I think the Guys in the Dakota ( If it is a Dakota ,not sure) look more as if they have released their harnesses for comfort rather than actually fitting them. I can see parachutes being removed and later put on again but as for fitting and adjusting I would say no chance. it would have been very difficult if not impossible to fit parachutes with a full stick. Given enough time Officers/Nco's may have removed kit to move easily around aircraft to brief troops. This is the trouble when an Official camera appears. I personally along with others spent a day being filmed emplanening a Hastings at Abingdon ,the later released film showed us boarding the Hastings and jumping from a Beverley ,so at times we only see what they want us to see.
redtop, It could be it was special photo opportunity where they went up with a fewer number of men. Then again they may never have left the ground at all ...? Regards ..
Cee, An interesting comparision with the man in the Maladine colour and Hardy's B&W. He is the only man in the stick with a toggle rope around his neck. In the Maladine photograph the para on the left staring straight at the camera has "BOILING SIGNALS" faintly chalked on his kit bag. Regards Guy
You're putting me to work now Guy ... Just reviewing Capt. Malindine's work on IWM I was reminded of just how many classic photos he took in England and during the N.W. Europe campaigns. If "Boiling" is a surname name, it's one I couldn't find on ParaData and I'm not sure what "BOILING SIGNALS" could mean. As for the comparison between the Paras with the toggle ropes I can see some similarity, but once again the noses seem different to me. As well I just assumed these are men from two separate aircraft as I can't see Captain Malindine and Sergeant Hardy sharing the same stage. Hardy was a renowned photographer before signing up, and I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't the occasional clash with his AFPU superiors. Later ...
Guy, a little more ... There are a few Bert Hardy stories during his stint with the military in the following PDF. Unfortunately it doesn't mention his encounter with the Airborne just before D-Day. The Cockney Eye - David Joseph Marcou - PDF "Next, Hardy had to attend a six-week training course, 'where it was felt I should be told all about how to take a photograph'. The school was run by a Captain Houghton, formerly of 'The Times,' who was assisted by a Lieutenant Malandine, a staff photographer on 'Illustrated'. Hardy did not get along with the Lieutenant, though they had done similar types of work in London, and their animosity toward each other helped make the Army an obstacle course for Hardy, at times. Still he mined some golden opportunities during WWII, and even Lieutenant Malandine couldn't stand in the way of all of them." Regards ...
Cee, Two great British photo journalists and two big personalities! After the liberation of Paris Lt Malindine acquired a room at the Hotel Scribe, off limits to NCO's. He did allow Sgt Hardy to kip on the floor rather than spending the night in the jeep. Some of Lt. Malindine's photographs of the Paris Liberation (attriibuted at IWM) appear in Bert Hardy's autobiography? http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205206800 http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205206799 Guy
First question: Why? why bother, why the desire to find a name with which you won't be doing anything constructive (like doing a biography on him ?) other than labelling the name on this photo. And second; why can't he be polish ? "....and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade .."
I identified a soldier in a series of photographs. I established the unit, the dates the photographs were taken. I researched the soldiers war service and his actions with his unit. After 18 months of searching I managed to trace a daughter who had not seen the photographs and was unaware of the true extent of her father's war service. I was able to share all that information with the family. THAT'S WHY I BOTHERED
Interesting anecdote Guy ... The Cockney Eye is heavily biased in Hardy's favour. I imagine there was some degree of friction based on ego, personality, class etc. which just may have resulted in a healthy competition between these two very talented photographers. As well Hardy was left leaning in his political views which probably irritated his AFPU Commanders at times. arnhem44, Great suggestion on the possibility of it being a Polish Para! You have to start with a name or unit before you can move onto greater detail ... Regards ...
Cee, ParaData have the same Bert hardy photographs catalogued in the Ringway collection, page 7 http://www.paradata.org.uk/media/839?mediaSection=Photos
Guy, I did see those Guy, thanks. This is what I was told by Michael P-C: "Have been doing some research, I believe the photograph of the soldier waiting to jump is part of a group H 37718 - H 37721 "The objective reached . Waiting to Jump" this is part of a series of photographs taken on the 22nd April 1944 entitled Big Airborne Exercise. Having checked the war diary this was Operation Mush, a large exercise between the 1 st Airborne Division and the 6th Airborne Division." Regards ... Note: The complete Hardy series of Exercise Mush photos taken April 22nd, 1944 as now shown on the IWM site runs from H 37700 to H 37722.
Cee, I noticed the cameraman in the background. He looks like Sgt. Lewis (AFPU) ? Parachute Regiment cap badge, Bell - Howell Eyemo.
It could be him Guy ... Lewis, the cinematographer, along with Hardy and Mapham, the still photographers, are listed on the same page in the Part 4 film. Here's a complete cut and paste list of the 4 films. The first two on April 20th were said to have been taken prior to Exercise Mush? Still and film photographers were paired up for these events. IWM Film - http://www.iwmcollections.com/ ===================================== Films taken during Exercise Mush - Parts 1 - 4 ===================================== ====================================== Part 1 http://www.iwmcollections.com/record/index/16812 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: [BRITISH TROOPS PARTICIPATE IN PRE-INVASION EXERCISES FOR ALLIED AIRBORNE FORMATIONS (PART 1)] [Allocated] Film Number: A70 7-1 Summary: Paratroopers serving with the 1st Airborne Division prepare for a parachute drop over Gloucestershire four days before the launching of Operation Mush, a major training exercise involving also the 6th Airborne Division. Date: 1944-04-20 Description: Men serving with the 10th Battalion Parachute Regiment load bombcell equipment containers onto the underwing racks of several No 46 Group RAF Dakotas at Down Ampney Aerodrome and don parachute packs before boarding their aircraft. Note that several paratroopers have triangular panels on the backs of their jumping smocks to distinguish them from 6th Airborne Division troops who will act as the enemy in 'Mush'. An Airspeed Horsa glider is towed by a tractor to its dispersal area. Silhouetted against the early morning light, three Dakotas taxi towards the runway. The early morning sky blossoms with parachutes as the 10th Battalion descends earthwards from a formation of Dakotas onto countryside between Cirencester and Lechlade. Running Time: Footage: 306 ft; Running time: 3 mins Production Company, Cast and Credits: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office; Army Film and Photographic Unit; Taylor, A A (Sergeant) (cameraman) N/A N/A Production Country: GB Access Conditions: IWM Technical Details: Colour: B&W Sound: Silent Language Soundtrack: None Language Title: None Language Subtitles: None Film Format: 35mm IWM related items: IWM : PHO/ H 37700=37722 & H 37723=37735 - stills taken by Sergeants Bert Hardy and J Mapham Notes: N/A ============================================= Part 2 http://www.iwmcollections.com/record/index/16813 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Title: [BRITISH TROOPS PARTICIPATE IN PRE-INVASION EXERCISES FOR ALLIED AIRBORNE FORMATIONS (PART 2)] [Allocated] Film Number: A70 7-2 Summary: Troops serving with the 1st Airborne Division carry out a series of exercises in southern England prior to Operation Mush, the major pre-invasion manoeuvres for the Allied airborne formations. Date: 1944-04-21 Description: Horsa gliders, some bearing USAAF markings, carrying men of the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment come into land at Aldermaston Airfield, Berkshire. USAAF ground crew and British airborne troops gather round a wrecked glider which broke in two on landing and unload equipment from it; elsewhere troops take up mock defensive positions around the glider landing zone. American Dodge three-quarter-ton trucks tow Horsas allocated to US airborne troops to their dispersal aprons; lined up on the airfield in the background are C-47 Dakotas from 9th US Troop Carrier Command's 53rd Wing. A five-man team from the South Staffordshire's anti-tank platoon rides off to battle on a jeep and 6-pounder anti-tank gun Running Time: Footage: 187 ft; Running time: 2 mins Production Company, Cast and Credits: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office; Army Film and Photographic Unit; Carpenter, L ((Sergeant): cameraman) N/A N/A Production Country: GB Access Conditions: IWM Technical Details: Colour: B&W Sound: Silent Language Soundtrack: None Language Title: None Language Subtitles: None Film Format: 35mm IWM related items: IWM : PHO/ H 37686=37698 - stills taken by Sergeant A C D Laing Notes: N/A =================================================== Part 3 http://www.iwmcollections.com/record/index/16814 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Title: [BRITISH TROOPS PARTICIPATE IN PRE-INVASION EXERCISES FOR ALLIED AIRBORNE FORMATIONS (PART 3)] [Allocated] Film Number: A70 7-3 Summary: N/A Date: 1944-04-21 Description: On board an accompanying C-47, the cameraman films a Horsa glider carrying men from the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment in tow behind a Dakota from 9th US Troop Carrier Command's 53rd Wing - 434 Troop en route to the Battalion's exercise landing zone at Aldermaston Airfield in Berkshire. Running Time: Footage: 95 ft; Running time: 1 min Production Company, Cast and Credits: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office; Army Film and Photographic Unit; McArdle, T P ((Sergeant): cameraman) N/A N/A Production Country: GB Access Conditions: IWM Technical Details: Colour: B&W Sound: Silent Language Soundtrack: None Language Title: None Language Subtitles: None Film Format: 35mm IWM related items: IWM : PHO/ H 37699 - still taken by Sergeant Norman Midgley Notes: N/A ================================================= Part 4 http://www.iwmcollections.com/record/index/16819 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: [BRITISH TROOPS PARTICIPATE IN PRE-INVASION EXERCISES FOR ALLIED AIRBORNE FORMATIONS (PART 4)] [Allocated] Film Number: A70 11-4 Summary: N/A Date: 1944-04-21 Description: I. Men serving with the 10th Battalion Parachute Regiment board a Mack 10-ton lorry. A Para lieutenant watches a motorcycle despatch rider move up to lead the road convoy carrying part of the battalion and its equipment from camp to Down Ampney Aerodrome, Wiltshire (?). On arrival, men disembark from their transport and prepare bombcell equipment containers for an airdrop. These they then load up onto underwing nacelles on No 46 Group RAF Dakotas, four containers to each aircraft. Paratroopers are issued with parachute packs which they then put on. One trooper places a dismantled Sten gun across his chest in between his parachute straps. Two NCOs synchronise watches. Paratroopers don crash helmets and board their Dakota. Filming while in flight eight hundred feet over Gloucestershire, the cameraman observes paratroopers jump from his own aircraft and others flying alongside and their descent onto a drop-zone between Cirencester and Lechlade. Filmed from the ground, the rest of the 10th Paras drop from Dakotas flying in formations of three. II. Double-decker buses, the occasional saloon car, cyclists and pedestrians are seen in a bomb-damaged square in London (Grosvenor Square?). Running Time: Footage: 474 ft; Running time: 5 mins Production Company, Cast and Credits: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office; Army Film and Photographic Unit; Lewis, C M ((Sergeant): cameraman) N/A N/A Production Country: GB Access Conditions: IWM Technical Details: Colour: B&W Sound: Silent Language Soundtrack: None Language Title: None Language Subtitles: None Film Format: 35mm IWM related items: Hardy, Bert (Sergeant): photographer; Mapham, J (Sergeant): photographer Notes: Technical: this film was originally taken with a 16mm ciné camera and reproduced on 35mm. The cameraman's dope sheet states that two reels of kodachrome and two monochrome reels were used in the making of this film ================================== Links for same films at different IWM site: Part 1 http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060019368 Part 2 http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060019369 Part 3 http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060019370 Part 4 http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060019375 Edit: various screw-ups ... :P
Title: [BRITISH TROOPS PARTICIPATE IN PRE-INVASION EXERCISES FOR ALLIED AIRBORNE FORMATIONS (PART 4)] [Allocated] Film Number: A70 11-4 Summary: N/A Date: 1944-04-21 Description: I. Men serving with the 10th Battalion Parachute Regiment board a Mack 10-ton lorry. A Para lieutenant watches a motorcycle despatch rider move up to lead the road convoy carrying part of the battalion and its equipment from camp to Down Ampney Aerodrome, Wiltshire (?). On arrival, men disembark from their transport and prepare bombcell equipment containers for an airdrop. These they then load up onto underwing nacelles on No 46 Group RAF Dakotas, four containers to each aircraft. Paratroopers are issued with parachute packs which they then put on. One trooper places a dismantled Sten gun across his chest in between his parachute straps. Two NCOs synchronise watches. Paratroopers don crash helmets and board their Dakota. Filming while in flight eight hundred feet over Gloucestershire, the cameraman observes paratroopers jump from his own aircraft and others flying alongside and their descent onto a drop-zone between Cirencester and Lechlade. Filmed from the ground, the rest of the 10th Paras drop from Dakotas flying in formations of three. Cee, This appears to be a Bert Hardy still taken alongside Sgt Lewis' film (Part 4) 10th Battalion Down Ampney
Guy, It seems to fit with what was going on in the film. I don't know what to make of the dates. Exercise Mush was a big event and occurred over a number days. One gets the impression that the 10th Battalion jumped twice, both on the 20th and 21st of April? Hopefully they will someday make the films available. It could be that some of clips are already out there in various newsreels and off-cut compilations. There is a list of shots taken by Hardy and Mapham in the Part 1 section - 23 by Hardy and 13 by Mapham. "IWM : PHO/ H 37700=37722 & H 37723=37735 - stills taken by Sergeants Bert Hardy and J Mapham" Regards ... Edit: April
Pips...? Although they are hard to make out the man seated studying the map appears to have 3 bits of insignia (pips?) on his shoulder flap. Regards ...
good day Cee,sm,25th july 2012.11:39am.#2.re:who is the para in the well-known bert hardy photo.great post.a brilliant photo collection.thank you for posting.regards bernard85
Cee: I'm the author of "The Cockney Eye", my bio of Bert Hardy. Tho TCE may be slanted somewhat in BH's favor, it is more balanced than you believe. No I didn't get into overly much detail on the class warfare in British life then, tho some of that is touched on. I did get into the real life Mr. Hardy lived in order to take the great photos he did; and there aren't too many experts these days who don't believe he took many, many great photos. One downside in his life was he was not faithful to his first wife; he failed badly at that and I say so. Probably his sons suffered early on due to that too. He was a go-getter who wanted to establish a reputation for himself as a photographer who got the story, and a much deeper story than a superficial one. He also believed in earning his way. He could do hard news very well, but also had a sound, empathetic grasp of the human condition, if that's what you want to call his visual humanism. Also, it's hard to follow this forum without more detailed background on British military history (which isn't necessarily my specialty) and the "other" great photographer posters refer to here. My own son is an Afghan vet, who served two tours there as a Special Ops Medic, so I'm interested in BH's photos of Capt. Dr. David Tibbs. It's the first I've seen of those photos, and they may have very well been famous and still may be. I'm sorry if I'd never seen them before, but despite Getty Images' allowing me the free use of some of BH's photos for TCE and for some related commentary from GI VP Matt Butson the last few years, Getty Images did not consistently assist me during my 33 years of research on TCE (or on my complete history of Picture Post, 'All the Best', the first such complete history of that magazine by anyone). I realize the BH bio I wrote is only a little more than 50,000 words, when my subject could use more, but it's a very good start, this the first book-length bio about Mr. Hardy, other than his own autobiography. If British publishers had more guts and had offered me a paying contract, I wouldn't have had to self-publish these books either; but at least I got them done in time for the BH centennial, and they're very good books. Read more of my books sometime, and give them a chance. Bert Hardy led a fascinating life, to say the least. Also, I've authored about 80 books so far, at least a half dozen of them Picture Post-related. Oh, one of my books is a dual biography of Mr. Hardy and James Cameron in 1950 Korea, 'Crucial Collaborations'. I agree in it with JC's and his father's strongly-held belief that WWI was a super-bloody fiasco, and that if it wouldn't have been fought, or would have had a much fairer peace treaty, Hitler wouldn't have come to power later. And please don't say hindsight is 20/20, b/c human beings have been making those kinds of mistakes forever, and it's time they stopped making mistakes like that.--DvJosMarcou.
Hi Dave, Thanks for stopping by, it's wonderful to get a comment from the author of The Cockney Eye. I'm not sure why even in it's present form it has not found a publisher. A good editor and graphics department could produce a fine little book. As for Getty Images I suppose we should be grateful they are carefully preserving historically important images and negatives. I understand to run such a institution it needs to finds ways to finance itself by charging fees for it's services and copyrighted material, but why they wouldn't have programs in place to deal with serious authors openly and cooperatively is a mystery to me. The photo on the cover of the Captain Tibbs memoir, Parachute Doctor, is I believe the same man shown in upper profile in the well-known opening image of this thread that we are trying to identify. It's one of a series of shots Hardy took inside a Dakota on a training exercise prior to D-Day involving a 1st Airborne unit. It's use on the cover is purely illustrative to show a paratrooper at the door just before exiting and is not connected specifically to the unit or division Doctor Tibbs was associated with throughout the war. It's interesting that Bert Hardy wasn't sent in with the first wave of AFPU photographers on D-Day. Of course he was there on the receiving end when the wounded were returned by train and he captured them from their carriage windows and as you well know one made the cover of the Picture Post (July 1st, 1944). That man, Private Ron Major of the 2nd battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, was identified. Our paratrooper from the training exercise still remains a mystery. Anyway I wish you, David Joseph Marcou, all the best in getting your work out there. You have done an incredible amount of research and writing and it deserves to be read by a wider audience. Regards ......
"My Grandad ready to jump. Photo courtesy of Candice Moore" I came across the attached photo that was submitted to the CVA Forum by the granddaughter of Pte Leslie Finnis, No.4 Commando. I'll try to get in touch with her to find out more. Needless to say it sent me for a loop ... See this page for more info and other photos: http://gallery.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/units/4/Leslie/ Regards ...
