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Updates to Gerald Willen’s pages

March 17, 2013 – 8:33 pm

I’ve spent a couple of days uploading some of the additional information that Scott Willen (Gerald’s son) sent me.

In particular there are details from a large newspaper article published on the eve of D-Day’s 50th Anniversary together will a follow-up article from later in the month advising of his death.

There’s also lots of pages from Willen’s PoW logbook which were issued to all PoWs to keep them occupied during the “present unpleasantness”.

I now need to transcribe the PoW diary to add that information onto the site

Bill Sullivan in 2012 at Sainte Mère Église

March 15, 2013 – 2:36 pm

I have been sent this photograph of Bill Sullivan on 2nd June 2012 when he visited Sainte Mère Église as part of his annual trip to Normandy. In the photograph with him is Jean Paul Mandier who kindly provided the photograph – thanks JeanPaul

Bill wasn’t one of “The Men in the Shed”, but he did drop with Gerald Willen & Morris Sheppard & for a while, having escaped from the German army, was “on the run” with them.

Subsequently, Bill wrote to Jim, Morris’s son & provided many details of their route which has enabled me to be able to follow in their footsteps & revisit some of these places. Details of tehse can be found within other pages in this blog

Bill Sullivan in 2012 with Jean Paul Mandier

By ColinAuthor | Posted in M/Sgt Morris Sheppard | Tagged Bill Sullivan, Normandy, Sainte Mere Eglise | Comments (0)

Men in the Shed at Manchester Military History Society

February 27, 2013 – 2:41 pm

Each month the Manchester Military History Society has a speaker on a military related subject followed by a discussion around that subject or related topics.

On Tuesday 9th April (if you can make it!), I’ll be delivering the lecture for the Society focusing on “the story so far…”

In 2004, Colin Foster began an investigation to unearth the story & personalities behind a set of names of 18 Allied Servicemen recorded onthe inside wall of a wooden shed in Normandy owned by a friend of his.

Nine years later, with much French wine, Cider, Calvados and beer drunk,the research is still ongoing… lots of answers have been found… and plenty more questions raised!

This talk summarises the results so far and sets out the plans for the future.

This will be the third time that I’ve been able to share this story with members of the society, but with a large influx of new members in recent months, I think there’s only a small handful that will have heard it before.

The photo that they’ve used to advertise the site is, perhaps, one of my favourite ones of Flt Lt John Harder, relaxing against the wing of his Spitfire “L for Lechery”

The talk is being held at the East Manchester Gaming Centre on Tuesday, 9th April 2013 from 7:30pm. Here is a link to a location map

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Flt Lt John W Harder | Tagged Calvados, John Harder, Manchester Military History Society, Normandy, Spitfire | Comments (0)

Bomber Command & Arctic Convoy Veterans receive official recognition at last

February 26, 2013 – 10:12 am

And about b****y time, too!!

Last year, the Bomber Command Memorial was unveiled by Her Majesty the Queen in London & now, on today’s news, it would appear that Veterans who served on Arctic convoys and in Bomber Command during World War II are to be recognised for their bravery and service with a new medal and award: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21583176

John Harder in cockpit of Stirling Bomber

Of course, this is relevant to the story that I’m telling as, before he served with 64 Squadron, there is very strong evidence that Flt Lt John Harder also served in Bomber Command. This evidence is in photographs, letters and also a document stuck into his logbook which refers to a transfer from Bomber Command.

Unfortunately, there’s a few missing details such as his logbook from before he was with 64 Squadron & details of which bomber squadron he served with, so perhaps more impetus for those members of the “Harder Clan” that read this to see what’s lurking away in various attics, lofts, cellars, etc as the circumstantial evidence is there that John served with Bomber Command… the key is to prove it as then the family will be entitled to receive the Clasp on his behalf.

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Flt Lt John W Harder | Tagged 64 Squadron, Arctic Convoys, Bomber Command, John Harder | Comments (0)

A “new” Spitfire from John Harder’s old squadron

February 25, 2013 – 4:20 pm

One of the people who’s added so much to the story of Flt Lt John Harder has been his “co-conspirator” & joint member of the wartime “John & Tony mutual appreciation society”: Flt Lt Tony Cooper.

I’ve met Tony on 3 occasions, since being introduced to him by email, at his home in Lowestoft and each one has been an absolute joy, sharing his time & memories with me. On the last visit, with my daughter Rachael who, for her university course, needed to interview someone who had served during WW2, he was most generous with his time & despite being “interviewed out” following the John Sergeant documentary on the Spitfire, took the time to answer Rachael’s questions in detail.

Tony is a fantastic guy, with a “twinkle” in his eye and still with fond memories of the time that he spent in 64 Squadron with John, and afterwards as firm, post-war, friends.

In his house are many memories of his wartime career, including various scale models of one of his personal Spitfire’s, SH-B number MK805, named Peter John III after his son (this was the third Spitfire to bear Peter’s name, hence the “III”).

Recently, however, someone who lives near to Tony has gone one better with a “lifesized” model! It’s taken Terry Arlow 28 years to build his replica Spitfire from a mix of salvaged parts and ones fabricated from new.

When the Spitfire was ready, who better to invite round to inspect it, but Tony?

I was aware of this happening, but a few days ago, the following article was published in “The Mail – Online” (from which the photos are taken) which I thought might be of interest…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280470/Spitfire-enthusiast-Terry-Arlow-spends-28-YEARS-building-perfect-replica-plane-flown-friend-World-War-Two.html

There’s also a BBC report from two years ago… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-12583046

The website where you can read more about this is: http://www.simplyspitfire.com/

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Flt Lt John W Harder | Tagged John Harder, Spitfire, Tony Cooper | Comments (0)

Finding Fathers Documentary

February 18, 2013 – 10:18 am

One of my friends in France – Jean-Marc Lesueur – sent me (over the weekend) details of a documentary that he had been sent on Valentine’s Day…

“I met France at the Normandy American cemetery some years ago…. She was student in NYc — she made this fantastic documentary after our meeting .. I am sure you will enjoy watching it; of course VOTE for her later!It’s definitely worth watching!

Dear friends,

I hope this email finds you well. I guess you are all in the mood for love today… And if you feel like breaking Valentine Day’s cliché, feel free to click on this link: http://www.youngcuts.com/youngcuts_documentary_kudos and swap cheesy pink hearts for bright yellow stars!

All of that to say that Finding Fathers (the documentary I made while studying at NYU) is available online and has been nominated for a “fake” Canadian Oscar. You have a few days to vote and results will be announced just after the “real” Academy Awards. Please feel free to share the link with people who might have an interest in the documentary.

Thank you very much!

Lots of love,

France”

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Documentary, Finding Fathers, Normandy | Comments (0)

Forgotten Footprints – Normandy Tours

February 14, 2013 – 12:13 pm

If you’re considering a visit to Normandy (and aren’t coming with me!), then I would heartily recommend using the team at Forgotten Footprints.

David Mabbutt has a huge amount of knowledge of the Normandy fighting (especially in the Operation BLUECOAT area) and has been really useful to me in my researches into the “Men in the Shed” – In fact it was David that identified the village of Le Mesnil Cinchamps as being Ray Elledge’s “Chaimps de Champs” in Ray’s manuscript; he’s also been instrumental in introducing me to WW2 veterans as well as other researchers.

Not only does David know a lot about Normandy in WW2 that he’s always ready to share, but he’s also a really nice bloke!! What’s more, his “Good Lady”, Jeanette, bakes some truly awesome cakes! 😀

So, please take a look at his shiny new website at http://www.forgottenfootprints.com/

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Normandy Trips | Tagged Forgotten Footprints, Normandy, Normandy Visits | Comments (0)

Day 9/10: June 8/9th

September 8, 2012 – 6:23 pm

Back in the UK

An early start from St Omer, following the slightly less busy main roads (rather than motorways) saw us arrive back at the Eurotunnel terminal actually in time for an almost leisurely look around… most unusual.

Having done that & spent a few final Euros, we set off back to England & into very high winds & rain (once again, so glad that we go by train rather than boat!)

Or way back was via Oxford & another couple of brew pubs (including The Cross Keys in Thame that didn’t have any of it’s own beer on, ‘though it did have a new version of an “old favourite”: Marston’s Merrie Monk Mild). It also appeared, whilst in Thame, we’d missed Robin Gibb’s funeral earlier that morning. In Oxford, we began the day as we did on our way out, with a very large, but inexpensive fried breakfast… Yum!

Also, in Oxford, we found the Royal Blenheim pub and it DID have it’s own beers on pull!

So that was it, another trip to France over all too soon. Not as much discovered as in the past, but a couple of ends tied off which was good…

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Normandy Trips | Tagged Brewpub, Eurotunnel, St Omer | Comments (0)

Day 8: 7th June

September 8, 2012 – 6:16 pm

3rd Battalion Scots Guards, Hill 226 & Operation BLUECOAT

As mentioned earlier, investigating this unit’s contribution to the success of Operation BLUECOAT has been another interest of mine and earlier in the year, I delivered a talk to the South Manchester Tactical Society about it.

Having visited the area on many occasions & taken lots of photos, I’ve recently come across some further information which made me realise that I’d taken photos of every part of what was known as Hill 226… except for the actual area where the battle took place! As the Great Homer says: “Doh!!” So off we set to capture the last few…

In addition to taking the photos, I’d hoped to be able to have a good walk around; unfortunately, the rain decided to come down hard (again!!), so I had to make do with photos taken from inside the car & regularly wiping down a wet camera! I now need to add these into both my presentation and booklet (more things added to my “to do” list!)

St Omer

So, having taken the photos of Hill 226 & confirmed with Elizabeth Sullivan that Bill wasn’t recovered enough to meet up, we set off on our long journey up to St Omer where we were staying overnight (and trying to find a brewery or two!).

Eventually, without any mishap (considering that there were a couple of times when my eyes seemed to close!), we arrived at our destination…

We’d driven through rain, wind & more rain, but the latter part of our journey was in bright sunshine. However, as we approached St Omer, a very large black cloud was beginning to loom very large… and as we arrived at the hotel, it decided to let go of it’s rain!

And then within around 15 minutes, it had gone, leaving us to a wonderful warm & sunny evening.

Having then booked in, we went out to find the brwewery. There are two in the town, a very large, commercial one & a much smaller craft style one. Of course, fairly typically, I thought that Glyn had pre-located it via the internet & he thought I’d done the same!

So a walk through the town saw us at a small bar drinking a very nice dark beer, but not the one that we wanted. I then decided that I was tired & hungry, so I set off back to the hotel; Glyn meanwhile decided to continue exploring & within yards had found it! Unfortunately, he couldn’t call me to let me know as my phone battery had died! So, another to “add” to next year!

By ColinAuthor | Posted in Normandy Trips | Tagged 3rd Battalion Scots Guards, Brewery, Hill 226, Operation BLUECOAT, SMATS, St Omer | Comments (0)

Day 7: 6th June

September 8, 2012 – 5:13 pm

Swapping history

Before we could set off from Bayeux to meet Bill & Elizabeth Sullivan, we’d arranged to meet up with Stéphane Jacquet who is the curator of the museum at Tilly sur Seulles, just South of Bayeux. Stéphane and I had made contact through a Facebook group interested in the 6th Guards Tank Brigade – a unit of Churchill tanks that were heavily involved in Operation BLUECOAT.

Stéphane is interested in both this operation and the Guards & as I’d pulled together a booklet covering their part in BLUECOAT (or at rather specifically 3rd Battalion Scots Guards part in it & their taking of Hill 226), I’d agreed to share this information with him.

Unfortunately, as we were both then heading up into the “American Sector”, we only had time for a relatively brief chat before both heading off on our journeys.

With Bill Sullivan at Éroudeville

Taking full advantage of the slightly more relaxed speed limits in France than the UK, we arrived at Eroudeville just as the ceremony to name the road after Bill and to also present him with a local award was about to happen & we managed to take a few photos before the rain (which had been threatening) began to fall; as it soon became obvious that this was going to be more than a brief shower, it was decided to move it inside into the Village Hall.

Once there, we were treated to more speeches and applause before the home-made wine, Cidre and Poireau was opened… and very nice it was, too!

We were able to have a great chat with both Bill and his wife, Elizabeth & I explained to her how I knew Bill (via the link through Jim Sheppard). She was unaware of this, or the other places that we were able to talk to her about that Bill had visited on past trips to Normandy. We did plan for a possible visit to one of these on the following day, unfortunately, Bill wasn’t up to it, so this is something that we’re planning for in 2013.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay until the end of the meal that was held in Bill’s honour as we had to return to St Charles de Percy for the Remembrance ceremony there. So, passing on our thanks to Bill & Elizabeth for the invitation & to M. Le Maire, we left to head through torrential rain to our next event.

St Charles de Percy

St Charles de Percy is a Commonwealth Wargraves Cemetery containing 809 2nd World War Burials, of which 703 have been identified. It is the southernmost of the Normandy cemeteries. The majority of those buried here died in late July and early August 1944 in the major thrust made from Caumont l’Evente towards Vire, to drive a wedge between the German 7th Army and Panzer Group West.

Each year on 6th June, there is a ceremony, led by the local Mairie, which is attended by veterans, locals & their friends and families to commemorate those that lost their lives & are buried in the cemetery; this is the second year that we have attended.

Unfortunately, this year, the weather decided not to play ball & rained almost continually through the service with some exceptionally heavy bursts; in fact it delayed the start of the service for a while. Glyn & I took cover behind the thick hedges that surround the cemetery whilst waiting for the service to start & it was amazing how much of the rain that they cut out!

Before the start of the ceremony, we once again said “hi” to Eain Findlay & his father, Peter who is a Veteran of 3rd Battalion Scots Guards who we met for the first time, last year & who we would be meeting up with, again, later at the evening meal following the ceremonies.

The Vin d’Honneur

This is held at the Guards Memorial in the village of St Charles de Percy & follows the short ceremony of remembrance at the memorial; needless to say, with free wine available, it is well attended!

Following this, we paid a very brief visit to my friend, Barrie for a quick chat before going on to our final event of the day…

Evening meal

For the past several years (‘though we’ve only attended two) there has been a celebratory meal at the village hall in nearby Montchamp. This is well attended & a great time had by all!

For me, this year was slightly special… in addition to the research that I’ve been doing on “The Men in the Shed”, I’ve also been looking into the activities of 3rd Battalion Scots Guards who were part of 6th Guards Tank Brigade and fought alongside 11th Armoured Division in Operation BLUECOAT. This culminated in my delivering a talk on the subject to our local Military History Group: The South Manchester Tactical Society.

As part of this, I had produced a booklet which covered the actions of 3rd Bn SG in BLUECOAT and I was enormously proud to be able to present a copy to Peter Findlay, a former Colour Sergeant and Tank Gunner (SKYE tank) in that unit. What was even better was the reaction that Peter gave to it… having skimmed through it himself and approved what was there, he then passed it out to others to read

After a long and tiring day (with much wine!), we headed off to stay at Tony & Jill Stansfield’s wonderful B&B. We had planned a chat with Tony & Jill (together with a sharing of some locally made Calvados), unfortunately, by the time that we’d arrived, we thought they’d gone to bed! Hey, ho, something to savour for next year!