Minefield No: 833 Suttons parish of Broomhill near Rye. Where was it ?

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by The Guardroom, Jun 6, 2011.

  1. The Guardroom

    The Guardroom Senior Member

    Can anyone help advise where UK Minefiled No; 833 was near Suttons, near Rye in Sussex please.
    I am advised it was on the coast line and was a heavily mined beach defence.
    But I can't find this place anywhere on a UK map.

    Anyone help advise where it was please ?

    Many thanks,
    Alan
     
  2. RemeDesertRat

    RemeDesertRat Very Senior Member

    theres a the suttons right on tthe beach near rye would this be it? click here for google map
     
  3. The Guardroom

    The Guardroom Senior Member

    Hi yes think thats it Suttons Rye.... not just Suttons. Thanks very much.
    I am hoping someone may have a old minefield map of this stretch of beach from Rye to Lydd.
     
  4. RemeDesertRat

    RemeDesertRat Very Senior Member

    This site seems to have info of minefields and pillboxes in the area
     
  5. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

    'The Defence of East Sussex Project' -

    remembrance5.jpg The headstone Left of the two is of a soldier who strayed on to the minefield at Fairlight 12 Sept 40. As did Captain Ray Thorne 23 Sept 1940 buried at Mort Hoe Cemetery Devon. I have been on this area a few times - there was a NI training location not far from this area, the area is well covered with pill boxes and machine gun pits. these are laid in out in defence in depth, that is to say the primary line would have been the minefield - 'the killing zone' where the concentrated fire from the sited pits and boxes would have been concentrated. Montgomery took over this area later and was not impressed with the static defence and promptly added the set up a mobile defence to move a fighting reserve where needed. I believe this is the area Montgomery approached a gunner and said is that house not in the line of sight, Yes Sir , well demolish it then!
     
  6. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

    Error
     
  7. gaspirator

    gaspirator Member

    Hi Alan,

    Minefield 833 was to the east of Broomhill Farm - Google Earth file attached. (This is only a rough visual placement from WW2 grid refs).

    I can't tell you much else about it for definite other than its minefield clearance certificate is dated 16 April 1945, although this may be some weeks after the work was actually done.

    833 was the Royal Engineers' reference; South Eastern Command knew it as no. 397 and it may even have previously had an 'MB' serial number, in which case the field was laid in 1940. I can't confirm this without some grid ref crunching though.

    However, it may possibly have been a later addition, laid down as part of a spat in March 1941 between Generals Montgomery (12 Corps, Kent) and Nosworthy (4 Corps, Sussex) over the inter-Corps boundary, which hit the coast at the coastguard cottages (sluice outfall about 450m east of the minefield in the GE file).

    Monty wanted to command the 4 Corps Brigade in the Rye area (both sides of the river) but would compromise if 4 Corps withdrew their infantry company from the Broomhill Farm area and placed it on the high ground at Iden, vital to protecting Monty's right flank. Monty would then accept that a gap between the Corps would be created; the static defences were to then be bolstered and it may be then that 833 was laid. Just a guess at this stage though. Given the vulnerability of the coastline here, it wouldn't surprise me if the field had been an original 1940 construction though.

    Re Suttons: I'm not familiar with this name, although I'm not local to this area, but 833 seems to be an area that would more commonly described as 'Broomhill Sands'.

    There was another minefield about 400yds NE from 'The Suttons' road; some Y&L men were involved in an accident here in 1942; one killed and another wounded; a third escaped unhurt:

    001 HOOPER GC 4758071 6TH BN 18/08/1942 YORK AND LANCASTER REGIMENT

    May I ask what your interest is? As you've got hold of a specific minefield serial number, I assume you're tracing a casualty or other incident mentioned in a war diary or inquest report? One of my ongoing projects regards minefields in East Sussex: Minefields Project

    The Rye area was handed over to 12 Corps in January 1942 as per Monty's request. Funnily enough, this was shortly after Monty was promoted to Commander of the South Eastern Army...

    This break-up of 'East Sussex' means that I've not yet flown down the 12 Corps paper trail in detail as yet (I'm still following 1 Canadian Corps who relieved 4 Corps), but have some 12 Corps war diaries from this period somewhere.

    - Pete
     
  8. ChrisR

    ChrisR Senior Member

    I have a copy of Sussex Police Force Report of 12 March 1945 -
    Re the death of Corporal John Bell Harrison No 2128755 that says "I visited the minefield No 833 at Suttons, Parish of Broomhill, where I saw a recent mine crater 5 feet deep, 6 feet in diameter, and 20 yards on the seaward side of the crater, I saw the deceased trunk wedged in the faggots of the breakwater" - So as gaspirator says, it was obviously right on the sea's edge. Harrison was described in the witness statement of Sgt David of 20 BD Company, as at the time of his death as 'involved uncovering and disarming beach mines".
     
  9. The Guardroom

    The Guardroom Senior Member

    Hi Pete,
    Thanks for the info. I can now place the minefields location. The reason for the search was infact due to the article Chris mentions involving Harrison. I am researching a Lt Richard King who was OC 194 BD sec, 20 BD Coy. He gives a witness statement talso alongside a L/Cpl Gray. It strange that I have had holidays on that same beach over the years and just come to find the lnk with Lt King on that day.
    The witness statement does say Suttons Parish of Broomhill where this explosion happened on the 12th March 1945. So I am presuming that this perhaps happened on the minefield you mention as NE of Broomhill farm off Suttons Road ?

    Rgds,
    Alan
     

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