Do not know if anyone can help at all, I am researching my late fathers operations in Normandy with 612 FS RE, 11th Armd. Div. and have read and copied their unit war diary at Kew for the whole of '44. The war diaries use map co-ordinates for the maps then used, and made by the Allies. Do these map references correspond to any present day maps? Does any reader have any original copies that I could cross refer to? Any help at all would be most welcome. Thanks, Peter
Hello Peter, To translate the wartime map references to a present day location have a look at the "Coordinates Translator". There are several maps that can been seen and/or downloaded on the web. Which particular maps are you looking for? Regards, Richard
baxterwood Any coordinates in particular? I have a part set of original maps so could look some up for you.
I have used the Coordinate Translator and there are a few quirks. For Normandy and the Beaches use the French Lambert Zone 1 with sheet references vT or vU. If you are looking further east then use Nord de Guerre Zone Grid. I found that as you move into Belgium and Holland the sheet reference map in the Coordinate translator was a little confusing so I created a guide grid which I attach a link here. I also used Google Earth and the place names given in the War Diaries to cross check location. There is one big problem with that though and it is the French habit of naming maybe 20 places with very similar names such as St Philippe-le-******** or St Laurent-de-******* sometimes close together and you have to use some logic as to unit movements. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-tumaBY1lZsR1hCeXBpeHdOUTA&usp=sharing&tid=0B-tumaBY1lZsN0Jza21ndG1fVFE Regards Kevin
P.S. If you follow the link the sheet to look at is titled "Combined Map reference Grid Zones.doc" Kevin
Very many thanks to all, the translator website is wonderful I can now follow, exactly to the spot, where my father was in 1944 when we visit Normandy in August. Peter