| D day stories 08:29 - Jun 5 with 5331 views | bluelagos |
Come on Twtd, lets hear about your relatives and their experiences.
My Grandad got to France D Day + 7, so had it easy in comparison to many brave soldiers. |  |
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| D day stories on 10:14 - Jun 6 with 1643 views | PhilTWTD |
| D day stories on 09:58 - Jun 6 by BiGDonnie |
Big up Phil, I lived in Grays for years as a yoot. Grove Road. |
I have to confess I don't know Grays that well - although remember playing football down the Dipping and at Blackshotts on visits as a kid - but that's near where the football ground was, isn't it? My dad lived in Rectory Road. |  | | |
| D day stories on 10:37 - Jun 6 with 1626 views | BiGDonnie |
| D day stories on 10:14 - Jun 6 by PhilTWTD |
I have to confess I don't know Grays that well - although remember playing football down the Dipping and at Blackshotts on visits as a kid - but that's near where the football ground was, isn't it? My dad lived in Rectory Road. |
Rectory road is literally round the corner from Grove Road. Parents lived there for years, may have known your pops. |  |
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| D day stories on 10:52 - Jun 6 with 1617 views | PhilTWTD |
| D day stories on 10:37 - Jun 6 by BiGDonnie |
Rectory road is literally round the corner from Grove Road. Parents lived there for years, may have known your pops. |
Certainly possible they knew him or some of the Ham clan as there were more than a few of us living in Grays, although my dad lived at 196 Rectory which is the other end from Grove Lane looking at a map. | | | |
| D day stories on 10:55 - Jun 6 with 1614 views | BiGDonnie |
| D day stories on 10:52 - Jun 6 by PhilTWTD |
Certainly possible they knew him or some of the Ham clan as there were more than a few of us living in Grays, although my dad lived at 196 Rectory which is the other end from Grove Lane looking at a map. |
I'll ask!
If their is a connection I want a lifetime membership and place on the board at TWTD. | |
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| D day stories on 10:56 - Jun 6 with 1610 views | PhilTWTD |
| D day stories on 10:55 - Jun 6 by BiGDonnie |
I'll ask!
If their is a connection I want a lifetime membership and place on the board at TWTD. |
Granted if that's the case! | | | |
| D day stories on 11:29 - Jun 6 with 1599 views | SouperJim |
My grandfather was regimental sergeant major of the bedfordshire and hertfordshire regiment (latterly part of the east anglian regiment). I know very little about him in general, let alone anything specific to WW2, other than I'm told he led british infantry at gold beach, possibly 2nd battalion essex regiment. Few survived and it's sobering to think I'm fortunate to be here as a result.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. |  |
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| D day stories on 12:25 - Jun 6 with 1568 views | SenatorBlue |
Not a D-Day story, however my wife tells a great story about her granddad. He was an army regular going into the war, artillery, served during the retreat to Dunkirk, escaped via the knoll, and was saved by a Scottish navel officer who hauled him off the net as he was moving between ships - the waves made each ship rise and fall, with the hulls coming together, and he was about to be splattered between the two.
He then served in north Africa, but was captured by Rommel's army, and then taken to an Italian prison camp where he stayed until Italy surrendered. In the gap between that and Germany taking control of Italy, he escaped and was taken in an hidden by an Italian family in mountains, up until the Allies defeated Germany in Italy.
I'd have loved him to have been around when I met the Mrs, to hear his war stories. |  | | |
| D day stories on 12:33 - Jun 6 with 1564 views | Leaky |
My dad was a butcher at Ipswich coop in 1942 aged 18 was called up sent to North Africa was part of the invasion of Italy fought at Monte CASSINO. I hope to make a visit this summer |  | | |
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| D day stories on 13:06 - Jun 6 with 1552 views | Lesta_Tractor |
My grandfather was a fireman in the RAF.
Like me, he was colour-blind and the moment WW2 finished he was told he couldn't be a fireman any longer and was moved in to clothing stores. |  |
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| D day stories on 13:58 - Jun 6 with 1541 views | carlisleaway |
| D day stories on 09:58 - Jun 6 by BiGDonnie |
Big up Phil, I lived in Grays for years as a yoot. Grove Road. |
My father was a gunner on HMS Kelvin and on D Day helped bomb the German positions from his ship. On the 3rd day the ship returned to England and picked up Sir Winston Churchill and other senior officials, to take them to France to show them how the war was being won. |  | | |
| D day stories on 14:15 - Jun 6 with 1529 views | Kievthegreat |
| D day stories on 12:25 - Jun 6 by SenatorBlue |
Not a D-Day story, however my wife tells a great story about her granddad. He was an army regular going into the war, artillery, served during the retreat to Dunkirk, escaped via the knoll, and was saved by a Scottish navel officer who hauled him off the net as he was moving between ships - the waves made each ship rise and fall, with the hulls coming together, and he was about to be splattered between the two.
He then served in north Africa, but was captured by Rommel's army, and then taken to an Italian prison camp where he stayed until Italy surrendered. In the gap between that and Germany taking control of Italy, he escaped and was taken in an hidden by an Italian family in mountains, up until the Allies defeated Germany in Italy.
I'd have loved him to have been around when I met the Mrs, to hear his war stories. |
I recently looked in to my Grandad and there's a lot of similarities.
My grandad signed up at the outbreak of war and was in an artillery regiment, didn't make it France in time so missed Dunkirk. Then ended up in North Africa and ended up becoming a POW at the fall of Tobruk. Sent to a POW camp in Italy as well, but didn't escape during the transition and ended up being sent to what is now the Czech Republic for the rest of the war.
He also had a narrow escape with British Subs. The SS Scilin carrying 750 POWS and many of his regiment from Africa to Italy was sunk by an English sub for loss of all but a handful of men. Theres actually a little piece from the Star about his regiment.
https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/gallery-sharing-memories-of-little-known-regi |  | | |
| D day stories on 14:55 - Jun 6 with 1512 views | Bluespeed225 |
My Grandfather is buried in Anzio military cemetery. Thought about it a lot more in recent years, he was 32, no naive kid, he had a young son, had seen some action, so knew what could happen. He was a Sergeant in the Artillery. He’s on the memorial in Christchurch Park, and also one in Bourne Park which was moved from Ransomes & Rapiers, remembering the employees who never returned.
As an aside, Mums side of family were bombed out, 255 Landseer Road. Coincidentally, a chap Ive known for years is the son of the family who lived next door, also hit. No fatalities, it landed in the garden, blew the back of the house off, 6 kids inside! Grandad broke some ribs. They then decided to evacuate! Bit late... |  | | |
| D day stories on 14:57 - Jun 6 with 1512 views | MedwayTractor |
| D day stories on 13:58 - Jun 6 by carlisleaway |
My father was a gunner on HMS Kelvin and on D Day helped bomb the German positions from his ship. On the 3rd day the ship returned to England and picked up Sir Winston Churchill and other senior officials, to take them to France to show them how the war was being won. |
In my earlier post, about my Dad on Juno, I mentioned a Churchill AVRE which is on display near Courselles-sur-Mer. It was knocked out as it tried to cross some flooded land behind the dunes, then pushed further into the water, when it's turret was used to support a box girder bridge for the troops to get across the flood.
It was replaced the following day with a Bailey Bridge, nicknamed Pont AVRE by the Tommies. The King, Eisenhower, possibly Churchill, Monty and de Gaulle were landed at Juno and went inland from the beach across this bridge. [Post edited 6 Jun 2019 14:58]
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| D day stories on 15:06 - Jun 6 with 1506 views | GlebeTractor |
| D day stories on 14:57 - Jun 6 by MedwayTractor |
In my earlier post, about my Dad on Juno, I mentioned a Churchill AVRE which is on display near Courselles-sur-Mer. It was knocked out as it tried to cross some flooded land behind the dunes, then pushed further into the water, when it's turret was used to support a box girder bridge for the troops to get across the flood.
It was replaced the following day with a Bailey Bridge, nicknamed Pont AVRE by the Tommies. The King, Eisenhower, possibly Churchill, Monty and de Gaulle were landed at Juno and went inland from the beach across this bridge. [Post edited 6 Jun 2019 14:58]
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I just want to say, what a bloody great thread this is. |  |
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| D day stories on 15:24 - Jun 6 with 1491 views | jimmyvet |
| D day stories on 15:06 - Jun 6 by GlebeTractor |
I just want to say, what a bloody great thread this is. |
Here Here fantastic to read such great stories of those who really did make sacrifices to allow us in the modern world to have such a fortunate existence. I have nothing but admiration and certainly can’t inagine what that generation went through. We squabble on here sometimes and have different views but it’s because of the sacrifices of those brave men and women that we can. | | | |
| D day stories on 16:32 - Jun 6 with 1472 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
My Grandad was a Private in a Royal Corps of Signals intelligence unit and worked at Southwick House in the build up to D-Day. He went through Arromanches about a week after D-Day. By the end of the war he was a Sergeant working in Germany, interviewing returning British spies. |  |
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| D day stories on 17:04 - Jun 6 with 1446 views | Clapham_Junction |
One of my grandfathers was in Egypt and Palestine as part of the RAF signals, although I don't think he saw any action.
The other was sent to Burma to fight the Japanese. By all accounts he witnessed some quite horrific things and never spoke about it. It was the only time in his life that he ever went abroad. |  | | |
| D day stories on 17:16 - Jun 6 with 1434 views | Berkshire_Blue |
Some years ago we discovered my wife's uncle's letters home from Normandy. To honour him on the 70th anniversary in 2014 I posted his letters in 'real time' to chart his progress across France.
For the most part they are unsensational. They do not describe great battles, but are letters from a son to his mother seeking home news and comfort in such things as tobacco - which can't have been easy for his parents to buy.
It seems a good time for me to read them again.
Start here
https://stanbarton.wordpress.com/about-letters-from-the-front-and-me/
and use the links on the right to start in June 1944 and go with him across Normandy.
Here's an excerpt: Eddy Dance accidentally injured a sergeant the other day when he threw a grenade into what he though was a safety area. It was quite accidental and I think the injured man is as well as can be expected.
[Post edited 6 Jun 2019 18:03]
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| D day stories on 17:33 - Jun 6 with 1420 views | carlisleaway |
| D day stories on 15:06 - Jun 6 by GlebeTractor |
I just want to say, what a bloody great thread this is. |
Makes a change from hearing the political arguments we have seen on this board, these men were hero’s | | | |
| D day stories on 17:33 - Jun 6 with 1420 views | chicoazul |
Can't be bothered to read the thread but has anyone done the "my Grandfather died at Auschwitz he fell off his watchtower" gag yet? |  |
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| D day stories on 18:04 - Jun 7 with 1338 views | Ryorry |
Meant to post this yesterday - sorry if it's been done before. There's currently a play running somewhere about it, an extract of which was read out at the Portsmouth Commems on Wednesday -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48498383
Fascinating stuff. |  |
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