War memoirs?

[RememberTheSomme]

Douglas Bader used to attend the Commonwealth Aircrew reunions which were held every 5 yrs in Winnipeg. A wartime RCAF vet, whose story I recently recorded, got to know Bader while attending a couple of these reunions. The veteran's wife, a medical doctor and also a private pilot, used to attend these as well. She used to enjoy visiting with Bader and discussing his handicap, which actually turned out to be something of an advantage in air combat. His absence of legs meant that he could withstand higher G forces than normal pilots without blacking out because he had no legs to drain off his blood under heavy G forces. I was surprised to learn that the wartime Luftwaffe fighter chief, General Adolf Galland, used to be a popular attendee at these reunions where my ex-RCAF friend and wife got to know him as well.

Purple very interesting circle you had there. Didn't Adolph Galland allow a spare leg/legs to be air dropped into France un-hindered by the Luftwaffe, from England by the RAF for Bader after he was shot down over France and fell into German captivity????He had much respect for Bader and it showed in captivity.

 

[RememberTheSomme]

I stand corrected on the near Caan. My Dad spoke a few times about Meyer as it was kind of personal to him. He lost his older Brother at the Carpiquet Airport in Caan on July 9th 1944 and a good Friend also died in Normandy murdered by Meyers Henchmen.

Winchester, a friend I worked with years ago told me his father was a guard over Meyer in Dorchester penitentiary. He said he was impeccable in manners and in every other way throughout his captivity. He used to send a Christmas card from Germany to New Brunswick to my friends father every year until his death. The Canadian Army pushed to have his sentence reduced to life-in-prison apparently with the caveat that he would share his training. tactics and experiences with our Amoured forces. I read that somewhere but I sure others could give more specifics on this. If one is to believe the information in CBC series "The Valour and the Horror", I know this has had alot of flack from Veterans, that Meyer gave the order after documentation was brought to him of orders given to Canadian Infantry officers that, "no prisoners were to be taken if it impeded their advance out of the beach-head."

 

[purple]

Purple very interesting circle you had there. Didn't Adolph Galland allow a spare leg/legs to be air dropped into France un-hindered by the Luftwaffe, from England by the RAF for Bader after he was shot down over France and fell into German captivity????He had much respect for Bader and it showed in captivity.

That's how the story went. In an interesting turnabout, Bader was apparently instrumental in having an artificial leg made for Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the Luftwaffe's ace ground attack pilot, after he was captured at war's end.

 

[PanzerIV]

Boys,
An absolute must read is "Look to your front! The story of the Royal Regina Rifles". Son of a ##### those john's could fight........Abbaye de Ardenne, Leopold Canal, Moyland Wood, all thru the low countries and across the rhine.........

The personal accounts from Abbaye de Ardenne is something that will leave you in sheer awe of what those boys did on those couple of days. A mile of open ground against Meyer's boys of the 12th SS........and the johns and the winnepegs just walked right into her and took that damn church.........they lost almost 80 percent to take her...........but they took her indeed.

And the Leopold Canal.........that is something else indeed.........boys a must read if you can find a copy.

 

[Lee Enfield]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_De_Wiart

http://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_C01.html#Carton_de_Wiart_A

http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/cocork.htm

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/WIART.html

Happy Odyssey – The Memoirs of Lieutenant-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, Carton de Wiart 1950

Just mind blowing

 

[BUSHMAN79]

"Tanks and Trenches" was a good read, and if you can find a copy of "The Beloved Island" by Kathleen Dalzell, it is worth buying. She published her dad's diaries from the Great War, he was at the Somme with the 23rd. Northumberland Fusiliers. He was also a Boer War vet. Very interesting reading.

 

[Winchester-1897]

" Samurai " by Saburo Sakai. Japanese fighter pilot with 64 kills. The most amazing thing about him was he had taken a bullet through the brain losing an eye causing him to be paralyzed on one side of his body, yet got his Zero back to base to fight another day. He was apparently in later life an adviser on some American fighter video games.

 

[Gibbs505]

"Enemy Coast Ahead" by Group Captain Guy Gibson V.C. He lead the Dam Busters raid. The book "The Dam Busters" is good as well.

 

[Mike Webb]

Winchester, a friend I worked with years ago told me his father was a guard over Meyer in Dorchester penitentiary. He said he was impeccable in manners and in every other way throughout his captivity. He used to send a Christmas card from Germany to New Brunswick to my friends father every year until his death. The Canadian Army pushed to have his sentence reduced to life-in-prison apparently with the caveat that he would share his training. tactics and experiences with our Amoured forces. I read that somewhere but I sure others could give more specifics on this. If one is to believe the information in CBC series "The Valour and the Horror", I know this has had alot of flack from Veterans, that Meyer gave the order after documentation was brought to him of orders given to Canadian Infantry officers that, "no prisoners were to be taken if it impeded their advance out of the beach-head."

I don't really know what "training, tactics and experience" that Meyer would have to share. Within the Wehrmacht armoured forces no SS commander was regarded as great. Men like Erwin Rommel and Heinz Guderian had nothing but contempt for Hitler's personal devotees.

 

[Old30-06]

The Guns of Normandy. The Guns of Victory, Where the Hell are the Guns by George Blackburn. 2nd Division artillery through training, Normandy to War's end in Holland.