86th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery

Ah... you must take him anyway ... he will be impressed despite himself! I was about 13 when I saw the battlefields of France for the first time(1st and 2nd) and was moved beyond measure. At that time there wasn’t much at Hill 112( and the “Hill” itself is most unimpressive!) but on subsequent visits with my son we’ve seen how it has developed as a memorial site. I’ve gone through my father’s things again and found something he copied from a book about the Devonshire Regiment (86th anti-tank was created from the 5th Devon’s). This paragraph may refer to the incident in which you believe your grandfather was killed: “ July 8 attack on 2 objectives Maltot and Point 112. Point 112 was the concern of 1st Royal Tank Regt. and to this unit was attached 340 Battery(self propelled)....
L Troop L.Flank no casualties. K Troop R. Flank 3 killed, 4 wounded also shot up by infantry 6 pounder which brewed up one M10, killing the wireless operator and trapping a gunner with a severed leg. Sergeant Henle, despite flames got in again to rescue the gunner who was so badly injured that he died within a few hours. Sgt. Henle badly burned, awarded MM.”
There is also something he wrote down copied from the RA Brigade Guards Division newspaper (dated February 1946) which identifies K Troop as 129 battery. “Losing 3 M10’s from 88mm and mortar fire and destroying one German tank”
Hope this is of some interest.
Jane.

 

Ps. After rereading your previous post I see that your grandfather wasn’t killed but wounded... sorry for the misunderstanding!

 

Hi Jane,

That really helps, my Grandad did lose a leg though he seemed to think that he was thrown from the turret by an explosion, so he could have been one of the three from 129 battery. He did say to me that he thought all his crew were killed but in the fog of battle I guess that recollections get mixed up. Did your Father say which book he got the paragraph from?

I've emailed the Royal Artillery Museum to ask if they have any further information available but at the moment with the restrictions they may not be able to tell me.

I have never been either to the battle grounds but it's on my list as soon as the world stops being so mad. It has always been something that I have wanted to do but life has always stopped me.

Thanks again

Tris

 

“ The Devons- a history of the Devonshire Regiment “ by Jeremy Taylor. I presume your grandfather was invalided out of the war after losing his leg. I have a panoramic photo of combined batteries which I believe was taken in Germany at the end of the war but presumably he was back in the UK by then?

 

Yes, he was discharged in early December after being in hospital in Scotland. I’ll have a look for that book to see if there is any other information.
Also there’s a Facebook association group so I may contact them to see if any of them can help.

 

Hello Tris,
I’ve just found your Grandfather listed on a document!!
If you can give me your email address I will send it to you. Trying to take a photo of it on the computer screen is useless and I’m not very technical!
Best
Jane.

 

Hi Jane

that’s brilliant my email is tristramoliver(at)hotmail.com
Thank you

 

Hello, I understand that this thread may well be closed but I wonder whether you know your father’s battery number? Mine was a bombardier with 128th battery 86th anti tank regiment.Sincerely Jane Suff.

 

Hi all - just checking in on whether this thread is still alive! I am researching my family and worked out that my Grandpa’s uncle’s son was a Lieutenant with the 86 anti-tank regiment royal artillery and was awarded the military cross in December 1944. His name was John Albert Wooderson. Does anyone know where I find out more about him?

 

Recommendation for Award for Wooderson, John Albert Rank: Lieutenant Service... | The National Archives
Here he is! My dad was with the 86th/128th battery.

 

Ah that’s great, thanks a lot!

 

Hi. I was wondering if there was any mention of my Grandfather. He died in January 1945 and was in the 86th Anti-Tank (Devonshire) regiment. I believe he was a Sergeant. I've been to his grave in Brunssum on the Dutch/Belgian border, but was wondering if there were any documents mentioning him.

 

4807633 Sgt. Sidney James Attwood

Service No. indicates he enlisted with The Lincolnshire Regiment, block numbers 4792001 to 4848000

There is a forum member with access to The Lincolnshire Regimental Rolls, who may be able to assist you with dates of enlistment and transfer.

Obtaining your grandfather's service record would be a better option.

4807633 A/L/Sgt. S. J. Attwood W.I.A. 08.08.1944 Normandy.
4807633 A/Sgt. S. J. Attwood K.I.A. 23.01.1945 Netherlands/Germany.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an R.A. Tracer card for S. J. Attwood.

A/Sgt. S. J. Attwood appears to have died during Operation Blackcock. An operation to clear German troops from the Roer Triangle, formed by the towns of Roermond and Sittard in the Netherlands and Heinsberg in Germany. It was conducted by the British 2nd Army between 13th and 26th January, 1945.

The War Diary for the period 13th and 26th January, 1945, would be very helpful to you.

I found 4 pages from the 86th A/T Regt. War Diary for this period, which shows your grandfather's movements from 3rd to 8th August, 1944.

They show 2 men wounded at 10.00 hrs on the 8th August, 1944. I'm guessing the slightly wounded man was A/L/Sgt. S. J. Attwood.

Hope you find these documents useful.

 

A fantastic response thanks David! I'll print these off and present them to my Dad (his son) this weekend. He'll be amazed.

Yes, he was injured in 1944. We know he suffered a shrapnel wound to his face, but returned to active duty quite quickly so it can't have been too bad.

 

Service records forms - MOD - Request records of deceased service personnel

TD

The forms request a copy of a death certificate, but in your case you will need to download the CWGC certificate and submit that as he died in service. If you scroll down the link there is a the option to 'Download Certificate' on the left hand side - Casualty Details | CWGC

 

Hi - I have revisited this thread after a few years ( I got some war diary information ) and notice you have posted the wounded and killed documents - would any of these documents mention Gunner AB ( Adam ) Wright ( my great uncle ) , service number 14563800, he died on the 8/8/44 after being critically injured when the M10 he was driving hit a landline
thanks David

 

Hello David,
I checked the War Diaries for 8/8/44. At this time the regiment was stationed in Granville sur Odon.
On the 8th itself a party equipped with Polish mine detectors were taken to a new area to clear the ground of any mines. At 10.am 340 battery were involved in a counter-attack by the enemy. “One M10 bagged, another hit a mine deploying on the east bank of the river. Two men were wounded-one seriously.” If this is your great-uncle then he must have died of his wounds at a later date? The only named casualty I can see around this time is a Lieutenant Glaze (from the same battery)who was killed on 11th by a mortar bomb.
Perhaps you know all this already.
All good wishes,
Jane Suff.

 

I am trying to find some more about my wife's father, Edward George Cousins. He was killed on 11 July 1944 during the battle for Hill 112 in Normandy, whilst serving as a gunner with 130 Battery, 86 Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery. I have his unit's War Diary for May, June, July 1944 which records his own death & also that of his 2 comrades. It also shows that his unit "left the marshalling area for the dock & embarked on 25 June, positioned off Southend overnight & landed at Courseuilles sur Mer on 28 June". I have been trying to discover where his unit had been located & which dock (presumably on the Thames estuary) it departed from. What I do know is that 3 years previously, on 1st July 1941, he was confirmed by the Bishop of Dover at Sutton Valence School in Kent "after preparation by Edward L Phillips, Chaplain, 5 Devons", this being recorded by the chaplain in his copy of "My Prayer Book for Men & Boys", which I hold. I have visited Normandy & seen where he was killed & initially buried as well as his final resting place at St Manvieu War Cemetery. It was a very moving experience. If anyone can provide possible answers to my queries I would much appreciate it.
John

 

Dear John,
My father was in the same regiment and sailed for Normandy on the same day, presumably with your father in law. He was part of 128th battery-like 130th battery they were equipped with towed 17 pounders so I should imagine their experiences were similar. The other two batteries were equipped with M10’s. I have understood from the diaries that the regiment were marshalled already on 19th June and presumably delayed by the great storm in the English Channel that destroyed the mulberry harbours along the Normandy coast. I have the first letter my father wrote to his mother from France
(received July 17th) where he describes spending about 5 days in the marshalling area (at Tilbury- he was a local boy from Gravesend) and enjoying “two good Naafi’s in camp, and cinema and Ensa shows every night”. The weather was “pretty rough… and nearly everyone including me was seasick” The LST he says was a “Yankee boat”. On landing he comments that the scenery was similar to that at home, except for the roadside graves marked with steel helmets. He also mentions “magnificent” air support: “Spitfires and Hurricanes are buzzing around all day”. Apparently the roads were all bad and it was pouring with rain, soaking their blankets and kit and flooding their slit trenches.He writes that he would rather be back at Shoreham where they were based in the weeks before the invasion.
I would also be interested to find out which dock they left from-unfortunately the area is now inaccessible to the general public.
I have also been several times to the Hill 112 area and monument-the first time as a schoolgirl with my late father. Very moving indeed.
I hope you might find this of some interest.
All good wishes,
Jane Suff.