Battlefirld tours

[dcdl12976]

Folks i hope to go on this tour next year http://www.leger.co.uk/tours/bdk/dun...rope/Itinerary because dad would like me to place a wreath on his mate Jonnos grave at Haverskerquer not far from St Venant, many of you remember im sure his story posted by me on the St Venant thread a year or so ago but for tose new to the forum or who didnt see his story i repost it here.

Dad was in France with the 1st Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment 6 Brigade he spent his 21st birthday (24th October) on the Belgium border later they retreated to a place called St Venant in northern France where his platoon was guarding a crossroads near a footbridge over the canal when they were hit by there own artillery killing most and wounding Dad he tells me his mate Jonno (the son of a retired Brigadier) died in his arms at the crossroads and he buried him there, after this a forward artillery controller ran up saying how sorry he was they thought the Germans were in that area.

Dad was evacuated from Brey sands and returned to England to hospital in Warwick where he knew Jonno,s parents lived so he asked a nurse to get the Brigadier and his wife to come and see him so he could tell them what had happened to there son, after leaving hospital he was told he was not going back to the Royal Berks but was going for Parachute training. He went to RAF Cardington (Home of the airships) and did parachute drops from balloons (yes i know all para training was supposedly done at Ringway but he is adamant). Next he was sent to the South coast at Shorncliff to a small airfield close by and remembers on nights off going to a ballroom overlooking the cliffs and it was from that airfield he made a lot of landings or para drops into occupied Northern France delivering equipment and people to the resistance, i asked him why he was chosen and he said because they wanted people with a knowledge of the area and who spoke fluent French (which until then i did not know he spoke french).

This is as much as i have been able to get out of him im afraid, he keeps telling me he didnt know who he was working for which i dont believe though apparently many working for MI5 and SOE did not, difficult to prove since most of SOE,s records were destroyed by fire in there offices in Baker street just after the war.

Sorry i cant tell you more but i only got this out of him because he asked me to find out if Jonno was buried in a proper cemetary (which i did and he is (Haverskerque) just North of where he was killed and quickly buried.

For obvious reasons i have not posted a full name for Jonno but dads name is Ronald Edward Cooke sadly at 96 he is to frail to come with me but i want to do this for him.

Cheers

Dave

[dcdl12976]

Several on here who were involved with the St Venant thread have postulated that there is a massive cover up to protect some one VERY powerful very high up and that's why we could not get any info to help resolve that thread now I wonder is dads experience something to do with that also as one person said to me he thought dad may have been sent on special ops (not asked to go or volunteered) but ordered to go in the hopes that he would not survive.

A guess on the wild side, well maybe but to many have thought the same thing for it to be a coincidence

Cheers

Dave

[dcdl12976]

just picked up a bit more info from Dad he was in India in late 1943 before being invalided out of the Army in 1944 from wounds, he was in Haverlock barracks in lucknow and his brother Tom was there as well I assume at the military prison there since I know he was a warrant officer at Colchester after the war
so I assume he was there with the whole 1st battalion royal Berkshires. Believe me this is all new to me, gradually piecing togeather his war time service though what he was doing there he wont say. Since he was wounded I am assuming he was in Burma at some point fighting the Japanese


Dave

[ap1]

1 R. Berks were in 6 Bde at Donbaik in 1943, as were 1RWF.

[dcdl12976]

God knows what dad was doing in Lucknow then cos he is adamant that was where he was further more I would love to know how and where he was wounded cos nothing seems to fit I gather first berks were flown to Mandalay in 1943 though the date I don't know if he was wounded before this then who knows. It seems he had a very busy and adventurous war

[ap1]

Donbaik was a pretty ferocious battle in the Arakan that lasted a couple of months. So it's possible he was in Lucknow.

[dcdl12976]

Thanks Al maybe he was sent there when wounded, since he is so guarded about info I think I will have to send for his service record and even that may not give me much more info. from a quick check Lucknow is over 20 hours flying time from Donbaik even now