12th Parachute Battalion (Yorkshire Reg)

Through letter box today dropped my recently acquired 1st Edition copy of Lt.Gen. G N Gales 'With the Sixth Airborne Division at Normandy'

On the first leaf the book has been signed by Tom Hogard 12th Parachute Battalion C Coy.

He has also put his service number down 1554834, any help gents, would nice to find out a little more about him.

 

Its quite possible he is in one of thes pics ParaData | A living history of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces

 

I was looking at the pics as you must of been writing your message Jason.lol

 

From peggy believed to be C company

 

Thanks mate, do you know of a list of 12th Para guys?

 

Dave I mentioned this before I think it lists a ROH and has storie from 12 para members so there are those names you sure its Hogard? I have a Tom Holroyd mentioned in the book. Para Memories: 12th BN the Parachute Regiment Into battle: Amazon.co.uk: Eric Barley, Yves Fohlen: Books

 

Now Ive look at it again it is Holroyd mate

 

Ive looked for the book everywhere,but no luck so far

 

I've been after a copy of that book for a while - I wrote to the publishers and they said it was now out of print with no plans for another run. Shame - my Granddad was in the 12th, although I'm not sure which Company.

 

Well I shall continue to search for it,these things have a habbit of turning up when you least expect them to

 

Tomintoul, just a thought and hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs but there are a number of UK libraries that have it:

Para memories : 12th Yorkshire Parachute Battalion in Europe and the Far East during the Second World War (Book, 1996) [WorldCat.org]

If you print out that page from the WorldCat website and take it to your local library, they should be able to get it for you on an inter-library loan for a small fee. (my local library charges 80p for inter-library loans).

Obviously not as good as having your own copy but at least it's a chance to read it and make photocopies of any important sections.

Lee

 

While looking for a copy of Para Memories, for Dave I came across this and felt it only fitting that it was put in this thread.Bourne Valley Historical Society - remember Raymond Alfred SUTTON
14533126 Private, 12th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, Army Air Corps (10th Battalion, The Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment).
Killed in Action - 12th June 1944. Aged 20
He is buried in Ranville War Cemetery, Calvados, France, IV.K.17.
Additional Information: Son of Frederick and Maria Sutton and brother of Albert Sutton shown immediately above. The family lived in White Cottage, near Boscombe Church. His father was a carter on Baments Farm nearby and before joining the Army, Raymond Sutton also worked with horses.
He originally enlisted into the Royal Artillery on what date is not known, but from his age (unless, as so often happened, he overstated it), he appears to have served in the RA for 12 to 18 months before volunteering for airborne forces. He attended Military Parachute Course 81 at RAF Ringway from the 6th to 16th September 1943 prior to joining the 12th Parachute Battalion. The Battalion was dropped at 0050 hours on D Day - 6th June 1944. From the outset, the battalion met fierce resistance and was in constant action achieving all that was asked of it. On 12th June, Major General Gale was concerned that the whole security of the division's front depended on clearing the enemy from the area of the village of Breville once and for all. With much of the force exhausted and low in numbers, he was obliged to use the under-strength 12th Battalion which now numbered only 300 men, together with a company from The Devonshire Regiment and a squadron of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars. The attack went in that evening against a stubborn and brave enemy and the battle lasted for some hours. Eventually the enemy was overcome but at a heavy price. Out of the five hundred and fifty men of the 12th Battalion who had jumped into Normandy only six days before, less than two hundred remained effective. It was in this battle that Raymond Sutton died.
R A SUTTON
14533126 Private, 12th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, Army Air Corps. (10th Battalion, The Green Howards (Yorkshire Regiment).
Killed In Action - 12th June 1944 aged 20.

 

Thanks for posting Jason.

 

Tomintoul, just a thought and hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs but there are a number of UK libraries that have it:

Para memories : 12th Yorkshire Parachute Battalion in Europe and the Far East during the Second World War (Book, 1996) [WorldCat.org]

If you print out that page from the WorldCat website and take it to your local library, they should be able to get it for you on an inter-library loan for a small fee. (my local library charges 80p for inter-library loans).

Obviously not as good as having your own copy but at least it's a chance to read it and make photocopies of any important sections.

Lee

Thanks for the suggestion, Lee. It's a good idea, but unfortunately I'm in Bavaria. I think I'll definitely suggest it to my relatives back home though
wtid - nice post. Funny, I was just reading about the attack on Breville this afternoon.

Cheers
bob

 

Bob, the Bavarian State Library ( BSB ), München, D-80539 Germany has a copy of it, if that's of any help?

 

Well I'll be damned! I've just clicked that link you posted, Lee, and it turns out there's a copy in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. Guess I'll be heading down into town on the weekend! Many thanks!

bob

 

Nice work Lee.

 

Thanks for posting Jason.
Thats why im here

 

I will second that and who thought it would turn up in Germany virtually on his doorstep..........now Dave I know your like me Libaries are no good you have to give the books back so any joy on the link provided by Gerry?

 

I've found one copy searching online, but they want 95 quid for it. I reckon I'd have to say no on principle!