saint venant 1940-------farm boulet

**ivor43** · 17-07-2012, 03:10

OK. John.
Interesting challenge.

The initial reaction is simple, cross the bridge. But there Is some evidence that this did not happen. Because of the fluidity of the situation, the idea suggested by Bob has a lot of merit.
If Brigade had formed a Tac Hq and the 2 Colonels and their relevant staff officers into an O Group then they could have been anywhere inside the defensive perimeter.
But if Col Harrison was at the HQ in the cemetery how do we explain the entry in the RWF Diary on 27^th that states that HQ took a direct hit no further contact etc. there is, as far as I am aware, no info that the cemetery was hit. This is a very annoying point that keeps cropping up.
There seems only one inescapable conclusion. The Col’s were not at the cemetery. There seems to be no info that they were anywhere to the west although they may have been at some time I suppose if they were mobile. But even if the HQ was to the west the next bridge is almost at Haveskirque. So that really doesn’t fit.
John, for quite some time now I have been thinking very, very hard about this to see if I have got it wrong, but whatever info you guys throw at me, and I admit it is hard to stand against it. But I am still convinced that there was a bridge east of St ,.that Col Harrison and others escaped over. that was not blown because the engineers had gone and, was crossed by a tank that took out the machine gun. And then headed towards the Haveskirque Rd to be taken out by an 18lb’er.

This is why I would like to know why a colonel who has just lost virtually his entire command suddenly appears as a local hero at a village that was not even part of the action at the time.

What i find totally puzzling about this whole incident is it's complete lack of recording anywhere.in official RWF records. Unless of course the people at the cemetery believing everyone at the forward HQ were missing or killed were, with no communication, not even aware that it was happening and anyone who would have been responsible for reporting it later were dead or POW's

Ivor.

**Baconwallah** · 17-07-2012, 10:09

From the 1 RWF WD:

"28 Poss 27 0600 - Bn HQ Suffered a direct hit from arty fire. No further contact was made with Bn HQ. The following officers were reported missing as a result of this action. - Commanding Officer (Lt-Col Harrison), 2i/c (Maj D I Owens), Adjutant (Capt Hood), IO (Capt Willes), MO, Padre and RSM (Mr Sheriff). The following officers are known to have been taken prisoner- 2i/c, Padre, IO, RSM"

This was written several days after the events by a junior company officer (there were no senior officers left) who was uninformed and confused as to the date and the whereabouts of the MO at the very least - the MO was not at HQ, he was at his Aid Post across the canal, in a farmhouse on the road to Haverskerque. The unknown author also says "the bridge was blown" which it wasn't, it had been mined but was not blown as the engineers had disappeared. Harrison and Owen weren't missing, they crossed the wooden Pigeau bridge, and Owen, who survived, testified about it after the war.

Ivor, dear friend, I greatly admire the way in which you have spun your perceived 72 year old tank tracks in a boggy field into a complete story, including a German patrol commander who leaves his equipment to go on a pub crawl in enemy occupied Haverskerque - a brilliant touch that! I'd gladly nominate you for the Booker prize. But - and it pains me to say this - I haven't seen one single shred of hard documentary evidence, no after action reports of either side actually mentioning a bridge at St-Floris, Cornet-Malo or anywhere in between, no relevant interviews of local witnesses by French historians which support your theory, nothing. It's all 'what if', 'yes but', 'suppose that' and wishful thinking. The Germans have a word for it: 'hineininterpretieren'. So let's move on.

John

**Verrieres** · 17-07-2012, 13:06

Just steering this back to Anthony Corkhill I have been in contact with Tony who has added there may be a possibility that Pte Corkhill was a Company dispatch rider...
There is documentation to say a temp Hospital was set up at the Home of.......Madam Boulet...is this Ferme Boulet or is there another Family Boulet near to the bridge?

Best Wishes

Jim

**jungle1810** · 17-07-2012, 14:14

Hello all,
Baconwallah seems to have the situation right. There are some small differences in his report than are quoted in the RED DRAGON. The Village where my photo was taken of RUE DE LA ROYAL WELCH FUSILIERS was taken in a village named GAVRUS near CAEN and it concerns the fighting to regain the area by the 4th and 6th RWF in the period towards the end of the war. I think that GAVRUS may well be the site of COl Harrison's Street name. I also see that a Capt J E T Willes and Capt "Jimmy Johnson mentioned To the best of my knowledge both of these officers were taken P O W. But Capt J E T Willes became Col of the Regiment from the 18th of October 1965 to the 3rd of March 1974. Col "Jimmy Johnson who I believe to be the Capt Johnson mentioned in the RED DRAGON was our C/O when we left for our tour of the Caribbean in March 1951.I have a photo of the RWF men who were in action with the 1st at this time (May 1940) and R S M Sheriff is on it. So I thought it best not to repeat the work of Baconwallah, there are some minor differences but this is inevitable after such a long time. On this subject it is such a pity that this most important volume has been left so late to compile but Col Sinnett and al his helpers are doing a magnificent job, more power to their elbows.
Regards RBD

**Baconwallah** · 17-07-2012, 15:31

Verrieres, right you are. We were forgetting what this is all about.

My opinion: whether Pte Corkhill was a despatch rider or not is beside the point. I can only reiterate what I have said before: he was seen wounded and made comfortable on the canal bank by RSM Goddard [documented]. RSM Goddard was in the HQ area near the Taverne house on the junction of Rue des Amusoires and the canal dyke and tow-path [documented]. So we have a time and a place Pte Corkhill was last seen. What he was doing before he was wounded does not in any way influence the situation as described. Besides, I doubt if there was any call for despatch riders in a cramped area swept by fire from all sides.

Also please bear in mind that a functioning Aid Post or temp hospital, at the time when the RSM and other survivors were being sent to the rear as PoWs, is more than unlikely. And again, he was described by the RSM as 'on the canal bank'. Not 'in or on the way to the temp hospital'. Whatever the Germans did afterwards, murder him or take him to the hospital, or both, is pure conjecture. That is what we have to discover.

Jungle Don, thanks for the vote of confidence. Your went into considerably more detail than I did, but the stories are otherwise the same.

John

**ivor43** · 17-07-2012, 15:54

jungle la rue du col harroson ls at the western edge la corbie on the merville rd it is shown on google earth
ivor

**Bob Lake** · 17-07-2012, 16:18

I attach a contemporary drawing of the RWF final stand at St Venant on 27 May1940 drawn by Lt WSA Clough Taylor whilst a POW. It was featured on the 1998 Cover of The Regimental Magazine and shows much of the final action we have been discussing. From memory of chats with the IO at the time, Capt Jack Willes, he described it as a very accurate picture of events and shows German Tanks at the Cemetary entrance firing at escaping RWF personnel on what I understood was a temporary bridge leading to one side of the Lock Keepers Cottage. This was the bridge that Col Harrison crossed and in all probability the action where Pte Corkhiil was wounded. Col Harrison is buried in the War Grave Commission Cemetary at at Havervesque and the Rue was in all probability to commemorate that fact that he died there.

The Regimental Memorial lies directly opposite the lock keepers cottage and was chosen because of its proximity to this final action. One thought I have is that there is a dead cow and a manger in the drawing and the corner of a building at the bottom left of the picture, is this the mysterious Ferme Boulet, I don't think there is a building there today whilst the Lock Keepers Cottage most certainly is.

sT Vennant last stand.jpg

teecee1941 · 17-07-2012, 20:58

Originally Posted by Bob Lake

I attach a contemporary drawing of the RWF final stand at St Venant on 27 May1940 drawn by Lt WSA Clough Taylor whilst a POW. It was featured on the 1998 Cover of The Regimental Magazine and shows much of the final action we have been discussing. From memory of chats with the IO at the time, Capt Jack Willes, he described it as a very accurate picture of events and shows German Tanks at the Cemetary entrance firing at escaping RWF personnel on what I understood was a temporary bridge leading to one side of the Lock Keepers Cottage. This was the bridge that Col Harrison crossed and in all probability the action where Pte Corkhiil was wounded. Col Harrison is buried in the War Grave Commission Cemetary at at Havervesque and the Rue was in all probability to commemorate that fact that he died there.

The Regimental Memorial lies directly opposite the lock keepers cottage and was chosen because of its proximity to this final action. One thought I have is that there is a dead cow and a manger in the drawing and the corner of a building at the bottom left of the picture, is this the mysterious Ferme Boulet, I don't think there is a building there today whilst the Lock Keepers Cottage most certainly is.

sT Vennant last stand.jpg

**jungle1810** · 17-07-2012, 21:28

Hello all,
The photos of the Rue De La Royal Welch Fusiliers were taken when the comrades from about six different branches commemorated the 70th anniversary of the 1st battalion's retreat to Dunkirk in the 40's. We also met Col Harrisons daughter and laid a wreath of poppies on the Colonel's grave.
regards RBD a k a jungle 1810

teecee1941 · 17-07-2012, 22:05

Hello Bob,
Many thanks for this excellent contribution. I don't know for sure how much value to put on this sketch but really, there is no reason to doubt it's merit. It should be safe to assume that the artist drew the sketch from memory having been to that site sometime in the past. I would think if he was a POW, then the details were still reasonably fresh in his mind.

There is no doubt that this sketch shows a bridge over the canal leading to a farm. One of the buildings has been set on fire. I can see what looks like a dead cow and what I would describe as a harrow or a roller, definitely some sort of farm implement. There seems to be an ambulance and people having their wounds tended. Over on the right hand bank, I can see what looks very much like a cemetery.

Could this be a temporary bridge of sorts and lying next to it we can see what looks like a more permanent structure waiting to be hauled into place alongside.

I am keen to hear what others think of this sketch.