One of the members of GWF has this on his signature. As it is the 62nd Anniversary of this battle this month I thought you'd like to see it. http://www.glcoupar.freeserve.co.uk/battleoflingevres1944/
Excellent site. That's going to to take more than a few minutes to peruse properly. Nice to see the ground troops in one 'small' action being covered in the sort of intricate detail that's (understandably) usually only found in Air & Naval coverage. Listening now to one of the personal accounts, Great Stuff.
Hi, A while back I read in the local press that a group known as Monty's men returned to Normandy in 2004 with a full strength Platoon plus HQ Company Durham Light Infantry to commemorate the attack by the 9th Battalion DLI on the village of Lingevres near Tilly-sur-Seulles they were reported to have worn the correct uniforms carried the right equipment and weapons and followed the correct route from the beaches.At long last I have found a site which documented their journey in pictures take a look Army Film & Photograhic Unit: Normandy 2004 Yes its re-enactment but if you came across these photographs without the description would you have known? Regards Verrieres
That site is fantastic and the pictures are very realistic. Its what a lot of re-enactors strive for.
Whilst looking into the action at Fort Capuzzo on 14th June 1940 I see the officer in command of the carrier platoon there later became CO of 9 DLI & was killed by a Moaning minnie exactly 4 years later at Lingevres. Lt-Col HR Woods. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/north-africa-med/26691-fort-capuzzo-~-14th-june-1940-a.html Quote from website inpost #1. 67184 Lieutenant Colonel Humphrey Reginald Woods, D.S.O, M.C & Bar. Sgt.Charles Eagles, who was feet away from him when he was wounded by mortar fire, remembers his last words being, "surely they haven't hit me?"
Just to bring this back up to date the dead link above in Verrieres post to `Montys Men` and their photographs has been replaced and is now hosted at;- Army Film & Photographic Unit Living History Group Unfortunately the Lingevres site is dead but can be accessed through the Wayback machine at;- Wayback Machine Kyle
Thanks Kyle , i visit Lingevres / Verriers Guiding Tours on quite a few occasions each year , i was there last week and am back again this coming weekend , it is one of the most iconic locations for the DLI in Normandy .
Jim (Verrieres) does . If you are referring to the http://www.glcoupar.freeserve.co.uk/battleoflingevres1944/ The pair have spoken previously about it,the owner was locked out and eventually with no access was allowed to pass . I think the owner was a good friend of Lieutenant `Darkie` Williams 9th DLI (also friend of the late Chas Eagles ) `Darkie` served in the ranks pre war with 1st DLI I think. Kyle
Okay thanks , yes Darkie started as a Boy in 1 DLI then went back to 1 DLI after the war , sadly as you know we lost Charles earlier this year , i only know one veteran from the DLI that survives now who fought at Lingevres/ Verrieres .
Kyle, Thanks for the working link to my Lingevres site. It disappeared a number of years ago and I never thought I would see it again. Luckily I still have print outs of all of the items which were recorded on it. It was so frustrating when I had a massive computer crash and lost my ability to keep adding to the site. I actually made it to Lingevres a number of years ago, with my Brother in Law. We did a whistle-stop tour of many of the sites in Normandy, we were over for about 4 days and stayed in Bayeux. It was one evening that we made it to Lingevres, we parked near the church and walked up the road towards the 9th DLI start line. Would you believe that there was corn growing in "The Cornfield"! I don't know how many battlefields I have visited over the past 30 years, but that day in Lingevres was one of the most moving experience I can remember. It's a place that from about the age of 11, I first heard about and have spent so much time wondered about. I was so sorry to hear about Charles Eagles. I first met him after seeing an advert he posted on a truck at a Military Vehicle show at the DLI Museum. He was trying to trace Major Williams and I had to break the sad news to him. He had never spent any time thinking about his war, just wanted to get on with living, and it was only when his daughter became unwell and asked him to record his story that he began to think about his experiences. Thanks once again for the link.
Anthony Bernard Colgan Anthony Colgan was born in Tulse Hill in London in October 1923. After leaving school he worked for the General Electric Company before he was conscripted into the Army in July 1942 and joined The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment). After training as a Carrier driver, 6300443 Private Colgan was posted to the 9th Battalion DLI, just in time to take part in the campaign in Sicily and the fighting at Primosole Bridge in July 1943. After the end of the Sicilian campaign, 9 DLI was sent home to prepare for D-Day. Anthony Colgan drove his Carrier ashore on Gold Beach on 6 June 1944 and then served with his battalion as a driver throughout its long advance from Normandy across France and Belgium and into Holland, seeing action at Gheel and the Albert Canal crossing on the way. Then 9 DLI left the 50th Division and joined the 7th Armoured Division and in 1945 joined the advance into Germany to Hamburg. Private Colgan served with 9 DLI to the end of the war and then moved into Berlin as part of the Army of Occupation. Anthony Colgan was demobilised from the Army in 1946 and returned home. Anthony Colgan was interviewed for the Imperial War Museum in 2001 Kyle
A sad thing to hear... Not many heroes left these days... Would have loved to hear what he remember about the battle of Geel...