England
The relatively smooth Atlantic crossing on the former luxury liner Acquitania” was only slightly
disturbed by the lone appearance of two Luftwaffe planes, which were driven off by the ships Ack-Ack.
The debarkation, cold and rainy, and the subsequent train ride from Gourock, near Glasgow, on
the 7th of February, gave us our only glimpse of Scotland. Merry Old England (Probably best
remembered by Bournemouth) the 48 hour trips to London, tours through Oxford, Cheltenham and the
home of the Father of Hamlet, MacBeth and King Lear, - Shakespeare’s Stratford-on-Avon. We
remember too, the warm beer, the smooth scotch, the quaint pubs, their dart games and the lovely
English Lassies. Yes, England was all of these, together with the work that spelled, preparation for
Combat.
In the scenic Cotswold section of Gloucestershire, near Stow-on-the-Wold, was Maugersbury
Manor, the 600 year old crumbling house with it’s one bath tub. However the new Lords and Earls of
Maugersbury managed with the Niessen huts and tents. Walk out of the guard post and you were in
Stow-on-the-Wold. Walk up the street and you were at the Unicorn, presided over by Mr. Lee.
Two weeks of indirect firing on the Brecon Beacons Range in South Wales supplemented our
small arms firing and Battalion problems held with the 6th Armored Division.
In early April, the Battalion as a unit of the 6th TD Group was given three marshalling camps in
the vicinity of Dorchester, Dorset County. The 6th TD Group controlled the Marshalling Area “D” and
placed the Battalion in Sub-Area “W” - this consisted of Camp D-1 at Puddletown, Camp D-3 at
Yellowham and Camp D-6 at Piddlehinton, commanded and staffed by A, B, Hqs-Rcn and C
Companies, respectively. Here our duties were to clean, build, camouflage, staff and organize these
camps for the purpose of feeding, supplying, entertaining, guarding and adminstratively administering to
the 25,000 combat troops that were to pass through on their way to the continent and combat.
A month following “D” Day, and having a “Well Done” for our work at the D’s, the Battalion
repaired to the South of England for a two week refresher and sharpening of our gunner’s eyes at
Kimmeridge and Lulworth. This stay, on the Studland Range near Corfe Castle, and at D-1 at Lytchett-
Minster, sufficed also to check our equipment and the final preparations for combat.
We returned to Camp D-6 on the 6th of August 1944, this time as the processed, in place of our
former roles as the processor.
We left Piddlehinton, loaded aboard two LST’s and four LCT’s at Porland Harbor, crossed the
channel on the 7th, beautiful weather, and sighted and debarked on the Coast of Normandy.
 |
 |
 |