Does anyone know a Veteran from 55 Anti-tk Regt RA who was transported by liberty ship from London to Normandy? I am trying to find out if the Regiment travelled together or was split and batteries were attached to different Brigades (146, 147 & 70) of 49 (WR) Infantry Division and travelled with them. Some or all of 55 Anti-tk Regt were on the 'MV Derrycunihy' - what other Units were on board? Any help greatfully received Bill
Bill, normal practice would be that the Batteries would be brigaded, however, my understanding is that the Anti Tank did ot travel with the assualt divisions. P
Bala. The Anti-tank would come under the command of the Commander 49th Div RA and would be sent wherever they were needed for whatever context, not brigaded. Rob 3 Sep 39 217, 218, 219, 220 Batteries Locations 3 Sep 39 Sep 42 Apr 43 Jul 43 Jun 44 Swaffham, UK UK UK UK Rauray, France 54 (E Anglian) Inf Div 79 Armd Div Home Forces 49 Inf Div 49 Inf Div Nov 44 17 pdr SP Archer
I think you will find that they were split up in case of sinkings, ie don't put all your eggs in one basket. This is what happened in my Dad's unit for example:- Commanding Officer plus half of RHQ travelled with one battery. 2nd in command with other half of RHQ travelled with 2nd battery. 3rd Battery travelled alone. All travelled on seperate days. Copies of War Diaries attached:- You can see after arrival, they were deployed wherever it was deemed necessary. As Paul Reed said, the war diary should give the answer.
Sorry to go slightly off thread, but the MV Derrycunihy was sunk on the 24th June 1944 with the loss of over 200 lives. Burntisland Shipyard - the Loss of the Derrycunihy
Does anyone know a Veteran from 55 Anti-tk Regt RA who was transported by liberty ship from London to Normandy? I am trying to find out if the Regiment travelled together or was split and batteries were attached to different Brigades (146, 147 & 70) of 49 (WR) Infantry Division and travelled with them. Some or all of 55 Anti-tk Regt were on the 'MV Derrycunihy' - what other Units were on board? Any help greatfully received Bill A long overdue reply to this post. Here is a copy of the war diary page of 55 A/Tk from June 1944. It shows how the various Batteries were split and embarked for France and when they arrived, but not what they travelled on to get there. 218 Bty has an embarkation date of 6 June, but not a disembarkation date. A blank for 9 June, so that may be a possibility. I have PM'd Bala as well. Cheers - Rob
