Orders of Battle - Lt. Colonel H.F. Joslen, Official Narrator

I've seen him mentioned as the official narrator of the Campaign in France and Flanders on several files at the National Archives and I've even found his scrape book containing interviews and letters regarding his reserach into this campaign.

Does anyone know if he actually published anything? It's my understanding that Major L. F. Ellis did the official history of the campaign.

 

Only the Orders of Battle as far as I know, but he might be credited in Ellis?

It sounds a different beast to the narrator's notebook for Normandy, though it was a scrapbook of orders and signals, I can't recall any interviews or letters in the bit I looked at. The 1940 one sounds like a real treasure trove.

 

Ellis's book is a history of the involvement of all three services and he credits their historical sections. Joslen seems to have been on the staff of the Army side of things (which of course is where you're spending most of your time !)

Was there ever a published Army history of the campaign ?

 

Ooooo Look what I found

CAB 44/67 Section A, chapter II (A and B ); BEF in France and Flanders May 10-25, by Lieutenant-Colonel H.F. Joslen.
CAB 44/68 Section A, chapter II (C); BEF in France and Flanders May26-31 by Lieutenant-Colonel H.F. Joslen.
CAB 44/69 Section A, chapter II (D); BEF in France and Flanders 31 May-4 June, by Lieutenant-Colonel H.F. Joslen.

CAB 44 Comes under the heading of:

Committee of Imperial Defence, Historical Branch and Cabinet Office, Historical Section: War Histories: Draft Chapters and Narratives, Military.

 

Looks like they went on a jolly too:

CAB 103/169 Visit to the battlefields in France and Belgium by Major L. F. Ellis and Colonel H.F. Joslen in connection with the campaign history.

CAB 106/261 Daily Locations of Headquarters, Corps and Divisions of the British Expeditionary Force 1940 May 10-June 15; prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel H. F. Joslen.

CAB 106/330 Orders of battle; note book of the official Narrator Lieutenant Colonel H. F. Joslen.

 

Ellis mentions in his book that he visited 'all' the locations which sounds a slight exaggeration. It's interesting that he did it with Joslen. I wonder how much of Joslen's draft was used in the final publication ?

Are you going to be copying anything ?

I'd be interested in seeing 106/261 or a list of 2 Div HQs for the period.

 

I'm trying not to get distracted from my primary objective - The BEF diaries. Once they are completed I will be copying anything else I can find BEF related

 

When are we going on the Ellis / Joslen tour and how many weeks leave do I need ?

We'll need a Humber from somewhere.

 

That would be a good tour wouldn't it?

I keep trying to persuade Andrea to let me by a Ex-Army Land Rover for my trips to France.

 

Ooooo Look what I found

CAB 44/67 Section A, chapter II (A and B ); BEF in France and Flanders May 10-25, by Lieutenant-Colonel H.F. Joslen.
CAB 44/68 Section A, chapter II (C); BEF in France and Flanders May 26-31 by Lieutenant-Colonel H.F. Joslen.
CAB 44/69 Section A, chapter II (D); BEF in France and Flanders 31 May-4 June, by Lieutenant-Colonel H.F. Joslen.

CAB 44 Comes under the heading of:

I had a quick look at the first one of these three files today. In short they appear to be a three volume (books) work on what every or most BEF units were doing between the 26th May and 4th June 1940.

I know beggars can't be choosers but what a shame he never started this work on the 10th May instead of the 26th May - I'm sure it would have been the ulimate BEF book if he had.

 

I'm puzzled Andy. The first volume indicates that it covers from 10th May ?

Although it will be useful, it is probably based on the war diaries so perhaps all information that can be seen at source (apart from anything that may have become lost...or hidden....not that I'm a conspiracy theorist or anything).

 

Slightly confused and tired...I must have ordered the 2nd one for a sneek look then-I'm sure it said 26th May (I have been up since 430am)

I think you are correct....I'm guessing he has read all of the BEF diaries and pulled the important bits out to give a full account of what everyone was doing etc.

 

In the long term, these certainly need double checking to see if there is information from diaries which are no longer catalogued but which were available to him at the time.

 

Having slept on it I'm wondering if he used the diaries and the first hand accounts he recorded in his 'scrap book'. They will all be copied in due course mate. I've still got around a 1,000 diaries to go in WO 167 first.

 

Those of us interested (obsessed!?) with British and Empire/Commonwealth orders of battle for WW2 will be very familiar with the classic work produced by Lt. Colonel H.F. Joslen. We refer to it simply as 'Joslen'.

Having collected some war diaries at a recent visit to The National Archives, I was reviewing the material at home when I discovered a handwritten note on the cover of one such file, the war diary for 1944 of the 41st Mortar Regiment, West African Artillery. This reads:

"* Formerly 103 Mor Regt which was formed in Sep 1944 by 82 LAA Bty WAA.

H.J. Joslen. Lt. Col. Narrator"

The note is dated 4 Feb 1944, which I presume is an error as the war diary runs from October-December 1944.

So, for those who may be interested, attached is an image of the short handwritten note by the man himself.

Steve