128 Company RASC (Br)

I am assuming that this was a Bridge Company and I am looking for the War Diary of its Assault Platoon for Sept. 1944.

 

Its at the national archives - I plan to go up there soon.

 

Yes.

 

Please excuse my dimness, but why would the RASC need a bridge company or an assault platoon?

 

Hi Charpoy,

Bridge Companies carried bridging and water assault equipment for engineers or infantry to
use. Pontoons and folding boats needed special vehicles but increasingly bridging
equipment was carried in 3ton GS lorries.

If you search 'Bridge Company RASC' on this site you will find more information on RASC bridging companies.

Regards

Bruneval

 

Thanks for that; my main interest is the war against Japan where, if I recall correctly, bridging companies were all engineers, so I've never heard of such a thing as a service corps bridging company. Live and learn.

 

Hello all
My father ‘pte Alfred picker’ served as a driver with 128 bridge company r.a.s.c and have received his war record from Glasgow. Problem is it only gives his disembarkation date to N/W/E and his repatriation in 1947 after an injury ended his army career. He was like so many pretty quiet about his time over there other than telling us he remembers driving off a landing ship and into a staff car, the reception they had in Brussels, having to move over to the side of the road whilst Churchill and monty drove past and standing listening to the fighting at Arnhem and not being able to go any further. Id like to visit the Normandy beaches in the near future and follow his route but would love to know if anyone knows which beach my dad would have landed on or any more info to help me piece together his route. If anyone has any kind of info I’d be eternally grateful.

 

Would those GS lorries have been Bedfords?

 

Would anyone know what D-Day 'beach' 128th Bridge Coy would have been assigned to?

 

I have the 1944 Company diary and it doesn't state a beach. It also contains Platoon diaries and it looks like the unit didn't start arriving until July, around the 13th.

 

My father (Leslie Bates, driver) arrived on Gold beach in july 1944 with 128 Bridging Company if that is any help.

 

Have you got the 128 coy diary digitised.....?

 

Thank you for that info bornslippy. There could have been a good chance our fathers knew each other. Did your father ever give you any information regarding routes, places ect whilst they were there after landing at gold beach.