| Instructions regarding War Diaries and Intelligence
Summaries are contained in F.S. Regs., Vol. 1.
and the Staff Manual respectively Title pages
will be prepared in manuscript. |
WAR DIARY or INTELLIGENCE SUMMARY |
Army Form C.2118 |
| Unit: 2nd Bn The Cheshire Regiment | ||
| Month and Year: August 1944 | (Erase heading not required). | Commanding Officer: Lt. Col. S.V. Keeling, DSO |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M/R 916419 | 24 | […] Bn HQ M/R 916419. Ref 1/5000 Sheet 8/G/2 VERNEUIL. BOURTH Railway Stn. | ||
| 25 | Day spent in locn at BOURTH Railway Stn. Day spent in cleaning and drying clothing which has been wet through for the past 4 days. Moving off again tomorrow to PACY SUR EURE. M/R 3866. | |||
| 25 | Move cancelled again this evening. | |||
| 25 | Coy locns unchanged. Weather fine and sunny. | |||
| 26 | Day spent in repairing damage done by the rain of the past few days. Now able to catch up with work it has not been possible to do whilst we were constantly on the move. Weather fine. | |||
| 26 | Moving off off tomorrow to PACY-SUR-EURE. | |||
| 26 | Coy locns- "A" Coy no change. | |||
| 26 | "B" Coy M/R 967561. Ref 1/50000 Sheet 8/F/6 BRETEUIL. | |||
| 26 | "C" Coy M/R 392692. Ref 1/50000 Sheet 9/F/5 ST. ANDRE DE L’EURE. | |||
| 26 | "D" Coy no change. | |||
| 26 | Bn HQ no change. | |||
| M/R 916419 BOURTH | 27 | 1000 | Moved off to PACY SUR EURE and after quite a fast and orderly trip, through BRETEUIL – ST. ANDRE DE L’EURE – PACY SUR EURE arrived at new locn. Situated about 6 kilos from PACY-SUR-EURE. Locn in a large chateau. | |
| 27 | 1130 | Arrived at new locn. M/R 412652. | ||
| 27 | Recce party broke down on the way to recce the area this morning. L.O. had to continue the journey on the back of a M/C much to the detriment of his eyes. The 2/i/c Major H.R. Moon was recovered by the L.A.D. at the tail of the column. All D.R.'s are suffering very badly from sore eyes, due to the fact that the goggles issued by the army are absolutely useless against the dust which is prevalent in this district. | |||
| 27 | Rest of day spent in this locn. Weather fine. | |||
| 27 | Coy locns:- "A" Coy. M/R 425674. Ref 1/50000 Sheet 9/F/4. MANTES-GASSICOURT. | |||
| 27 | "B" Coy. M/R no change. | |||
| 27 | "C" Coy. No change. | |||
| 27 | "D" Coy M/R 410675. Ref 1/50000, Sheet 9/F/3. EVREUX. | |||
| M/R 412652 | 27 | Bn HQ. M/R 412652. Ref 1/50000 Sheet 9/F/3 EVREUX. | ||
| 28 | Day spent in this locn, Chateau very pleasant. Occupied by the Nazis before us who were not too clean, but house was soon put in shipshape order. Orderly room, C.O., Adjt and I.O.’s offices were installed inside. | |||
| 28 | Some trouble with the Americans about our locn. They finally condescend to let us stay. | |||
| 28 | Coy locns:- unchanged. Weather raining most of day. | |||
| 29 | Moving off this evening across the SEINE at VERNON. We will cross at approx 2130 hrs and laager on the side of the road for the night – preparatory to moving off on a mobile column tomorrow morning. The night was very dark and owing to the amount of traffic using the bridge at VERNON it is only possible to send the vehicles across in groups of ten. Leading group followed closely by the remainder cross the bridge and contact the L.O. and move into new area. All vehicles safely in by 2300 hrs. Number of the trucks bogged on the way in. Vehicles with 4 wheel drive are very essential now. | |||
| M/R 497730 | 29 | Coy locns:- Coys moving forward with Bdes. | ||
| 29 | Weather wet. | |||
| 30 | Day spent in this locn. Weather wet pouring with rain all day the ground is absolutely sodden and a number of trucks are bogged. Possibility we may move off tomorrow. | |||
| 30 | Coy locns:- Coys still moving forward with respective Bdes. | |||
| 31 | 0900 | Moved off to new locn at CHANTOISEAU. M/R 834982 Ref 1/50000 Sheet 10/E/5 BEAUVAIS. | ||
| 31 | Locn in some open fields. Raining most of day. | |||
| 31 | Coy locns:- "A" Coy. M/R 568023. Ref 1/50000 Sheet 9/E/6 GOURNAY-EN-BRAY. | |||
| 31 | "B" Coy. M/R 474728. Ref 1/50000 Sheet 9/F/4 MANTES GASSICOURT. | |||
| 31 | "C" Coy. On the move with Bde. | |||
| 31 | "D" Coy. M/R 834983. Ref 1/50000 Sheet 10/E/5 BEAUVAIS. | |||
| 31 | Bn HQ. M/R 834982. Ref 1/50000 Sheet 10/E/5 BEAUVAIS. | |||
| 31 | Majority of the month was taken up by keeping on the tail of the retreating Germans, during the latter part Bn HQ remaining on wheels most of the time. |
Source: Hans Houterman.
Disclaimer: This War Diary is based on its original, but typos might be corrected. Locations are calculated, so might not be in the correct place. For historical research, always check the originals.
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