Lieutenant Laing, a former Technical Officer and then a troop Commander in “C” Squadron, and Captain Joe 'Towrope' Meredith both received honours for their recovery of 20 vehicles over five nights at Driel, all of which had been left by previous units as beyond recovery. They were often within 500 yards of the enemy, under shell and mortar fire, while effecting these recoveries.
Lieutenant Patrick Anderson Laing (of one of the Unfortunate Incidents en route to Belgium) received the Military Cross for this and other deeds while Captain Joseph Meredith received the MBE:
“No officer has served the Regiment better or more loyally than Captain Meredith, either during the period of training at home or during active service abroad.”
(See 61st Recce Battle Honours.)
P.S. There is a great picture of Captain Joe Meredith leading RHQ in leaving ‘the Island’ during floods in November 1944 in Jeremy Taylor’s ‘Band of Brothers’ (copied in Roy Howard’s ‘Beaten Paths are Safest’). I would like to be able to post a copy here if anyone can help – it doesn’t seem to be on line anywhere...
Anthony Rampling describes leaving ‘the Island’
“We were pushed out of Arnhem and withdrew a few miles out and we established ourselves and then the Germans flooded the dykes so we were surrounded. They called us ‘the Island’ and it was very wet and muddy and as we came out of there the armoured cars had to go through about two foot of water to get away from it.”
WAR DIARY of 61 Recce Regt RAC October 1944
– Lt Col P.H.A. Brownrigg
Date 28th Place DRIEL
‘The relief went well without any interference and the last troop was clear by 2300 hrs.
‘B’ Squadron
were now at Winssen on the south bank of the Waal,
north-east of Nijmegen
until 10th November 1944.
WAR DIARY of 61 Recce Regt RAC October 1944
– Lt Col P.H.A. Brownrigg
Date 29th–31st Place WINSSEN
‘The day has been spent in settling in and doing some badly required maintenance.
Place ZETTEN
“A” Squadron’s commitment at Zetten is not great and the unit has come through another ‘crisis’ in good shape. The difficulties facing a Recce Regiment taking on a purely infantry role, in what must be one of the most unpleasant sectors on the 2nd Army front, are great. Despite the continual mortaring and shelling our casualties have been very light.’
Lt Col. Commander 61 recce Regiment, R.A.C.
Recent Comments