1st Sherwood Foresters (MOT) Infantry Battalion

Discussion in 'British Army Units - Others' started by DavidW, Oct 11, 2012.

  1. DavidW

    DavidW Well-Known Member

    I am looking for a little information regarding the Foresters.

    I think they arrived in North Africa in February 1942, and stayed at least until the end of the same year, but I am looking for confirmation.

    I see from a pencilled note in my file (from many years ago) that they only seem to have three Companies. Is this correct?

    Thanks in advance,

    David.
     
  2. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    Here is a summary of 1st Sherwood Forester's service in North Africa:


    1st Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)

    16th Infantry Brigade – 3 September 1939 to 6 January 1940
    The battalion was located at Peninsula Barracks, Haifa in Palestine at the outbreak of war with ‘D’ Company in Cyprus. Another company was detached and rotated at Shafa Amr.

    1st Cavalry Division – Attached – 6 January 1940 to 9 June 1940
    The battalion was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division, when it arrived. It served for three weeks in the Gaza during January 1940 after leaving 16th Infantry Brigade and returned to Haifa in February.

    OC Troops, Cyprus – 9 June 1940 to 5 January 1942
    On June 9th, 1940 the entire battalion left for Cyprus and arrived at Famagusta the same day. It received small drafts from the Rhodesia Regiment on April 14th, 1940. The battalion was to have been used to relieve the No. 50 (Middle East) Commando on Castelorizzo Island on February 26th, 1941. ‘B’ Company embarked for Castelorizzo Island on February 24th, 1941. Only fifty men of the company landed on February 28th, 1941. The company was then sent to Crete and then to Alexandria for four days on March 2nd. It returned to Cyprus on March 6th, 1940. The battalion left Cyprus and arrived at Mena, Egypt on January 5th, 1942.

    4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade – Attached – 5 January 1942 to 3 February 1942
    While located at Mena, the battalion was attached to the brigade.

    23rd Infantry Brigade – 3 February 1942 to 24 February 1942
    The 1st Foresters joined the brigade at Quassassin Camp but it was needed as a motor battalion and left the brigade near the end of the month.

    HQ British Troops in Egypt – 24 February 1942 to 7 March 1942
    It began to reform as a motor battalion at Quassassin Camp on February 26th, 1942 and came under the command of the 1st Armoured Brigade as the motor battalion from the start of March 1942.

    1st Armoured Brigade – 7 March 1942 to 6 June 1942
    The battalion joined the brigade as it began to assemble at Cowley Camp. The brigade left Egypt on May 27th for Libya. The battalion moved through Mersa Matruh and Fort Capuzzo and arrived at Tobruk on June 3rd. ‘D’ Company was equipped with anti-tank guns in its role as a motor battalion.

    8th Army – 2nd South African Infantry Division – Attached - 6 June 1942 to 14 June 1942
    The battalion remained at Tobruk until it joined the 201st Guards Motor Brigade Group.

    201st Guards Motor Brigade Group – 14 June 1942 to 20 June 1942
    The battalion was captured in Tobruk on June 20th, 1942. Survivors of the battalion were collected at Geneifa and returned to the United Kingdom.
     
  3. DavidW

    DavidW Well-Known Member

    Thanks, that's great.
     
  4. DavidW

    DavidW Well-Known Member

    Were thay also known as the 14th Foresters Motor Infantry Battalion? Or is that another unit all together?
     
  5. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    There is a typo in Joslen's Order of Battle (actually many) that shows 11th Battalion Sherwood Foresters as the motor battalion of 1st Arm Bde, but it was definitely 1st Battalion.

    Here is the service of the 14th Battalion (ex 50th Holding Battalion)

    50th (Holding) Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)

    The battalion was raised in May 1940 at Markeaton Park, Derby. It was retitled as the 14th Battalion on October 9th, 1940.

    218th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) – 23 October 1940 to 29 November 1940
    It served its first two years at Markeaton Park, Derby.

    8th Support Group – 30 November 1940 to 22 July 1942
    The 14th Foresters joined the group at Markeaton Park, Derby. It also served with the group in Yorkshire, Berkshire and Surrey. It left Gourock by sea on May 8th, 1942 and arrived on July 18th, in Egypt.

    HQ British Troops in Egypt – 23 July 1942 to 10 August 1942
    The battalion remained in Egypt after the 8th Support Group was disbanded on July 23rd.

    9th Armoured Brigade – 10 August 1942 to 9 December 1942
    The battalion provided the motor battalion for the brigade during the Battle of El Alamein. The brigade returned to the Delta from the front on November 12th, 1942 and the battalion moved to Cowley Camp on November 21st.

    HQ British Troops in Egypt – 9 December 1942 to 1 January 1943
    On January 1st, 1943 the 14th Battalion left Egypt for Baghdad, Iraq and arrived by January 9th.

    7th Armoured Brigade – 9 January 1943 to 4 June 1943
    On arrival in Baghdad, it moved to Latifya and, on May 8th, 1943, to Innsariya, near Beruit.

    9th Army – 4 June 1943 to 1 August 1943
    In early June it moved to Aleppo, then Stennfe and Damascus by July 1943. It moved to Amirya, Egypt on August 1st.

    HQ British Troops in Egypt – 1 August 1943 – 19 August 1943
    After spending three weeks in Egypt, the battalion moved west to Villejaques in North Africa.
     
  6. DavidW

    DavidW Well-Known Member

    Thank you very much
     
  7. David,
    If you are interested in the 1st Battalion pre war have a look at this link.
    British Army in Bermuda from 1701 to 1977

    Dad, Corporal Joe Smallman was in 'B' Company in Bermuda and then it appears me moved to 'C' company when they moved to the middle east
     
  8. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    Trevor:

    I have been to the site before without knowing those were your pictures. I have been to Bermuda three times and toured many of the fortifications there. What a great island!

    David
     
  9. Steve Foster

    Steve Foster Senior Member

    David,
    If you are interested in the 1st Battalion pre war have a look at this link.
    British Army in Bermuda from 1701 to 1977

    Dad, Corporal Joe Smallman was in 'B' Company in Bermuda and then it appears me moved to 'C' company when they moved to the middle east

    I have the 1937 Regimental Annual for the Sherwood Foresters Regiment as my father was in the 8th Battalion. In the notes for the 1st Battalion it apears that in 1937, B and C Coys were in Bermuda and A and D Coys in Jamaica. I have scanned a couple of pages about B and C Coys.

    Trevor, in the first your father gets a mention as a L/Cpl at the bottom pf page 61. Did you know he was good at Shot Put? The second is a picture of C Coy in 1937 but I am afraid no picture of B Coy. It appears in 1937, your father was in 8 Platoon.

    Hope that helps

    Steve

    Scan0001.jpg

    Scan0002.jpg
     
  10. High Steve,
    Thanks for your input.
    A few years ago I visited the archives at Chilwell and had a great deal of help and just as I was about to leave asked if there were any from that era they were in contact with.
    A quick view of the screen and a telephone number was produced and dialed.
    The querstion was ''do you nknow a Joe Smallman'' the answer came back ''Yes''
    The chap was Sgt Ellis Jones who lived the other side of the barracks, with the message send him round.
    I was greeted with a chap with a walking stick in his blazer with the Sherwood Foresters badge proudly displayed with the greeting '' so you are Joes son,good sportsman and boxer he was.
    Alas he died a couple of years ago.

    Have you any pictures of 'B' company as I know he was transferred to Jamaica
     
  11. Steve Foster

    Steve Foster Senior Member

    High Steve,

    Have you any pictures of 'B' company as I know he was transferred to Jamaica

    Trevor,

    I am afraid not. In the '37 Regimental Annual, A and D Coys were definitely in Jamaica and B and C in Bermuda. I suppose they may have swapped round later in the deployment. The Bn HQ was in Jamaica.

    Sorry, I can't help you,
    Steve
     
  12. Welsh1960

    Welsh1960 Member

    Hi Steve
    My father also gets a mention on your page as part of the relay team. He was Frederick Welsh of the Foresters. Do you have any more on C company? This is a great find. I tried to pick him out on the photo you attached but sadly its just way too grainy :(
     
  13. golden_boy

    golden_boy Member

    hi steve, i dont suppose you have come across a name (marson) in there have you? that was my grandad, he may have a mention to do with boxing perhaps? i have the annua from 1938 ad he has a brief mention in there.
     
  14. DanAussie

    DanAussie Member

    Hello everyone,

    First of all what a terrific resource and excellent forum with a wealth of useful information. I'm also very interested in the movements of the 1st battalion Sherwood Foresters as I am a Grandson of one Sergeant Roy Roberts who served with this Battalion during World War 2. Sadly my Grandfather died in 2004, he didn't speak often of the war but when he did I was always interested to hear his stories. I know he joined the Foresters in July 1932, I know he was deployed from Bermuda at the outbreak of World War 2, to where is a mystery to me.

    He did say that the Battalion was deployed to Norway and then they went to Egypt, but this is contradictory to what is written above, upon investigation there was a 1/8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters of the 148th Infantry Brigade as part of Sickleforce that landed at Andalsnes, Norway 19th April 1940, marched south west to Faaberg and was present at the action at Balbergkamp and Tretten is this the same 1st Battalion? Or is it the 8th Battalion, please help I'm a little confused on this point. This Battalion was evacuated to Scotland, I assume Rosyth, but I kind of lose track of them after that.

    When I catch back onto their trail it is when they are deployed to Cyprus which is confirmed by his stories, and then took part in the Battle of Gazala where he and the entire 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters (as well as a great deal many others) is captured when Tobruk fell to the Afrika Korps in Libya. I know from his stories that he went to various Italian Camps before eventually being released from German captivity Stalag IVb late in 1945, he finally was repatriated in 1946.

    My questions are many, but can someone tell me a little about when the unit was deployed to Cyprus and how long did they spent there, where did they go after that, when did they land at Tobruk? One source I have found says they landed in the first week of June 1942 and the other the 20th of June just 1 day before Tobruk fell.

    Thank God for this thread, I've been looking for this for weeks. Thank you to whoever may have known Roy Roberts, or know the movements of his unit.

    Dan
     
  15. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    DanAussie:

    I am off for some errands now, but will respond to your enquiry when I return.
     
  16. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    It was the 8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters that was deployed to Norway. Here is a brief summary of their service.

    8th (Nottinghamshire) Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) (T.A.)

    148th Infantry Brigade – 3 September 1939 to 24 July 1942
    The battalion was located in Newark, Arnold, Mansfield and Worksop. It was embodied on September 1st, 1939 at Newark. The brigade left for Norway on April 14th, 1940 and landed there on the 18th. It served in Norway until April 30th, and then returned to the United Kingdom on May 6th. The battalion moved to Ramsgate in Kent in June 1942 and afterwards to Wrotham Camp near Seven Oaks. The brigade was redesignated as the 148th Training Brigade on July 25th, 1942 and the battalion remained with it as an OCTU unit. This brigade later became the 148th Pre OCTU Training Establishment.

    There is an extensive thread on the battalion's service in Norway in 1940 here:

    http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/35672-the-8th-battalion-sherwood-foresters-in-norway-april-1940/?hl=%2Bsherwood+%2Bforesters

    It appears he was part of the 1st Battalion pre-war and possibly early in the war. He then transferred to the 8th Battalion, possibly being a regular soldier he was used to bolster this Territorial Army battalion. Based on your other information he was transferred back to his original 1st Battalion when they moved to the Middle East. This seems to fit into his service. To be certain you should apply for his service records. Here is the 1st Battalion summary after Norway:


    1st Battalion

    OC Troops, Cyprus – 9 June 1940 to 5 January 1942
    On June 9th, 1940 the entire battalion left for Cyprus and arrived at Famagusta the same day. It received small drafts from the Rhodesia Regiment on April 14th, 1940. The battalion was to have been used to relieve the No. 50 (Middle East) Commando on Castelorizzo Island on February 26th, 1941. ‘B’ Company embarked for Castelorizzo Island on February 24th, 1941. Only fifty men of the company landed on February 28th, 1941. The company was then sent to Crete and then to Alexandria for four days on March 2nd. It returned to Cyprus on March 6th, 1940. The battalion left Cyprus and arrived at Mena, Egypt on January 5th, 1942.

    4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade – Attached – 5 January 1942 to 3 February 1942
    While located at Mena, the battalion was attached to the brigade.

    23rd Infantry Brigade – 3 February 1942 to 24 February 1942
    The 1st Foresters joined the brigade at Quassassin Camp but it was needed as a motor battalion and left the brigade near the end of the month.

    HQ British Troops in Egypt – 24 February 1942 to 7 March 1942
    It began to reform as a motor battalion at Quassassin Camp on February 26th, 1942 and came under the command of the 1st Armoured Brigade as the motor battalion from the start of March 1942.

    1st Armoured Brigade – 7 March 1942 to 6 June 1942
    The battalion joined the brigade as it began to assemble at Cowley Camp. The brigade left Egypt on May 27th for Libya. The battalion moved through Mersa Matruh and Fort Capuzzo and arrived at Tobruk on June 3rd. ‘D’ Company was equipped with anti-tank guns in its role as a motor battalion.

    8th Army – 2nd South African Infantry Division – Attached - 6 June 1942 to 14 June 1942
    The battalion remained at Tobruk until it joined the 201st Guards Motor Brigade Group.

    201st Guards Motor Brigade Group – 14 June 1942 to 20 June 1942
    The battalion was captured in Tobruk on June 20th, 1942. Survivors of the battalion were collected at Geneifa and returned to the United Kingdom.
     
  17. DanAussie

    DanAussie Member

    Thank you Dryan67 for your rapid response,

    I cant begin tell you how grateful I am for you filling in these gaps for me, I know Grandad would have been grateful too. As some of you guys may be aware this year 2015 marks the 100th Anniversary of ANZAC (See Gallipoli Campaign WWI), its a big deal for us, our kids are all doing something special at school for the commemoration this year. This information will be used in a project about how her Great-Grandfather came to know some Australians that fought and later served time with him in the POW camps. He spoke often of their bravery and tenacity on the field, he spoke of their larrikinism and mateship. I think it was largely due to his experience with them that he later came to be one himself (although he never did drop the accent :D), he later came to have Australian Grand-Children and Great Grand-Children.

    We are all very proud of his British history, and I still march every ANZAC Day to honour his memory.

    Thank you so much for your help. :) :) :)

    Dan
     
  18. dryan67

    dryan67 Senior Member

    No problem. You may want to get a copy of the Sherwood Foresters regimental history.

    Barclay, C.N. The History of the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) 1919-1957. London: William Clowes and Sons, Ltd., 1959.

    I could not find one for sale but you may check some of the major public and university libraries' catalogs to find where you can view one.

    There are also members who can copy unit war diaries from the National Archives though I strongly suggest obtaining his service records first.

    https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records
     
  19. DavidW

    DavidW Well-Known Member

    David.

    A seller on Amazon is asking nearly £350 for a copy!

    When I have a little more time later today, I'll see if I can't find a cheaper copy for DanAussie.
     
  20. DanAussie

    DanAussie Member

    That's a little steep Gents, but I would be interested in this book, thanks so much for your help both Dryan and David, are you guys from the Foresters yourselves or just well versed in military history? Either way an absolute goldmine on this website.





    Thank you

    Dan
     

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