Chapter 10 D Day and preparations
‘The ever-shifting sea, now soon to bear
Armada on the ebb of Hitler’s tide.
Then are the hosts in canvas camp confined,
Some in a wood called Nightingale: but where
No bird sings to the restless men at night,
Who fancy seeing ravens in the sky.’
(From ‘On the Eve’ by Major Frank Harding MC,
in ‘War echoes over thirty years’ published by Arthur Stockwell, 1970)
In early April 1944 the 61st Reconnaissance Regiment
moved to a camp in Nightingale Wood, near Romsey, Hampshire
Don Aiken, of 11 Troop B Squadron, takes up the story :
“Finally we moved to a tented camp, in ‘Nightingale Wood’, close to a small village named Romsey, about 10 miles from Southampton.
It soon became obvious that everything was being assembled and prepared for the invasion of Europe; the long awaited Second Front. All around us were similar camps containing troops of all persuasions. British, American, Canadian and smaller units of many other nations were all crowded into encampments that seemed to be everywhere in the fields and woods around the borders of the New Forest.
A news blackout was enforced on everyone and all leave was stopped.All mail was strictly censored.
I had received news from my brother Arthur that he had been stationed just on the outskirts of Southampton - his section of the Corps of Signals was engaged in running telephone lines between all the multitude of units which were moving in. We both managed to get a few hours of compassionate leave, and we met in Southampton one afternoon. He took me back up to his section quarters where we had a cup of tea and a chat before we bade each other farewell.”
Nightingale Wood lies at the edge of Southampton, just beyond the M27 and is partially occupied by Romsey Golf Club. In spring 1944 this was D-Day Marshalling Area Camp C16 and C17 (camp capacity 3,250 personnel and 465 vehicles). (See Airfield Information Exchange and The D-Day Sausage Camps.)
“By the spring of 1944, all of southern England and much of the rest of of the country had become a vast military encampment……In the assembly areas great tented encampments were created equipped with water points, field bakeries, bath facilities, post offices, each one camouflaged with the intent of making it indistinguishable from 10,000 feet.” (From ‘Overlord’ by Max Hastings, Macmillan 2016 edition)
It was no picnic as Anthony Rampling remembers:
“We were in Nightingale Woods, under canvas – it wasn’t very nice at all, what with the rain etc and some of the conditions were quite bad with mud, and cos the rations weren’t very good either so nothing was nice about it.”
There was an infantry regiment alongside us in Nightingale Wood and their job was making crosses to take over to Normandy ready for the people that got killed.”
Anthony Rampling and 61st Recce were in Nightingale Wood for two months 'waiting to go’. Anthony’s friend Sandy Handley joined 61st Recce soon after they had arrived at Nightingale Wood.
“On April 2nd 1944 I had my marching orders to report to the 61st Reconnaissance Regiment (50th Division). The flash on our sleeves was (TT) which was Tyne Tees, quite a few men from the Newcastle area. There I was again on a train, this time to Romsey, Hants. You can imagine…
When I first joined up (17th July 1940) I was 20 years old in the Royal West Kents, men mainly all from Kent. I had got to know most of our company – some from Dover (Sandy’s home town). Now here I was alone, I didn’t know a soul.
On arrival at the camp between Romsey and Southampton all were under canvas below the trees of a wood (Nightingale Wood) quite near the famous Florence Nightingale home, although I never saw it. Also near to Romsey was Broadlands, the home estate of Lord Louis Mountbatten. I didn’t see that either, just the trees.
I reported to the C.O. Colonel Mount who asked me if I could shoot straight. I said ‘yes’, but afterwards I thought it would have been better if I had said ‘no’! The Colonel said “You have come to the right place!” I made myself known to my new friends in my troop. I was now a gunner/operator in a Humber Armoured Car Mark 3. I soon got to know the twelve men in the four armoured cars in No 5 troop B squadron 61st Recce Regiment.”
(From Ex Trooper S Handley’s “61 Recce - Memories of Normandy 1944 – 1945”)
Dick was the officer for No 5 Troop 'B' Squadron,
61st Reconnaissance Regiment.
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