The intentions to document this information are long standing in that they go back some two decades to the early/mid 1990’s, just a few years before the subject of this site, James Kitchener Heath passed away.

As is the case in so many families in which a generation experienced war and all its traumas, certain aspects of service are known, but all too often the details are sketchy and disjointed. Add into this mix the passage of time and the result is invariably a collection of stories and fragments of memories accompanied by a handful of fragile and faded documents (if you are lucky) that represent the sum of information relating to the most extraordinary period in a soldier’s life. This was certainly the case in our family..... and it’s not much to go on.

In February 1995, my Father and I struggled to put together a potted service history to be read by the cleric presiding over my Grandfather’s funeral. At this point I decided to take steps to fill in some of the gaps as best I could.... sadly now without the benefit of first hand testimony.

A well known turn of phrase, ‘written on the back of a fag packet’ is defined by the Collins on-Line dictionary as something ‘composed or formed quickly and without detailed analysis or research’. As far as first hand source material for this history is concerned, no better a description could be made. The details gleaned from my Grandfather in brief (and often emotional) discussions in the 1990’s are summarised as a list of place names written in an old man’s shaky handwriting on the back of a standard envelope! (this will feature later). On the upside, a standard envelope is approximately twice the size of a cigarette packet, which immediately doubles the amount of information to work with!

By my own admission, this site is a little self-indulgent, being of primary interest to myself, my mother, my children and a handful of relatives still living in Staffordshire. In addition, it may be that the information presented here will be read by others outside of the family who have a passing interest in military or family history.

I would welcome any comments/suggestions or dare I say it relevant information to contact me.

adrianandrews@myyahoo.com

Monday 25 May 2015

Battlefield Clearance - Falaise



After 22nd August, as the remnants of the German 7th Army slipped away over the Seine with the Allies in hot pursuit, the newly liberated inhabitants of Normandy started out on the long road to post war recovery. Such was the extent of devastation and destruction in the Falaise area however that 197 Brigade HQ, formerly of the recently disbanded 59 (Staffordshire) Division were reorganised in late August as the 197 Battlefield Clearance Group. With a huge area of responsibility covering all land west of the Seine river, the newly formed group pulled together an extremely diverse collection of units having the skills best to sort out the carnage that Overlord had brought to the Calvados region. Royal Engineers (Bomb Disposal), R.E.M.E., Royal Signals, R.A.S.C., R.A.M.C. were represented along with almost every other acronymed unit that the British Army had to offer! Add to this mix the occasional deployment of German Prisoners of War and the French Forces of the Interior and the make up of the group is near complete.

Given that fact that it was forbidden to use prisoners of war in activities that were of a direct benefit to the enemies war effort, the 197 Group Commander described the task to the 500 strong force of P.O.W.s in the following manner;

'You started this war, you invaded France. We have now driven you out. Together we have done much damage. Together we will do what we can to clear up the mess we have made in this pleasant land'.

The HQ of the Clearance Group was established in four fields outside of the town of Trun, which was also the most congested area of the pocket in terms of abandoned ordinance, vehicles and the dead, both human and animal. Throughout the entire area of the pocket, vehicles were stacked up in an order of superiority (i.e. staff cars at the head of the columns) on the approaches to crossings over the Dives river. Thousands of vehicles had been reduced to grotesque sculptures of twisted metal and charred wood as a result of the devastating work of Allied aircraft over the escape routes. In addition to the machinery there was also the dead to content with. The remains of German soldiers littered the area (an estimated 10,000 to 15,000). Thousands of horses and cattle also lay across the land in an advanced state of decay. The Germans shot hundreds of horses in order to prevent stampedes that would hinder efforts to evacuate the pocket. These horses were gathered in fields, hundreds in each.



Removal of the organic remains became a priority in order to avoid the spread of disease among the local population now returned to their towns and villages. Contamination of the ground water was also a great risk. So bad was the corruption on the ground that the smell of decaying flesh was reported by airmen flying over the area.

By the time that 197 Battlefield Clearance Group was disbanded on 1st December 1944, the following totals of equipment had been collected and salvaged or destroyed.

Ammunition

British

25 pounder high explosive          23,450 rounds
303 small arms ammunition        114,000 rounds
9 mm ammunition                       59,600 rounds
5.5 inch shells                              21,000 rounds
Mortar bombs                              3,500 rounds
Grenades                                      3,540
20 mm high explosive                 7,728 rounds
Mines                                           400

German

7.5 cm various                               4,750 rounds
8.8 cm various                               2,560 rounds
Miscellaneous calibres                  165,000 rounds
Mines various                                3,200
Grenades                                        980
Shells various                                 98,000 rounds

Other equipment

Jerry cans                                        72,000
Diesel cans                                      10,500
Picks and spades                             3,340
Firearms                                          3,200
Tyres                                               1,521
Cycle frames                                   200

Other major items

Tanks                                               219 (including 18 Tigers)
S.P. equipment                                 212
Tracked vehicles                              911
Wheeled vehicles                             3,804
Guns                                                 751
H.T. vehicles                                    2,000 (estimated)
Horses                                              3,000 (estimated)
Men                                                  2,000 (estimated)

Of the major vehicles it is stated that at least the same amount was left derelict or was destroyed in situ.

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