the museum and these bits give superb context)
     
  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    What about a book?
     
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  3. skimmod

    skimmod Senior Member

    Hello Drew, yes, eventually it'll all go into a book. but as its only one of my many pastimes it's going to be ages away! :)
     
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  4. skimmod

    skimmod Senior Member

    I'm also coming unstuck with an uncorroborated report of Lt WM Megaw of the 2nd Inniskillings talking to the civilian occupants of the bunker near the Entrepot cafe.
    It says that this is stated in a diary, but I can't find it anywhere in the Skins diaries!
     
  5. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Ps No MC Citation listed at the National Archives.

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  6. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    App D in case you wondered.
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  7. skimmod

    skimmod Senior Member

    thanks Drew! really appreciate the above.
    Was it normal for MC's to be given with no citation? this will really help get a feel for what was going on.
     
  8. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Not sure....I think there's a whole WO 373 file missing containing BEF citations as I've struggled to find a few over the years, most notably Lt Cresswell's MC for the blockhouse defence at Cassel.
     
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  9. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Charles More quotes from the 18th Field Regiment diary in 'The Road to Dunkirk'. He suggests that "If the infantry came from St. Eloi they were likely to have been Seaforths with perhaps some stragglers from the Northamptons, RSF and DCLI. 'Were their own officers fit to rally them ?', the diary asks rhetorically. The truth of the matter was that there were hardly any officers left in some of the battalions concerned."
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2017
  10. skimmod

    skimmod Senior Member

    yes. I like Charles' book. it's great. A few of the facts around the RSF are a little out, but I love the depth of knowledge and research. really good stuff.
     
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  11. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Indeed, More's book is a good read with a lot of well thought out conclusions.
    Have you seen 2nd Northampton's diary ? Lots of talk of 'stragglers' but they don't say whose. With the CO missing and later confirmed killed, it is clear that a number of companies were not under effective battalion control. They had of course already taken quite a hammering at Vimy, including losing the original CO and RSM.

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  12. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    A couple of clarifications of the award in newspapers from the time. I hope these are readable for you?
     

    Attached Files:

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  13. skimmod

    skimmod Senior Member

    How wonderful! thank you Bamboo and Rich.
    things are starting to come together and with each day it's getting clearer!
     

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