Pics : 'Wartime Hell'

The memorial is made with authentic relics, isn't it? Are those parts of tank wheels?

 

It's chopped up M10.

 

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I'm heartened to see so much interest in these old events, and glad that my dad recorded some of his memories for posterity.

Wessex, please feel free to post the photo from last Nov. 11.

I recently came across an internet posting from 2004 by a Walter Jenkinson, inquiring as to whether anyone knew about his father, who was killed at Moerbrugge on Sept. 10, 1944. Today I sent him an e-mail and a copy of my dad's article, but haven't heard back from him. Have any of you been in contact with him? I'm not sure his e-mail address from 2004 is currently operating.

Just before V-E Day 2005, I came across a news item about Capt. Ivor Martin's son being present at a ceremony in Ontario honouring his father. Capt. Martin was standing about 20 feet from my dad in St. Lambert when he was hit by a German shell, and he died shortly afterwards. This event and Capt. Martin's bravery in taking out a German machine gun single-handed are mentioned in my dad's article. I exchanged messages with his son, and it turned out he had met my dad a few years earlier.

Hearing about these sons who lost their fathers makes one realize how fickle fate is.

Kieran

 

Hey Slip you are a mod now! This is excellent news. It this recent or did I just skip your promotion? Congratulations!
Kieran, I hope the veteran will reply but remeber that his post is a 1000 days old and anything could have happened.

 

Ok , Keiran, I'll post photo but I'll edit out the ladies* and just post you and your Dad.

*I'm sure they don't want their images posted on the internet, never know who's viewing.

 

Has anyone seen the film that was being taken at the same time as the famous still photo of Major Currie and Sgt. Mitchell? The film cameraman is visible on the left side of uncropped versions of the still photo. I read somewhere that the film was destroyed in a fire at the Canadian Archives in 1966, but I've seen frames from it reproduced and descriptions of what the film shows.

Kieran

 

Kieran, although it hasn't the exact scene this does have some footage that has to be the Argylls and South Albertas at St Lambert.
(posted by another member on WW2Talk)

 

Thanks, I hadn't seen that film before. There's some good footage in it. Parts of it certainly were taken at St. Lambert, including the segment around "3:10" on the clock of a soldier firing from behind a car. I had seen a frame from that segment.

Cheers,
Kieran

 

Thanks, I hadn't seen that film before. There's some good footage in it. Parts of it certainly were taken at St. Lambert, including the segment around "3:10" on the clock of a soldier firing from behind a car. I had seen a frame from that segment.

Cheers,
Kieran

P.S. Looking at the rooflines in the background at around "2:57" and the bomb damage to the walls in the background at around "2:45" and comparing them to some of the photos in my dad's article, it looks like those segments were also filmed on the main street of St. Lambert.

I can see know why the "After the Battle" crew enjoy their work!

 

It is not a Tiger The close up clearly shows it to be a PzIV hull

 

Thanks Michael - just goes to show that you can't always go by those old ATB captions. On second thoughts, I did wonder if it was likely that any Tigers got as far as St Lambert.....

 

Thank you for the film and the links. One of the few things my father ever described to me was the fighting or rather the conditions post the fighting at the Falaise Gap. What has me caught me right now is that the motorcyclist near the end of the film looks remarkably like my father but it is hard to see clearly enough to confirm. He was with the 16th Battery 3rd LAA and was a Guner, a DNR, and Signaller, and later driver to Brig Lace, who was commander 2nd Div RCA. The information re what he was and his unit etc I've only learnt since he died.

I am not knowledgeable enough yet to know if he was at St. Lambert, though. The regimental history mentions being north of Verrieres 7/8 Aug, south of Vaucelles 8 Aug, and Bretteville-sur-Laize 15 Aug. A portion of the description for the pursuit dated 20 Aug "With the supeiority of the allied air force firmly established slaughter and decimation awaited any enemy that attempted to move on the roads....The traffic at that time was very heavy and the roads were in a terrible state having been cratered by bombs and shells and littered with wrecked and burned out German tanks, armoured cars, and trucks. Dead horses lay about in tangles of harness still hitched to their guns and wagons just as they were when caught by the allied air force on their vengeful holiday." Can anyone tell me if this regiment would have been in the area of St. Lambert?

michelle

 

Michelle,
Your Dad was in 2nd Cdn Div, they were to the west of the Caen-Falaise road at this time and into Falaise itself. Not really that near to St. Lambert.
Look at this map.
http://warchronicle.com/16th_infantry/historiantales_wwii/FalaisePocketDetail.jpg

 

Thanks, Wessex Wyvern.

After I posted I went back to the reference books and saw that his regiment was not in the same area. Oh well - I'll probably never stop looking for my Dad's face every time I see a photo or video footage of Canadian troops!

Michelle

 

Hi everyone,

The DVD that was released in 2006, "Death & Destruction in the Falaise Gap" includes at the end some newsreel footage and the most complete version I have seen of Sgt. Stollery's film taken at St. Lambert on August 19, 1944. The original film was destroyed in a fire at the Canadian archives in 1966, but a copy must have been made for use in newsreels. The narration is by an American. Here are some still frames from it.

Hauptmann Rauch’s sidecar approaches. Major Currie is behind a jeep, and you can see the top of his helmet:



Major Currie emerges from behind a jeep, holding his pistol:



Rauch surrenders in the face of a Bren gun. His right hand is in the air, and in his left hand he is holding a map case:



Rauch walks toward the Canadians, holding his map case:




Sgt. Mitchell confiscates the map case and starts removing Rauch’s sidearm belt:



Does anyone recognize the marking on the helmet of the soldier on the right? Someone suggested it may have South Alberta Regiment recce colours, or it may be Polish.

Kieran

 

I can't help with an answer to your question, Kieran - but thank you very much for posting those fascinating stills. I've been considering purchasing that particular DVD - now I am decided !

 

Hi Martin,

The DVD is generally very good, and it gives an honest assessment of the success and failure of the operation to close the Gap. Some of the narration is difficult to hear, and some of the footage is clearly misplaced (especially the German clips from the Battle of the Bulge) but overall I recommend it.

Kieran

 

Thanx alot for the pics and "well done" for the Bren gun man, as he did not pull the trigger....