Orne River action 7-8th August 1944: the Churchill tank

Dear colleagues,

Hope this is the correct place to post...............
I would like to build a small diorama depicting the action at Grimbosq in which Captain David Jamieson, of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, won his VC. At one point he had to climb aboard the rear deck of the last 147th RAC Churchill remaining in action to 'knock up' the commander, after the rear infantry telephone had failed.
I believe the tank was armed with a 6-pounder (preferred to the 75mm as better ammunition became available) but I cannot find anything convincing that suggests if it was a Mk III or Mk IV. We know that by this time many Mk IIIs had been upgraded to Mk III*. Tanks were being 'chewed through' at some pace at this time and I cannot find any reference to the particular troop engaged let alone the individual vehicle involved.
As the AFV club Mk IV seems to be unavailable, I'm planning on using a combination of Mk III and Mk VI kits if I have to model a Mk IV.
Any suggestions from you knowledgeable folks would be enormously appreciated

 

Are you sure this was 147 Regiment RAC and not 107 Regiment RAC?

147 Regiment's war diary for 8th August states:

"A Sqn were ordered to cross the br behind B Sqn of the 107 Regt and get into fire posn on a thousand yard front on left of br to support Norfolks and S Staffs. This was unsuccessful because of mines and hy A Tk fire as soon as tks appeared at the head of the defile. It was eventually decided that the operation could not be successfully carried out until darkness. The crossing was ultimately made quietly and successfully at 2300 hrs. One Panther was engaged and hit. Minor damage to one A Sqn tk."

147 Regt RAC do not report any tank casualties for 7-8 August, and only a single tank of 2 Troop brewed up on 9 August.

 

Many thanks for the response DJ. I think you may well be correct. One contender is a C squadron tank of the 107th commanded by one DW Brooker - who was subsequently awarded the Military Medal for his actions as sole survivor of his troop. 147, 107, 153 and 7 RTR were all constituents of 34th Armoured Brigade. 107 was so badly mauled (22 tanks lost) that it was out of action for several days following the crossing.

 

....further just noticed that this well-known painting of the action clearly shows a 147th marking on the tank (157), but then I believe that the squadron marking should be yellow rather then the blue (square) depicted. 107th's identifier was '156' - white on green - and C squadron tanks displayed a red circle. Always much to debate!

 

There's some pictures of 107 Regt. RAC Churchills here:

King's Own Royal Regiment Museum

Edit: also here:

King's Own Royal Regiment Museum

Worth exploring the rest of the site.

 

thanks again DJ. I have just received my copy of John Foley's 'Mailed Fist' reissued by the IWM. This is an account of a 107 RTR troop commander's experience in the Normandy campaign - including the Orne river battle, and looks to be a good read. As an 'A' squadron account, it does not claim to be directly involved in the action I'm interested in though. 'A' squadron tanks were 'Avenger', 'Alert' and 'Angler' and the suggestion is that they were all 75mm Mk VIIs.

 

This may be of interest to you:

The History of The 107 Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (King's Own) June 1940-February 1946 - Naval & Military Press

 

thanks, I now have a copy, as well as 'The Story of 34 Armoured Brigade' so I should now be better informed!

 

Hello there
I don't know if this is too late for your model (I'm doing something similar and am partway through writing a book about the action) but here's some info you might find of interest. The tanks supporting Capt Jamieson were from 12 Troop, 'C' Sqn, 107 RAC.
Lt Phillips was the above-mentioned Cpl Brooker's Troop Leader. Cpl Brooker's tank did have the 6-pdr but it was Lt Phillips' tank onto which Capt Jamieson climbed, so a 75mm-armed Churchill (probably IV or VII).
The painting above has some errors.
Attached pages from 34 Tank Bde War Diary.


The plate mentioned can be seen in this IWM photo, which also shows Second Army rather than Brigade markings in addition to the '157' of 107 RAC. Positions of these latter markings seemed to have varied a little depending on fixed stowage.



Hope this is of use/interest

Sean

 

apologies for the laggardly response Sean50,

thanks for this, and I'd love to keep up with progress on your book. It's possible I may be visiting the site of the action this year or next with Capt.Jamieson's daughter.

 

No problem.
If you like, I'll happily show you around if/when you visit. I live just over an hour from Grimbosq.

 

many thanks Sean 50 - I may well take you up on that!

 

I am so pleased I’ve found this post and my late Grandfathers name mentioned. Donald William Brooker. I am currently researching as much as I can into his actions in WW2. I have read some of the details following the battle at Grimbosq. If anyone happens to have any more details/photos they can share It would be much appreciated! Many Thanks Ben Brooker

 

Hi Sean, My late Grandfather is Cpl Brooker. I am still looking into the battle at Grimbosq, I’d be very interested to get a copy of your book when finished if at all possible? I am also hoping to visit next year, would meeting up be possible as you sound very knowledgeable? Many thanks, Ben Brooker