Photograph id needed England 1943

[Rick W]

A photo from the 32nd Armoured of the 3rd Armoured, England 1943.

The pic says Codford , which is in Wiltshire, can anyone say for sure? The 32nd were based around there. If it is can you post a "Now" pic to compare, if it isnt Codford where is it?

 

Number 2, but possibly a bit harder, can anyone ID where this is?

[Snapper]

sounds like a mission for someone......

[Rick W]

Not you then Mark...:whistle:. What I can make out, Codford is a tiny village, in 2 halfs, their high street consists of 3 or 4 houses!

[N.O.S.]

Not my back yard, but vehicle must be same one on the same day judging by markings, bag, box etc.

[Lauren Child]

It doesnt look like Codford from what you can see on google maps.

 

It reminds me of Ely in Cambridgeshire.

 

Could it be Copford or Cosford?

[Rick W]

From what I can gather 32nd were based in Wiltshire.

[79x100]

I don't think that geography was the photographer's strong point. Did he mean "Combe Martin or Minehead" ? Presumably he wrote the captions some time later.

 

The high street is a fairly standard bit of Victorian vernacular. Are there any names legible on the shop signs ?

[Snapper]

Sorry Rick,

I intended my note to read in terms of one of our Great Western HMVFers knowing this place and doing a snap. I immediately looked in the News Int digital archive and found zip. It is a very generic looking place.

 

I have the same problem at work with a mass of amazing pix taken of Exercise Bumper which took place in 1941. This was an anti-invasion event with two armies fighting each other across Beds, Northants and all points south and a bit more west. We've ID'd Bicester and Dunstable and Towcester (I think) because the snapper said so, but the others are less easy. As ever I cannot show you these pix due to copyright. But I am working on it. Does anyone know anything interesting about Bumper?

 

MB

[Rick W]

National Archives references.

http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=WO_165/49

[AlienFTM]

I don't think that geography was the photographer's strong point. Did he mean "Combe Martin or Minehead" ? Presumably he wrote the captions some time later.

 

The high street is a fairly standard bit of Victorian vernacular. Are there any names legible on the shop signs ?

 

I presumed he meant Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire which throughout the Cold War was Bundeswehr tank ranges, due to Hohne Ranges belonging to us (fair swap IMO).

 

The picture reminds me of the road down to the ranges, but I don't remember crossing any sort of bridge, as the vehicle appears to be parked on one.

 

However I have only been there once so I could be so-o-o wrong.

[Tony B]

the second one could be in the Exmoor area, the hill in the background does look like south eastern side of Dunkery Beacon. Would also make sense as they would be coming down to Timberscombe over a bridge.

[Rick W]

Will look into that tomorrow, nice one Tony.

[M5Clive]

I would hazzard a guess that pic no.1 is taken driving through Salisbury. It isn't wide enough for Warminster from memory.

 

Back in 1994 I took my GMC to a reunion of the US 3rd Armoured Division at Codford, on the Southern edge of Salisbury Plain. It was a great day and I was the only WWII MV there except the Sherman wreck that had come off the Plain that someone was trying to get put-up as a memorial to the unit, but it never came off. Don't think the villagers like the idea of 25 tons of rusty scrap with only one track being put on a plinth in the centre of their village in honour of the US Army!

[commander]

If you look at the bonnet is that the invasion star I can see

which would make this picture after 1943 i.e. after mid 1944

Commander