90876 Hugh Frederick COLLINSON, Royal Artillery

The new Second World,War Gallery in the Imperial War Museum includes the waterbottle and record of service of Hugh Collinson. The exhibition guide book "Total War" says that Collinson waded ashore on Sword Beach on 6th June and was evacuated wounded on the 9th by mortar bombs.

The photo shows a man in officers uniform with either a star or crown on his shoulders.

His record of service shows
Enlisted TA 83rd Field Regiment as Gnr April 1939 - June 1939
Posted as 2/Lt to 136th Fd Regt RA June 1939 - March 1941
Posted to 55 Div as MLO March 1941
Appointed G III L 55 Div March 14th 1942 - 19.10.42
Posted 178 Fd Regt RA 19.11.1942 - 15.12.42
Posted 109 Field Regt. 15.12.42 - 7.9.43
Posted (Blank) 8.9.43
Expeditionary Service 6.6.44 - 9.6.44

Does anyone know he served with on D Day and in what capacity? I can't find him in the war diaries of the artillery regiments that landed on D Day. Was he a commando? Or on some Brigade staff?

 

Aha found him. FOB 77 attached 1 S Lancs. Not mentioned in the IMW. Neither on the label to the objects nor in "Total War." Looks like us guides still have a job to do interpreting the exhibits.

As with the CWGC, the documentary evidence for the COBU is uneven. This is a shame as the FOBs were a very brave bunch of men on a par with commando and airborne special forces but rarely receive the same recognition.

Perhaps this merits a stiff letter to the IWM....

 

Looking through the casualty lists there are not many with the name H Collinson. There was:
90876 Capt H F Collinson, Royal Artillery, wounded NWE 8.6.44.

 

Families re-united in Preston for D-day landing commemoration
Captain Hugh Collinson of the 1st West Lancashire 87th Fields Regiment TA always regretted having to leave his friend dead on the sand as the Allied forces stormed the beaches of northern France. And he wrote of his experiences a few days later as he recovered from leg wounds sustained in a mortar bomb attack.


Words of War

There is a photo of him of you scroll down
(Although he does look OK for the photo date of 10.6.44 considering he was injured on 8.6.44 ??)

 

Wedding was December 1939.



Presumably

 

Excellent.

It may just be my hobby horse, but if Tel Harrison had been a para or commando there would have been something on his CWGC record and grave to say what he did. I wish I had known this before.

 

Group photo of COBU officers here:
Officers of Naval Bombardment Units

Note that Collinson's initials are incorrectly given as J. F i/o H. F.

 

From the June 1944 War Diary of 1 COBU - Appendix 2 - Report on Operation "NEPTUNE" by Major R.A.H. ARNOLD, R.A., Staff Officer Bombardment attached to 3rd. British Infantry Division, with, in support, Force "S". The water bottle in the exhibit is even mentioned!:






His leg wounds were apparently sustained while supporting 1 S LANCS on their 8 June attack on CRESSERONS and PLUMETOT. The wounds were not serious, which might explain the OK look on the 10 June photo as per TD's post. TD, could you post the photo, because the googlebooks link tells me "No preview available for this page"?

Michel

 

As the photo shows him happily walking with his wife (she was unlikely to be with him on D Day!) I think you will find that the 10th June date refers to the diary entry, not the photo:

"10.6.44
5.45 down we went in our assault boats and it was rough ....."

 

Capt Collinson's FOB Advance Party of three was to land on QUEEN WHITE Beach from LCA LTIN 156 (from LSI(L) SS EMPIRE BATTLEAXE S72) at H+20 , while the FOB Transport Party of two (with one Jeep) was to land from LCT(4) 853 (LTIN 215) at H+45, also on QUEEN WHITE.

Bombarding ships intially attached were HNMS STORD (BLO Capt Combie RA) & HMS VIRAGO (BLO Capt Noble RA).

 

If so, quite a big typo writing 10.6.44 instead of 6.6.44...

Finally got the photo:


10.6.44 might be the date he wrote it (from his hospital bed presumably), and not the date of the events narrated.

Michel

 

The link in TD's post #4 states that Collinson wrote his notes on 10th so presumably that is what the reference is to?
Families re-united in Preston for D-day landing commemoration | Great British Life

 

Yes, this must be it. This "memoir, which runs to six yellowing pages of tightly packed typing and dated June 10, 1944" would make interesting reading:
Private Papers of Captain H F Collinson TD