Nijmegen Bridge 81 Years Ago.

 On this day in 1944 US paratroopers from the 82nd Airbourne Division crossed the River Waal to attack Nijmegen Bridge.

This is dramatically portrayed in the film 'A Bridge Too Far'.

Robert Redford leads his men across the River Waal.

The 82nd Airbourne Division.

In 2004, for the 60th anniversary of D Day, Fr John and Greg arranged for re-enactors to attend Mass to commemorate the US units based in Hinckley and Burbage prior to D Day.

I recently thought I must check which units they were and I knew just where to look as it is often discussed on the Hinckley FB page. I soon found posts from Greg stating that the 376^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (PFABn) had been based in Hinckley and 307^th Airbourne Engineer Battalion (AEBn) had been based in Burbage.

I noticed that some one commented 'yes and these were the troops who paddled across the river and Robert Redford played their Captain'    errr   really???

So I had to check that out.

FACT - Robert Redford played Maj Julian Cook, commander of the 3rd Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) and they paddled across the river, so that's that I thought.

BUT

Reading on, the 26 flimsy canvas boats were assembled and crewed by men from the 307th AEBn. And the crews of the 11 surviving boats had the awful job of paddling back empty to collect the 2nd wave of troops. These brave men from Burbage crossed the 300m wide river seven times.

The crossing was covered by smoke screens and intense gun fire from several units.

On the river bank the 2nd Bn 504th PIR 'with every machine gun they could get their hand on' and the Sherman tanks of the Irish Guards fired their main guns and machine guns.

A bit behind them was a US artillery unit. The 376^th PFABn (the unit based in Hinckley), firing 75mm Pack Howitzers.

Then finally, further back was a British heavy artillery unit, the Leicestershire Yeomanry, firing their 25pdr self-propelled guns called Sextons.

What amazing local connections.

And guess where the 307th AEBn were camped in Burbage? The playing field next to the old Scout Hut!

Michael Caine's Irish Guards provided support.

The Grenadier Guards cross Nijmegen Bridge later as a result of the attack.

376^th PFABn the artillery unit which had been based in Hinckley prior to D Day.

I just love their motto.

307^th AEBn the engineer unit which had been based in Burbage and Ullesthorpe prior to D Day.

A US 75mm Pack Howitzer in action.

A Sexton SP gun.

P.S.  RIP Robert Redford who passed away this week.

Leesons and beer.

A Little Bit Of Leeson Brewing History.

The Leesons were brewing beer in Dublin from about the 1680s onwards but details are hard to come by.

The first English Leeson brewer I have come across was Charles Leeson of 6 Horninglow Street, Burton on Trent. His brewery and maltings were founded during the 1720s by Willian Newton and acquired by Charles Leeson in 1753. The premises comprised of a house, garden, brewhouse, tun house, malthouses and other buildings. In 1801 the family executors sold the brewery to Joseph Clay and Son who owned the adjacent Lamb and Flag Brewery.

My Grandfather John Leeson (standing at the back) at work in the 1920s.

He was a drayman working for the Hammerton brewery (1921 census). Family oral history says that he drove his wagon and team of 4 horses through Blackwall Tunnel regularly. 

The brewery was located at 32 Frances Street, Woolwich according to the 1916 directory. This was just outside the gates of the Red Barracks and a stones throw from the family home in Back Lane. None of these buildings exist anymore.

Link to 1890s and 1940s Maps

The directory is from 1916, it was like the yellow pages of its time. At some stage the street were renumbered to how we know them, odds on one side, evens on the other.

The map is from approx. 1940s.

Here is an older map aprrox. 1890's which shows the corresponding buildings before they were demolished. Use the slider to mix between the two.

The current generation of brewers.

Another battle field visit.

 

This month I visited another local battle field. Bosworth Field. For a talk about the battle, the armies and their tactics. It was given by two battle field guides one an ex-para and the other a former Lt Colonel. It was very good. I learnt a lot about the battle but still can't get my head around the complexity of the Wars of the Roses.

Two Battle Anniversaries.

Naseby and Waterloo.

This month there have been two major battle anniversaries.

The 380th anniversary of Naseby in 1645 and the 210th anniversary of Waterloo in 1815 (and hence the 10th anniversary of our Waterloo Dinner in 2015).

Naseby was very youth orientated, aimed mainly at scouts and cadets how re-enacted the battle.

There was also a cake!!

We were invited to the VIP lunch.

The Waterloo Dinner 2015.

LINK, scroll down to bottom of page

Belton House and Park.

 May 13th 2025.

We visited the National Trust owned Belton Estate.

Apart from the Mr Colins (BBC Pride and Prejudice) connection there are two other points that interested me.

Family history link with my Great Uncle Albert Groves.

During WW1 the park became the training camp for the newly formed Machine Gun Corps. So Albert would have been there for his training.

The photo shows part of the camp barracks and the temporary branch line from the East Coast mainline.

Also there was a skirmish there during the ECW. It took place on, wait for it, 13th May 1643. This was a significant action as it was Cromwell's first cavalry victory, from which he developed his future battle winning tactics.

The photo of the park shows on the left the area of the MGC camp (now an off limits deer park) and to the right the probable area of the ECW action.

All in all a good day out.

My Dad's Barracks - Malta.

 My Dad did his national service with REME and was stationed in Malta 1953-4.

His barrack block in 1953.

In 1983 when we visited.

In 2024 when we visited.

Quite some changes recently.

80 years on.

Tokyo Bay 2025.

Tokyo Bay 1945.

My Dad's cousin, Desmond Bourton, was on HMS Teazer (R23, a Tumult class Destroyer), which was part of the fleet in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender ceremony on 2nd September 1945.

 

 

Another Holiday, Another Gun Port!!

 Madeira 2025.

A very short walk from our Hotel in Funchal was Palacio de Sao Lourenco, a 16th Century Fort.

The Battle of Kings Norton, 17 October 1642.

 The Battle of Kings Norton 1642.

24 days after the battle of Powick Bridge (23rd September) and 6 days before Edgehill there was a small battle between Royalist horse under the command of Prince Rupert and Parliamentarian horse under the command of Lord Willoughby of Parham. Both forces were marching to join their respective armies and clashed at King’s Norton (now a suburb of Birmingham).  Not an action that gets talked about much as the supposedly invincible Royalist horse, lead by Rupert, must have been having a bad day! Lord Willoughby didn't seem to have got much praise for his achievement, he wasn’t placed to face Rupert’s wing at Edgehill, in fact he seems to have missed the battle as he was part of the escort of the heavy guns.

This photo is of a display in the local pub, 'The Navigation Inn'.