1st Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment info needed please

Discussion in 'British Army Units - Others' started by kropotkin303, Feb 10, 2013.

  1. kropotkin303

    kropotkin303 Junior Member

    Hi All,

    It has been quite some time since I last visited here. I was waiting for my Dad's service record to arrive. Thankfully the MOD supplied the info and now I find that my Dad was in the 1st battalion Royal Norfolks during Normandy and operation Aintree-part of Market Garden as I understand.

    The Brieux Bridgehead is mentioned in connection to the Royal Norfolks but I have no other infomation.

    Can the community offer anything about the 1st battalion Royal Norfolks from 10th August to 15th October when my Dad was shot up.He was with a reinforced holding unit before that.

    The record states Dangerously Ill. If the internet is right that puts him at the battle of Overloon/Venray in the Netherland.

    Any help appreciated.
     
    malcolmbaker likes this.
  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Welcome back and good to see you got a copy of his records. There are some Norfolks books on the market that may help to shed some light on the battalion. Hopefully someone will have a copy of the units diary if not this is the one you would need to look at at the National Archives:

    WO 171/1350 1 Royal Norfolk Regiment 1944 Jan-Dec

    Cheers
    Andy
     
  3. idler

    idler GeneralList

  4. kropotkin303

    kropotkin303 Junior Member

    Thankyou,

    Will look those up. My brother and me will probably be going up to Kew before too long.
     
  5. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    Here is a summary for the time period requested:


    August 10th was a relatively quiet day for the division and the battalion, which was at Le Reculey. The 185th Brigade attacked the following day toward Tinchebray as part of a two-brigade divisional attack. By the 13th the battalion had reached La Maslerie in the brigade advance, but German parachutists held up the brigade at Point 232. Two days later the 8th Brigade took Tinchebray and advanced to Flers.
    The division was now grounded as other units continued the advance toward the Seine and the battalion moved to Tinchebray for a period of rest and recovery. While there, on August 20th, the battalion received reinforcements from the disbanded 7th Battalion’s ‘D’ Company. At the start of September, the 3rd Division left Normandy and crossed the Seine with the battalion concentrating at Villers-en-Vexin on September 3rd for another period of rest and reorganization. The movement order for the division came on September 15th and the 185th Brigade moved off on the 18th for the Escaut Canal. The battalion reached Soignes on the 18th and arrived at the concentration area at Peer, a few miles from the Meuse-Escaut Canal, on the 19th.
    The 3rd Division was to force a crossing of the Escaut Canal to support the XXX Corps’ advance toward Arnhem (Operation Market-Garden). The 8th and 9th Brigades of the division had already established bridgeheads over the canal near Lille St. Hubert. The 185th Brigade moved into the bridgehead on the 21st, but two days later left the bridgehead as the 3rd Division moved to take over the11th Armoured Division’s bridgehead over the Bois-le-Duc canal at Asten. To protect the main XXX Corps’ axis, the 1st Norfolks attacked and occupied Helmond on September 25th. To make room for American armor moving through the area elements of the division shifted positions with the battalion moving to Bakel on the 29th.
    The brigade began to move out of the area on October 1st to take over flank protection in the Nijmegan bridgehead. The battalion reached its position at Heuman on October 3rd and over the next few days a regimen of patrolling and sniping became part of the routine. The 3rd Division readied for operations as part of VIII Corps’ task to clear the German forces west of the Maas. The division would be attacking southeast toward Venraij to draw off the Germans from the other three divisions of the corps, which would advance eastwards toward Venlo. The 185th Brigade moved into position on October 9th with the battalion moving to Cuijk. A further move to the battalion’s concentration area at St. Hubert, Haps was made on the 11th. The brigade advance on Venraij began on October 12th and it was dark before the battalion fought its way clear of the woods to Wanroij and then moved on the 13th into Overloon, captured by the 8th Brigade on the 12th. The battalion then attacked across the Molen Beek on October 14th and moved over on the 16th. The 185th Brigade was responsible to take Brabander, Venraij’s northern suburb with the battalion’s goal to occupy the woods past Brabander. On October 17th, the 2nd KSLI captured the woods adjacent to Brabander, the battalion’s original objective while the 2nd Royal Warwicks captured the northern part of Venraij, although the bulk of the town was still in enemy hands. Venraij finally fell to the 8th Brigade on the 18th. The 1st Royal Norfolks had taken 212 casualties in four days of combat.
     
  6. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  7. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    Your father joined the battalion just after the battalion had fought a particularly tough fight near Sourdeval costing the Norfolks 160 casualties out of 550. Among these was Cpl Sidney"Basher" Bates VC. Sidney Bates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    You should consider visiting Overloon. It is one of the few battlefields which has been preserved. The war musuem there is on the site of the battlefield and contains several vehicles knoecked out in the battle. There is a memorial to the Norfolks at the Bridge between Overloon and Venray.
     
  8. kropotkin303

    kropotkin303 Junior Member

    Thank you all very much. When I saw the MOD reports I was thankful that the paper record had survived. Thanks to you all I now have a far more human picture of what happened. I will certainly follow up the gen on the books mentioned.

    Thanks again. My brothers and me appreciate your input.
     
  9. jonnyrotten

    jonnyrotten Junior Member

  10. malcolmbaker

    malcolmbaker New Member

    Not sure if this helps but my mother ran a newsletter for the officers and their families of the 1st Battalion. The newsletters began on D Day and ran until April 30th 1945. There are 15 of them. They are necessarily circumspect about a lot of the operational details but they do provide quite an intimate feeling for what it was like to serve in the Battalion as it fought its way from the beaches of France, through Holland and Belgium and into Germany. I'd be happy to find away to get copies of the letters to you, if you would like.
     
    Allison Fitch and The General like this.
  11. spitfire1940

    spitfire1940 Junior Member

    Dear Sir,

    Can you please tell me the name of your dad. I have a website about the soldiers killed in WW. 2 and buried in the Netherlands. http://www.wargravessittard.org
    Maybe I can help you further with any information.
    You can also contact me at: webmaster@wargravessittard.org
     
  12. The General

    The General Junior Member

    I am in close contact with Major Kenneth Mayhew from the 1st battalion Royal Norfolks. He fought at Caen, le Londe, Weert, Overloon and Venray (Molenbeek) he was awarded the Dutch Military Order of William (VC) for this.

    Send me the name of your father by PM and I will ask if he knows him.
     
  13. Allison Fitch

    Allison Fitch New Member

    Hi, I realise you posted this a while ago. Would it be possible to for you to send me copies of the letters you mentioned? Much appreciated. Allison
     
    TJGodden likes this.
  14. malcolmbaker

    malcolmbaker New Member

    Hi Alison

    sorry I’m so late getting back to
    You. I’ve been off this site for a while. If you would still like a copy of my mothers news letters, please email me at: malcilmbaker43@gmail.com
     
  15. malcolmbaker

    malcolmbaker New Member

    Sorry: malcolmbaker43@gmail.com
     

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