Description
Object description
Ms diary (109pp, possibly ms transcription of an original diary) with a ts transcription (71pp) covering his service as a Sapper, later Corporal, with the Royal Engineers (June 1944 – March 1945), 262nd Field Company RE, (XII Corps, Second Army), with details of the preparations for D-Day (June 1944), waterproofing vehicles, list of his kit issued, boarding LST 379, the Armada at the Solent, the postponement due to the weather, good food on board but seasickness being rife, following the rest of the landing craft, setting off on D-Day but not landing until the afternoon of D+1 (7 June 1944), descriptions of the beaches, his truck being towed, repairing his truck at I Corps reception area, finding his Company at Bernieres-sur-Mer, casualties from anti-personnel mines, based near an airfield used by Typhoons, seeing Allied air support and descriptions of seeing the bombing of Caen (7 July 1944), going out in White Scout Cars, setting up a ground station near Capriquat airfield, patrolling roads to check for shell or bomb craters, hearing news of victories, the delay in BBC broadcasting details, now attached to 59th Division for road maintenance and mine clearance in the Villiers Bocage area (August 1944), injuries caused by Teller mines and booby traps, helping with a bridging job across the Orme at Amaye-sur-Odon to get the 17th Armoured across, moving to Tournebee, then through Falaise to La Boudonniere, heavy traffic, St Margueritte, moving up to bridge the Seine near the town of Louviers, Maquis operating in the area (September 1944), travelling through the Somme region, moving up to Bethune, crossing into Belgium, Nieuwenrode, staying with a Belgian family, trips into Brussels, hearing news of Arnhem, moving into Holland, bridging work, moving to a base near Eindhoven (October 1944), moving to Nijmegen to take over the maintenance of the bridge, his Company moving back to Schindel near Eindhoven and being attached to 51st Highland Division, job of putting a class 40 Bailey Bridge over a canal while under fire, preparations for being attached to 7th Armoured Division, at Boxtel, then Tilburg, instead re-joining XII Corps, descriptions of his stay in Tilburg (October – November 1944), poor food, returning to Belgium, then back to Holland, his Company being attached to 51st Division again to another bridge building job over the canal at Nederwurst, in view of the enemy, travelling with Company's officers to set up a HQ for a corduroy road building operation, supplying timber for 49th West Riding Division, moving to Roggel, a return to 'Bullshit' and parades, realising they would be staying for Christmas, boredom, cold wet weather, ENSA shows, a wireless course revision , German jet planes attacking, moving to the village of Berghargen, Christmas, befriending a family living in the grounds of a castle, taking part in Operation Blackcock (January 1945), 7th Armoured Division advancing from Sittard, accompanying AVREs for mine clearance, snow, tanks being attacked and getting bogged down, joining 52nd Division for more mine clearing, moving out of Borghargen into the state mine at Galeen near Sittard, moving to Lanarken (February 1945), a 'rest' period, Moving to Kervenheim, Germany (March 1945), crossing the Rhine, descriptions of the aircraft and boats crossing, and building a 1,860ft pontoon class 9 Bailey bridge over the Rhine, which was the last major building feet 262nd RE did in the war, with throughout details of his movements, German shelling and air raids, anti-aircraft fire, being impressed by 'Ducks' [DUKWs], descriptions of the French towns, meeting civilians, sadness at casualties in his Company, seeing dogfights and planes from both sides crashing, seeing 'pilotless planes' [V1s], films seen, weather, details of his duties, including driving the OC, accommodation, thoughts on news from other areas, refugees, insects, German dead and prisoners, and abandoned German equipment, evidence of heavy fighting, the welcome from the French, Belgian and Dutch civilians, opinions of French people about the political situation, the towns and villages he passed, and hints of his night-time activities in Belgium. Together with: his service papers including his Soldier's Service and Pay Book (AB 64), and Soldier's Release Book (AB X801); a Corps of Royal Engineers handbook for the use of candidates to third Class Certificate of Education (52pp, 1942); an order of service for the Second Army Thanksgiving Service (May 1945); a ts narrative account of 262nd Field Company, Royal Engineers, 6 – 11 June 1944 (5pp), with another personal ts narrative account, 6 – 26 June 1944; ten maps of North West Europe; a Programme for the Opening of Montgomery Bridge, Wesel, Germany (February 1946) built by XII Corps Troops RE, including 262, 263 and 280 Field Companies RE, and 265 Field Park Company RE, with detachments from others, with 29 photographs, mostly from the Allied Photo Service, showing the construction of the bridge and Montgomery opening it; 86 photographs, some annotated, taken by Sully and others, showing images of Wesel, damaged bridges, Essen, a training area at Saltzgitter with images of RE troops and AVRE Churchill tanks (May – June 1946), at Bad Driburg (July 1946), and Berlin; a large group photograph showing 262nd Field Company RE (April 1944); and three notebooks containing newspaper cuttings kept by Sully as a boy in the 1930s showing his interest in the military and world affairs.
Content description
Ms diary (109pp, possibly ms transcription of an original diary) with a ts transcription (71pp) covering his service as a Sapper, later Corporal, with the Royal Engineers (June 1944 – March 1945), 262nd Field Company RE, (XII Corps, Second Army), with details of the preparations for D-Day (June 1944), waterproofing vehicles, list of his kit issued, boarding LST 379, the Armada at the Solent, the postponement due to the weather, good food on board but seasickness being rife, following the rest of the landing craft, setting off on D-Day but not landing until the afternoon of D+1 (7 June 1944), descriptions of the beaches, his truck being towed, repairing his truck at I Corps reception area, finding his Company at Bernieres-sur-Mer, casualties from anti-personnel mines, based near an airfield used by Typhoons, seeing Allied air support and descriptions of seeing the bombing of Caen (7 July 1944), going out in White Scout Cars, setting up a ground station near Capriquat airfield, patrolling roads to check for shell or bomb craters, hearing news of victories, the delay in BBC broadcasting details, now attached to 59th Division for road maintenance and mine clearance in the Villiers Bocage area (August 1944), injuries caused by Teller mines and booby traps, helping with a bridging job across the Orme at Amaye-sur-Odon to get the 17th Armoured across, moving to Tournebee, then through Falaise to La Boudonniere, heavy traffic, St Margueritte, moving up to bridge the Seine near the town of Louviers, Maquis operating in the area (September 1944), travelling through the Somme region, moving up to Bethune, crossing into Belgium, Nieuwenrode, staying with a Belgian family, trips into Brussels, hearing news of Arnhem, moving into Holland, bridging work, moving to a base near Eindhoven (October 1944), moving to Nijmegen to take over the maintenance of the bridge, his Company moving back to Schindel near Eindhoven and being attached to 51st Highland Division, job of putting a class 40 Bailey Bridge over a canal while under fire, preparations for being attached to 7th Armoured Division, at Boxtel, then Tilburg, instead re-joining XII Corps, descriptions of his stay in Tilburg (October – November 1944), poor food, returning to Belgium, then back to Holland, his Company being attached to 51st Division again to another bridge building job over the canal at Nederwurst, in view of the enemy, travelling with Company's officers to set up a HQ for a corduroy road building operation, supplying timber for 49th West Riding Division, moving to Roggel, a return to 'Bullshit' and parades, realising they would be staying for Christmas, boredom, cold wet weather, ENSA shows, a wireless course revision , German jet planes attacking, moving to the village of Berghargen, Christmas, befriending a family living in the grounds of a castle, taking part in Operation Blackcock (January 1945), 7th Armoured Division advancing from Sittard, accompanying AVREs for mine clearance, snow, tanks being attacked and getting bogged down, joining 52nd Division for more mine clearing, moving out of Borghargen into the state mine at Galeen near Sittard, moving to Lanarken (February 1945), a 'rest' period, Moving to Kervenheim, Germany (March 1945), crossing the Rhine, descriptions of the aircraft and boats crossing, and building a 1,860ft pontoon class 9 Bailey bridge over the Rhine, which was the last major building feet 262nd RE did in the war, with throughout details of his movements, German shelling and air raids, anti-aircraft fire, being impressed by 'Ducks' [DUKWs], descriptions of the French towns, meeting civilians, sadness at casualties in his Company, seeing dogfights and planes from both sides crashing, seeing 'pilotless planes' [V1s], films seen, weather, details of his duties, including driving the OC, accommodation, thoughts on news from other areas, refugees, insects, German dead and prisoners, and abandoned German equipment, evidence of heavy fighting, the welcome from the French, Belgian and Dutch civilians, opinions of French people about the political situation, the towns and villages he passed, and hints of his night-time activities in Belgium. Together with: his service papers including his Soldier's Service and Pay Book (AB 64), and Soldier's Release Book (AB X801); a Corps of Royal Engineers handbook for the use of candidates to third Class Certificate of Education (52pp, 1942); an order of service for the Second Army Thanksgiving Service (May 1945); a ts narrative account of 262nd Field Company, Royal Engineers, 6 – 11 June 1944 (5pp), with another personal ts narrative account, 6 – 26 June 1944; ten maps of North West Europe; a Programme for the Opening of Montgomery Bridge, Wesel, Germany (February 1946) built by XII Corps Troops RE, including 262, 263 and 280 Field Companies RE, and 265 Field Park Company RE, with detachments from others, with 29 photographs, mostly from the Allied Photo Service, showing the construction of the bridge and Montgomery opening it; 86 photographs, some annotated, taken by Sully and others, showing images of Wesel, damaged bridges, Essen, a training area at Saltzgitter with images of RE troops and AVRE Churchill tanks (May – June 1946), at Bad Driburg (July 1946), and Berlin; a large group photograph showing 262nd Field Company RE (April 1944); and three notebooks containing newspaper cuttings kept by Sully as a boy in the 1930s showing his interest in the military and world affairs.
History note
Cataloguer SJO