After The Battle 147 - The Battle For Cherbourg

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THE BATTLE FOR CHERBOURG Number 147

NUMBER 147 © Copyright After the Battle 2010 Editor: Karel Margry Editor-in-Chief: Winston G. Ramsey Published by Battle of Britain International Ltd., The Mews, Hobbs Cross House, Hobbs Cross, Old Harlow, Essex CM17 0NN, England Telephone: 01279 41 8833 Fax: 01279 41 9386 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.afterthebattle.com Printed in Great Britain by Warners Group Publications PLC, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH. After the Battle is published on the 15th of February, May, August and November.

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CONTENTS THE BATTLE FOR CHERBOURG WRECK DISCOVERY The Japanese Tanks of Bougainville UNITED KINGDOM The Women’s Land Army IT HAPPENED HERE The Case of Pilot Officer John Benzie

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Front Cover: Captain William H. Hooper of the 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division, leading a group of German POWs out of Cherbourg along Avenue de Paris on June 28, 1944. Hooper would be killed two weeks later near La Haye-du-Puits. (USNA) Inset: The same view today. This is the old toll entrance to the city, known as L’Octroi, with Rue Armand Levéel branching off to the right in the background (see page 13). (Jean Paul Pallud) Centre Pages: The remains of German coastal Battery ‘Blankenese’ in the dunes near Néville, 25 kilometres east of Cherbourg. Comprising four casemates for 94mm Flak guns and a fire-control bunker, it was manned in June 1944 by the 2. Batterie of MarineArtillerie-Abteilung 260. (Jean Paul Pallud) Back Cover: We believe that this headstone to an unknown pilot of the Second World War in Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, marks the last resting place of Pilot Officer John Benzie. (ATB) Acknowledgements: Our story on the battle for Cherbourg is taken from Cross-Channel Attack (Washington, 1951) by Gordon A. Harrison, a volume of the official history of the US Army in World War II, adapted and expanded with details from German sources. The Editor would like to thank the French Marine Nationale, particularly Vice Amiral Philippe Périssé, Préfet Maritime at Cherbourg, and the Direction des Constructions Navales (DCNS), particularly M. Bruno Richebé, Director Cherbourg, for allowing Jean Paul Pallud to visit their installations. He also thanks Marie Thérèse, Catherine, Jacques and Yannick Berton; Comte and Comtesse Arnaud de Pontac; Roger Delarocque and La Cité de la Mer. The Editor is further indebted to Roy J. Turner for his generous help with the feature on the Women’s Land Army. Photo Credits: AWM — Australian War Memorial, Canberra; BA — Bundesarchiv; USNA — US National Archives.

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Early on June 18, troops of US VII Corps, having advanced from Utah Beach since D-Day, reached Barneville and Carteret on the west coast of the Cotentin, cutting the peninsula in half. For the next ten days the Americans concentrated their operations on a northward drive aimed at taking Cherbourg and its port. The VII Corps attacked with three divisions abreast on June 19, encountering no opposition except on its right wing where the 4th Division came up against organised resistance in the Montebourg sector. Attacking with tank support on either side of the town, the 8th and 12th Infantry Regiments finally broke the German defence and by nightfall the 8th Infantry was south and east of Valognes with the 12th Infantry on its right. When plans were drawn up for the Allied invasion of France, one important consideration was that it would be necessary to secure a deep-water port to allow reinforcements to be brought in directly from the United States. Cherbourg, at the tip of the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy, was closest to the landing beaches and the planners consequently decided that the US First Army’s main task should be ‘to capture Cherbourg as quickly as possible’. The US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions spearheaded Operation ‘Overlord’ in the west, landing at the base of the peninsula. Their landings were scattered but they nevertheless secured most of the routes by which the American forces landing at Utah Beach would advance. The US 4th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach shortly after dawn with few casualties (see D-Day Then and Now). For the first days, the priority was to link up with the main Allied landings further east. The flooded Douve valley was crossed on June 9 and Carentan captured the next day, giving the Allies a continuous front

at which point US VII Corps began to drive westwards to cut off the peninsula at its base. On June 9, concerned over the threat of an enemy breakthrough to Cherbourg, the German 7. Armee ordered the 77. InfanterieDivision, then coming up from Brittany, to proceed up the peninsula to Valognes. Two days later, Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt, the German Commander-inChief in the West, and Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, the commander of Heeresgruppe B, met to discuss the serious situation and agreed to report independently to Hitler. Both reports gave the same appreciation of the German situation in Normandy and of the Allies’ intentions. Von Rundstedt explained that ‘the formations of Heeresgruppe B fighting in Normandy are forced on to the defensive between the Orne and the Vire. Offensive operations cannot as yet be conducted in this broad sector for lack of forces and because the panzer divisions had to be used for defence.’ In order to prevent a breakthrough to Cherbourg, which was obviously the immediate American objective,

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Above: In the second half of June 1944, the US First Army directed all its efforts towards the capture of Cherbourg as the great Channel port was considered vital for the supply of the American forces. Signal Corps photographer Sergeant Peter

J. Petrony pictured an M8 armoured car of the 801st Tank Destroyer Battalion entering Montebourg during the northward advance toward the port city. Below: The southern entrance to Montebourg remains unchanged.

THE BATTLE FOR CHERBOURG Refusing the field-marshals’ demand that a counter-attack in the Cotentin was an urgent need, Hitler’s reaction on June 12 was to insist that ‘the enemy bridgehead between the Orne and Vire must be attacked and destroyed piece by piece’.

By Jean Paul Pallud

By June 14, it was clear that the Americans were close to cutting the peninsula in half so Rommel decided that two divisions (the 243.

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they proposed to counter-attack in the Cotentin. Pointing out that the purpose of this strike would be ‘to annihilate the enemy there’, Rommel stressed that ‘only when this has been accomplished can the enemy between the Orne and the Vire be attacked’.

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Above: The original plan for the drive on Cherbourg was for a two-division attack, by the 4th and 90th Divisions, while the 9th Division took up a blocking position on the west coast. However, on June 18, after consultation with Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, the First Army commander (left), and some of his division commanders, Major General J. Lawton Collins, the VII Corps commander (right), changed his plans in favour of a stronger attack. In order to take maximum advantage of the German disintegration, the idea was now to commit the corps’ full combat strength. A fresh division, the 79th, would be deployed and three divisions — the 9th, 79th and 4th — would drive northwards abreast while the 90th Division would take over the task of blocking along the west coast. Here General Bradley listens to Collins (wearing goggles and an M1911 pistol in a shoulder holster) describing how the Cherbourg battle was fought — a picture taken later in June or early July. and 709. Infanterie-Divisions) would be sufficient for the defence of Cherbourg and that the 77. Infanterie-Division should be moved south to oppose the American push to the south. Accordingly the 7. Armee issued orders to divide the forces in the Cotentin into two groups. Gruppe von Schlieben (under Generalleutnant Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben, the commander of the 709. Infanterie-Division), consisting of his own division and all the troops deployed on the Montebourg line (save the 77. Infanterie-Division), was charged with the defence of Cherbourg. Meanwhile, Gruppe Hellmich (under Generalleutnant Hans Hellmich, the commander of the 243. Infanterie-Division), with the 77. Infanterie-Division and all those troops south and west of the Merderet river, received the task of building a defensive line near the base of the Cotentin, between the marshlands west of Carentan and the peninsula’s west coast near Portbail. However, the following day an order from Hitler arrived which stipulated that the present line must be ‘held at all cost’. Rommel, who was at the LXXXIV. Armeekorps headquarters near Saint-Lô when the Führer decree reached him, tried to make the best of an impossible situation. He decided that the 77. Infanterie-Division should send some elements southwards while ostensibly holding its ground. However, the 7. Armee soon forbade any move and orders given to the 77. Infanterie-Division were countermanded. As a consequence, nothing was accomplished during the night of June 16/17, squandering the last chance of rescuing the 77. InfanterieDivision from the closing trap. 4

Following a demand from von Rundstedt on June 15 that someone from the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, German Armed Forces High Command) must come to France to discuss the situation, Hitler decided to come personally. A conference was arranged at the ‘Wolfsschlucht 2’ complex of camouflaged bunkers at Margival, north-east of Soissons (see After the Battle No. 19), on the morning of the 17th. Finding fault with the local commanders, Hitler expressed his dissatisfaction with their attempts to counter the Allied landings. Von Rundstedt and Rommel sought to obtain freedom of action, including permission to draw at will on reserves from coastal areas not immediately threatened by invasion. They also recommended certain withdrawals in order to shorten their lines and concentrate their forces but Hitler refused all of this. Instead, he ordered that fortress Cherbourg must be held at any cost as long as possible. On June 17, the VII Corps continued its advance westwards, the main effort being made by the US 9th Division. Early on June 18, troops of its 60th Infantry entered Barneville, cutting the coast road and thus practically sealing off the base of the Cotentin. During the night and the following morning columns of Gruppe Hellmich tried to force their way southwards. On the 19th, elements of Grenadier-Regiment 1050 (of the 77. Infanterie-Division) succeeded in taking a bridge over the Ollande river, capturing more than 100 Americans, and permitting some 1,400 men to slip through to the south. This was one of the few German successes.

Many other columns were caught on the road and destroyed, among them the remainder of the divisional artillery. Delay in making vital decisions resulted in a disastrous confusion that sacrificed the bulk of the 77. Infanterie-Division for no gain. Among those who failed to escape were Generalleutnant Hellmich, killed on June 17, and Generalmajor Rudolf Stegmann, the commander of the 77. Infanterie-Division, fatally wounded near Bricquebec during a fighterbomber attack the following afternoon. Originally, VII Corps planned a two-division drive on Cherbourg with the 90th Division on the right and the 4th Division on the left. However, the 90th had demonstrated too many signs of unreadiness in the recent fighting, and on June 13 its commander, Brigadier General Jay W. MacKelvie was relieved and replaced by Major General Eugene M. Landrum. (Two regimental commanders, Colonel Philip H. Ginder of the 357th Infantry and Colonel James W. Thompson of the 358th Infantry, were relieved at the same time.) As a fresh division — the 79th Infantry Division — was available, the VII Corps commander, Major General J. Lawton Collins, asked for and received it as a replacement for the 90th.

On June 18, a new, stronger plan of attack was developed by General Collins in consultation with Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, the commander of the US First Army, and some of the division commanders. The drive on Cherbourg would now be carried out by three divisions abreast: the 4th on the right, the 79th in the centre and the 9th on the left. The 4th Division was to bypass the coastal defences in order to advance as rapidly as possible with its right flank protected by the 24th Cavalry Squadron. The 4th Cavalry Squadron was to be used to attack between the 9th and 79th Divisions while the 90th Division was to take over the role initially envisioned for the 9th Division of blocking the west coast. Through capture by the 9th Division of field orders of the LXXXIV. Armeekorps and the 77. Infanterie-Division, VII Corps had a pretty accurate picture of the state of German defences in the peninsula. General Collins knew of the splitting of German forces and of the order to General von Schlieben to withdraw on the fortress Cherbourg. The last-minute attempt of the 77. Infanterie-Division to pull south of the 9th Division lines had been cut off, and it could be assumed that disorganisation existed in

the western half of the German lines. By attacking fast and hard VII Corps might exploit the disorganisation as well as push General von Schlieben’s planned withdrawal into a rout. VII Corps Intelligence estimated that the enemy would fight delaying actions and would stand for a defence of Cherbourg on the line of hills ringing it to a depth of about five miles. Fixed defences in this position had been reconnoitred and plotted accurately long before D-Day. Although the exact number of German troops at von Schlieben’s disposal for the defence of Cherbourg could only be guessed at, it was known that all his major combat units (the 709., 243., 91. and 77. Infanterie-Divisions) existed only in fragments. The total enemy force locked in the peninsula was variously estimated at between 25,000 and 40,000 including Flak and naval personnel and Organisation Todt workers. The VII Corps attacked early on June 19. On the left, the 9th Division (Major General Manton S. Eddy) encountered no opposition and easily reached its designated objectives. In the centre, the 79th Division (Major General Ira T. Wyche) did the same on its left wing although it experienced some difficulties on its right south-west of Valognes. Only

the 4th Division (Major General Raymond O. Barton) on the right wing came up against organised resistance when the 8th and 12th Infantry Regiments attacked side by side on a north-west axis on either side of Montebourg. However, tank support got the attack moving and both regiments soon broke the German line. By nightfall the 8th Infantry was just south and east of Valognes with the 12th Infantry on its right. The 22nd Infantry entered Montebourg at 6 p.m. and found the town deserted. The resistance in front of the 4th Division on June 19 was actually little more than a gesture by General von Schlieben at carrying out his orders to fight his way slowly back to fortress Cherbourg. The orders could scarcely have been carried out. On his west flank, von Schlieben had no positions to hold and only disorganised troops who would have been needlessly sacrificed if they had attempted a stand. The plunge forward of the 9th and 79th Divisions during June 19 rendered defence of the sector opposite the 4th Division useless and dangerous. During the night, therefore, von Schlieben ordered a general disengagement on this front and drew all his force back to the fortress ring immediately defending Cherbourg. 5

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Left: As early as June 12, after reports that Montebourg was lightly held, Major General Raymond O. Barton, commanding the 4th Division, ordered the 8th Infantry Regiment to take the town if it could be captured without suffering too many losses. However, a task force soon discovered that the place was strongly defended and the attack was called off. This Jeep and

nightfall on their objectives in a line from Le Theil to the Bois de Roudou. This line was just in front of the main enemy defences of Cherbourg and, as the leading companies approached, they brushed with enemy outposts and in some cases came under severe hostile artillery fire. The experience of the 79th Division on June 20 was similar. Both the 313th and 314th Infantry Regiments advanced to the

road running roughly east-west between the Bois de Roudou and Saint-Martin-le-Gréard. On that line both met resistance which clearly indicated that they had hit outposts of the Cherbourg defences. Eloquent of the haste with which the Germans had withdrawn was the capture intact at one point of four light tanks and an 88mm gun and at another of eight tanks. The 315th Infantry during the day cleared stragglers from the

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JUNE 20 When the 4th Division resumed the attack on June 20, it found open country ahead. At first the troops advanced cautiously. They paused to investigate Valognes. The city was choked with rubble but no enemy were in sight. By noon it was clear that the enemy had broken all contact and the regiments took route march formations on the roads and walked north. In this way all arrived by

these trailers were possibly disabled during the fighting that day. The tower of Saint-Jacques Church, seen in the background and damaged later in the battle, was still intact when this photo was taken. Right: A new roundabout at the western entrance of Montebourg today interrupts the straight stretch of main road leading into town.

abandoned that night and the 22nd Infantry entered the deserted town without difficulty the next day. As the place had been bombed and shelled since June 6, the Americans found the streets filled with rubble and lined with ruined buildings. This is Rue Paul Lecacheux, the main thoroughfare, looking north. Right: The same view today.

Left: Another shot by Sergeant Petrony of the column of the 801st Tank Destroyer Battalion that we saw earlier (page 3) with the M8 armoured car being followed by a half-track towing a 76mm anti-tank gun. The convoy was on the move following General Barton’s decision of June 20 to send the 2nd

Battalion of the 12th Infantry and a company of tank destroyers to relieve the 8th Infantry which were containing Valognes, the next town on the road north to Cherbourg. Right: This is another picture taken in Rue Paul Lecacheux at the point where it enters the town from the south.

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Left: For about a week, the 4th Division held the line in front of Montebourg. Then on June 18, with the rapid push of the 9th Division up the west side of the peninsula threatening to outflank his forces, the German commander, Generalleutnant KarlWilhelm von Schlieben, was forced to order all his troops back to the fortress ring defending Cherbourg. Montebourg was

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Private Malvin A. Gillespie, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, leading a group of German prisoners through a less-damaged section of Valognes on June 21.

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Valognes area and then moved into reserve positions behind the lead regiments. The 9th Division, which on June 19 had already come up against the outer veil of the main enemy defences, had quite a different experience on June 20. On wings of optimism in the course of the rapid unopposed advance of June 19, VII Corps had given General Eddy objectives deep inside fortress Cherbourg: Flottemanville, Octeville and positions athwart the Cherbourg—Cap de la Hague road. The advance of the 60th Infantry, paralleling the main enemy defences, was rapid until about noon when it reached high ground a few hundred yards from its initial objective, Hill 170. It was slowed then by increasing enemy artillery fire. Delay here, however, was not serious, for sufficient advance had been made to permit the 47th Infantry following to come up west of its objectives and make the turn east. The 1st and 2nd Battalions attacked abreast north and south of the Bois de Nerest. Both were stopped not far from their line of departure as the enemy suddenly uncovered a stiff and carefully prepared defence. The experience of the 2nd Battalion was typical of what happened all along the front as VII Corps pressed in on the enemy’s last bastion. Fired on by German outposts in houses at a crossroads south-east of Acqueville, the battalion was first checked. Then from the main enemy positions on hills to the east came withering direct and indirect fire from 88mm, 20mm and machine guns. The command group of the battalion was hit by a shellburst, the commander, Lieutenant Colonel James D. Johnston, mortally wounded, and a number of his officers injured. Unable to push forward, the battalion had to withdraw out of the area of concentrated fire. Since, with the 47th Infantry stopped, the 39th would be unable to advance past it toward objectives to the north, General Eddy promptly altered the division plan. Objectives at Flottemanville were assigned to the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 60th Infantry while the 3rd Battalion was directed to carry out a portion of the regiment’s original blocking mission by taking positions on the crossroads formed by the junction of the Les Pieux and Cherbourg roads into Cap de la Hague. Again the advance north proved relatively easy and the 3rd Battalion came within 1,000 yards of its objectives. But the two battalions that attempted to turn east were stopped virtually in their tracks in front of Gourbesville. The 9th Division ground to a halt. Road marches were over; hard fighting lay ahead.

clearing a passage through the ruins. The Jeep named Always Ruth belonged to the 298th Engineer Combat Battalion. Right: The same spot today on the Rue de la Poterie, looking south towards the Place Vicq d’Azir. This part of Valognes was so utterly devastated that it had to be completely rebuilt after the war. However, the surviving parts of the Église Saint-Malo were incorporated into the new church.

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Left: Valognes was repeatedly bombed from June 6 onwards, the worst raid being on the 8th when the centre of the town was destroyed, burying over 100 civilians under the rubble. More bombing and shelling followed and when the Americans finally entered the town on June 20, they found the streets so choked with debris that they were impassable for several days. This picture was taken on June 24 when engineers were

The picture was taken in Rue des Religieuses and the prisoners were being marched south-eastwards in the direction of Montebourg. 7

GALLERIE 117

GALLERIE 117

Built high and secure into the steep rock promontory which lies on the inland side of Cherbourg, the Fort du Roule was a formidable bastion which appeared particularly daunting from the sea. The Germans had installed four casemates, each one mounting a 105mm gun, and a fire-control bunker into the rock under the edge of the cliff while an elaborate complex of galleries and magazines had been excavated to service them. The whole site was manned by the 5. Batterie of MarineArtillerie-Abteilung 260. The fort enjoyed a remarkably favourable defensive position, the steep sides of the outcrop restricting the approach along a solitary ridge. From the landward side only the top level of the fort was visible and defence against ground attack was mounted from this level with automatic weapons and mortars in concrete pillboxes. The Germans had also dug an anti-tank ditch a few hundred metres south-east of the fort.

FESTUNG CHERBOURG The German defences facing the VII Corps consisted of a belt of field fortifications disposed in a rough semi-circle along favourable terrain from six to ten kilometres out from the harbour. However, the German command had fallen into the same trap as had the British at Singapore (see After the Battle No. 31), namely forgetting that Cherbourg might be attacked from the rear, so that defences facing inland were only very partially built by June 1944. Only two positions on the coast — Osteck (Eastern Corner) near Carneville and Westeck (Western Corner) near Gréville-Hague — were well developed, as was a position named Les Chèvres controlling the N13 Valognes to Cherbourg main road. The defence line consisted mainly of trenches and foxholes, but in the best-developed sectors there were some concrete structures with machine-gun turrets and mortars. Most of these fixed defences were known to the Allies and already overprinted on the maps issued to all the American commanders. From east to west, the line ran approximately as follows: Cap Lévy — Maupertus — Le Theil — Hardinvast — Sideville — Hills 128 and 131 — Flottemanville — Sainte-Croix-Hague — Branville — Gruchy. Inside, closer to the harbour, a weak second line of defence had been built along a belt of old French fortifications. 8

bunkers (left) and tunnels (right), the former German strong point was opened to visitors on June 26, 2009 — the 65th anniversary of Cherbourg’s liberation (see www.gallerie117.fr).

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For over six decades the German galleries in the Fort du Roule remained out of bounds but then a decision was taken to open it to the public. After a year of cleaning and renovating the

On June 23, Generalleutnant von Schlieben (centre) was appointed commander of Festung Cherbourg, relieving Generalmajor Robert Sattler (right), who became his subordinate. Here they are pictured in their command post with Konteradmiral Walther Hennecke, Naval Commander Normandy (left).

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side in the quarry at the north-eastern end and one at the south-western end. The Kriegsmarine had begun to build an ammunition depot in these tunnels although this work was far from completed in June 1944. Left: A German photographer pictured the two entrances in the quarry sometime in midJune. Right: He then took a close-up of the right-hand, main entrance (compare with the photos on page 17).

The old quarry is now a magnificent garden. The main entrance disappeared decades ago when a part of the rock face collapsed but the second entrance can still be seen (above right),

now sealed off by an iron gate. Today the area is privately owned and, although the present owners kindly gave Jean Paul access for this feature, no visits are possible.

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As American troops rapidly invested the fortress, von Schlieben moved his command post into an underground shelter which had been prepared in a quarry in the suburb of SaintSauveur which lies in the south-western outskirts of Cherbourg. Located some 20 metres below ground level, the complex comprised four parallel tunnels, each 4.5 metres wide and about 85 metres long, with three entrances: two side by

With a total of 20,000 men, at first sight Festung Cherbourg might seem to have been strongly defended. However this total included a motley collection of security and fortress troops, untrained Flak gunners and naval personnel, and Todt workers. In addition, most of the regular soldiers were overage and a sizeable part of the force, about one-fifth, were Osttruppen — volunteers from the East, generally Russian ex-prisoners of war. The combat efficiency of these troops was extremely low and General von Schlieben had already reported his worries about this to the 7. Armee. Ammunition was generally sufficient for immediate needs and, except for a shortage of machine-gun cartridges, stocks were maintained at adequate levels during the siege by U-Boat and S-Boat deliveries and air drops. (Between June 20 and 30, 107 transport planes dropped 188 tons of supplies to the Cherbourg garrison.)

On June 20, after the retreat from the Montebourg line, von Schlieben reorganised the defences in order to put, as far as possible, regimental commanders with their units in sectors familiar to them. Four regimental Kampfgruppen were formed. On the west was a group under Oberstleutnant Franz Müller, commander of Infanterie-Regiment 922, mainly comprising the remnants of the 243. Infanterie-Division and holding the line from Vauville on the peninsula’s west coast to Sainte-Croix-Hague. From there to the Bricquebec — Cherbourg road the line was held by a Kampfgruppe consisting of Infanterie-Regiment 919 and MG-Bataillon 17 (a heavy machine gun battalion) under Oberstleutnant Günther Keil. From there eastward to a point south of Le Mesnil-au-Val was Oberst Walter Köhn with InfanterieRegiment 739, and on the east was Oberst Helmuth Rohrbach with his Infanterie-Regiment 729.

JUNE 22 To the Allies, the capture of Cherbourg was given dramatic urgency by a four-day storm which struck without warning on June 19. When winds began to moderate on June 22, the artificial port at Omaha Beach was a total loss, the beach being littered with wreckage leaving few free areas where new landings could take place. Utah Beach suffered less both in craft losses and beach wreckage since landings could be extended northward and unloading was resumed at full scale on the 23rd. Before the storm had ended, General Collins had issued orders for the resumption of the attack on Cherbourg, stressing that the attack was now to be ‘the major effort of the American army’. The 9th and 79th Divisions devoted the 21st to patrolling and reorganisation while the 4th Division, still a little short of the enemy’s ring of prepared defences, continued its advance to the main line of German 9

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One of the battery’s four Type M176 casemates.

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resistance. By evening, all three divisions of VII Corps were drawn up tight against the Cherbourg fortress, ready for the final assault. Collins requested air pulverisation of some 20 square miles before the jump-off, more to demoralise the Germans and force surrender than as direct preparation for the ground advance. The air strike would employ the entire US IX Bomber Command (medium bombers) as well as large numbers of US and British fighter-bombers. The plan was developed under great difficulties not only because time was short but also because all the units of the US Ninth Air Force participating in the attack were based in England. All air preparation was to be concentrated in the zones of the 79th and 9th Divisions south and south-west of Cherbourg. Starting 80 minutes before H-Hour, four squadrons of Typhoon fighter-bombers of the British Second Tactical Air Force were to attack with rockets throughout the northern portion of the attack zone concentrating on enemy antiaircraft positions. Following them, six squadrons of Mustangs also belonging to the British tactical air forces would strafe throughout the area. From H minus 60 minutes, 12 groups of Ninth Air Force fighterbombers would bomb and strafe enemy strong points in front of the American lines, attacking in waves at five-minute intervals. As ground troops moved out, all 11 groups of the US IX Bomber Command were to bomb 11 defended localities in a pattern bombing designed to constitute a kind of rolling barrage in front of the ground attack. Despite the large number of aircraft involved, the bombs to be dropped amounted to only about 1,100 tons over a wide area. The attack was not intended as a carpet bombing of the type later used at Caen and in the Saint-Lô break-out. The idea was to achieve the maximum demoralisation of an enemy who, because he was already in a state of hopeless siege, might be expected to have an already weakened morale. The hopelessness of the German position was pointed out to the Cherbourg garrison in a multilingual broadcast (German, Russian, Polish and French) on the night of June 21/22 when General Collins demanded the immediate surrender of Cherbourg. General von Schlieben was given until 0900 hours the following morning to capitulate. But the ultimatum expired without answer from von Schlieben. Preparations were therefore completed for the assault. Attack into Cherbourg itself was to be made by the 9th and 79th Divisions while the 4th Division sealed off the city from the east. The 9th Division, making its main effort on its right, would seize Octeville while the 79th

battery’s fire-control bunker at the western end of the line of casemates. Right: The Marine Nationale (French Navy) gave Jean Paul permission to enter Bastion 2 where the old German battery still stands, though abandoned for years. A post-war French addition to the bunker’s roof has altered its shape.

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Left: One of the last German strong points to fall was the old French naval Arsenal, captured by the 47th Infantry on June 27. Its Bastion 2 housed four German casemates with 105mm guns manned by the 4. Batterie of Marine-Artillerie-Abteilung 260. After the battle, a Signal Corps photographer pictured the

The peculiar raised step visible in the foreground of the wartime picture made it possible to identify the casemate as the first one from the west with the fire-control bunker standing just off to the right. However, Jean Paul preferred to show the better-looking third casemate for his comparison.

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Destruction of the harbour installations was carried out methodically by Kriegsmarine personnel and the war diary of Marinegruppenkommando West kept a daily account of the progress of demolitions. They began as early as June 7 and were continued right up to the final surrender. Some of the worst destruction in the entire port was that on the Quai de France (above), on the western side of the Darse Transatlantique. Once a modern wharf capable of berthing the largest ocean liners, more than 15,000 cubic metres of caisson masonry were blown out from along 600 metres of its quay wall. Also the Gare Maritime, where passengers could alight from liners and board trains for Paris, was badly damaged. Below right: The ruined quay was nicely rebuilt and the movable ship-to-train access galleries that survived German destruction are still in use today by the large cruise ships that call at Cherbourg. However, the railway station in the Gare Maritime has gone and the building now houses La Cité de la Mer, a cultural complex dedicated to the deep sea and its conquest. Among the many exhibits is Le Redoutable, ex-SSBN of the French Navy, which is currently the biggest submarine open to the public in the world.

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Division captured the nose of high ground which terminated in the Fort du Roule overlooking Cherbourg from the south. This would bring both divisions up on the high ground immediately ringing the port. The 4th Division on the right was to capture Tourlaville and send patrols from there to the sea. H-Hour was set for 1400 hours. Bombing began according to plan at 1240, June 22. From the testimony of prisoners, it appears that the air attacks were successful in their main purpose of weakening German will to resist, though the results were not apparent during the first day’s action. For 20 minutes hundreds of fighters dived, strafed and skip-bombed from altitudes as low as 300 feet. Twenty-four were lost to enemy Flak. The end of the nerve-wrecking attack signalled only the beginning of an hour of relentless bombing – wave after wave (375 planes in all) flying out of the west and loosing their bombs methodically on or near the six principal targets: Flottemanville, Martinvast, Les Chèvres, La Mare-à-Canards, Fort du Roule and a defended locality just west of Octeville. (In the 9th Division zone, the white phosphorous and yellow smoke markers laid by the division artillery were unfortunately moved back by the wind and the 47th and 60th Infantry were bombed and strafed by their own aircraft, causing many casualties.) At the same time, artillery shelled enemy anti-aircraft batteries, with particular effectiveness in the 9th Division zone, and then, after troops began to move, fired on enemy defences. All three divisions made slow advances during the afternoon. The 9th Division attacked with the 60th Infantry on the left and the 47th Infantry (backed by the 39th Infantry) on the right. The axis of advance remained the same: the 60th pointed toward Flottemanville, the 47th toward the Bois du Mont du Roc. The 39th Infantry was assem-

Left: In company with an unidentified Korvettenkapitän (right), Fregattenkapitän Hermann Witt (left), harbour commander, and Konteradmiral Hennecke (centre) discuss their plans to destroy the Gare Maritime. The 70-metre-high Campanile was

still standing when a PK photographer took this photo sometime in June 1944 but it was soon to be blown up (right). On June 26, Hennecke was awarded the Knight’s Cross for this work of destruction in the harbour of Cherbourg. 11

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Left: The 39th and 47th Infantry Regiments of the 9th Division fought their way through the western half of the city on June 25. History was made by the 2nd Battalion of the 47th Infantry when its leaders entered Cherbourg at 12.55 p.m. Both Company E and the attached engineers from the 15th Engineer Combat Battalion could lay claim to having been the first to set

enemy positions and made contact with the 313th Infantry west of Crossroads 177. At this point the 314th was only a few hundred yards from a German communications bunker which contained the switchboard for the entire Cherbourg sector. The bunker was not discovered and remained to function for a day or so behind the American lines, reporting to von Schlieben some details of American movements. The three regiments of the 4th Division experienced hard, confused fighting on June 22 which netted only small gains. The main effort was made by the 12th Infantry attacking north-west from the northern tip of the Bois du Coudray with the mission of seizing Tourlaville. But in confused fighting, during which the enemy continually filtered to the rear of the forward battalions, the regiment was able to advance only a few hundred yards. On its right the 22nd Infantry, which was to have attacked from positions near Gonneville to take Digosville and so support the effort of the 12th Infantry, found itself surrounded by the enemy and spent the whole day trying to clear its own rear areas to keep its supply routes open. The 8th Infantry on the division left flank had the mission of capturing high ground east of La Glacerie in the triangle between the Trottebec river and its principal tributary, where it would be pinched out by the north-west advance of the 12th Infantry on Tourlaville. Attacking from the north edge of the Bois de Roudou, the regiment made little progress.

One of its battalions, attempting to envelop the enemy line, was caught by delayed enemy fire from prepared hedgerow positions and by tree-burst artillery fire; it lost 31 killed and 92 wounded. On June 22 General von Schlieben received from Hitler full authority for the defence of the port: ‘Even if worst comes to worst, it is your duty to defend the last bunker and leave to the enemy not a harbour but a field of ruins. . . The German people and the whole world are watching your fight; on it depends the conduct and result of operations to smash the beach-heads, and the honour of the German Army and of your own name.’ Von Schlieben knew well that the final stand would not last long. He told Rommel that his own troops were exhausted in body and spirit; that the port garrison was overage, untrained and suffering from ‘bunker paralysis’ (verbunkert), and that the leaderless remnants of the 243. and 77. InfanterieDivisions were more of a burden than a support. ‘Reinforcement’, he concluded, ‘is absolutely necessary’. Reinforcement was briefly contemplated the next day, Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 15 in Brittany being alerted for movement by sea to Cherbourg. However, a few hours later, reports of the complete destruction and closing of the Cherbourg harbour (by German engineer troops) caused the move to be cancelled. Dropping of parachute troops was considered but no aircraft were available.

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bled near Helleville. The 60th Infantry, attacking with battalions echeloned to the left to guard its open flank, at first moved rapidly and captured Acqueville within half an hour of the jump-off. The 47th similarly moved past Crossroads 114 where it had been held up on June 21 and pushed one battalion beyond Beaudienville. But the latter advance was made by bypassing the enemy at the crossroads and it had to be halted in the early evening to permit mopping up. At the end of June 22, forward battalions were dug in on the slopes of Hill 171 just west of the Bois du Mont du Roc. The 60th Infantry pressed the attack to the edge of enemy fortifications at Flottemanville but could not penetrate the position before dark. The 79th Division, attacking with three regiments abreast, came up against similarly stubborn enemy resistance. The 313th Infantry, making the division’s main effort along the Valognes — Cherbourg highway, was first stopped by the Les Chèvres strong point which straddled the road. The German line was broken by the 3rd Battalion on the left and rolled up, while the 1st Battalion attacked frontally. After reorganisation, the regiment pushed on against lighter resistance to reach a point just south of its next major obstacle — the fortified anti-aircraft position at La Mare-à-Canards. The 315th Infantry meanwhile spent the day fighting to clear the Hardinvast area. The 314th Infantry fought in the draws east of Tollevast until after dark, when one battalion slipped around the

foot inside the city but the accepted version is that Pfc John T. Sarao of Company E won. War photographer Robert Capa of Life entered Cherbourg with the 47th Infantry’s 1st Battalion and he took this picture in the same quarter of Cherbourg the following day. Right: Rue Pierre de Coubertin, with Yannick Berton standing in for the surrendering Germans.

Left: Another picture taken in the 9th Division sector, this time showing the 39th Infantry. Right: The same view today, looking down Rue Président Loubet with Notre Dame du Voeux Church 12

in middle distance on the left. Jean Paul took his comparison from Boulevard Pierre Mendes-France, which today cuts Rue Président Loubet in two.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the Divette river, the 79th Division drove into the city from the south-east with the 314th Infantry on the left and the 313th on the right. A Signal Corps photographer with the 314th pictured this dead German, still clutching a hand-grenade, in Rue Armand Levéel. Note the air raid shelter sign.

The Café Etasse has since closed but the building remains unchanged. This is the beginning of Rue Armand Levéel, just as it branches off from Avenue de Paris.

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JUNE 23 Fighting on June 23 was still heavy, but all three American divisions made significant penetrations into the main German defences. In the 9th Division zone, the 39th Infantry cleared fortified positions north-west of Beaudienville, which had been bypassed. The 47th Infantry completed the reduction of enemy defences on Hill 171, capturing 400 prisoners during the day’s fighting. The two regiments thus established themselves firmly astride the ridge leading to Cherbourg inside the outer ring of enemy defences. The 60th Infantry, after a long-delayed air bombardment and artillery concentrations on the Flottemanville area, moved in to occupy its objective with comparative ease in the evening. The 79th Division was troubled at first by enemy infiltrations behind the forward regiments. While these were cleared up, the 314th Infantry attacked the enemy positions at La Mare-à-Canards. The attack failed to achieve its objective, but one company worked around to the north-west and was able to hold there while the remainder of the regiment was withdrawn a little to await air bombardment. The 4th Division, though unable to reach its principal objective, Tourlaville, made good progress on June 23 as the attack of the 12th Infantry with tank support began to gather momentum. Two tanks attached to each of the forward companies of the lead battalion moved generally along the roads, firing in support of the infantry and, on occasion, turning into the fields to steamroller enemy riflemen. In the evening, behind a rolling artillery barrage laid close to their front, the troops marched up a hill that commanded the approaches to Cherbourg and dug in for the night, ready for the final assault on Tourlaville. The 22nd Infantry again on June 23 was occupied mainly with clearing enemy from its own sector. One battalion, eventually released for attack northwest, was stopped at once by heavy German fire. The 8th Infantry, while scoring only minor advances during the day, had one notable success when the 3rd Battalion launched an attack at the very moment when the enemy was forming for counter-attack. Finding the Germans lying head to heel along some hedgerows, the battalion opened rifle and tank fire and routed them with heavy losses. With the penetrations into the outer ring of the Cherbourg fortress, the battle for the port entered its final phase. General von Schlieben reported on the morning of the 24th that he had no reserves left. The fall of Cherbourg, he said, is inevitable. ‘The only question is whether it is possible to postpone it for a few days’.

Left: French civilians pass another dead German lying in Rue du Val de Saire in the sector of the 313th Infantry. Right: Although the house on the right can no longer be seen from this position, hidden as it is by a new large police headquarters

building, Jean Paul found that it does still stand, as does the blockhouse visible in the left background. He took his comparison from Avenue Reibell, standing beside the blockhouse, looking diagonally across the view in the 1944 photo. 13

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Left: Men of the 313th Infantry pose for the camera of Signal Corps photographer Tech/5 Louis Weintraub ‘after all snipers had been cleaned out’. Right: The shot turned out to have been

toll of some of the attacking units. The 8th Infantry making its last attack before being pinched out between the 12th Infantry and 79th Division, hit determined resistance east of La Glacerie. The Germans here, defending with light artillery, anti-aircraft guns, mortars, and machine guns, threw back the first American attack. The second attempt made with tank support got around to the east of the enemy position and the Germans pulled out. The cost of the day’s fighting to the 8th Infantry was 37 killed, including Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Simmons, the 1st Battalion commander. The 12th Infantry, again making the main divisional effort, now with one battalion of the 22nd Infantry attached, by evening had occupied the last high ground before Tourlaville, from which the city of Cherbourg was visible. In the attack Lieutenant Colonel John W. Merrill, who had taken command of the 1st Battalion the day before, was killed. One of the hardest fights in the area was fought at Digosville where the enemy stood to defend an artillery position. The position was overrun by one company with tank support, after a dive-bombing attack by 12 P-47s. Tourlaville was occupied that night without a fight. In the day’s advance the 12th Infantry took 800 prisoners. That evening General von Schlieben reported: ‘Concentrated enemy fire and bombing attacks have split the front. Numerous batteries have been put out of action or have worn out. Combat efficiency has fallen off considerably. The troops squeezed into a small area will hardly be able to withstand an attack on the 25th.’

JUNE 25 To coincide with the final ground assault, General Bradley arranged a strong naval bombardment of the batteries and shore defences guarding the approaches to the city. Commanded by American Rear-Admiral Morton L. Deyo, Task Force 129 comprised three battleships (USS Arkansas, Nevada and Texas), four cruisers (USS Quincy and Tuscaloosa and HMS Enterprise and Glasgow), three American and six British destroyers to provide additional firepower and anti-submarine protection, and the British 9th and 159th Minesweeping Flotillas and US 7th Minesweeping Squadron to clear lanes. The long-range bombardment initially planned was cancelled shortly before the start of the operation when First Army expressed worries that the leading ground forces might already have entered the firing zones. Therefore the ships were brought closer in, to a position about 14,000 yards north of Cherbourg, before opening fire. As the force was approaching the new position just after midday, German shore batteries — particularly Batterie ‘Hamburg’ near Fermanville, Batterie ‘Brommy’ near Le Béquet and Batterie ‘York’ near Amfreville (see After the Battle No. 146) — opened fire with accuracy. Destroyers made smoke, the bombarding ships increased speed, and within minutes all had opened up on their designated targets, fire soon being shifted to the batteries that were shelling the ships. The Texas received a direct hit on her conning tower which wrecked the navigational bridge and facilities. Glasgow and destroyers O’Brien, Laffey and Barton also sustained

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JUNE 24 On June 24 VII Corps closed in on the city. The 9th Division overran three defended Luftwaffe installations as the 47th and 39th Infantry Regiments attacked along the ridge north-east into Octeville while the 60th Infantry held and cleared the north flank. Enemy fire was often heavy but, when the American infantry closed in, the defence crumbled. The 39th Infantry in the evening halted and established positions in front of Octeville under corps orders not to become involved in the city that day. The 47th Infantry, after assisting the 39th in the capture of an anti-aircraft emplacement, turned north toward the old French fort of Equeurdreville, the German coastal battery north of it, and the Redoute des Fourches. With the coming of darkness, however, attack on these positions was postponed. In the 79th Division zone the 314th Infantry, supported by dive-bombing P-47s of the Ninth Air Force, cleared La Mare-àCanards and pushed on to within sight of the Fort du Roule. Three attempts to break through to the fort were frustrated by fire from the direction of Octeville on the division’s dangling left flank. The 315th Infantry on the left was far behind, still engaged at Hardinvast. The 313th Infantry, on the other flank, kept pace, veering slightly eastward to reduce resistance west of La Glacerie and at Gringor. At the latter position 320 prisoners and several artillery pieces were taken. The whole Cherbourg defence was collapsing and nowhere more completely than on the east. But the collapse was preceded by some bitter last stands that exacted heavy

taken in the same street, Rue du Val de Saire. The house number visible above the door, No. 143, made it an easy comparison to pinpoint.

Left: Sherman tanks, most probably belonging to the 749th Tank Battalion, the armoured unit permanently attached to the 79th Division, entering Cherbourg. They are on Rue du Val de Saire at its junction with Rue Jean Fleury. The centre of 14

Cherbourg lies off to the right. Over on the left is SaintClément Church and, across the road to the right, stands a large hospital, named the Hôpital Dieu in 1944. Right: Today the transformation from war to peace is complete.

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Pushing forward in the early morning of June 26, the leading troops of the 313th Infantry reached the beach in their sector by 8 a.m. but the 314th was delayed by enemy fire from the left. This was because the 39th Infantry Regiment of the neighbouring 9th Division lagged behind and the 314th only reached the sea by mid-afternoon. Signal Corps photographer Franklin pictured a GI of the 314th making a dash forward while another soldier covers his advance. Meanwhile VII Corps was closing in. On the right, the 12th Infantry scarcely paused on reaching its objective of June 24. Continuing the attack through the night and into the day of the 25th, Colonel James S. Luckett pushed hard to accelerate the enemy collapse. The 1st Battalion had a sharp fight to capture Batterie ‘Brommy’, the coastal battery of four 155mm guns near Le Béquet north of Tourlaville, but in early afternoon the enemy garrison of 400 finally surrendered. The other two battalions patrolled to the coast. In position blocking the eastern approaches to Cherbourg, the regiment and the division had completed their original mission. Early in the afternoon of June 25, however, General Collins altered the divi-

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hits and damage to various degrees. The Nevada had several near misses that covered her decks with water and splinters but she was not hit. The naval force withdrew at 1530 hours, having fired about 3,000 shells, own casualties being given as 13 killed and 86 wounded. Early that afternoon von Schlieben reported: ‘In addition to superiority in materiel and artillery, air force and tanks, heavy fire from the sea has started, directed by spotter planes’. . . ‘I must state in the line of duty’, he concluded, ‘that further sacrifices cannot alter anything’. To this Rommel replied by radio: ‘You will continue to fight until the last cartridge in accordance with the order from the Führer.’

Looking northwards towards Avenue de Paris, at the junction with Avenue Etienne Lecarpentier. The Divette river, which was the boundary line between the 79th and 9th Divisions, is just across the road. The railway station is off to the left.

sion boundary so that the 4th Division could share in the capture of the city. All three battalions of the 12th Infantry entered Cherbourg during the evening. Two battalions cleared the city streets in the eastern portion as far as the limit of the division’s zone, hampered only by scattered fire and mines. The 1st Battalion fought all night to reduce pillboxes of beach fortifications east of the Fort des Flamands, but it was not until early the next morning when tanks were brought up that 350 Germans finally decided to surrender. Then at last the 4th Division’s part in the capture of Cherbourg was complete. On the opposite side of the city, the 47th Infantry of the 9th Division was fighting in the suburbs during June 25. After pushing down the ridge toward Octeville with the 39th Infantry, the 47th had turned north in the evening of June 24 to attack Equeurdreville and had pushed one battalion to within 500 yards of the German-held fort of ‘Les Couplets’ there. The fort was a formidableappearing position on top of a hill surrounded by a dry moat like a medieval fortress. It was used, however, only as an observation post for the ‘Les Couplets’ coastal battery on the reverse slope (which had four 155mm guns on open platforms) and was not well defended from the south. In the morning of June 25 the fort was shelled and one company of the 2nd Battalion attacked after a mortar barrage. In 15 minutes the German garrison surrendered. Two companies then pushed rapidly into Equeurdreville and a platoon got to the beach, but it was withdrawn for the night. At the same time the 3rd Battalion reduced the Redoute des Fourches with heavy artillery support. The enemy’s right had now collapsed as thoroughly as his left on the day before, although a node of resistance in Octeville held up the 39th Infantry. The 9th Division took more than 1,000 prisoners in the day’s fighting. In the 79th Division zone, just such a fanatic defence was in progress where the garrison of the Fort du Roule south of Cherbourg chose to fight it out. This fort, principal objective of the 79th Division, was one of the most formidable of the Cherbourg bastions. It was built into the face of a rocky promontory above the city and housed four 105mm coastal guns commanding the entire harbour area. The guns were in lower levels under the edge of the cliff. In the upper levels were mortars and machine guns in concrete pillboxes defending the fort from landward attack. On the south-east was an anti-tank ditch. The Fort du Roule was attacked on the morning of June 25 by the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 314th Infantry, after a bombardment by a squadron of P-47s which largely missed its mark and did no appreciable damage. While the guns of the 311th Field Artillery Battalion laid fire on the fort, the 3rd Battalion led off the attack, but was halted at a draw 700 yards from the fort. Here it was greeted with a hail of small-arms fire from enemy dug in on the forward slope. Lacking artillery (which was fully engaged in neutralising the Fort du Roule) the 3rd and 2nd Battalions massed their machine-gun fire on the German line. Most of the defenders were killed and the few survivors retreated to the fort. The 2nd Battalion then took over the attack under the covering fire of the 3rd Battalion. The attackers came under heavy machine-gun fire from pillboxes as well as shelling from the direction of Octeville. Reduction of the positions now became a matter largely of the courage and initiative of individuals and small groups. Corporal John D. Kelly’s platoon of Company E was hugging the ground immobilised by German machine-gun fire from a pillbox. Kelly took a ten-foot pole charge, crawled up the slope through enemy fire, and fixed the charge, but the explosion was ineffective. He returned with another charge and this time blew off 15

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The same corner at the same junction, now Place Marie Ravenel.

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JUNE 26 The lower levels of the Fort du Roule were finally reduced on the 26th by lowering demolition charges from the top levels; by anti-tank fire from guns in the city, and by the assault of a demolition team under Staff Sergeant Paul A. Hurst around the precipitous west side of the cliff. In the meantime both the 313th and 314th Infantry cleared their zones in the city. Driven underground by American artillery fire, von Schlieben was now isolated and helpless in his underground shelter and at 1506 hours he sent a final radio message to the 7. Armee: ‘Documents burned, codes destroyed.’ After that, communications were broken off.

GIs with a Browning .30 water-cooled machine gun guarding the important road junction of Rue du Val de Saire — the main road leading into Cherbourg from the east (off to the right) — and Avenue Carnot, the thoroughfare leading in from the south (behind the photographer). Bullet marks on the wall are graphic evidence of the heavy fighting that took place at this location.

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the ends of the German machine guns. A third time Kelly climbed the slope, blew open the rear door of the pillbox, and hurled hand-grenades inside until the enemy survivors came out and surrendered. In the 3rd Battalion zone, Company K was stopped by 88mm and machine-gun fire. Here 1st Lieutenant Carlos C. Ogden, who had just taken over the company from its wounded commander, armed himself with rifle- and handgrenades and advanced alone under fire toward the enemy emplacements. Despite a head wound, Ogden continued up the slope until from a place of vantage he fired a riflegrenade that destroyed the 88mm gun. With hand-grenades he then knocked out the machine guns, receiving a second wound but enabling his company to resume the advance. Through these acts and others, portions of the German garrison began to surrender. By midnight the 314th Infantry was in possession of the upper defences of the fort. (For these actions, Lieutenant Ogden and Corporal Kelly were awarded the Medal of Honor. Kelly would die of wounds sustained in another action in November 1944 so his award was made posthumously in January 1945.) The 313th Infantry in the meantime attacked from Gringor into the flats southeast of Cherbourg. Troops entered the outskirts of the city but could not penetrate in strength because they came under fire from guns in the lower levels of the Fort du Roule, still uncaptured. During the day, fighting had taken place in the vicinity of von Schlieben’s command post in an underground shelter at Saint-Sauveur on the southern outskirts of Cherbourg. He radioed: ‘Loss of the city shortly is unavoidable . . . 2,000 wounded without a possibility of being moved. Is the destruction of the remaining troops necessary as part of the general picture in view of the failure of effective counter-attacks? Directive urgently requested.’

GIs taking a ride in a captured tracked carrier in Rue Dom Pedro, a street three blocks north of the Rue du Val de Saire. The vehicle is an ex-French UE tractor, the Germans having seized large numbers of them in 1940. 16

The photograph was taken in front of the Hôtel Atlantique (right) which was a special accommodation unit built in the 1920s specifically to house and check on emigrants who were about to depart for a new life in the United States.

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Above: The most dramatic incident of June 26 was the capture of General von Schlieben at his underground shelter at SaintSauveur. That morning, Captain Preston O. Gordon, the commander of Company E of the 39th Infantry, sent a prisoner into the tunnel to demand surrender. He received no answer whereupon M-10 tank destroyers were brought forward to fire into the entrances. This photo was taken some time after the capitulation by Signal Corps photographer Sergeant William Spangle. As it happened, Spangle chose exactly the same vantage point as his German counterpart a few days earlier (see page 9).

After a half dozen shots from the TD’s 3-inch gun into the rear entrances, which apparently played great havoc, a loud voice called out in German from the front entrance to cease fire. After much difficulty we were able to get all the battalion quiet. I then directed a soldier who could speak German to call and tell them that we would give them two minutes to come out. Instantly, a German with one of the largest white flags I have ever seen ran out followed by a young typical German lieutenant who, I swear, all but goose-stepped. The lieutenant asked to see the ranking officer present. He informed me that the Commanding General of the 709. Infanterie-Division was in the cave and wished to surrender. He requested that I send a staff officer down with him to escort the General to me. In the meantime, the tank destroyer’s projectiles had caused so much dust and fumes in the tunnel that the German soldiers, once finding that the white flag had been raised, began to pour out. By actual count later, there were 842 of them. These Germans were in such a rush that they denied the General his wish for a more formal surrender. As he was standing near the entrance, the avalanche of soldiers carried him and his party with it. When the General came up out of the pit to me and told me he was von Schlieben, I damn near dropped dead. When he introduced me to Admiral Hennecke, I thought I was dead. MAJOR GENERAL MANTON S. EDDY

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Having learnt from a prisoner that von Schlieben’s command post was in a subterranean shelter at Saint-Sauveur, the 39th Infantry sent two companies from Octeville to capture him. Advancing through mortar and Nebelwerfer fire they reached the tunnel entrance. A prisoner was sent into the shelter to demand surrender, but the demand was refused. Tank destroyers were then brought up to fire into two of the three tunnel entrances while preparations were made to blow up the stronghold. Causing much dust and smoke in the tunnel, a few rounds were sufficient to bring out the enemy. Some 800 Germans in all, including both Generalleutnant von Schlieben and Konteradmiral Walter Hennecke, Seekommandant Normandie (Naval Commander Normandy), capitulated to General Eddy who just happened to be there. General von Schlieben, however, still concerned with gaining time, declined to make a general surrender of the Cherbourg fortress. The 39th Infantry therefore pushed its attack northward to the coast. In the city, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Gunn, commanding 2nd Battalion, received another surrender of about 400 troops that had barricaded themselves in the City Hall. They gave up when convinced of General von Schlieben’s capture and after being promised protection from French snipers.

Left: Once the white flag was raised, German soldiers began emerging. As we saw on page 9, the left-hand entrance still survives, closed with a gate, but the right-hand main entrance shown here disappeared decades ago when part of the quarry

gave way. Right: Here the present-day owner of the property explains to Yannick and Jacques Berton how the pile of rocks was first landscaped and it was only later that a chicken coop was constructed on top of it. 17

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Other Germans of the Cherbourg garrison surrendered to men of the 314th Infantry Regiment on June 27. They are seen here emerging from the underground tunnel system which had been constructed by the French Navy in the 1930s underneath the Roule mountain for bomb-proof workshops and the secure storage of torpedoes.

The same entrance close to the Avenue de Paris. The subterranean complex is still a naval installation and today houses transmission equipment, though only part of the available space is used. The building near the tunnel entrance, also part of the Navy compound, still stands, albeit mostly abandoned. The new building on the right is a school.

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Left: Dead Germans — ‘machinists’ according to the original caption — were pictured by the Americans inside the underground complex on June 28. Strictly speaking, these lower-level tunnels were not part of the Fort du Roule and it is difficult to determine precisely what role they played in the fighting around the fortified promontory. After the top of the fort was cleared on June 25, the 314th Infantry spent the next day reducing the lower levels and all resistance at the fort was reported finished at about 7 p.m. on June 26, a total of about 300 prisoners having been taken during the battle. However, it would appear that the lowest level was not cleaned out until the next day (as can be seen by the picture at the top of this page). Comprising eight galleries — four on each side of the main tunnel — their exact use by the Germans during the four years of occupation is unclear though by June 1944 the main gallery was principally used as sleeping quarters as it had been fitted out with double bunk beds. We were fortunate that the French Navy granted permission for Major Christophe de Joybert to escort Jean Paul into the Cherbourg installations and through the extensive tunnel complex.

The Germans had utilised those galleries already fitted out by the French with racks for storing torpedoes, as evidenced by this picture. This is one of the eight side galleries leading off of the main tunnel. 18

This is the main tunnel, with the entrance to one of the side galleries on the right. (For a view of these same tunnels under French tenure in 1939, see After the Battle No. 146, page 31.)

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Left: Just as Generalmajor Erwin Rommel had done in June 1940 after his capture of Cherbourg (see issue 146, page 32), so Major General J. Lawton Collins, the VII Corps commander, came to the Fort du Roule to inspect his conquest. His visit occurred on June 26, even before the Arsenal, the last German stronghold holding out in the town, had fallen. Clouds of smoke can be seen billowing up from installations where the

Germans were still busy demolishing stores of oil and ammunition. The largest conflagration, visible in the right background, is in the Arsenal area itself. Right: Part of the top is today open to the public but this particular spot lies just inside the fencedoff military area. Having been permitted access, Jean Paul pictured Jacques Berton and Major de Joybert standing in for General Collins and his party.

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Left: The place where Collins stood was above the easternmost of the four German casemates set in the cliff face, with a second one just a short distance to the left (see page 8). Collins first visited the Fort du Roule on the afternoon of June 26 when the 2nd Battalion of the 314th Infantry was still struggling to clear the lower levels of the fort. As he later recalled: ‘Even after the upper levels were occupied, the enemy held out below until holes were dynamited in the floors and demolition charges dropped through them. This was still being done when I entered the back door of the fort.’ However, Collins soon had to depart when a radio message reached him that the German commanders, General von Schlieben and Admiral Hennecke, had just surrendered and been sent to his command post at the Château de Servigny near Valognes, 20 kilometres to the south. Nevertheless, he returned the following day to complete his visit of the fortress. Here he listens to an explanation given by Captain Robert B. Kirkpatrick of the 79th Division. The divisional insignia on Kirkpatrick’s shoulder — a grey Cross of Lorraine on a blue shield with a grey border — was chosen to commemorate the division’s fighting in Lorraine during the First World War.

Left: Collins and a party of soldiers admiring the view over Cherbourg and its immense harbour, pictured by Signal Corps Sergeant Petrony. Right: Unfortunately present-day visitors do not have access to the same spot but they can almost achieve the same view from the Musée de la Libération just off to the left.

Originally opened in 1954 and completely renovated in 1994, the museum covers the history of the Second World War, from the fall of France in 1940 to the liberation in 1944. Spread over two floors, the exhibition presents a series of life-like dioramas covering the occupation and the battles in June 1944. 19

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traps within the fort. When Sattler proved unwilling to do this, Eddy threatened to open fire with the guns of his tank destroyers. Finally, at 10 a.m., Colonel George W. Smythe, commander of the 47th Infantry, went forward to receive the surrender, which brought all organised resistance within the city to an end. Here General Eddy leads General Sattler into captivity. Right: They stood in front of the Trois Hangars gate, between Bastions 5 and 6, one of the passages through the Arsenal’s ramparts.

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Left: By the morning of June 27, there remained only one major German strong point holding out in Cherbourg — the naval Arsenal. General Eddy, the 9th Division commander, was up with the leading battalions of the 47th Infantry, and at 8 a.m., just prior to their attack, he had an ultimatum broadcast to the garrison. At 9.30, Generalmajor Robert Sattler, the German commander, put out the white flag but Eddy refused to accept his capitulation until the German disclosed the whereabouts of mines and booby

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General Eddy (now in raincoat and without his glasses) discussing details of the surrender of the Arsenal with an unidentified Hauptmann sporting the Iron Cross, 1st Class.

JUNE 27 In the early hours of June 27, knowing that the fall of the Arsenal was imminent, Fregattenkapitän Hermann Witt, the Hafenkommandant Cherbourg (Cherbourg Port Commander), took a party in two boats to escape to the Fort de l’Ouest on the outlying breakwater. He then took charge of the garrison of about 185 men still holding out in that fort and in another stronghold on the breakwater, the Fort du Centre. The attempt by the 47th Infantry to clear the north-west section of the city had been checked on the 26th by the stubborn defence of the thick-walled Arsenal on whose parapets were emplaced machine guns. Artillery support was rendered difficult by the bad weather and smoke and dust from port demolitions being carried out by the Germans. Assault of the Arsenal was postponed until the morning of June 27 when an elaborately supported three-battalion attack was planned. Before it took place, however, a psychological warfare unit broadcast an ultimatum. At 0830 unarmed men were observed walking on the Arsenal wall and a few minutes later white flags appeared. Colonel George W. Smythe, the 47th Infantry commander, went forward and at 1000 hours Generalmajor Robert Sattler, deputy commander of the Cherbourg fortress, surrendered the 400 men under his immediate control. He stated however that he had no communication with other parts of the Arsenal.

Left: A party of Organisation Todt workers, mostly Russians, rejoice at the end of the fighting. Trapped in their barrack quarters inside the Arsenal, they survived several days of bombing 20

and shelling. Right: The same buildings, which lie close to the Trois Hangars gate, remain unchanged although today they are no longer in use.

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The small section of curved wall on the left of the wartime photo belonging to the railway station was the clue which enabled Jean Paul to find the spot on the Avenue de Paris.

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The capitulation of the Arsenal brought to an end all organised resistance in the city. In the preceding day and a half over 10,000 prisoners had been taken, including 2,600 patients and the staffs of two hospitals. However, Fregattenkapitän Witt and his small group were still holding out in the outlying forts along the breakwater. Even stronger defences held out on both sides of the port. In the east the German line ran from Cap Lévy southwards through the Maupertus airfield to Gonneville, while west of the city the main line of resistance cut the Cap de la Hague from Gruchy in the north to Vauville in the south, with advance positions from Querqueville to Vauville. That afternoon, General Collins arrived at the City Hall, together with Major Generals Barton of the 4th Division, Eddy of the 9th Division, Wyche of the 79th Division, Matthew B. Ridgway of the 82d Airborne Division and Maxwell D. Taylor of the 101st Airborne Division, to meet the mayor of the city, Paul Renault, and officially turn Cherbourg over to the French administration.

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Helping their wounded comrades, the last German prisoners are marched away on June 27.

Left: Civilians watch as a large sign is taken down in front of what was the German ‘Soldatenheim’ (soldiers’ home). Above: This is the Quai de Caligny today, on the western side of the Avant-Port, in front of the Pont Tournant. 21

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west of Valognes. Following behind are Admiral Hennecke and some of their aides. Right: They were passing the tower at the château’s western corner.

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Left: His coat splattered with mud, Generalleutnant von Schlieben arrives at General Collins’ headquarters in the Château de Servigny, at Yvetot-Bocage, about three kilometres

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Above left: Hurrying back from the Fort du Roule (see page 19), Collins reached the château some time after the Germans had arrived. His talks with them and the signing of the formal surrender of Cherbourg were held in a room on the first floor. Left: Today the estate is privately owned and although Comte and Comtesse de Pontac very kindly allowed Jean Paul access to the historic room, no visits are normally possible. However, the château itself can be booked for weekly rentals and has eight bedrooms for up to 14 guests (see www.chateau-servigny.fr). Servigny château has a history dating back to Gallo-Roman times. There is a feudal mound in the garden, which was the foundation of the ancient keep, and one tower, complete with arrow slits, still remains of the original manor which was burned down by the English during the Hundred Years War. Parts of the château date back to the early 16th century with later additions over the following 300 years. 22

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dition’ (Surrender Room) and displays exhibits of that historic day, including a copy of the surrender document and an original leaflet (below left and opposite) dropped into the German-held city. On the fifth anniversary of D-Day, General Collins revisited his former headquarters. Below: After his capture at the Arsenal, Generalmajor Sattler was also taken to Collins’ headquarters.

With eyes downcast, Sattler awaits the arrival of Collins.

The picture was taken in a ground-floor room of the château.

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Left: In his autobiography Lightning Joe, published in 1979, General Collins described how he demanded of the ‘big, hulking’ von Schlieben that he surrender all forces under his command. The German refused, saying that ‘he had learned from the Russians that even small, scattered units could put up considerable resistance’. Right: Today the room is known as the ‘Salon de la Red-

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On the afternoon of June 27, in a moving ceremony in front of the city hall, General Collins formally returned Cherbourg to French civil control, presenting the Tricolour to Mayor Paul

Renault in the presence of the commanders representing the five American divisions that had made the liberation of the city possible. REDUCING THE FINAL STRONG POINTS All organised resistance north-east of Cherbourg ceased on June 28 when Major Friedrich Wilhelm Küppers agreed to discuss a surrender of the 1,000 men under his command with General Barton of the 4th Division. That same morning, the outlying forts on the breakwater were dive-bombed by nine P-47s of the Ninth Air Force and artillery opened up at them. The fighterbombers returned the next morning and heavier artillery fire hammered the forts until the Fort du Centre surrendered, followed in the afternoon by the Fort de l’Ouest where the badly wounded Fregattenkapitän Witt was captured. (He was awarded the Knight’s Cross on September 24.) West of Cherbourg, the final clearing of Cap de la Hague began on June 29 when the 9th Division attacked with the 47th Infantry advancing up the north coast, the 60th Infantry

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Left: As Collins recalled in his memoirs: ‘Speaking in halting French, I said simply that we Americans were proud to return to our sister republic its first city to be liberated by the Allies. Renault replied eloquently, expressing the gratitude of his townspeople at being free from Nazi control, and pledged eternal friendship of France for America.’

Left: Lined up behind Renault and Collins are (L-R) Major Generals Ira T. Wyche (79th Division), Raymond O. Barton (4th Division), Matthew B. Ridgway (82nd Airborne), Manton Eddy (9th Division) and Maxwell D. Taylor (101st Airborne). After the ceremony, Renault invited the Americans into the council hall for a glass of champagne. As Collins recalled: ‘On the way in, Billy 24

Wyche provided a break in the relative solemnity of the occasion. “Joe”, he said, “I didn’t know you spoke French. I could understand every word you said!” “That’s bad news, Billy”, I replied, “because if the Americans could understand me, the Frenchmen could not.’ Right: With fitting seriousness, Jacques Berton stands in for Mayor Renault on the city hall steps.

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The Place de la République today. The city hall can be seen further down the street.

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in the centre, and the 4th Cavalry Group on the left. Resistance was encountered but the attackers quickly drove right up to the tip of the cape, clearing out strong points and rounding up prisoners. The mop-up finally netted about 6,000 prisoners, the senior German commander, Oberstleutnant Keil, being captured about midnight on June 30. In the battle for the Cotentin and Cherbourg, VII Corps had suffered a total of over 22,000 casualties, including 2,800 killed, 5,700 missing, and 13,500 wounded. The Germans had lost 39,000 men taken prisoner in addition to an undetermined number of men killed. From the German point of view, the fall of Cherbourg had come much sooner than expected. The denial of French ports to the Allies formed a major part of German tactical planning and the German command had anticipated that, even if the Cotentin peninsula was isolated and reinforcements were prevented from reaching the Cherbourg fortress, it could still hold out for several weeks (as Brest was to do later). Hitler took the quick capitulation of Cherbourg badly, and thereafter in Nazi circles von Schlieben was held up as an example of a very poor commander.

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Another parade was held in Cherbourg on June 30 when Silver Stars were awarded to men of the 12th Infantry, 4th Division.

Left: Another award ceremony for the 4th Division, this time on July 3 and held in the forecourt of the Hôtel Atlantique on Rue Dom Pedro. Right: The hotel had closed in 1934 because the level of emigration to the United States had fallen, a conse-

quence of the world economic crisis of 1929. Before then, over 250,000 had passed through it so it is quite possible that one of the GIs lined up here could have been a son of one of them. The building now houses Cherbourg’s chamber of commerce. 25

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Above: Another shot of the demolished crane, giving a perfect comparison as the foundation still remains (below).

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When it was captured, Cherbourg harbour presented a dismal and discouraging sight with demolished buildings, ruined quays and sunken ships and barges everywhere. However, this tower was not the ‘ruins of a fort’ as claimed by the original Signal Corps caption but the remains of the large crane used to lower seaplanes into water at the French Chantereyne naval air base (see issue 146, page 30).

Detailed reconnaissance of the harbour by the American engineers and naval personnel soon showed that 95 per cent of the existing quays capable of handling deepdraft shipping had been destroyed. Above: The Gare Maritime was badly damaged and its utilities completely put out of action. Notwithstanding these tremendous difficulties, over the next couple of weeks Cherbourg was slowly brought back into operation, achieving a discharge rate of more than double the goal originally set by the ‘Overlord’ planners and, until Antwerp became available in late November, it remained the main port supporting the US forces. Left: No longer a railway station, the approaches to the Gare Maritime were landscaped and trees now hide the open view of 1944. 26

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REHABILITATION OF THE PORT Even before the last harbour forts surrendered on June 29, American engineers and naval personnel had begun detailed reconnaissance of the extent of damage to the port. What they found was not encouraging. Colonel Alvin G. Viney, who prepared the original engineer plan for port rehabilitation, wrote: ‘The demolition of the port of Cherbourg is a masterful job, beyond a doubt the most-complete, intensive and best-planned demolition in history.’ The harbour was strewn with a variety of different types of mines. All basins in the military and commercial port were blocked with sunken ships. The Gare Maritime, containing the electrical control system and heating plant for the port, was demolished and 20,000 cubic yards of masonry were blown into the large deep basin (Darse Transatlantique) that had been used in peacetime for docking Atlantic liners. The entrance of this basin was completely blocked by two large ships. Quay walls were severely damaged. Cranes were demolished in all areas. The left breakwater in the inner harbour (Jetée du Homet) was

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The Gare Maritime — the pride of Cherbourg — with the Darse Transatlantique basin and the Quai de France on the left.

it began to handle cargo in quantity. The minesweeping of the western portion of the harbour was not completed until July 14, and not until the end of September were all the obstructions cleared from the harbour. The work of reconstructing port facilities began before the last forts had surrendered. The advance party of the US 1056th Engineer Port Construction and Repair Group arrived in Cherbourg on June 27. The first task was the clearing of a beach area (the Nouvelle Plage), a fashionable bathing beach in peacetime, now designed by the engineers for use

by DUKW amphibious trucks. But the first cargo was landed by DUKWs over this beach only on July 16. Little by little the port capacity was increased until in November Cherbourg handled more than half of all the cargo landed in France for the American armies, discharging 433,201 tons, or an average of about 14,500 tons a day. This compared with a pre-D-Day planning of 8,500 tons a day. Most dramatically it contrasted to a total peacetime cargo handling for the entire year of 1937 of only 325,150 tons.

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cratered so that the sea poured through. The whole port was as nearly a wreck as demolitions could make it. For this work of destruction, Hitler awarded the Knight’s Cross to Admiral Hennecke the day after his capture by VII Corps troops, calling the job ‘a feat unprecedented in the annals of coastal defence’. Planning estimates based on experience at Naples had calculated that Cherbourg could begin operations three days after its capture. In reality it was almost three weeks before the port was opened at all and months before

The entrance to the Port de Commerce (right) has been blocked by sinking the coaster Le Normand in the Avant-Port.

Left: The 4th Port Headquarters of the US Transportation Corps, which operated the harbour, used the Flak bunker on top of this casemate to operate a maritime service office. During the battle, the two casemates on the mole had been manned by the 3. Batterie of Marine-Artillerie-Abteilung 260.

Note the 105mm gun still in position. That particular casemate was demolished in order to clear a passage to move the submarine Le Redoutable into the Cité de la Mer (see issue 146, page 38) but the second casemate (above), seen on the left in the photo at the top of the page, still survives. 27

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Quietly rusting away in the jungle of northern Bougainville, one of the Solomon Islands now part of present-day Papua New Guinea, is a pair of Japanese Type 89B Yi-Go Otsu tanks. Abandoned here by the Japanese garrison in the spring of

1945, they represent a rare example of combat vehicles left in situ, made even more special by the fact that there are only six specimens of this type of vehicle known to be left in existence in the world today.

THE JAPANESE TANKS OF BOUGAINVILLE Seeing a Second World War tank disabled in combat is challenging in the 21st century, but not impossible. Fascinated by the Pacific theatre, I travelled to remote Bougainville Island to document wreckage ‘in situ’, including two rare Japanese tanks disabled in 1945. Bougainville sits at the northern tip of the Solomon Islands (see After the Battle No. 18). In 1768, French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville sighted this large island while circumnavigating the world. He immodestly named it ‘Bougainville’ but did not linger due to warnings from neighbouring islanders about the hostility of its fierce warriors. Germany laid claim to the largely unexplored island in 1885 and established towns and copra plantations. Following World War I, Bougainville was mandated to Australia by the League of Nations. Japanese forces swiftly occupied Bougainville in March 1942. The island was developed with airfields and bases to support Japanese offensives in the Solomons. By mid-1943, after defeats on Guadalcanal and New Georgia, the Japanese were on the defensive and needed reinforcements on Bougainville. The Japanese 4th South Seas Garrison Unit was formed on June 26, 1943, consisting of three infantry battalions, each with its own tank company. Originally bound for the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, the war’s downturn required reinforcement of Bougainville. The unit’s 22 tanks, heavy 30

weapons and supplies were loaded aboard the Nisshin, a seaplane tender pressed into service as a transport. Previously, Nisshin survived the Battle of Midway and four ‘Tokyo Express’ runs to Guadalcanal (see After the Battle No. 108). Departing Japan, she made brief stops at Truk and Rabaul loading additional troops. Her luck ran out on July 22, when 60 American aircraft attacked off southern Bougainville. Twenty minutes later, the overloaded ship sustained six bomb hits and sank. The unit’s three infantry battalions were aboard destroyers and successfully landed on Bougainville. Though most of their heavy weapons were lost aboard Nisshin, four Type 89 medium tanks had been unloaded at Rabaul. The surviving tanks were transported aboard the Bunsan Maru during early September 1943 and successfully landed at Tarlena in northern Bougainville. After an arduous journey, reinforcements had finally arrived. Two months later, on November 1, an American naval task force landed the US 3rd Marine Division on the west coast of Bougainville at Torokina. In a failed attempt to repulse the landing, Japanese aircraft and warships were defeated in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay. Although the Japanese Army was under strength in the immediate landing area, they fought tenaciously. Four Marines earned the Medal of Honor posthumously for their heroism on Bougainville. Two airfields were quickly constructed at Torokina and Piva allowing

By Justin Taylan Allied aircraft to base on the island. The Army relieved the Marines in early 1944. It took months for the Japanese to initiate an orchestrated counter-attack to dislodge the beach-head. Although the Allies detected increased enemy movements and probing attacks, they were surprised at dawn of March 8, when Japanese artillery commenced a bombardment of Piva airfield. The barrage destroyed a B-24 bomber, three fighters and damaged 19 others. Allied aircraft withdrew to southern airfields as a three-pronged infantry assault began. The Japanese succeeded in overrunning forward positions but underestimated American defences. They were unable to exploit any breakthrough because each prong attacked separately. Unsuccessful, the Japanese lost an estimated 3,000 dead and over 3,000 wounded; the Allies 1,243 dead and around 2,000 wounded. Although the Allied perimeter held, the Japanese continued to control the rest of the island. By the close of 1944, American troops pushed on to the Philippines turning Bougainville over to the Australian Army for ‘mopping up’. Cut off from resupply or reinforcement, the Japanese began largescale farming to sustain their troops. In July 1944, their forces in northern Bougainville were consolidated as the 38th Independent Mixed Brigade.

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By March 1, 1945, the Australian Army was slowly advancing across the northern part of Bougainville and threatened to isolate the 38th Independent Mixed Brigade when they reached the opposite coast. Hidden for 15 months since the initial Marine landing, the Japanese tanks now had a chance to strike. Since the Allies had complete air supremacy over Bougainville, aircraft provided reconnaissance and ground support. On March 3, two New Zealand F4U Corsairs from No. 18 Squadron were performing a routine patrol in the northern sector. At roughly 10.50 a.m., they observed two Japanese tanks in the open, the first sighting of Japanese armour on the island. Surprised, the Corsairs made strafing runs, then Squadron Leader G. H. Corbet departed to report the discovery and load a bomb. The other Corsair, piloted by Pilot Officer K. L. Albert, loitered over the tanks. Under Albert’s observation, one of the tanks withdrew into the jungle. At 12.30 p.m., Corbet returned with another F4U piloted by Flying Officer G. M. G. Kirk, each of their aircraft armed with a single 1,000pound bomb. Corbet dropped his bomb, but missed. Kirk followed and appeared to score a hit. Their bombing led to another surprise: defoliated jungle exposed a third tank hidden nearby. Before departing, both strafed the tank still in the open but failed to incapacitate it. Now fully alerted, another seven aircraft returned that afternoon while an RAAF Boomerang from No. 5 Squadron provided

That afternoon, and continuing over the next few days, Corsairs from No. 18 Squadron attacked the tanks with 1,000lb ‘daisy cutter’ bombs, assisted by Australian Boomerangs of No. 5 (Tactical Reconnaissance) Squadron, RAAF, which kept the vehicles under observation, marked their position with tracer fire and strafed them with hundreds of rounds from their 20mm cannon. That first afternoon, one of the tanks, the line of its tracks standing out clearly among the kunai grass, was set alight by the concentrated fire from the Boomerangs. Above: Photo-reconnaissance pilot John T. Harrison of No. 5 Squadron pictured the burning vehicle.

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The two tanks formed part of a force of four Type 89s attached to the Japanese 38th Independent Mixed Brigade. They had arrived on the island in September 1943 and been kept concealed for 18 months, not even being employed when the Allies landed on the island’s southern shores in Empress Augusta Bay on November 1. On March 3, 1945, two F4U Corsair fighter-bombers from No. 18 Squadron, RNZAF, operating from Torokina airstrip in the Allied bridgehead, spotted two of the tanks out in the open near Ruri Bay on the island’s northern shore. Their presence came as a great surprise as, until then, it was not known that the enemy had armour available.

Another shot of the blazing tank, showing how close it was to the sea. 31

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No. 18 Squadron and No. 5 Squadron were both based in the Empress Augusta Bay perimeter, making use of Torokina and Piva North airstrips respectively. Because enemy artillery was able to reach the airfields and endanger them, aircraft were flown each night for safety to Green Islands, to Stirling Island in

the Treasury Group and to Ondonga in the New Georgia Group, returning to the beach-head airstrips each morning to begin daily operations and assist the ground troops. Here a Boomerang of No. 5 Squadron taxies past a line of New Zealand Corsairs on Piva. Picture taken by Harrison on January 15, 1945.

Group portrait of No. 18 Squadron taken in 1944. It was Squadron Leader G. H. Corbet and Pilot Officer K. L. Albert who

first sighted the Japanese tanks and Flying Officer G. M. G. Kirk who scored a first bomb hit on one of them.

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Above: Six weeks later, on May 24, a patrol from D Company of the Australian 26th Infantry Battalion (part of the 3rd Australian Division) came across three of the tanks, which by then had been abandoned by the retreating Japanese. Probably immobilised by the air attacks or lack of fuel, this one had been dug in to be used as a pillbox. Private George Burnett looks down from the turret. Right: Burnett peering through the rear entry hatch to the driving compartment.

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tactical reconnaissance and took photographs. Squadron Leader B. M. H. Palmer, CO of No. 5 Squadron led the Corsairs to the target. He found one tank in a small clearing and another two hidden in the undergrowth. The two in the jungle were bombed, and the tank in the open was strafed repeatedly. As fuel and ammunition detonated, it emitted a cloud of black smoke and flames. The next morning, the tanks in the jungle had moved. Obviously neither was out of action. One tank was rediscovered later that day heavily camouflaged under trees. At dusk, three New Zealand fighters from No. 18 Squadron returned and the target was marked with tracer fire to guide the bombing. On the morning of March 5, nine more fighters dropped bombs and reported two hits, claiming they had blown off the tank’s turret and doors. For two additional days, fighter-bombers and other aircraft continued to strike the area, targeting a suspected tank depot and supply area. In fact, the Japanese had lost only the one tank, but halted their advance over open ground. The other tanks took up a defensive position where they had stopped, but no Australian attack materialised in their area. Two months passed before the Japanese retreated to positions further to the south. When an Australian patrol of D Company of the 26th Infantry Battalion reached the tanks in late May, they found them abandoned. The remaining 21,000 Japanese on Bougainville surrendered after Japan capitulated on August 15, 1945. Right: Posing with the Type 91 6.5mm light machine gun taken from the tank. 33

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The following year, 1975, William H. Bartsch — the United Nations official and Pacific War buff who authored our Wartime Solomons story in issue 18 and provided the photographs for Tarawa (issue 15) and Corregidor (issue 23) — pictured the same vehicle. Somewhat surprisingly, it appears covered in less foliage than the year before.

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VISITING THE JAPANESE TANKS Only six examples of the Type 89 tank remain in the world: four rest in museums or as monuments, and the other two lie undisturbed on Bougainville. Visiting the island in present-day Papua New Guinea requires a long flight from the capital at Port Moresby via two stopovers, provided the weather cooperates and there are enough passengers. Flights land on northern Buka Island and travellers ferry from there by boat to Bougainville itself. You will find no five-star hotels, few vehicles, and sporadic electricity from generators. Locals live as they have for generations in traditional village lifestyle. For Bougainville’s people, the tanks are fixtures of everyday life known simply as ‘the Japanese tanks’. I was guided by villagers to the first one, its 57mm gun is facing rearwards, rusted firmly into place and matching the March 3, 1945, aerial photographs taken during the attack. The body is riddled by gashes from shrapnel that penetrated the hull and turret. Even the gun barrel has an impact near the tip. Extensive damage on the hull suggests this was the vehicle destroyed by F4U Corsairs. The only discernible difference today is that the open grassy field pictured in 1945 is now lightly forested. The top of the turret is ajar and the cupola has collapsed inward. Photographs from the mid-1970s show it still intact, indicating this damage was not caused during the war. The interior of this tank is in poor condition, and not accessible due to the collapsed portion. I was surprised by the appearance of the second tank. Exposed to the elements for over 60 years, the exterior is covered with green moss, melding it into its jungle environment. Nearby tree trunks are nearly as wide in diameter as the hull. The tank looks more like an enormous tree stump than a weapon of war. The main gun is missing and the 6.5mm machine gun removed when the tank was

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Right: Left to rust away in the jungle, well known to the locals but forgotten by everyone else, it was many years before the three abandoned AFVs were ‘rediscovered’ by history-minded explorers. One of the first to photograph them was Bruce Adams, who took this shot in 1974. This particular tank, which for identification purposes we might call ‘Tank No. 1’, is the one that had been knocked out by the aircraft in the open on March 3. Its distinguishing features are that its turret faces backwards and that it still mounts its 57mm gun. It is located on the west side of the north coast road on the west of Ruri Bay, south-east of Bonis.

Another picture by Bartsch, of the vehicle’s rear, showed that its engine compartment was wide open. 34

Fast forward 33 years to August 2008 when Justin Taylan revisited the wreck, then decidedly more overgrown.

Right: Tank No. 2 survives nearby across the road. This is the vehicle found employed as a fixed-defence pillbox by the Australians in May 1945. When Justin visited it with Yoji Sakaida in April 2005, he found it had lost its fenders, engine panels and exhaust stacks. Here he stands in the turret, matching up the 1945 shot of Private Burnett.

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found by Australian troops during May 1945. Weapons are usually the first item removed from any accessible wreck. Photos of the same tank taken 30 years earlier reveal that the fenders, engine panels and exhaust stacks are now missing. It is unclear if these were scrapped or removed for some other purpose. The engine is still mostly intact, although missing many parts. Even the radiator remains, a rare feature as most were scrapped post-war for their copper value. Circling the tank, I searched for signs of damage from the numerous air attacks, but could find no obvious shrapnel wounds in the hull or turret, aside from a broken tread. Apparently the bombing was not as effective as attacking pilots reported. Peering inside, the interior seemed spacious, until I remembered the armaments

were removed, leaving only the empty ammunition rack for 57mm shells. I entered the front hatch, but found it to be a tight squeeze for someone my size. It is hard to imagine a crew of four crammed inside this compartment. It must have been unbearable, especially in the heat and humidity of tropical Bougainville. Exposed to the elements, the interior is full of leaves, rotting vegetation, and modern rubbish like plastic bags and soda cans. Another surprise was that I found that the inside is lined with a white fibrous material that was deteriorating in some places and hanging loosely. This is asbestos used for heat insulation, so I decided not to make a closer inspection! Most likely, this is the second tank that was observed to have moved into the jungle. Japanese records indicate that it was not destroyed in the aerial attacks, and was manned as a fixed defensive position until Japanese forces withdrew from the area. I stood in the turret to recreate the photograph of Private George Burnett of the Australian Army posed in the same position when his patrol discovered the tanks on May 24, 1945. I was unable to locate any data plates or stencilled markings indicating the date of manufacture or the hull serial number. Likely, such identifying tags have long since disappeared or been removed as souvenirs. Sadly, I could not coax either tank to reveal any additional secrets.

The view inside. Note the ammunition holder on left.

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Looking down into the turret through the commander’s hatch.

Inspecting the tank again in August 2008, Justin found the jungle had encroached on it even more. Justin, of Hyde Park, New York, is founder of PacificWrecks.com, a website sharing information about the Pacific war and wreckage that remains to this day. Founded in 1997, and allowing veterans, authors, travellers and visitors to the battlefields to collaborate and exchange information, the site has established itself as the primary source on everything connected with wreck archaeology in the Pacific. 35

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When William Bartsch visited the area in 1975, the third tank found abandoned in 1945 was still in situ close to the other two. It was easily identified by the fact that it had lost its 75mm gun, with only the recoil mechanism remaining. (The barrel had been removed by Oscar Bond, the owner of the land on which the tank stands.)

Sometime in the early 1980s this tank was removed from the jungle and set up as a war memorial in the grounds of the Kieta Lions Club near Kieta Wharf at the junction of the beach road and the Aropa–Arawa road. The landowner did not want to sell the original gun barrel, so an imitation replacement was installed in its place.

Villagers are proud of these wrecks, and before departing I took many group photos with my new friends posing with ‘their tanks’. I reflected on the great struggle that brought these rare tanks to Bougainville and the unique circumstances that have preserved both as monuments for over 60 years.

In addition to the three Type 89s on Bougainville, there are only three more specimens of this tank preserved in the world. This one is displayed in the grounds of the Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort near San Pablo City in Laguna Province on Luzon Island in the Philippines.

Another one is at the US Army Ordnance Museum at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland. All that is known of the wartime history of this tank is that it was captured by the Americans somewhere ‘in the South-West Pacific Theater’, which most probably means New Guinea or the Philippines.

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A third Type 89 tank remained in this same vicinity until the early 1980s. It was purchased from the landowner, Oscar Bond, for a pig and a special ceremony to release its spirit and transported to the grounds of the Kieta Lions Club by Bob Strong aboard a Rabaul stevedores low loader, where it was installed on two concrete pads and repainted. Because the landowner kept the original gun barrel for himself, a fake barrel was installed in its place. During the 1990s Bougainville Crisis, the Kieta Memorial Park fell into disrepair and was overgrown. The tank still remains, but is today encroached by jungle foliage and unpainted for many years. It has no engine or fenders and its hull shows little shrapnel damage. Probably, like the others, it was not as heavily smashed up as the Allied reports had claimed but simply abandoned by the Japanese. Although Japanese armour hardly has an enthusiastic following today, there is something fascinating about these relics and the bravery (or foolishness) of the men who utilised them in the face of overwhelming Allied power. The two tanks left in situ are a microcosm of the disappointments of Japanese armour. Designed in the late 1920s, the Type 89 was obsolete when it arrived on Bougainville in 1943. Carefully hidden for 18 months after the Allied landing, their demise was assured when spotted from the air and dogged by relentless fighter attacks. Although only one was destroyed, the others were abandoned without ever firing a shot.

Since Bougainville’s civil war of the 1990s, much of this area has become ruined and overgrown. This is how the tank looked when Justin inspected it in August 2005.

J. TAYLAN

J. TAYLAN

MAX SMITH

Bougainville remains one of the few places in the world where a traveller can explore Second World War tanks precisely where they were disabled. Special thanks to Akira ‘Taki’ Takizawa, Steve Kleiman and Daniel Leahy for additional assistance.

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The best preserved example in the world can be seen at the Tsuchiura Tank Museum at the Japanese Ground SelfDefence Force base at Tsuchiura, Ibaraki district, in Japan. It has been restored to running condition, this picture being taken by Max Smith during an open day in October 2007.

ROY J. TURNER

Marjorie Scott (née Turner) who served in the Women’s Land Army from 1941 to 1945.

THE WOMEN’S LAND ARMY In August 1938, with the ever-increasing threat of war, the British government decided to set up the Women’s Land Army. This was in view of the fact that the country had been brought near to starvation by the German blockade of shipping in 1917. At that time, the organisation had been created almost overnight as a desperate measure to produce more food at home. This time it was decided that Britain should be prepared in advance. Thus, on June 1, 1939, the Women’s Land Army was reborn. This new army of young girls was to replace the thousands of farm workers who had been called up to one of the Services. Additionally, the extra workforce was needed because thousands of acres of grassland now had to be ploughed up to grow as much as possible. This was vital as Britain imported 70 per cent of its food, a level that would be impossible to maintain. Indeed, as the war went on, supplies from abroad were even lower than anticipated because of the huge losses of ships at sea imposed by German submarines. Unless Britain could keep the farms going to provide all the additional food that was needed, it would not be able to survive. The war would be lost, but was such an army of women really a practical proposition? There were many who criticised the setting-up of the army, maintaining that it was utter madness to expect women, nearly all

By Marjorie Scott

The Women’s Land Army was created and directed by Lady Gertrude Denman who had been chairman of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes since 1917. She provided her own country house, Balcombe Place near Haywards Heath in Sussex, as the WLA headquarters.

of whom had never undertaken physical work of this kind before, to be able to cope with strange machinery and tools, animals and heavy manual labour that had always been done by stronger men. Such women who knew nothing about farming would be useless and a burden to farmers. Women who, it was scornfully suggested, were mostly concerned each day about their figure and complexion, shoes, dress and hairstyles, and the colour of their nails and lipstick. Women who would need muscles, knowledge and experience; who would have to endure long days in all kinds of weather carrying out sometimes monotonous and dirty tasks that would have a detrimental effect on their spirit and health. What woman would want to go through all this for a miserly wage as the pay was set at 28 shillings (£1.40) per week with half being deducted for board and lodging when billeted out in the community. Yes, it certainly appeared impractical but the critics overlooked one overwhelming factor: there was a war on! Everything and anything was possible in such times. The spirit that prevailed throughout the nation was so strong that if something had to be done to win the war — no matter what — then it was done! 37

THE GIRLS JOIN UP Grace described their day of joining up as ‘the day Marge Turner and Grace McGrath will remember for the rest of their lives’. After deciding to take the step and applying to join, they both had to go to an appointed local doctor for a medical examination. Both passed as fit for service. Later, they received orders to report on July 2, 1941 to the Agricultural College at Writtle, near Chelmsford in Essex. Marge says: ‘We caught the Chelmsford bus from Romford Market and then walked from Chelmsford to Writtle, about two miles away. There we were each issued with our uniforms and clothing.’ This should have comprised two green jerseys, two pair corduroy britches, two overall coats, two pair dungarees, six pairs of socks, three shirts, one pair of ankle boots, one pair of walking shoes, a pair gumboots with leggings, a hat, an overcoat with shoulder titles,

ROY J. TURNER

Right: On leaving school aged 14, Marge (right) first worked as an assistant dressmaker, and at a laundry before applying for a job making hat decorations in a small firm in Albert Road, Romford, in Essex. There she befriended Grace McGrath (left), who lived in a neighbouring district, and who was to become her pal and close life-long friend. Both girls were 17 when war came in 1939 and, having heard of a larger milliners in East London, they felt that they would like a change and were looking forward to the adventure of working in London . . . that is until they arrived one day to find that the building had received a direct hit. As London was now under daily attack, Marge and Grace decided it would be sensible to avoid commuting from Romford railway station so they managed to find work back in Romford. However, the girls knew that it was inevitable that they would eventually be called up to the forces so they decided instead to join the Women’s Land Army for by volunteering before they were 18, they would be able to stay together. an oilskin, sou’wester, a green armlet and metal badge, and two towels, although Marge cannot recall that they were given any waterproof gear nor was there an overcoat. There were problems with clothing issue caused by the tremendous demand from other services and first issues to WLA girls were often short and much had to be sent on later. Clothing was rationed for everyone and ten precious coupons had to be surrendered on call-up and ten each year when a new clothing ration book was issued. Marge and Grace were then taken by car to Stambourne, a tiny village in the north of the county. En route, the senior official who was driving them, a Mrs Bredlands, stopped for lunch at a large private house. She dined with the lady of the house whilst the girls ate in the kitchen. They then drove through endless, winding, hedge-rowed country lanes until at last they reached their destination.

STAMBOURNE The car finally pulled up outside a small, plain, semi-detached farm cottage named Green Farm Cottage. ‘We took our belongings inside and were introduced to Mrs Drew, the farm labourer’s wife, who was to billet us. Mrs Drew was polite and courteous, smiling as she talked. She told us that she lived there with her husband and their grown daughter Marjorie who helped at home and also worked part of the time at a neighbouring farm. Marjorie’s twin sister Joyce was married and not living at home.’ When shown to their bedroom, they found that it was clean and humble like the rest of the cottage, the one bedstead being no surprise as it was a common practice, in fact a necessity, to share a bed in homes at that time, where rooms were on the small side. There was no gas or electricity in this remote area. Oil lamps were used downstairs and

AIRFIELD

STAMBOURNE GREAT YELDHAM

GREEN FARM

ROCKALL’S FARM

TO FINCHINGFIELD

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ORDNANCE SURVEY, SHEET Nos. 154 and 155 © CROWN COPYRIGHT

RIDGEWELL

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After being kitted out at Writtle Agricultural College, the girls were taken to Stambourne near the Essex-Suffolk border and

THE FARM WORKERS And so they began to learn all the skills of working the land from the nine experienced farm labourers. Any nervousness the girls felt as novices was soon dispelled for these men were pleased to now have the girls working along with them. Marge: ‘Mr Drew worked on the farm and also in the cowsheds with Mr Boughtwood, the cowman. His son George also worked with his dad. At milking time all the cows would come to the gate nearest to the milking shed and moo until let through.’ Grace recalls: ‘It amazed us that the cows each had a name and when they came into the cowshed to be milked they all went to their own places where their name was in their stall. ‘Mrs Drew had a big dinner for us at noon. It was hard to walk back to the job after so much food. She was given milk from our cows and so there were lots of custards and rice puddings.’ Fred Metson lived up the road just next to the village. He was single and lived with his mother. Frank Metson was another worker who lived in the village with his wife and two children. Frank always wore a strap or armband on his wrists to help with lifting heavy weights. Grace remembers the sense of humour the farm workers had. After Frank’s death Grace said: ‘Isn’t it sad about Frank dying?’ The chap replied: ‘Well, he was held together with two straps for years!’ Mr and Mrs Stock and son Fred lived in the opposite direction down the road in the Norton Cottages. These were the tractor men who did the ploughing, harrowing, seeding, and worked with the binder at the harvest. George Buttle, who lived next to them,

was a general all-round labourer. Mr Mickley lived at Rockall’s Farm with his wife and three sons — he took care of the horses. Soon all knew each other by name and as time went on the girls appreciated just how skilful and knowledgeable in their unhurried, patient way these men were, explaining things in their quaint, north-Essex accent. Marge recalls that ‘at first I couldn’t understand them at all with their country brogue mixed with a Suffolk twang. Coming from Romford to the east of London we had a touch of Cockney. Grace was good at understanding them and would have to interpret for me as they just sounded like foreigners to me. Later, however, I had no problem at all. ‘There was nothing the men did not know about the land, the crops, the animals and the equipment, also about the weather, the wildlife, and nature generally. If anything went wrong or something broke down, they were always able to deal with it in some way or other. They taught us to realise that there was always a correct way to do every job, no matter how small. I have thought of them many times through the years when faced with a problem, trying to think what they would do. Consequently, we built up a deep respect for these men who never ridiculed us girls when first learning to cope with new and strange tasks.’ This, incidentally, was in marked contrast to the accounts told by many other Land Army girls in Britain. Many were often treated with disdain and disrespect and it took a long time to work through all the sarcasm and sneers before they proved that they were able to stick at it and become competent and valuable assets to the farms.

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candles in the bedrooms. The only heating was from the black kitchen stove, which was also used for cooking and boiling water in large kettles. There was no tap or piped cold water supply to the house or outside. The lavatory was outside at the back of the house and consisted of a seat and lid over a bucket inside a small shed. They were assigned to work at Green Farm and Rockall’s, two farms owned by Gerald Scrivener. He was a gentleman farmer, which was the term used to describe one who employed workers, set their tasks, gave instructions and supervised work carried out. Grace: ‘We had our tea and then Mr Scrivener called to take us round the farm. He lived just across the road in the house called The Green. He said all the fields on the farm had a name and the last field he came to, about 26 acres, had rows and rows of little plants. He said, “This is where you’ll be working tomorrow at eight o’clock, singling the plants out to 12 inches apart”. We thought that would be dead easy but the next day we learned different. ‘The following morning we were awakened very early by the myriad of farmyard sounds that erupted outside including the “chomp-chomp-chomp” of the pumping machine by the milking shed. After breakfast we set off in our brand-new overalls feeling very conspicuous, green and self-conscious, to meet the farm labourers with whom we would be working. We started in the sugar beet field, which entailed bending over each plant and our backs began to feel the strain. We started out bending but we ended up crawling and by that weekend our backs and legs were so stiff we could hardly walk.’ That first Saturday afternoon they were anxious to see the village. ‘We put on our uniforms with the corduroy breeches and green sweater, socks and shoes’, says Marge. ‘I still remember the sound of our heavy shoes as we clomp-clomped through the village. We learned later that people were all looking through their lace-curtained windows to see us. Land girls were new to the village. New to us too! They wanted to see these city girls who thought they could learn on the land.’ Marge and Grace continued the same work and after a couple of days and aching nights, when dawn broke, they found that they had great difficulty in getting out of bed. After eventually achieving this and managing somehow to dress, they were only able to get their suffering bodies downstairs by sitting on the landing and shuffling their bottoms forward and down, one step at a time! They were told that the work they had been introduced to was one of the easier jobs on the farm. ‘Then what on earth’, thought Marge, ‘have we let ourselves in for?’

billeted with the Drew family at Green Farm Cottage (left). The farm itself (right) has since been renamed Revels Farm.

Today this is all that remains to be seen of Rockall’s Farm. 39

ROY J. TURNER

Sugar beet time at Stambourne: Fred Stock, James Drew, Fred Metson and Marge. HARVESTING Probably the most rewarding and enjoyable of the girl’s memories of farm life was the harvesting. This was in the days before the combine harvester. First the cutting machine had been along and thrown aside the sheaves. Six sheaves were then stacked upright against one another in a teepee shape to form a stook. In this manner any dew or rain would run off and the sheaves were kept well ventilated. When the sheaves were fully dried, they were tossed by pitchfork onto a horse-drawn cart with a loader receiving them. The sheaves were light to lift and this was easy to begin with. But as the cartload became higher the effort to stretch with the pitchfork as far as the arms could reach, right up to the top, became much harder. The sheaves were then stored either in a Dutch barn consisting of metal posts, open at sides with a metal roof, or simply built into a stack.

There was always a sense of achievement at seeing all the crops safely and successfully harvested and, not surprisingly, nearly every recruiting poster for the Women’s Land Army showed a smiling healthy-looking land girl working during the harvesting with the sun lighting up her tanned, contented, and of course, dutiful face. Grace recalls: ‘As the binder was getting to the end and just a little bit was left in the centre, people would gather all round the field, children as well, waiting for the sheltering rabbits to run out. As we never got much meat, a rabbit was a lovely meal. So the poor rabbits ran left, right and centre, just to be stopped with a blow from a stick. It was classed as a sport to see who got the most. ‘One day Marge and I were setting up sheaves of corn when we saw a German plane coming over — we knew the sound of their engines and then we saw the cross on its wings. It was a bit of a fright. We recognised

Marge (left) and Grace (right) resting while ditching at the nearby Rockall’s Farm.

ROY J. TURNER

ROY J. TURNER

THE TYPES OF LAND WORK Once their work in the beet field was done the next job was muck-spreading. Grace: ‘Marge and I were put on cleaning out the bull shed. The stockman tethered the bull safely away. We had a horse and cart and were digging our forks into the muck when we were shown the easy way — to just take the muck off in layers. We took it to where it was left to age. Large piles of rotted manure were dumped in piles about 12 feet apart. We worked with forks tossing the manure with a special twist of the wrist to spread it as evenly as possible. ‘On a wet day the farmer would tell us to carry out “rouging” — pulling up the wild oats from the cornfield. Then there was “docking” — going into the field and pulling up dock weeds. Other times we would have to walk the beet fields and pull off the tops of the beets that were going to seed. Another job was “pulling and knocking”. First a machine would loosen the sugar beets. Then the men would come along and pull a sugar beet in each hand and knock them together to remove the soil. The beets would be laid in rows. Marge and I then came along and cut the tops off throwing them into a pile. The tops were used as cattle feed in the winter. The beets were put on the side of the road ready for the factory. All these jobs were done in the winter and you could not wear gloves, as the beets were wet and muddy. I remember one day when I cried with cold. ‘Hedging and ditching were winter jobs. Ditching was done by two people: one person stood beside the ditch with a spade to dig the sides while the other was down in the ditch using a shovel to throw out the dirt. This was called “taking out the crumbs”. Digging these ditches out was not easy because of the wild growth of bushes, nettles and weeds as well as the roots of the hedges that divided the fields. The ditches had to be cleared each year to ensure drainage of the land. ‘Hedging consisted of cutting back the vigorous growth of hedges that ran along each ditch, much of which consisted of hawthorn with its vicious spikes. This was done by working along slowly but surely, with the use of an axe and secateurs. Hedging and ditching were often done in miserable conditions of wind, rain and cold.’

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ROY J. TURNER

ROY J. TURNER

A little frivolity after building the haystack. L-R: Evelyn, Marie, Grace, Marge, Pearl and Mrs Drew, all being pulled along by Mr Drew and Fred Metson.

Marge with Peggy — ‘the one that got away’.

HORSEPLAY Marge: ‘I did have a bad scare one day. I was working alone with Peggy, the horse kept at the Green to be used by the cowman and not with the other horses. We were rolling the meadow. The roller was pulled along behind whilst I sat on the seat holding onto the reins. Suddenly Peggy ran! My fear was of falling and having the roller run over me. All I could do was to try to hang on. Then I saw Fred and Mr Drew cutting across from the next field. I was so glad to see them coming! They waited, caught hold of the reins, and stopped her. They just turned her round and patted her to go on. Later, I was praised because I just went on with the work without saying a word. They didn’t know that my voice had gone!’ Both girls became familiar with working with the various horses. Apart from the time when Peggy bolted, Marge became quite accustomed to them. ‘Mr Scrivener told me one day that I was to take two horses down to the blacksmiths to be shod. I would sit sideways on one horse, since there was no saddle, and hold onto the other horse’s bridle. We went to the next village just past Rockall’s at Cornish Hall End. The blacksmith’s shop was so interesting to me as I had never been to one before. I would watch them working. The smell wasn’t so great when the hot shoes burnt the hooves.’

Grace remembers the day that she had the same job at another farm: ‘One day I had to take a horse to be shod at the next village of Ridgewell. I stopped at my lodgings on the way and tied my horse to the gatepost. My landlady said to me when I got in the house: “That’s eating that yew tree and it’s poisonous”. That is a lesson I will never forget. That tree is still there till this day.’ LIFE AT GREEN FARM COTTAGE At the cottage there was nothing for entertainment except books or the newspaper to read. Not even the wireless as this was rarely switched on, partly no doubt in order to save the accumulator for as long as possible. It gradually ran down during the week with the sound volume of the wireless getting weaker, and had to be replaced by a freshly-charged one from the shop and the old one was left for recharging. Grace also recalled how Marge upset them at times as she loved to do her knitting. That was a definite no-no on a Sunday. ‘Mrs Drew would say something about sewing on a Sunday would mean you would have to take out all the stitches with your nose when you die.’ Another example of Mrs Drew’s strong sense of correct behaviour in her household was made clear by an incident concerning the proper hour on which the girls should be

ROY J. TURNER

the throbbing engine as the German planes had a different sound to those of our aircraft, which we had learned very quickly to distinguish when the air raids came. ‘Threshing was very dusty. The best thing about it was that all the farm hands were together. We could hear the old steam engine coming up to the farm, then it would take another day to get it level because if it wasn’t level they couldn’t keep the belts on. They had to have a tank of water and lots of coal to keep it going. ‘Two people would be on the wheat stack, one passing a sheaf to the other one and she in turn passing it to the persons on the thresher. There were two people up on the thresher, one cutting the strings that held the sheaf; the other one feeding the drum. The person who cut the sheaf bands saved the strings to be used to tie up the sack of corn. When one sack was full he had to throw a switch to fill the second, take the first sack off, and put a new sack on. When the cart was full of sacks, he had to take them to the barn. ‘One person had the job of “shorts and chaff”. Chaff ran off into rough sacks and was used as cattle feed with sugar beet pulp. The shorts were not used for food and fell onto the ground to be moved out of the way into a heap to be burned. Wires kept the straw bales together. One person pushed the wires through and would shout “wires”. The person on “shorts and chaff” then had to run and push the wires back through.’ As the work went on, little by little, inch by inch, the girls’ bodies gradually adapted, becoming more durable, and as muscles hardened there were far fewer aches and pains. As the girls worked on in the sun and the wind, their faces took on the healthy glow of the other outdoor workers and their bodies lost any flab that existed previously. Now they moved with ease. They became fitter than they had ever been before in their lives. Another change took place within themselves as well. Tasks that had proved difficult, and sometimes even frightening, were now being achieved successfully and, as they became more proficient, they grew in confidence. This was to have a beneficial and lasting effect on their characters. The two girls that had come to Stambourne in 1941 were not going to be the same girls at the end of the war. Indeed, it has been often remarked years later that one could always tell if a woman had been in the Land Army during the war. There was something about them — steady, reliable and somehow always able to cope with things.

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The beautiful Essex village of Finchingfield where the girls went dancing. Now it is a favourite Sunday venue for motorcyclists . . .

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top of another hill and then down they would coast again gathering speed as they wobbled their way down. Fortunately, because their journey was through rural areas with small population and petrol rationing, there were extremely few vehicles about, therefore little risk of being mowed down. Needless to say, this was long and tiring, particularly at night when coming back home. It seemed an eternity travelling along the long, dark lanes, until at last, shining through the darkness, the tiny light from the cottages at Stambourne came into view. Two years passed by at Stambourne. Marge and Grace, although not unhappy where they were, felt that they needed a change. They wanted to get somewhere where they could have some social life and were not so isolated. Getting home was a problem for them too. They wanted to get to somewhere where travelling to see their families did not entail such a long and difficult journey. They hated having to leave all their friends but eventually decided to take the plunge and applied to be moved together to another area in Essex and were successful at being posted to Wickford. TRANSFER TO WICKFORD Wickford is in the lower part of Essex and was much nearer to their homes, having the advantage of a railway station where they could catch a train directly to their families in Romford, a short ride away. It was a small,

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back in the house at night. ‘One night’, says Marge, ‘somehow I was late coming in and everyone had gone to bed. Mrs Drew called out to me as I crept up the stairs. She also wrote to the Women’s Land Army and I received a letter from headquarters about it.’ The nearest source of getting together with others was at the local village hall. Marge remembers how it was a novelty to wear a dress ‘and we felt really dressed up when we did. There was a dance at the local school hall sometimes and we enjoyed that. The song I remember was I’ll be With You in Apple Blossom Time. I loved that one. We did miss the new songs, as the radio was never turned to dance music.’ Grace recalls one evening there: ‘It was a Saturday and we’d been to a village dance. No band, just an old lady on the piano. Her name was Tillie Turner. It was good fun. On this night we got home to the cottage, went to bed with our bit of candle but when we got up the next morning we had a really bad shock. A lipstick refill had dropped out of its case and Marge and I had trodden on it — all into the imitation white fur rugs and also one or two bits on the sheet. We had a job! We trimmed bits out of the rugs with a pair of nail scissors and got some water out of our jug and got it all out of the sheets. We thought we had done a very good job. We had our breakfast and went to work. When we got home for dinner the sheets and mats were all on the line! We had a very cool lunch that day! Life was not all doom and gloom at Green Farm, indeed far from it at times. ‘Mrs Drew had a brother, Fred, who lived near London’, explains Marge. ‘When he came to visit I remember two things: his wife brought us sweets which she could get from a sweetshop near her home and we all played cricket: both Mr and Mrs Drew, Fred and his wife, Grace and I. We had a good time. We played just outside in a field near the tractor shed.’ A dance was sometimes held at the pretty little village of Finchingfield, but this was only very occasionally. When the girls did venture that far, they partly walked and partly bicycled there and back. The reason for this was that at that time, Marge could not ride a bike. The scheme was that when they reached the top of a hill, Marge would sit side-saddle on the crossbar of the man’s cycle they rode and Grace would launch off. The girls would careen down the winging lanes with Marge hanging on like grim death and Grace gripping the handlebars tightly to control the extra weight until they reached the bottom. At the bottom they would dismount and walk on until they came to the

busy town with shops and a cinema. Also a hall where dances were regularly held was popular with the younger generation. Marge: ‘From Wickford we could get to dances at the weekend or see a film, or even get a train to go to see a show in London. The dances were in The Harrows on the Southend Arterial road, and at Tarpots down Pound Lane on the old road to Southend. We still went to these things in spite of the air raids.’ They were billeted out, as arranged by the WLA in a private house, which was occupied by a couple with two children: one a teenager, the other about five years old. Although the house was more modern, with more-comfortable facilities than the farm cottage in which they had previously lived, they were not as happy there as when living with the Drews. This time, instead of working for one farmer, they were collected each morning and when the gang was all aboard, they were taken to whichever farm needed them most. For the first time, they were now working together with other WLA girls, picked up and taken home each day in the same way. The work was land clearing, which was being done in order that the soil could be used to grow more needed crops. As time went on however, they found the type of work they were now doing was not on farms and was not as varied or rewarding. One of the differences between the WLA and the other women’s forces was that the former did not have any ranking system. The nearest thing to ranking so far had been the issue of a red half-diamond badge for six month’s service and a full diamond after 12 months, which were sewn onto the armbands of their uniforms. There were special armbands issued to those with greater lengths of service. As time went on with the recruitment of many more women and the creation of hostels to accommodate them, there was a need for some local, on-the-spot leadership. Therefore the WLA was now looking for volunteers. The posts of Gangleader girls and Forewoman were accordingly created for those who were more experienced. The Gangleaders were to head and supervise small groups of girls working together with them while the Forewoman had greater responsibilities. Her duties included teaching girls how to do the work, checking time sheets to see that they claimed wages properly, as well as ensuring that the land girls were paid correctly. Additionally, the Forewoman acted as liaison officer with the farmer and this was to prove very beneficial in sorting out any problems and ensuring all ran smoothly. Grace applied for and was accepted for a Gangleader course at Writtle. Marge did not apply as it would have meant they would have to part to be in charge of girls in separate places.

. . . but it was on pedal cycles that the girls rode the five miles back to Stambourne.

ROY J. TURNER

TO GREAT YELDHAM Some time later, they heard of a WLA hostel at Great Yeldham in the north part of Essex, fairly near to their first billet at Stambourne. The quarters there were in a hostel along with many other Land Army girls. Living side by side in a group situation was very different to their former private house billets. This appealed to them as they had had enough of Wickford and they applied to Great Yeldham. Their request was accepted. Marge cannot pinpoint the date of their move but thinks it was late 1943 or early 1944. The hostel was originally a large private house named Manns Cross, described by Marge as a ‘lovely old house’, with The Lodge — a smaller house — at the front. Both had been taken over completely by the Women’s Land Army. A large group of girls were housed in the main building and a smaller group in the Lodge. Marge and Grace found themselves sharing a bedroom in the main premises with four others, all sleeping on camp beds. A good time later on they transferred to The Lodge where they slept in bunk beds. They went over to the house for meals or to use the lounge. While there, Grace was the leader in charge of about nine girls. The main building had a large, comfortable lounge, which they used when off duty and where they could receive callers. There was a radio and a gramophone. They had a kitty, which they all regularly subscribed to for the purpose of buying records of the latest popular songs and music; which they often danced to together. A dining room was used for breakfast, also for dinner in the evening. The meals were prepared for the girls. The hostel staff was managed and headed by a supervisor. There were no strict disciplinary rules but they had to be punctual for meal times and duty, make their own beds, keep their rooms tidy and, of course, behave at all times in an orderly manner. They had to be back at the hostel by 10 or 11 p.m. at weekends. A bell was rung at these times to signal that it was time to retire to bedrooms. There was a signing-in book just inside the front door of the

Now billeted at Great Yeldham (see map page 44) the girls take a break from ditching. Rear row: Marie Horner, Doris, Marge, Grace and Mary. Middle row: Dot and Stell. Front row: Edie, Terry and Rita. main house where the girls had to enter the time that they returned to the premises. It was a lively place with the girls always coming and going. THE YANKS ARRIVE Well before the arrival of Marge and Grace from Wickford, something happened which dramatically changed the face of the whole of Great Britain . . . an invasion . . . but not by the Germans! The American Air Force was first to arrive with a huge influx of men and equipment, and a frenzy of activity. At Ridgewell it was the arrival of the 381st Bomb Group of the United States Army Air Forces. In the once-quiet, sleepy villages,

pubs, shops and countryside in East Anglia, everywhere was now buzzing with life as the men and their vehicles became a regular part of the community. ‘It wasn’t long before we found out that Ridgewell airbase housed Yanks’, says Marge. ‘They would pass our hostel in a steady stream at night starting right after dinner. They liked to get off the base when they could and were very popular with the village people they had befriended, some being treated like sons by the families. Then too, some would pass on their way to the train when on leave. Many girls were going steady with them and there was a small stream of Yanks to the hostel door where they came to

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ROY J. TURNER

The American 381st Bomb Group flew into Ridgewell in June 1943. Left: This B-17 is Tinker Toy (42-5846) on her personal hardstanding, No. 48, which lay right next to the control tower. Unfortunately Ridgewell has suffered more than other East Anglian airfields used by the Eighth Air Force and little remains to be seen today. The runways and hardstandings have been removed and even the control tower has been demolished. Below: This is the exact spot where the crew posed for their photograph.

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Marge meets Jim. Corporal James B. Scott was an armourer serving with the 533rd Squadron of the 381st Bomb Group.

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After take-off they would get into formation and the air would vibrate as the enormous aircraft with their heavy loads of men and bombs soared above. As the girls looked up they could see the brightly coloured insignias painted on the side of the Flying Fortresses and they would wish each one of those young men going out on their mission, a silent ‘good luck’. Later in the day, the girls would hear in the distance the faint hum of the engines again, and many times, as the planes came nearer, they could see gaps in the formations and stragglers limping in one by one with pieces missing from the aircraft. MARGE MEETS JIM Grace had met an American serviceman named Doug while at a dance. One night Marge and another girl, Estelle, decided to go along with Grace to the canteen. Doug invited the three of them over to sit with him and two of his friends. The girls spent an enjoyable evening in each other’s company. When it was time to leave, the men walked the girls back to the hostel, Doug accompanying Grace, John with Estelle, while Marge walked along with James ‘Jim’ Scott. When they reached the hostel they all said goodnight and how much they had enjoyed the

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pick up their dates. They were allowed to come inside to sit in the main building and wait until the girl came down the stairs. This way certain ones became very familiar to us and we got to know their names. The Americans arranged dances at the airfield and in order to recruit dancing partners, they sent lorries out to the hostel to collect those wishing to attend. These dances were on an entirely different scale to the small ones held in the village and local dance halls. The girls were thrilled to take advantage of a good evening’s entertainment by generous hosts who were obviously very glad to have their company, with the added incentive, of course, that the girls would never be short of dancing partners! The aerodrome was not far from Great Yeldham where the Forces Canteen was situated in a large old building that had been taken over for the use by the British and the Allied Forces. Here they could go to relax and spend a social evening. Downstairs there was tea and sandwiches. Upstairs was a bar where drinks were served. Marge says that ‘our favourite snack was a sausage sandwich and a cup of tea. There would always be music playing as the servicemen and women sat around at tables talking and laughing together. Needless to say this was very popular, and being handy, the hostel girls would go there frequently to relax in a friendly atmosphere. ‘Many evenings when it was late we would hear singing from a group of GIs going back to base. They would stop by our gate to sing Goodnight ladies, we’re going to leave you now or Merrily we roll along. ‘Sadly, we often had one of the Americans come to the door to tell a girl that her boyfriend had not returned from a bombing mission. We had many sad evenings like this. One girl who had her boyfriend missing would leave the table at dinnertime when their special song came on the radio. The song was Paper Girl. I never hear that song without thinking of that girl named Joyce. She later married an American but didn’t stay in the States for long. She came back to England and later married again. Nearly 50 years later we were to meet again at a reunion of Land Army girls. In the mornings when out in the fields, the girls could hear the sound of engines as the planes prepared to take off, warming up and taxiing to position, then roaring into the sky.

evening. At this stage neither Marge nor Jim had any idea that this chance, casual meeting was to bring about a friendship that was to develop into a far deeper relationship as time went on and would entirely change the course of Marge’s future. The three girls thought how nice the men were to be with and looked forward to meeting up with them again at the coming dance. ‘I danced with Jim mostly but I found that he couldn’t dance at all’, recalls Marge. ‘He tried, but it was impossible. After this it soon became every night that Jim would come down. He would even come to the farm where I was working and find me.’ On a Sunday, when possible, Jim liked to go with Marge to Cambridge. ‘We needed to catch a bus to Haverhill, but it didn’t run often so we would walk by the base and when an American truck came by we would get a lift to the station and get a train to Cambridge where Jim liked to go to a special place he had found to eat. Afterwards we would go on the River Cam on a punt. One night the last bus had gone and we had to walk back . . . seven miles! As we walked Jim was singing I Didn’t Sleep A Wink Last Night — he had a good voice and liked to sing. ‘When we finally got to the Lodge, Grace was waiting up for me and let me in and of course, didn’t report me. Jim had another two miles to walk back to camp and probably was on duty that night.’ At the aerodrome, surprisingly, the guards would sometimes allow Jim and Doug to take Marge and Grace inside the perimeter to look at the planes and the huts where they lived. ‘We were surprised to see flowers growing around some of the huts, planted by the servicemen. I saw flowers still blooming on the base many years after the war when it was deserted and the huts were there no more. Once I went onto a Flying Fortress with Jim. This, I am sure, was not really allowed.’ While both of the girls were going out, right at the onset Doug had made it clear to Grace that he did not want to enter into a relationship other than just being good friends. He came from a very strict family background and it appeared that there were expectations back at home of his commitment to returning to the States without any ties with anyone in England. Undoubtedly Jim was strongly influenced by his friend’s code of conduct and at the beginning he had a similar approach to his friendship with Marge. It became apparent however, from his increased attendance upon her that his attitude towards this was changing rapidly. Before long he was leaving the base and coming over to be with her whenever the opportunity presented itself.

The pair met at a dance held in the Forces Canteen which was located in this building in the village.

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Left: With their friendship blossoming, Marge took Jim to meet her parents. Her brother Roy stands on the left with her Mum The day came when both Marge and Jim had a full weekend leave at the same time. Jim accompanied Marge home to be with her and meet the family. At this first meeting there was, understandably, some nervousness about their relationship. Those who had not met an American serviceman resented what appeared to them as arrogance. The GIs were well paid in contrast to the rationed British public who had suffered much through years of war. The comment that the war would soon be over now that the Americans were here did not sit well with those who had fought so hard and long, alone against the enemy. One English comedian summed up the mood of many in the nation at the time. ‘The trouble with the Yanks is that they’re overpaid, over-sexed and over here.’ By and large this initial reaction had been

outside 35 Globe Road, Hornchurch. Right: Unfortunately, of all the houses in the street, No. 35 has undergone a facelift.

replaced by admiration for the courage of the American servicemen, particularly those in the Army Air Corps. This was evident from the cinema newsreels showing the terrors of the gruelling and hazardous, longrange daylight bombing raids they were carrying out against fearsome odds. The initial British prejudice had all but disappeared. Admiration for the knowledge and experience of the Americans brought about a more-understanding relationship between the GIs and the locals. Marge’s family found Jim to be a very likable fellow, respectful and polite and very understanding of the conditions brought about by war. He openly admired the way people were putting up with the stresses of war and were still able to have a laugh and keep up their spirits. Soon they all got along famously. Knowing of the strict rationing and

not wanting to be an imposition, Jim brought some food and cigarettes that were greatly appreciated. He paid many happy visits with Marge when they were both able to get away for short spells. ‘Jim was an armourer whose job it was to load the bombs aboard the planes. One night Jim came to the hostel very upset and told me what had happened the night before. The men had been awakened and called from their huts to get the aircraft ready. As Jim and Doug worked they heard noise and laughter at the plane next to them. Looking over they saw the guys were fooling around, swinging the bomb back and forth in its sling as it was raised up. Doug looked at Jim and said, “Let’s go.” They ran to the road off of the base as fast as they could go but the explosion still threw them to the ground. Doug and Jim were not hurt but many were killed that night.’

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Typical scene at Ridgewell, this picture of Whaletail (42-3221) being bombed-up on August 20, 1943. However it was just two months earlier while bombs were being loaded for the 381st’s second mission to Bernay in France, that the group suffered its greatest tragedy. On June 23 the ground crew were preparing the B-17 Caroline (42-30024) of Captain Robert L. Withers of the 533rd Squadron when a massive explosion of 11 of the bombs completely obliterated the aircraft and killed 23 men: Cpl Roger H. Allen, Pfc Robert N. Ashcraft, T/Sgt Ervin Bohlander, Sgt Henry Bongiorno, Sgt Dennis L. Collins, S/Sgt Michael J. Egan, Cpl Charles A. Feeley, Cpl George Fiamma, Cpl Milton J. Foerstel, S/Sgt Elwood H. Harris, Cpl Melvin L. Jerkins, Cpl James H. King, Sgt Joseph J. Kristapavich, Sgt Christian Langoff, S/Sgt James J. Lintgen, Cpl Elmer F. Madden, Cpl James A. Main, Cpl Guy McDuffee, Sgt Joseph L. Neel, Sgt Louis Smulowitz, Cpl Joseph F. Sproha, 2nd Lt Paul E. Tull, T/Sgt Charles H. Wilton and a civilian, John Hunwick, who was just cycling past. The cause of the explosion was never determined and Jim’s explanation to Marge reproduced above is open to conjecture. 45

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The reception was held at the hostel. L-R: Nellie, Stella, Dot, Doris, Marie, Ivy, not known, Eileen, Dee, Gladys, Gay and Carol with Gil and Bob behind.

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VERA’S WEDDING Many a land army girl found her relationship with her American boyfriend getting serious and the first wedding caused much excitement. Every girl living in the hostel during 1944 remembers Vera Morgan’s wedding on September 23, 1944 as the biggest event of the year. She married Dick Seamer and the girls from the hostel were her bridesmaids. They all walked the short distance from the hostel to the church in Great Yeldham. Vera and Dick, along with Vera’s family, rode to the church in a Jeep. Other weddings between the American servicemen and the English land army girls were to follow as the war drew to a close. It began to dawn on Marge and Jim that when the war ended Jim would have to return to America. With good news of Allied success the potential separation began to dominate their thoughts. Neither wanted to part and after weighing up all the pros and cons, they decided that they would get married. This decision having been firmly made, there was no time to lose, but first Jim had to get permission from his Commanding Officer. Then they both had to attend an interview at the American Embassy in London. It was crowded and, when they were finally seen, Marge was asked a great number of questions. It was apparent that every effort was being made by the authorities to ensure that the couple was absolutely certain about making such a commitment. In particular they were concerned whether Marge was really prepared to go to a different country with different people, customs and way of life. When Marge would not budge and Jim did not falter, the necessary consent was forthcoming. The next step was to break the news to their respective parents. They knew this would not be easy for serious doubts would arise concerning such a wartime romance. Marge’s parents were happy for them but Jim’s folks would have to accept a stranger from another land into their home. Needless to say, these doubts and worries did exist and were expressed. Undeterred, Marge and Jim went straight ahead with their plans. They went to St Mary’s Church in Hornchurch and arranged for the banns to be called and a date for the marriage ceremony to be set. Jim was a Catholic and Marge was Church of England. After some thought about the future, she decided to become a Catholic so Jim arranged for her to take instruction from a priest on his base.

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The first of the girls to get married was Vera Morgan to Richard L. Seamer of the 532nd Squadron, the service being held in the parish church in Great Yeldham in September 1944.

In September 1995 the girls were back on a nostalgic reunion which included visiting all their old haunts.

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Marge and Jim’s wedding took place at St Mary’s, Hornchurch. In this line-up the best man is Charlie P. Meseroll, another

things for the forthcoming baby and writing to Jim. When news came of the surrender of Japan, it was a relief to know that there would be no further worries about Jim being posted to the war in the East. On January 31, 1946, Marge gave birth to a bonnie baby girl who was named Denisa yet it was not until August that word came through that her voyage had now been arranged. Marge’s uncle Walter went with her to help with the luggage and see her off. At Southampton were a large number of other English girls with children who had married American servicemen and were going to rejoin their husbands. Marge describes the scene: ‘We were taken into a

long building like an army hut. The room was lined with army cots, each with a baby crib and a chest of drawers along each side of the room. Here we lived for two weeks, going to another building for our meals. Finally we were taken to board the ship. There were two girls and two babies in each cabin. Mothers slept in the top bunk and the babies in the bottom bunk with the side up. ‘The first night out it was very rough and nearly all of us were seasick. Some were very ill and it became clear why it was a hospital ship. Nurses took the babies from the sick mothers into the sick bay to care for them. I was surprised that I wasn’t very ill. My roommate was very bad. The journey on this slow

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THE WEDDING Marge and Jim were married on March 17, 1945 — St Patrick’s Day. Grace and her sister, Marie, along with Marge’s niece, Mary, were bridesmaids. Doug had already gone back to the States so another good friend of Jim’s from the base called Charlie was best man. Marge’s dress was sent from America and the bridesmaid’s dresses were made from parachute silk and sewn by Marie. Following a honeymoon in Bridgeport, Dorset, the couple returned to Essex and rented a house in Great Yeldham, which they shared with Vera and Dick. Meanwhile Marge left the Land Army. Two months later the war in Europe was over and the US air bases were no longer needed. The Americans began to leave and it was a sad day when Marge and Jim had to say goodbye. Marge was by now expecting but she would not be able to join Jim until the baby had reached six months of age. It was going to be a long wait. Marge had returned to her parents’ home and she was not present when the remaining men from the base marched through the streets of Yeldham on their way to the train and home. The streets were lined with people who had turned out to see and cheer them off. There were many tearful eyes to be seen that day. When these men had first arrived with all the noise and disruption that accompanied them, it had been a different picture altogether. Now it was a sad time for the villagers who had grown so used to these men being a part of their lives. Many, of all ages, had formed very firm friendships with them. It was a day that neither the Americans nor the English would ever forget. Marge settled back into an urban life again at her home at 35 Globe Road, Hornchurch, with her father, mother and younger brother. She spent her time knitting and preparing

armourer with the 533rd Squadron; brother Roy and bridesmaids Marie and Grace McGrath and Mary Mitchelhill.

Denisa was born on January 31, 1946. 47

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kept waking up. It seemed like hours before he returned. It was difficult to keep up with his fast pace carrying the baby but finally I got on the train. ‘I had a sleeper compartment with no one to help but a very nice elderly couple took pity on me. When they learned that I was a war bride they really helped me. They took me to the dining car and bought my breakfast since we had no carrycots back then. ‘It was a long ride and I was exhausted when we finally reached Indiana and then Valparaiso. Jim was on the platform with a newspaper reporter. Cameras were flashing and people on the train were looking and waving. Jim had a car which was new to me as I had only ridden in a car twice before in my life. We went to Jim’s parents’ home

where we were to stay while our house was being built. Dinner was ready and the local parish priest was a guest. He was wearing a regular shirt and tie and he said to me, “I don’t expect you have ever seen a priest dressed like this before”. I hadn’t.’

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ship took two weeks. There was entertainment for us on the deck. I remember the band on deck playing Sunny Side of the Street which was popular then. Once they had a baby contest — not just the most beautiful, but the best personality too. Denisa came second. My room-mate’s baby won. ‘At last we came in sight of land and we hurried on deck very early one morning to see the Statue of Liberty. After docking we were taken on a sightseeing tour of New York. Finally we said goodbye to our newfound friends and went on our separate ways. ‘I had to follow a serviceman who was in charge of me. He took me to Grand Central Station and left me on a seat in the large busy centre. I watched people milling back and forth and the noise was so loud that Denisa

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It was a long voyage across the Atlantic for the hundreds of British girls who had married American servicemen, followed for Marge alone by another long journey by train from New York to Valparaiso, Indiana.

Soon after the end of the war, Grace married Bill Swallow and continued to live in Ridgewell. In 1992 she and her daughter Chrissy travelled to the States to meet Marge and propose a reunion to mark the 50th anniversary of when their service with the WLA ended. And so, in September 1995, 11 Land Army girls met again in Ridgewell: there was Grace Swallow, Marge Scott from Indiana, Terry Ciampi and Stella Bottiglieri of New Jersey, 48

Bobby Carbrey of Mississippi, Vera Smith (she had married again) from Seattle, Gladys (Pint) Bilbruck, of California, Ivy Bailey and Joyce Cougil, who still lived in Essex, and sisters Dorothy Wilman and Stella Green, from Norfolk. Fred Stock was on hand at Green Farm (now Revel’s Farm) with their old tractor which had been resurrected from the barn. Grace stands on his left with Marge in the floral dress in the centre.

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expecting us and he had taken a car and picked up Fred Stock who worked with us years ago on the tractor. Fred was pleased to see us again. The new owner invited us inside for tea or coffee and cake. He also had the old tractor, no longer in use, taken out of the shed and brought round to the front of the house for us to see. Bobbie hopped up on the tractor for a photo. She was the only one of us who had driven a tractor. ‘We went from here to the old Ridgewell airfield. At the entrance to the aerodrome is a beautiful memorial in honour and remembrance of those who served there. There is little evidence today of the old base which is now a deserted field. As we drove round the empty field, we could make out the roadways and a few signs that it was once such a busy place, with the planes coming and going and all of the activity there. Some GIs used to plant flowers around their huts and even now there were some growing there to show where the huts had stood. ‘The following day was our last together. We had a farewell dinner and with many tears said goodbye singing We’ll Meet Again, hoping to do it again one day.’

REUNION In 1993 Grace and her daughter Chrissy visited Marge in Indiana. ‘We planned to have a reunion with some of the other girls I had kept in touch with in the States. We met at Potato Creek State Park and stayed in two neighbouring cabins. Vera and her second husband Fred Smith came all the way from Seattle, Washington. Terry and her husband Joe Ciampi came from New Jersey as did Estelle and her husband Jim Bottiglieri. Both Joe and Jim had been servicemen stationed in Ridgewell where they met their future brides. The first day we met it was wonderful. Except for Grace, we hadn’t seen each other for nearly 50 years. We had a wonderful three days together. We decided that we had to meet again and we planned it for two years later in England. ‘We met at Grace’s in September 1995. Now we had more girls join us. There were Gladys (Pint) and Bob Bilbruk from California, Bobbie Carbrey from Mississippi, Vera and Fred Smith from Seattle, Washington, and Terry and Estelle from New Jersey. Bob Bilbruk had been stationed at Ridgewell during the war. From England there were Dot Wilman and Stella Green, both from Norfolk, Ivy Bailey from Brentwood, and Joyce with her husband Vic Cougil from Hornchurch. My daughter, Denisa came with me and Terry’s sister Joyce Price from Brentwood also joined us. ‘Grace’s daughter Teresa who lived close to Grace helped with the driving and the meals. Chrissy and her husband Ian really did a great job of planning the meeting. It was no easy job for a large group without cars to travel around but Crissy and Ian had rented a van and planned each day’s outing for us. ‘We arrived at Grace’s on the Sunday afternoon, September 10, had a meal and talked of the plans for the next few days. The first morning we walked through the village to the local pub, the White Horse, for our meal. We sat in the garden, talking and then a photographer from the newspaper came and took our photograph. We talked and talked and finally went to rest before going back again in the evening for a fish and chips dinner. ‘The next day after breakfast, Chris and Ian arrived with the van to take us on to see our old hostel in Great Yeldham and once more we walked down the wide drive as we had done years ago. Then we went on to Stambourne to Green Farm. The owner was

After the reunion, Grace and Marge dictated their memories to brother Roy but Grace died before seeing it in print and sadly Marge passed away in June 2009, just too late to see this story published.

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The 381st dedicated their memorial at Ridgewell on August 28, 1982 in the presence of a hundred veterans. Over 1,200 men had been lost by the group on nearly 300 missions but, right at the end, another 31 were tragically killed when their aircraft (43-38856) which was taking them to Belfast for a brief holiday, crashed into high ground on the Isle of Man.

When the war ended, the Forces and Merchant Seamen received resettlement grants; also the Civil Defence and other auxiliary workers although the Women’s Land Army was excluded. Strong protests were made nationally. The Daily Sketch referred to the ‘Heartbreak Army’ saying that ‘60,000 to 70,000 girls had been watching and waiting. They had been left out and they were not even included in a scheme of comforts with every bit of uniform having to be handed in.’ (Later they were allowed to keep their overcoats and shoes.) Demonstrations were made along with 200 signatures from Members of Parliament who backed the protests, but all to no avail, and Lady Denham, the head of the WLA resigned in disgust saying that ‘all the hard work put in by the land girls had not been recognised’. On the 50th anniversary of VJ-Day, included in the procession were 80 former land army girls, most were wearing their original armbands yet it was not until 2008 that the Government announced that a badge would be awarded to mark service in the Women’s Land Army. But it was too little, and far too late. 49

JAMES BENZIE VIA MISS W. ENGLISH

JAMES BENZIE VIA MISS W. ENGLISH

John Benzie was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on March 14, 1915 and was a graduate from St John’s Technical High School during the Depression years. Unable to gain employment,

he decided to join the army and served for three years in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry when these photos were taken.

THE CASE OF PILOT OFFICER JOHN BENZIE

Right: However his ambition was always to be a flyer and with this in mind he made his way to England where he was accepted into the Royal Air Force. He completed his training and received his ‘Wings’ in July 1939. He was one of the ‘tough bunch of Canadians’ later referred to by Air Vice-Marshal Leigh Mallory when in June 1940 he gave command of No. 242 Squadron to Squadron Leader Douglas Bader. 50

no record of a Canadian, Pilot Officer J. Benzie, as serving in the RAF’.

By Andy Saunders

GEORGE A. CAMPBELL

As any author of factual works will tell you, it is almost a forgone conclusion that once a writing project is put to bed and committed to print something will always turn up in the way of additional information or detail that would have otherwise enhanced the already published work. Such was the case with my latest book Finding The Few, a detailed account covering the stories of missing Battle of Britain pilots who have been found in recent years. One of the cases covered within my book was that of Canadian Pilot Officer John ‘Jack’ Benzie, a Hurricane pilot who was shot down and posted as missing in action on September 7, 1940 whilst serving with Douglas Bader’s No. 242 Squadron. No sooner had a copy of the book hit the desk of After the Battle’s Editor-inChief Winston Ramsey than he was writing back to me with additional detail about the Benzie case. It turned out to be information hitherto unknown to the author, and enables us to take another look at the unsolved case of John Benzie. In examining the details anew, the question must surely be asked: is this really a Battle of Britain loss where it is a matter of ‘Case Closed’? As with many of the cases dealt with in Finding The Few, sometimes one can spot monumental errors or failings in officialdom’s dealings with family and next of kin. In the case of Benzie, those failings can be charted back to 1940. According to the epic published listing of all Canadian flying losses during the Second World War (They Shall Grow Not Old by the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum Inc), the Benzie family enquired of the Air Ministry the how, when and where of his loss, only to be told: ‘There is

JAMES BENZIE VIA MISS W. ENGLISH

No. 242 Squadron was based at Manston, in Kent, for the greater part of the Battle of France, crossing the Channel daily and on May 23, 1940 John was shot down. This is how he described the combat in his personal diary: ‘Left Manston 1.45 p.m. with two squadrons of Hurricanes escorting Blenheims well into German lines near Cambrai and Arras. We ran into a bunch of Me 109s escorting Dorniers. The 109s attacked. I fired half my ammunition at two different 109s but saw no apparent damage. One fired at me and the cowling over the guns on my starboard wing was blown off. Speed and manoeuverability was considerably cut down. I made for the clouds to shake him off and noticed my extreme left wing-tip shattered. I came out of the clouds and could not find any of our machines or the enemy. I cruised around just below the clouds and spotted three 109s flying in VIC. I dived down and got on the tail of the right-hand machine and gave him the remainder of my ammunition. Long streams of petrol and smoke came from this aircraft and he made a steep turn and spiral to earth. I immediately headed for the clouds but the two other 109s were hot on my tail. I tried every manoeuver I could but just before I When Tony Graves and John Tickner of the now disbanded London Air Museum excavated the crash site of a Hawker Hurricane from a field in Blackacre at Theydon Bois, Essex, during the summer of 1976 they certainly unearthed a mystery that has endured, although subsequent research and investigation has pointed very strongly to the identity of the specific aircraft and its pilot whose remains were found in the wreckage during the dig. The clues Tony and John unearthed, though, were almost as sparse as the wreckage of the Hurricane that was found to have burnt fiercely, both before and after its high-speed impact with the ground. The inferno had certainly removed all apparent trace of any tangible evidence of identification although, as we shall see, it was later possible to make some sense out of fragmentary clues. However, all ‘organic’ material like clothing (aside from one uniform shred), paperwork, personal effects and identity discs had been totally consumed in the fire and the woodwork structure of the Hurricane (which bears multiple inscriptions of the aircraft serial number) had been reduced to charcoal and ash. Similarly, the heat had burned away all traces of paintwork on cowlings, etc, that might otherwise have revealed painted numbers. Fire and corrosion had also obliterated any stamped numbers on cowling panels that can often be the key to unlocking mysteries like this one. Indeed, such clues as remained — or were later to emerge — were for the most part rather less obvious. It would, though, be fair to say that one particular discovered ‘clue’ might not unreasonably be considered as evidence rather than a clue! As with all of the post-war discoveries of hitherto missing airmen in the UK, the Ben-

reached the clouds a burst of incendiary bullets entered the cockpit and hit my left leg. I set course for home and came out of the clouds over Lens. The cockpit began to fill with smoke, I opened the hood and the smoke got worse. My engine started to misfire and I decided to abandon the aircraft. I ripped off the safety straps and emergency panel. The engine stopped. I steered the plane away from the city and at 800 feet I jumped out. I was machine-gunned by French ground troops on the way down but fortunately not hit. I landed in a field outside of Harnes [sic]. French civilians came and began hitting me and kicking me thinking I was a German pilot. I was about all in and my leg was bleeding badly when a Frenchman who understood some English stopped them. They immediately took me to a farmhouse and bandaged my leg, then took me to the city of Lens to a dressing station where I was put in an ambulance and rode for about three hours to Wormhout about 30 miles south of Dunkirk where I was put in the Casualty Clearing Station. On May 26 left in convoy for Dunkirk.’ John is pictured here in N2320 which was lost over France on May 18 while being flown by Pilot Officer M. K. Brown.

zie case came about through the upsurge in aviation archaeology during the 1970s and 80s and an almost unbridled rush to excavate and recover wartime aircraft wreckage, especially of the Battle of Britain period. The Theydon Bois site was no exception although its initial discovery owed more to chance than any concerted effort on the part of aircraft recovery groups. Local archaeologist and geologist Michael Daniels finally found the impact point of a crashed aircraft at Blackacre and had been aware of the London Air Museum’s thus far fruitless search for the exact crash site that had involved eyewitness interviews and the use of period maps and photographs. Eye-witness Harry Smith had been cutting a hedge in his garden in Theydon Park Road when the fighter crashed, recalling that it had clipped a row of elm trees before smashing into a field bordering the Loughton, Epping and Ongar branch of the Great Eastern Railway — now the London Transport Central Line. The force of impact had brought down all the leaves on adjacent trees and scattered fragments of debris across a wide area. Whilst Harry was pretty emphatic about the crash site location, the intervening years had seen hedgerows grubbed out to increase field sizes. With the loss of these reference points, it proved difficult to pin down the exact spot, notwithstanding that Epping Forest District Librarian Bert Tuck had produced aerial photos of the fields taken in 1949. Using the photos, Harry Smith’s testimony and a Chigwell Urban District Council ARP incident map (which marked the site but, unhelpfully, did not give a date), it seemed likely that Tony Graves and John Tickner might yet find the elusive spot. In the event,

however, chance took a hand before the newly acquired knowledge from maps and photographs could be put to the test. The summer of 1976 was one of continual baking sun and a severe drought, and these exceptional conditions would eventually help to reveal the impact point. Michael Daniels had already field-walked the area thoroughly, picking up debris from a 3rd or 4th century refuse pit, Roman roof-tiles, etc, but any aircraft-related debris had eluded him as his metal detector searches had been hampered by the length of the post-harvest stubble. Fortuitously though, on a day of dry hot wind, a fire broke out on the east side of the railway, jumped the track, and in the tinderdry conditions set the field of stubble ablaze. Encouraged by this turn of events to carry out another metal detector search, Daniels almost at once started to find globules of solidified molten alloy and heat-exploded .303 bullets. Their frequency in one particular place suggested the likely spot where the impact had occurred and Daniels at once alerted Graves and Tickner. Very quickly the pair established that this was, indeed, the crash site and on Saturday, September 1, 1976 they brought in a mechanical excavator and commenced digging. From the pieces already found the aircraft type was almost certainly a Hurricane which was confirmed as digging progressed. However, nothing was known of the pilot or his fate, and the date of the crash was somewhat of an unsolved mystery. A tenuous link to a possible time-line was all the London Air Museum had to rely on. Although circumstancial, the information that John and Tony found had evidently pointed to September 7, 1940, but no local 51

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The squadron was transferred to France on June 8 to cover the Allied evacuation, leaving ten days later for Coltishall in Norfolk at which point Douglas Bader took over as CO from Squadron Leader Fowler Gobeil. John was flying P2550 when shot down in France and, when he was killed three months later on September 7, he was in P2962 which had only been issued to the squadron four days earlier.

found, in either the human remains or aircraft wreckage that might show his identity. Ultimately, the remains were buried as an unknown airman on July 15, 1977 at Brookwood Military Cemetery in Plot 22, Row E, Grave 1. Although the pilot not being named was an unsatisfactory state of affairs, Tony Graves and John Tickner wasted no time in assembling a display of artefacts from the Theydon Bois site, labelling them as being from Hurricane P2962 and its ‘missing’ pilot being Pilot Officer Benzie. Whilst this conclusion was at odds with the official conclusion, it was not an unreasonable deduction to make — as we shall see. Just over one week after the Theydon Bois discovery, another missing RAF airman was recovered by John and Tony, namely the Hurricane pilot found in the wreck of his aircraft at Daniels Wood, Bethersden. Again, evidence of identification was virtually non existent and it was largely upon circumstantial evidence that the Coroner in this particular case was satisfied the pilot had been Sergeant E. J. Egan of No. 501 Squadron, lost on September 17, 1940. Despite being named at a formal inquest, the Ministry of Defence flatly refused to accept the Coroner’s verdict and had the remains buried at Brookwood as an unknown airman. Unhappy at this outcome, John and Tony had the Daniels Wood site re-excavated and, against all the odds, managed to find the allimportant aircraft identity plate with the

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records have ever been traced that might establish a positive date and time for the incident. Harry Smith, though, had recalled he was cutting his hedge and that this, he said, must have meant it was a Saturday when he only worked a half-day. Certainly, September 7, 1940, was a Saturday and the leaves shaken from the trees by the impact at least indicated a period when the trees were in leaf. The September 1976 dig yielded parts of the Hurricane buried down to a depth of 18 feet, including a smashed Merlin III engine. Cockpit components, badly burnt, were unearthed, too, along with human bones. However, as previously stated, the extreme heat of the fire had obliterated any obvious trace of evidence to identify either the pilot or aircraft. Even when Tony Graves and John Tickner had removed and cleaned the wreckage, nothing further could be deduced by way of tangible clues. As for the remains, these were taken away for examination by the local pathologist and for HM Coroner’s investigations. Whilst the official result of any investigations are not known to the author, and neither has it been established whether there was ever any formal inquest or pathology report, the remains were certainly not identified and ultimately handed over to the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Clearly, the Ministry of Defence (Air Historical Branch) were involved in investigating the name of the pilot but, not surprisingly, a blank was drawn. Nothing then existed, or had been

Michael Daniels explains how he found the crash site [1]: ‘At the time I had contact with a Loughton builder, Gordon Bridgeman, who knew of my interest in geology and archaeology. He had become involved with the London Air Museum and had volunteered to assist in a search for an aircraft believed to have crashed in a field near Theydon Bois. This required being on hand with a mechanical digger if it became necessary to excavate should there be indication of buried remains. The search group had obtained some information from local eyewitnesses and they had also acquired aerial survey photographs of the region with the hope of pinpointing the actual crash site from marks on the surface not visible from the ground. However, because the hedges which existed when the plane plunged to the ground had since been removed, these memories regarding the position were based on what were now non-existent reference points. Nevertheless, it was decided to try digging a 52

trench based on some signs seen on the photographs. Although nothing metallic was encountered, several pottery shards came to light which Chris Johnson, a local historian, thought might be Roman. Some time later I had almost completed my work at the site when a fire started in scrub on the far side of the railway track. Fanned by the wind, the flames soon took hold and produced a mighty conflagration that easily lept across the railway line into the excavation field which effectively burnt off all the stubble. With a metal detector I soon found pieces of melted aluminium and, more significantly, several exploded ammunition cases. The information was conveyed to the plane recovery enthusiasts who planned a full search for the following weekend.’ Left: This early post-war aerial shows the field layout with the crash site arrowed. Right: Intensive farming has now transformed the Essex countryside with the removal of many of the hedgerows.

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Michael: ‘Once more the team assembled with the excavator on hand. Using more powerful sensing devices, strong signals confirmed my location — the burial of a substantial metal object. Digging quickly encountered parts of an aircraft including steel control cables and, at about 14 feet, the plane’s engine. Sadly also, we found some relics of the unfortunate pilot, several vertebrae, together with pieces of his parachute and uniform. I still have a fragment of the latter.’ War period had an Aircraft Movement Card allocated: in RAF terminology Air Ministry Form 78. To all intents and purposes, the AM Form 78 was the RAF equivalent of a vehicle log-book. Against the serial number would be recorded the units to which the airframe had been allocated during its lifetime, dates of damage and repairs effected and, importantly, the engine number with which the aeroplane had been fitted at delivery. Unfortunately, it was not common practice to record engine changes during the lifetime of individual aircraft and so the only hope with the Benzie investigation was that it still had its original engine at the time of its loss. However it was not to be. The record card showed that the engine that P2962 had been delivered with was No. 144702. No match. However, due to the likelihood of an engine change (or changes) having taken place in P2962’s lifetime, the wreckage could still be P2962 and the remains could still be those of Jack Benzie. More telling, perhaps, were Rolls-Royce archives which showed that the engine that P2962 had been delivered with — 144702 — had survived long beyond September 7, 1940 and had undergone a complete overhaul by

Flight Lieutenant H. R. A. Beresford of No. 257 Squadron, lost in Hurricane P3049 over the Thames Estuary area at approximately 5.30 p.m. Flying Officer L. Mitchell of No. 257 Squadron, missing in Hurricane V7254 over the Thames Estuary area, also at around 5.30 p.m. Pilot Officer J. Benzie of No. 242 Squadron, lost in Hurricane P2962 over the Thames Estuary area at 5 p.m. Of the above, we can discount Flight Lieutenant Hugh Beresford because he was found and positively identified from personal effects and the aircraft serial number in the wreck of his Hurricane on the Isle of Sheppey during 1979. As for Flying Officer Lancelot Mitchell, we need to look no further than the build history of the Hurricane in which he was lost to discount him from the investigation as V7254 was in the batch of Hurricane serial numbers from V7200 to 8127 built by Hawkers. Consequently, the part numbers would have been prefixed ‘HA’, and not the ‘G’ found at the Theydon Bois crash site. This, in itself, was an important pointer. However, a yet more significant find still remained hidden in the artefacts recovered during the 1981 re-dig.

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result that the MOD relented and had the Brookwood headstone replaced with one named to Sergeant Egan. Could the same outcome now be achieved with the Theydon Bois casualty by going down the same route of careful re-excavation and examination of the crash site? It was certainly worth the effort. On Saturday, September 12, 1981, a team re-convened at Blackacre with a mechanical digger and set about examining the crash site once again although, after the 1976 dig, little remained. What was there was badly damaged by fire, corrosion and impact damage and lay amongst blackened soil that was, in effect, little more than ash. Nevertheless, the incinerated remains were carefully sifted and a number of items recovered. By and large they seemed, initially at least, to offer very little in the way of clues. A Rolls-Royce engine plate, however, gave some hope until it was realised that this was the cockpit-mounted ‘Engine Limitations’ instruction plate which bore no specific engine number data. The assortment of wreckage, which included a bent three-penny piece, two instruments and the parachute D-ring, did nothing to further any knowledge as to who the pilot might have been and the vital data plate, measuring just an inch by two inches, which would bear the aircraft serial number, remained undiscovered. But maybe the re-excavation team had been looking too preponderantly for the more-obvious clues like the aircraft serial number, engine number or identity discs? All along there had been a clue from the first dig, displayed on the museum exhibition board, and which might yet help identification but had simply been overlooked. It was the torn-off corner of the main engine plate bearing the number 174060. Items from the September 1981 dig also provided further clues, one of them subtle, the other going un-noticed for some years. First, though, it was a case of pursuing the engine number found during the 1976 dig. Could it be linked to Hurricane P2962 and thence to Benzie? All RAF aircraft from the Second World

Sunbeam Talbot in January 1941. In other words, here was proof that P2962 did not have 144702 fitted at the time of its loss. In itself, this was an important point established. Engine No. 174060 was therefore potentially still ‘in the frame’ as being P2962’s engine fitted on September 7. The only problem was that the Rolls-Royce records simply show 174060 as ‘written off’ with no date of loss recorded. Frustration is often the name of the game in attempting to solve these decades-old mysteries. But what of the other recovered artefacts from 1981? How might they help? Amongst the many apparently less-significant fitments, brackets and burnt, corroded and rusted structural fragments were several of the ubiquitous stainless steel fishplates that held together the tubular steel framework of the Hurricane fuselage. It was these seemingly insignificant bits of wreckage that provide a vital clue. Each one of them was stamped with its unique part number/stores reference/drawing number. And each of those numbers was prefixed with the letter ‘G’. This single letter denotes a Hurricane aircraft built not by Hawkers at Kingston but by Glosters at Brockworth. It is, in fact, a vital clue, bearing in mind that there is reason to suspect this as Jack Benzie’s Hurricane, for P2962 was indeed a Gloster-built machine. Of course there were many other Hurricanes built by Glosters but on the day in question there are three Hurricanes with ‘missing’ pilots to consider. They are:

In Canada, John had been commemorated by the Manitoba authorities by having a stretch of water named after him — Benzie Lake. Meanwhile in Britain, a second team of wreck archaeologists, including our author Andy Saunders, set about searching the crash site once again, looking for the tiny serial plate which would confirm the identity. 53

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Although positive identification still failed to materialise from the second dig in September 1981, the significance of certain items recovered only came to light some years later when they came into the possession of After the Battle. This stainless steel fuselage jointing plate has the letter ‘G’ stamped on it indicating that the Hurricane was manufactured by the Gloster Aircraft Company. dom turned very slowly in a careful examination of the case. Ultimately, their response when it came was disappointing. Writing on October 21, 2003, Sue Raftree of the RAF Personnel Management Agency at Innsworth stated: ‘Following a review of your paperwork, other official documents and having spoken with colleagues in the Air Historical Branch and Commonwealth War Graves Commission, I regret I have come to the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence to allow me to positively identify the remains interred at Brookwood as those of Pilot Officer Benzie. Unfortunately none of the evidence presented, or recorded in official documents, provides conclusive proof to link the wreckage and human remains recovered from this crash site to the loss of an aircraft on 7 September 1940 or establish

beyond reasonable doubt that the aircraft is that of Pilot Officer Benzie.’ It was, officially, a matter of ‘Case Closed’. However, let us look again at the evidence and analyse the thinking behind the verdict that no conclusive link could be made to John Benzie. First, it is important to understand that the MOD’s criteria for identification need to be ‘absolute’ and that only positive identification of remains (e.g. identity discs or other incontrovertible evidence) or positive identification of the aircraft by its serial number will suffice. For these reasons, and as an example, we have to look no further than the case of Sergeant Edward Egan mentioned earlier to illustrate how the MOD insist on precise identification. In that particular case, and despite the pronouncements of HM

Left: As shown here, a pilot’s oxygen mask of the Battle of Britain period had a metal connector which plugged into the cockpit supply. Right: Close inspection of the connector recovered from the field at Theydon Bois revealed the word ‘BENZIE’ scratched on it, yet when After the Battle presented this evidence to the Ministry of Defence, they deemed it not sufficient to warrant granting formal identification.

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Long after that dig and the examination of the finds, a closer inspection of the oxygen mask connector revealed a name scratched into its side in capital letters: ‘BENZIE’. It was, surely, proof-positive? This item was at the end of the hose leading to the pilot’s Dtype canvas oxygen mask where the pilot plugged into the aircraft oxygen supply, in other words a piece of personal kit. To avoid loss, items like this were routinely marked by the owner. Pilots were often particular and fastidious about this. First, pieces of kit might have been adjusted to fit or suit the particular wearer and there might also have been superstitious reasons too. Not only that, but named items avoided loss or confusion in crew rooms and dispersal huts and negated any arguments about who owned what. In the case of oxygen masks there might also have been issues of hygiene to consider. In any event, this case throws up a name already connected circumstantially to this pilot and this crash site. It beggars belief, surely, that this was not the missing link to positively identify the man in Grave 1, Plot 22, Row E at Brookwood? Initially, Winston Ramsey enquired of the RAF Air Historical Branch for further information about Benzie, his Hurricane and its engine number in order to officially take forward a request that the grave be named. Incredibly, when the reply came it stated of Benzie’s Hurricane, inter alia, that ‘it was believed to have crashed near Theydon Bois in Essex’. On the face of it one might suppose that here was official recognition that Theydon Bois was, after all, the known crash location for Pilot Officer Benzie and that this vital piece of information was actually recorded in the RAF’s casualty records. In fact, it seems that the AHB were placing reliance here on the already published information in The Battle of Britain Then And Now — a book published and edited by Winston himself in which the possible link with Benzie to the Theydon Bois site had already been made. Incredibly, that very same information was now being quoted back to Winston himself by the Ministry of Defence as officially accepted data! Nonetheless, Winston subsequently prepared a detailed submission to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Ministry of Defence and duly submitted his findings to them on July 23, 2001. Thereafter, the wheels of official-

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However, in at least two previous instances, oxygen mask connectors have been recovered from crash sites with the names of the pilots engraved or stamped on them: Sergeant Ernest Scott of No. 222 Squadron, killed on September 27, 1940, and Pilot Officer Arthur ‘Rex’ Watson of No. 152 Squadron shot down on November 28, 1940. In this picture John Benzie is holding the tube to the connector, the very item which — in our view — helps to prove our argument. ple this to the evidence of a Gloster-built aeroplane and the evidence becomes more convincing. So, too, one must consider the almost ‘reverse evidence’ that P2962 was not flying

with the engine recorded on its AM Form 78. As to the location of the crash, it is certainly in the immediate area that John Benzie was last seen. Indeed, his Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader Douglas Bader, recorded in his own log-book the details of the combat thus: ‘Patrol North Weald. Enemy caught over Chelmsford. Destroyed 2 Me 110’s probably. Plt Off Benzie killed. Plt Off Crowley-Milling shot down but OK’. With Chelmsford little more than ten miles distant from the Theydon Bois site, the evidence of location for the combat in which Benzie was lost is convincing, too. CrowleyMilling, his aircraft damaged in the same engagement, made a forced landing at Stow Maries just to the south-east of Chelmsford. As for Mitchell, it is more than likely that, shot down with Beresford near the Isle of Sheppey, he and his aircraft fell into the Thames Estuary way off to the south. Either way, the case for the loss of Pilot Officer Benzie at Theydon Bois is exceptionally strong, if not conclusive in the manner which the MOD demand. It is a ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ test that does not, thus far, convince the authorities. There is, however, another route left open for the MOD and Commonwealth War Graves Commission to follow should they so wish. Within CWGC policy is an option to mark a headstone with the wording ‘Believed To Be’, and visitors to cemeteries in France and Belgium will find many such monuments there. The criterium for such an inscription is deemed to be ‘. . . where identification may be considered reasonable but not absolute’. Surely, in this instance we have a situation where identification might be considered reasonable even if it is not absolute? Finding The Few by Andy Saunders (ISBN-13: 9781906502553), fully illustrated, was published by Grub Street Publishing in September 2009. Price £20.

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Coroner, the MOD refused to accept identification. There can, really, be no criticism of the MOD’s insistence upon such clear evidence and that they should, understandably, err on the side of caution. If a mistake were made, then the consequences could be both embarrassing for the MOD and upsetting for relatives. In the Benzie case, though, are we not looking at some pretty convincing evidence? And is the named oxygen mask connector really incontrovertible? In their considering of the name inscribed on this particular item the MOD have doubtless considered the possibility of shared or reissued equipment being used by another pilot. Indeed, the author holds a copy of a Sussex police report where the casualty in a Spitfire crash is named from a life-jacket found in the wreck. In fact, that pilot had already been posted to another squadron and survived the war. His replacement on the squadron simply took that man’s kit. Additionally, a parachute recovered from the UK crash site of a Spitfire a few years ago was also named to another pilot who was not the casualty. So, the MOD’s caution is well founded. However, is it really likely that this oxygen connector was not actually on the person of Pilot Officer Benzie when he died? Certainly, there was another RAF officer with the name of Benzie who served at the same period as John. This was a Flying Officer D. G. E. Benzie, 90372, (evidently no relation) who also served in the General Duties (i.e. flying) branch of the service. It is entirely likely that he, too, might well have been issued an oxygen mask depending upon the type of aircraft he flew. He was not, though, a casualty. So, returning to the discovery of the named item from Theydon Bois it is surely beyond the bounds of any credibility that a pilot from RAF Debden (Mitchell) somehow acquired an item from a pilot from RAF Coltishall (Benzie). Indeed, the likelihood of an item evidently named to a missing Hurricane pilot, found in the wreck of a Hurricane with unidentified human remains, seems to more than very strongly suggest the identity of the pilot. Cou-

We posed the question to Wing Commander Bob Foster, DFC, who served with No. 605 Squadron, during the battle and he confirmed unequivocably that pilots never exchanged oxygen masks which is why they were marked with the owner’s name.

In November 2009 Andy visited the site for one last time. Somewhere in this field lies the elusive maker’s plate, the discovery of which would certainly convince the Ministry of Defence to give John a named grave at Brookwood (see back cover). 55