Easy Coy 506 PIR

[Bazz]

 

For those that have/have not seen Band of Brothers, after the failure of Market Garden, and the 101st Airborne were on The Island in Holland.

During this time they were supported by Tanks from the 15/19 H for which their CO Lt Col Taylor was awarded the DSO.

[Tony B]

Don't tell Hollywood, they wouldn't be able to cope.

[Joris]

And they were supported by a number of british artillery regiments (and were on British rations which they heartely disliked, execept for the rum of cours).

 

101st a/b memorial near heteren:

[AlienFTM]

Don't tell Hollywood, they wouldn't be able to cope.

 

 

Actually Spielberg did. If, during the Market Garden episode of Band of Brothers, you freezeframe on a picture of the troop leader's face, underneath his goggles is something looking more like a 15/19H officers sewn beret badge than anything else. They could have put anything there, but bothered to get it right. Bravo!

 

See link:

 

http://www.regiments.org/img/badges/uk-crest/robinson/cav/d15-19h.gif

 

(ignore the blue / yellow / red diagonal stripes and focus on the badge on a red background).

 

On the DVD box there is also artwork which shows a Sherman with British markings, including an "A" Squadron triangle: According to "Normandy to the Baltic", "A" Squadron 15/19H was the only 11 Armd Div unit to participate in Garden, attached as Baz points out to 506 PIR.

[Bazz]

TYPICAL HOLLYWOOD THOUGH, THEY GAVE 15/19H SHERMANS AND CROMWELLS, THOUGH AS 11 ARMOURED DIV'S ARMOURED RECCE REGT THE TANKS WERE CROMWELL AND CHALLENGER (UPRATED CROMWELL WITH 17 POUNDERS).

 

BARRY.

[Snapper]

I was always impressed they bothered to get a Cromwell at all. I suspect Shermans are "easier" to find. I still think the Brits were just standard Hollywood I say chaps/arrogant/dim rather than what we know to be true:

ie a smidgen of this mixed in with an awful lot of high quality people. Hollywood just has to have it's little pop at the Brits. Having said that I was intrigued to see in the recent Keira Knightlley vehicle Atonement that one of the Dunkirk scenes British soldiers is black and wondered how likely it was that a black soldier would have been with the BEF at that time - though we know there were plenty elsewhere at later dates. I presumed it was just another bout of political correctness. I await to be educated otherwise.

[ford 369]

I was always impressed they bothered to get a Cromwell at all. I suspect Shermans are "easier" to find. I still think the Brits were just standard Hollywood I say chaps/arrogant/dim rather than what we know to be true:

ie a smidgen of this mixed in with an awful lot of high quality people. Hollywood just has to have it's little pop at the Brits. Having said that I was intrigued to see in the recent Keira Knightlley vehicle Atonement that one of the Dunkirk scenes British soldiers is black and wondered how likely it was that a black soldier would have been with the BEF at that time - though we know there were plenty elsewhere at later dates. I presumed it was just another bout of political correctness. I await to be educated otherwise.

Unusual yes but no reason why not as proved by the article about the first black officer to lead white troops in ww1 in this months Britain at war magazine

[Jack]

When we were in Normandy last time around (April time 07) I didn't bother to check my email on the saturday morning that we left as I had my Blackberry with me so I would still be picking up any emails........

 

Like most folks, I get a shed load of emails everyday, business, spam, family, friends, HMVF stuff etc etc but we were away for the week so it was time not to take much notice of what was in my inbox as most people who know me will put URGENT in the subject bar of the email as I will also deal with those.

 

Anyway....when we got back home and I went through every email there was and one from a guy called Jake Powers - big deal you are thinking.... :dunno: :whistle:

 

Well Jake Powers happens to be E Co 506 OFFICIAL historian and was in fact adviser to BoB - you may well be still thinking 'so what'.

 

...well this was what was in the email - JACK, I AM ALSO NORMANDY NEXT WEEK AND LET ME KNOW WHERE YOU ARE STAYING AND WE WILL MEET UP AND I WILL SHOW YOU AROUND ALL OF THE PLACES THAT EASY ARE FAMOUS FOR, LET ME KNOW AS IT WOULD BE GOOD TO ME UP AND HERE IS WHERE i AM STAYING AND MY CELL IS 01234 56789

 

Jake sent this to me on the Friday - we left for Normandy on the Saturday - I didn't check my mail until we got back - WOULD ANYONE HAVE A CLUE HOW WE FELT.........GUTTED

[AlienFTM]

TYPICAL HOLLYWOOD THOUGH, THEY GAVE 15/19H SHERMANS AND CROMWELLS, THOUGH AS 11 ARMOURED DIV'S ARMOURED RECCE REGT THE TANKS WERE CROMWELL AND CHALLENGER (UPRATED CROMWELL WITH 17 POUNDERS).

 

BARRY.

 

 

Hand up: I missed that one. I watched the series THEN reread Normandy to the Baltic and realised they ought to be 15/19H but did not consider that we had converted from DD Shermans to Cromwells before going to Normandy.

 

I had previously thought Shermans and Cromwells a curious mix but never bothered to think it through ("You never do" I hear you say)

[Bazz]

 

 

!5/19H were trained for Overlord on DD shermans as invasion troops but were never used, they were re-roled onto Cromwell and took over from The Norhamptonshire Yeomanry as 11th Armd Div Armoured Recce Regt after they were practically wiped out in the breakout. They didn't do much recce though as they were used mainly to support the Infanry brigade in 11th Armd Div.

 

Barry.