For some reason can't view the picture now ,but i wonder if the vehicle parked under the gate is a 12th Lancers Morris armoured car?
After receiving some good advice about refreshing picture! vehicle under gate looks like a small bonneted 6 wheeler,Morris CD? and not a 12th Lancers Morris CS9 armoured car.
Anyone know what the unit was maning the 2 Pounder? I wonder if it was a Bde AT Coy rather than a RA AT Regt.
I have a feeling its 150th brigade AT , the 4th bn Green Howards were defending a line between Ypres and Zillebeke lake.
I was at the gate last May and was told that during the battles there in WW2 the British were considering blowing the bridge in an attempt to save the town. Was this the case? I know it sounds weird but was there some direction from Adolf for his troops not to attack the gate?? When I was there I noticed that at on travelling away from the town centre at the next crossroads there is a considerable amount of battle damage, bullet holes in the buildings etc.
Yes the bridge by the Menin Gate was blown, see photo Dave posted here. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/141344-post18.html http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/1940/attachment.php?attachmentid=8872&d=1214563311 here Dave tells of the man who did it. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/395484-post10.html Lt.David Arthur Smith (Royal (Monmouthshire) Engineers) who was attached to the XII Lancers at the time of his bridge blowing exploits (the particularly famous one being the one at the Menin Gate).
IIRC They were called 'Black Force'. The RE were attached to the cavalry as part of the Dyle Plan. There task mainly being demolition focused. I have quite a bit of info on Black Force-I'll have a look and see if there's anything on blowing that bridge.
The arch did get knocked about a bit but the demolition seems to have been quite controlled. It doesn't look as if it took the German engineers long to fill the hole in. Smug b*st*rds.
According to the war diary below it was 4 East Yorks that held Menin Gate, there is no diary covering May for 150 Bde AT Coy:
