Hello all, following the commemorations of Saint Valery en Caux you will find below a THEN & NOW: (some pictures from the Forum) best regards
Hi Mathieu As ever many thanks for these - Your Then and Now's are excellent, as always. A little bird as hinted you may want to meet up near Aumale in September? Cheers Andy
Superb photographs....visited the place on a long break in Dieppe,...able to take the car down the east side of the harbour and on to the Casino...no restriction at the time,it was autumn It would have been hell of a job to take people off within the harbour..evacuation must have been from the larger boats unable to get in to the harbour...at least that's my impression. Had a lunch in a packed restuarant on the right hand side of the square....Place Marche and parked the car in the same place as the "now" photographs
Hi Mathieu. A very nice work you made about this... Many thanks to you. Please go on like this ! Are some tank crews members bearing black beret on the photos can be identify ? Which unit do they belong ??
The chap wearing the saltire on his sleeve is certainly 51st Division. It would be reasonable to assume that the black beret is from 1st Lothians & Border Yeomanry who, as Divisional Cavalry, went 'into the bag' with the rest of the division
Makes me want to visit now....I have some more Valery pics from NARA for you the next time I send you a disc. Regards Andy
Ha-I won't go for ages yet. I've got so much more to do around Dunkirk and not enough trips to do them. That said I am only down the road in September from there, so might visit the cemetery.
My father was with the 1st Black Watch in 1944 and took part in the 51HD beeline to St Valery following the breakout from Normandy. Once at St Valery there was a parade and church service held before the division returned back down the coast to take part in the capture of Le Havre.
Hello, I actually think that this is the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry and certainly men of the 2 Bn Seaforth Highlanders. (Units in western defenses of St Valery) Héricourt en Caux is located south of Cany Barville and according to testimonies of prisoners joined by Yvetot on. best regards
Hi thanks I had not noticed, but actually it is almost the same route as that there is 75 years of the 51st Highland Division best regards
The main difference between the Battle of France and the Tour de France is that the Tour causes more disruption and it happens every year.
Great to see some of these "Then and Now" shots. I was over at Saint Valery en Caux between 10th & 13th June, 2015 and I was very impressed by the way in which all of the communities in the area commemorated the 51st HD. My Dad, Private Alec (Alexander) Hamilton, Army No. 2883917, served with the Gordon Highlanders and was captured in the area sometime between 10th - 12th June, 1940. I'm not 100% certain whether he was with the 1st or the 5th battalion, hence my uncertainty. From the War Office records his Prisoner of War number was 17219 and he appears to have been held in Stalag 9c at Muhlhausen. However on his Statement of Service it is handwritten "Reported missing 12-6-40 . Prisoner of War 240 Stalag XXA1. I'd be pleased to take advice as to how I could get more details about which battalion he served in and more detail on his time in captivity.
