In September 2023 I took a little trip around the sites associated with 61st Reconnaissance Regiment in Normandy, as many veterans have done in the years since the war. Sadly, Tony Rampling seems to be the only veteran left from the Regiment - his account of the 61st's engagement in the Battle of Normandy, the 'swan' across France, fighting across the canals in Belgium, Market Garden, defending 'the island' next to Arnhem and the freezing ordeal of the Ardennes is interwoven with 61st Recce's history in this blog. (For detail see posts written in 2014 and 2015 ie 70 years since 1944 and '45; for summaries of each month those written in 2019 and 2020 ie 75 years since 1944 and '45.)
These pages lay out the route I took around locations and cemeteries, in case anyone else is interested. Part 2 and Part 3 cover the Beaches, Bayeux and the Breakout.
PART 1
Nightingale Wood
We started on this side of the Channel, in Nightingale Wood, where 61st Recce were based for two months before before D Day. 40% of the Regiment were sent across to Normandy on D Day and the others followed a week later. The wood, just north of junction 3 on the M27, is now partially occupied by Romsey Golf Club but there is road and footpath access around the periphery. Here the Recce prepared for the landings with exercises, carefully restricted briefings (no-one knew where they were going until they were on board) and waterproofing of the vehicles, which would have to plough through water when they left the landing craft. An American Ranger unit was based next to them; perhaps because they trained for the famous Pointe du Hoc assault on the Isle of Wight cliffs? There were also infantry here, making wooden crosses for marking the graves of the fallen in France.
Bayeux
This beautiful town, liberated by 61st Recce's 50th Division on 7th June, preserves fantastic Medieval architecture and a rich history. Unlike many places associated with the battle of Normandy it avoided destruction and is a lovely place to be based while exploring the WW2 sites. It also hosts the Battle of Normandy Museum and the huge and very moving British War Cemetery. More on this later...
DAY 1
The Bridgehead
We headed south from Bayeux to the charming little hamlet of Ellon with its impressive château and solemn old church. Here we found the grave of Trooper Matthew Docherty. On 20th June 1944 he was driving a lorry of ammunition supplies, with Don Aiken riding shotgun, when they were attacked by a plane and Docherty was killed. See Don Aiken's acount for the full story (they'd already got lost and ended up avoiding street fighting in Caen). 50th Division was centred here in the middle of June, so perhaps that's why he is buried here with only one other Commonwealth war grave.
Our next stop was the poignant Jerusalem War Cemetery. There are no 61st Recce graves but many soldiers from the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division lie here. 61st Recce became familiar with the dangers of Jerusalem crossroads and their Regimental HQ was based at Jerusalem for a while.
After the war, the War graves Commission went to the location to remove the bodies for reburial in an official cemetery. The farmer who owned the land refused to permit it saying - “These men fought for my land, died on my land, and they shall continue to lie in my land.”
It's a wonderfully peaceful place now and beautifully kept.
The tiny village of Bucéels was nearby, a somewhat indistinct location, where the Regiment's commander, Colonel Sir William Mount, was 'shot up the bum' (as the men put it) on D Day + 2, ie the 8th June, while 'fighting boches'. The Colonel was replaced with Major Phillip Brownrigg as commanding officer, a rather less 'blood and guts' figure.
Tilly-sur-Seules, a target for 50th Division in the D +1 'Operation Perch', lies just to the south. The skeleton force of 61st Recce that had landed were attached to 8th Armoured Brigade in this push. The Brigade took the adjacent village of St.Pierre but on 12th June had to withdraw. Roy Howard of A Squadron (and author of the 61st Reconnaissance history 'Beaten Paths are Safest') was on recce at Tilly on 10th June but the town was fiercely defended - fighting here reduced most of it to rubble. It was finally taken by 50th Division on the 19th June (B Squadron's Don Aiken and Eric Postles were here on 19th and 20th June). 50th Division remained based here, facing the the elite German armoured Division known as the Panzer Lehr, until 30th June. The little town has long since been rebuilt and there is a large Commonwealth Cemetery to the west where five of 61st Recce lie.
On 26th June 1944, the day that 'Operation Epsom' began, two 61st Recce vehicles ran into anti-tank fire at a crossroads north of Grainville. “Corporal Ashton and his crew of 10 Troop armoured car were killed. They had landed with us on D-Day. Corporal Ashton had been an entertainer in clubs before the war and used to play the piano for sing-songs in the NAAFI in England" (Eric Postles' account 'My War Years'). Troopers Arnold Wade and Gwilyam Williams from 10 Troop lie either side of Corporal 'Squire' Ashton.
Trooper Charles Turner was killed on on 17th July, the day 61st Recce took over the trenches at Briquessard Wood from the US 'Screaming Eagles' of 101st Airborne Division. Trooper John Slater, known as 'Enoch' was killed in Briquessard Wood three days later.
Lingèvres, a little village to the west of Tilly-sur-Seulles, also looks recently built or re-built.
The 1914 to 18 war memorial still stands and is marked by signs of fighting. Near here, on 15th June 1944, Don Aiken's '12' Troop Sergeant Charlie ('Chalky') Wells, was crawling forward with Corporal Sam Benson to check whether a crossroads was clear when they came face to face with two Germans armed with a machine gun, peering over the same grass mound. Hastily returning to warn the infantry they came under fire and Sam was badly wounded. Having ordered Don to give covering fire from his armoured car, Chalky went back and rescued Sam. His bravery, skill and leadership was later recognised with the Croix de Guerre Bronze Star.
On 5th July 50th Division held the front-line here facing 2nd SS Panzer and were centred nearby on 30th July before the Operation Bluecoat advance.
Bernières crossroads, slightly to the north has a cluster of atmospheric old buildings. 61st Recce's Regimental HQ was here before the move to Briquessard on 17th July.
We failed to find the ill-fated village of Crauville, which was so costly to 61st Recce - Eric Postles' 10 Troop lost a Carrier troop here on 15th June and on 17th 'A' Squadron lost two armoured cars. It lies to the south, near La Croix des Landes.
Briquessart Wood is private with no public access.
61st Reconnaissance Regiment were engaged in trench warfare at 'Briquessard' from 17th to 30th July. The frontline lay along a stream at the bottom of a small valley (shown by a row of shrubs in the photo bottom left). The 61st were in trenches at the bottom edge of a wood on the south-facing slope (on left hand side in photo bottom left). The stream crossed a field and at the south edge of the field was a bocage hedgerow with a track behind - this was the German position (see central photo below). The stream passes through a series of fields and the hedgerows for these, crossing the valley, provided cover for the 24 hour 'listening posts' in shallow scrapes, forward of the line. I was staggered by just how close the two sides were to each other - this was warfare up close and dangerous.
The town of Caumont lies to the east of Briquessart (in the American sector) and was liberated by the US on 13th June. Eric Brewer of B Squadron's Assault Troop reached here on D Day when his carrier got lost and the driver was shot. By 20th June 50th Division were holding the frontline from Caumont to Grainville-sur-Odon. Don Aiken and Eric Brewer (both of 'B' Squadron) passed through Caumont at the beginning of Operation Bluecoat at the end of July. This advance marked the end of the first 40 days in Normandy, when the British and Canadians were penned up inside their bridgehead by the bulk of the German forces and Tony Rampling never got to take his boots off!
50th Division were held up at Amayé-sur-Seulles, east of Villers-Bocage, on 30th July. On 2nd August
'B' Squadron were ordered to recce the village, which lies on high ground overlooking river valleys. Their commander, Major Frank Harding, and Lieutenant Truman took out an enemy observation post and pressed forward to engage the Germans in the centre of the town, successfully containing the enemy until 50th Division's East Yorks and Green Howards could liberate Amayé-sur-Seulles later that day. Both Major Harding and Lt. Truman were awarded the Military Cross.
The war memorial, opposite the 15th century church, includes an inscription dedicated to the inhabitants of the village who were victims of WW2.
The strategic town of Villers-Bocage was 61st Recce's original target for D Day. Roy Howard of 'A' Squadron was involved in the Battle of Villers-Bocage on 13th June, which resulted in a British withdrawal and heavy bombing by the Allies. 61st Recce were on patrol here again for Operation Bluecoat before the ruined town was finally taken by 50th Division's Dorset regiment and 7th Armoured on 4th August 1944. Eric Brewer lost more comrades from 'B' Squadron's Assault Troop here including Sergeant Robert Ell, Corporal Horace Bater and Trooper Robert Stevens. Bill Roberts dragged the severely wounded Bater (who he calls 'Battle' in his diary) more than a mile back to their lines. The town has now been completely rebuilt. They lie in the British War Cemetery in Bayeux with 61st Recce's Trooper William Heaton, also killed on 3rd August.
Hottot-les-Bagues, lies just to the south of Tilly-sur-Seules. The village was on the front-line for most of June. Briefly taken by 50th Division's Hampshire regiment (with 61st Recce, including Eric Postles, on the right flank) on 11th July, it was eventually liberated by the 50th on 19th July. (Don Aiken and Roy Howard were on reconnaissance here on the 16th).
Six men from 61st Recce lie in Hottot-les-Bagues war cemetery. Sergeant Bill Griffiths and Troopers Joe Collier, Ronald McHugh and Jack Webb were all killed in the carrier explosion in Crauville on 15th June. Roy Howard's Troop Sergeant Bill Abbey was killed on patrol with his driver Trooper Wright (resting place unknown) on 23rd June and Roy's reserve Sergeant, Joe Dunnington, died in a booby trap explosion on 5th August, just after the liberation of Villers-Bocage. Roy became the next Sergeant but survived the war with two others from the original twelve of 'A' Squadron's 7 Able troop.
We found it difficult to identify the 'Tessel-Bretteville' feature, which Don Aiken records reaching on 7th June and 8th Armoured's advance (8th to 12th June) failed to attain. The area is plateau above the Odon valley, south-west of Caen.
To the east, the crossroads at Grainville-sur-Odon were frequently under observation by Eric Brewer and 'B' Squadron's Assault Troop behind the German front-line. Eric's diary records that 61st Recce lost twelve men - with two carriers and a heavy armoured car - here on 18th June. The 12 Troop carrriers ran into an ambush: Sergeant Cecil Wallace, Corporal Harry Cooper and Corporal Eric Humphreys died on 19th June and lie in the British War Cemetery in Bayeux. With them are Sergeant Kenneth Ekins and Troopers Frank Kershaw and Arthur Cole (his grave is decorated in tribute on behalf of his friend, Tony Rampling) of Eric's 13 Assault Troop. They were killed on 20th June by mortar and machine gun fire while on recce to find enemy positions in the Grainville area.
50th Division's East Yorkshires took the crossroads on 25th June in preparation for Operation Epsom but more men were lost here the next day (see Tilly-sur-Seules war cemetery).
The crossroads south of the current village (above right) has a commanding view of the Odon Valley and is near to the river crossing points used in Operation Epsom ('the First Battle of the Odon' - 26th to 30th June) and the subsequent July attacks on the Évrecy area south of the river. 61st Recce crossed the river on the Pont de Tourmaville (right) on 28th June, when Eric Brewer was at last relieved - "First in, last out as usual". They were protecting the flanks of units attempting to capture the well defended high ground of 'Hill 112' on the opposite ridge. Eric Brewer was back south of Grainville on 1st to 4th July and at Grainville again from 9th to 11th July during diversionary attacks for Operation Charnwood's assault on Caen (8th to 9th July).
Don Aiken was at Évrecy on 16th July during the 'Second Battle of the Odon' (15th to 17th July), although the heavily bombed town was held by the Germans until 4th August.
Henry Ansell, a popular driver in Don's troop, was killed by shellfire in an orchard near Aunay-sur-Odon on 11th August. Sergeant James Rickwood, who died the next day (when 61st Recce were leading the advance towards Condé-sur-Noireau), lies with him in St. Manvieu war cemetery to the west of Caen.
Point 103, the critical high ground north of Tilly-sur-Seulles, is by a little hamlet called les Hauts Vents (appropriately there are now wind turbines here), south of Audrieu. The ridge was captured on 9th June in the advance by 8th Armoured and defended by 61st Recce in fierce fighting. Sgt 'Chalky' Wells' 'conspicuous defence' of this position, with the elements of Don Aiken's troop that had arrived on D Day, contributed to his award of the Croix de Guerre Bronze Star. Eric Brewer was also here from 9th to 11th June and involved in the successful resistance of a German counter-attack between 15th and 17th June. By then the full complement of 61st Recce had landed in France.
On 16th June they contributed to the Green Howards' successful attack on the village of Cristot to the east (following a fatally delayed attack on 11th June).
Our last stop was the beautiful floodlit church of Loucelles, near the main Bayeux to Caen road. 61st Recce led the 8th Armoured advance here on 8th June but, meeting resistance which required dismounted fighting, were replaced by 50th's Dorset Regiment. The church wall has a simple memorial to the Dorsets.
Night stopped us from retracing the 8th Armoured advance and the first two days 61st Recce spent in France. For the landings on D Day and D+1 see "75 years ago - D Day" and Reconnaissance Remembrance Normandy Part 2. The first listed Regimental HQ location was at Saint-Gabriel-Brécy, inland from Arromanches. On the night of 7th/8th June 61st Reconnaissance joined 8th Armoured Division in the Brécy-Rucqueville area ready for their advance targeted on Points 102 and 103, the Tessel-Bretteville feature and high ground north-east of Villers-Bocage. 61st Reconnaissance spearheaded the right axis to Loucelles and Eric Brewer rejoined the rest of B Squadron near Point 103 on 8th June (A Squadron's Roy Howard was with Colonel Mount at Bucéels) . RHQ moved to Saint-Léger (on the main Bayeux to Caen road) and then to Bayeux where the skeleton squadrons were re-united on 9th June under the new leadership of Lieutenant-Colonel Brownrigg.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
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