#50th northumbrian

[carbone14]

Soldats du 7e Bataillon Green Howards, 69e Brigade, 50e Division d'infanterie britannique (Northumbrian), nettoyant et préparant leurs fusils à bord du navire de transport 'SS Empire Lance' – Opération Overlord – Southampton – le 3 juin 1944

Photographe : Sergent A. N. Midgley - No. 5 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit

©Imperial War Museums - B 5238

[bookloversofbath]

Monty's Northern Legions: 50th Northumbrian and 15th Scottish Divisions at War, 1939-1945 :: Patrick Delaforce

Monty’s Northern Legions: 50th Northumbrian and 15th Scottish Divisions at War, 1939-1945 :: Patrick Delaforce

Monty’s Northern Legions: 50th Northumbrian and 15th Scottish Divisions at War, 1939-1945 :: Patrick Delaforce soon to be presented for sale on the impressive BookLovers of Bath web site! Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2004, Hardback in dust wrapper. Includes: Order of battle; Plans of battle; Black & white photographs; Maps; Appendices (2); From the cover: This is the story of two British Army…

[theworldatwar]

A British soldier fires his Bren gun at enemy targets, Bayuex, France -10th June 1944

Even though the picture was censored when originally published (note his divisional shoulder flash has been obscured) the double T below it identifies him as a member of the 50th Division (Northumbrian Regiment) that fought on Gold Beach on D-day.

Although the Bren gun was extremely accurate and very robust it lacked the fire power of German belt-fed machine guns.

[warpicshistory]

IWM caption : "Infantry of 50th (Northumbrian) Division moving up past a knocked-out German 88mm gun near 'Joe's Bridge' over the Meuse-Escaut Canal in Belgium". [Photo by Midgley (Sgt), No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit / Imperial War Museum] https://www.instagram.com/p/CPPUUUxNmIm/?utm_medium=tumblr

[softschofield]

hello!! re: rossi, i've been meaning to ask you if there is any significance of the big blue & white patches on his jacket sleeves? i honestly just noticed he had them.

it’s so funny that you ask that because i have been agonising over this for months. and honestly? it is spectacularly difficult to find out what that fucking patch is. my first thought, when i saw 1917 for the first time and realised he was scottish, was that it was some sort of identifier of that fact - it’s the scottish colours, after all, and maybe it would make some sort of sense that a scotsman in an english regiment would be identified? but that idea is flimsy at best and isn’t backed up by any evidence whatsoever.

my next thought, through hours of attempts at research that are eternally thwarted by the fucking goddamn canadians and australians who seemingly have a much better record of that sort of thing than the british GOD BLESS, is that he may have been part of the signal corps, or the corps of royal engineers. as far as i can glean from this, it might make sense that a spattering of individual signallers would be attached to an infantry regiment, and that they then may have fought alongside the frontline troops, as they do now. 

and, if he were a signaller, rossi would then have been trained in horse riding, would have been tasked with ensuring that “intelligence is passed to the decision makers and the mechanisms by which decisions and orders are communicated”, operating battlefield communication systems like telephones and radios, and possibly photography, both for military purposes and for propaganda and civilian news back home.

but that theory again falls short when you take into account the fact that the badge on rossi’s helmet is not the insignia of the signal corps - and i haven’t yet been able to identify which insignia it is. 

and yet another thing has been bothering me: while scho and blake wear a red patch on their shoulders, which, as far as i’ve been able to gather, simply means infantry, the convoy boys wear either green patches (embroidered with a regiment name, or just blank) or red x’s. is it a battle patch, a way of distinguishing regiments at a glance? is it the patch of the 50th (northumbrian) division? does it mean HQ battalion, or division HQ? is the red x the patch of the 112th brigade? does it mean something other than infantry? machine gunners?

is could be the staffordshire regiment, which looks very similar to it, and which would make sense considering they were most likely part of one of these divisions that fought at arras in april, one of which encompassed two battalions of the north staffordshire regiment: the 31st division, my personal favourite possibility, because they fought in the battle of the scarpe at arras, because it’s mostly made up of northern regiments, and because it followed after the newfoundlands to the new hindenburg line in spring 1917, just like captain smith said; the 37th division, which contained both the 8th (service) battalion of the east lancashire regiment and the 10th (service) battalion of the loyal north lancashire regiment, which would align with the presence of liverpudlian soldiers, and, since it also contained yorkshire regiments, would also account of the fact that atkins wears the red x; the 19th (western) division; the 7th infantry division; and the 62nd (2nd west riding) division. 

but again, the north staffordshire helmet badge is a very fucking distinctive pretzel knot, and rossi’s badge looks like this:

(and can we also just appreciate that rossi is doing the absolute bare minimum with pushing the truck and he’s mainly just pushing into jondalar’s back, we love to see him thriving and pretending to help) (and we also love that he wears mittens and that his scarf is so lovely and clean, kilgour is quaking)

and rossi doesn’t wear the green arm patch at all!!! which may legitimise the signaller theory? 

so, to answer your question, my love: i don’t know. i honestly don’t know, and it absolutely kills me and my pride to say that. i’ll keep digging, but for now my best guess is that he was in the royal signal corps. and you know what? even if that’s wrong, it makes for a pretty cute headcanon. i always love characters who have something a little different and special about them, and being a signaller or royal engineer in the middle of an infantry battalion, being the one who has to report to the officers and communicate information and handle technical things like radios, that no one else would have any idea about and that would have been a thing of awe and mystery in the edwardian age, in the middle of a battle - having to be calm and shout down a phone line while shells are exploding all around him... i like that. and if he were indirectly in charge of propaganda footage and photography, and privy to the internal workings and politics of the army, that would have naturally led to the quiet, bitter cynicism of “look at it. fucking look at it. three years fighting over this.” 

WAIT

NO

ANON

I’VE BEEN A FOOL:

THEY’RE FROM THE WORCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT!!!!!!!!!!! AND THE 10TH (SERVICE) BATTALION WAS ASSIGNED TO THE 19TH (WESTERN) DIVISION!!!! LIKE I SAID BEFORE!!! SO I WAS HALF RIGHT!!! 

WE HAVE A NAME, LADS!!!! 10TH BATTALION OF THE WORCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT!!!! and man oh man, there are some stories about the insolence and rowdiness of the worcestershires!!! and that fits in so brilliantly with their personalities, I LOVE IT!!!!

still, though, rossi’s helmet badge really doesn’t seem to be the worcestershire lion and, as far as i can make out, has a crown atop the insignia, so who knows what tf that boy is wearing.

but that is completely off track, i’m so sorry my love LMAO. so yes: the arm patch you were actually asking about may mean that he was a signaller attached to the worcestershires ♡♡♡♡ we got there in the end!!! ilysm!! x

[planetinformation]

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 29, 2020 is 23rd (Northumbrian) Division. The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was an infantry division of the British Army in the Second World War. Formed in 1939 from a cadre of the Territorial Army's 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division, it was sent to France in April 1940 with scant training and preparation and inadequate administration, logistics, and heavy weapons. When Germany invaded Belgium, the British Expeditionary Force and French armies advanced, leaving the 23rd Division behind to guard airfields. After the main German attack came through the Ardennes, the division was ordered to the front line to defend the Canal du Nord—the only river between the main German assault and the English Channel. By the time the division arrived, the Germans had already crossed south of their sector where French forces had yet to take up positions. One of the division's brigades was caught by armoured forces and overrun; the other conducted rearguard actions during the retreat to Dunkirk. The remnants of the division were evacuated on 31 May 1940, having suffered heavy losses.

[karlrodrique]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Howards

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50th_(Northumbrian)_Infantry_Division

[poor-bloody-infantry]

© IWM (Q 1550) An officer, sergeant and private soldier of the Northumberland Fusiliers, 149th (Northumbrian) Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division near Millencourt, October 1916. Unidentified exact unit but one of the following: 1/4th, 1/5th, 1/6th or 1/7th Northumberland Fusiliers.

[greatwar-1914]

The 50th (Northumbrian) Division goes over the top at Cambrai. November 20, 1917.

[inknscroll]

#WW2 art: In the build-up to D-Day, Anthony Gross drew a series of group portraits of men and officers of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division, the formation that was to be at the heart of the assault on Gold Beach. These Royal Artillery officers sit in front of a map, alluding to the detailed preparations and planning that went into the D-Day landings. (#Artist: Anthony Gross, 1944.)🎨🖌 (Details: The 50th (Northumbrian) Division, 1944: six British Officers of the 124TH Field Regiment, RA : Lieutenant L. G. Heptinstall; Lieutenant A. E. Kilner, Royal Corps of Signals; Captain J. W. DOWESWELL, MC ; Lieutenant D. S. Toynbee; Lieutenant H. Irwin; Lieutenant J.J.S. Bury.) 📖(Source: © IWM Art.IWM ART LD 3945; iwm.org.uk)🇬🇧 #books #ww2 #history #British #Allies #worldwar2 #Britain #amwriting #photography #art #sketching #painting #goodreads #writersofinstagram #journals #nonfiction #biography #memoirs #writer #wwii #artwork #veterans #supportourtroops #thankyouveterans #bookstagram 📚🎨 https://www.instagram.com/p/CCw18l9BHzI/?igshid=duh7w4aqj3p4

[uss-edsall]

Italian prisoners being escorted back by men of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division in a captured German kubelwagen car, 20 June 1942. © IWM (E 13575)

[carbone14]

Un soldat de la 50e Division d'infanterie britannique et des hommes des 4e/7e Royal Dragoon Guards britanniques, en soutien lors du débarquement, inspectent un blockhaus allemand abritant un canon de 50mm à Gold Beach - Opération Overlord - Bataille de Normandie - France - 7 juin 1944

Photographe : Sergent A. N. Midgley - No. 5 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit

©Imperial War Museums - B 5252

[nebris]

The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which fought briefly in the Battle of France during the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Germany as a European power and its occupation of Czechoslovakia, the British Army increased the number of divisions within the Territorial Army by duplicating existing units. The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was formed in October 1939, as a second-line duplicate of the 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division. It was made up of two brigades, unlike regular infantry divisions that were composed of three, with battalions hailing from the north of England.

It was intended that the division would remain in the United Kingdom to complete training and preparation, before being deployed to France within twelve months of the war breaking out. The division spent little time training and its soldiers were dispersed and used to guard strategically important and vulnerable locations across North East England. Guard duty and little preparation for war were seen as a hindrance to good morale. In France, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was suffering from a manpower shortage among rear line units. To boost morale, provide additional labour and guards for the rear echelon of the BEF, and score political points with the French Government and military, the division was sent to France in April 1940, leaving behind most of its administration and logistical units as well as heavy weapons and artillery. The men were assigned to aid in the construction and guarding of airfields. The Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Edmund Ironside, secured a promise from the BEF that the division would not be used in action owing to it being untrained and incomplete.

When Germany invaded Belgium and the Netherlands, the BEF and French armies moved to meet the attack, leaving behind the 23rd Division to continue guarding airfields. The main German attack came through the Ardennes and moved to cut off the British and French forces in northern France. With no other reserves available, the 23rd Division was ordered to the front line to defend the Canal du Nord—the only river obstacle between the main German assault and the English Channel—and the only defensible position at which to stop the German attempt to encircle the BEF. By the time the division arrived at the canal, the Germans had already crossed south of their sector where French forces had yet to take up positions. Having destroyed the bridges in their area, the division was ordered to fall back to new positions to defend the town of Arras. Before the 70th Infantry Brigade could take up this new position, it was caught by advancing German armoured forces and overrun. The military situation further deteriorated, resulting in the decision to begin the Dunkirk evacuation. Elements of the division conducted delaying and rearguard actions around the perimeter, before being evacuated on 31 May 1940, having suffered heavy losses. In Britain, the division was disbanded and its units were transferred to other formations to bring them up to strength.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23rd_(Northumbrian)_Division

[goodeggshen]

Wikipedia article of the day for January 29, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for January 29, 2020 is 23rd (Northumbrian) Division. The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was an infantry division of the British Army in the Second World War. Formed in 1939 from a cadre of the Territorial Army's 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division, it was sent to France in April 1940 with scant training and preparation and inadequate administration, logistics, and heavy weapons. When Germany invaded Belgium, the British Expeditionary Force and French armies advanced, leaving the 23rd Division behind to guard airfields. After the main German attack came through the Ardennes, the division was ordered to the front line to defend the Canal du Nord—the only river between the main German assault and the English Channel. By the time the division arrived, the Germans had already crossed south of their sector where French forces had yet to take up positions. One of the division's brigades was caught by armoured forces and overrun; the other conducted rearguard actions during the retreat to Dunkirk. The remnants of the division were evacuated on 31 May 1940, having suffered heavy losses.

[warpicshistory]

🇬🇧 Oblique aerial of 'King Green' and 'Jig' Beaches GOLD Area between Mont Fleury and le Hamel, during the landing of 50th (Northumbrian) Division, 6 June 1944. [Imperial War Museum / MH 24887] https://www.instagram.com/p/ByX1v3gpwZG/?igshid=2r6ffbkhom5l

[vacationsoup]

New Post has been published on https://vacationsoup.com/normandys-ryes-war-cemetery/

Normandy's Ryes War Cemetery

Ryes War Cemetery is a Commonwealth cemetery in Normandy. There are almost a thousand soldiers buried here; the majority of them are British.

On 6th June 1944 Allied troops landed on Normandy beaches. This action was a turning point in World War 2 resulting in France being liberated almost three months later.

Many of the British troops landed on Gold Beach near Arromanches and were from the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. Ryes War Cemetery is on the D87 just outside the village of Bazenville near to Ryes. It's 8km east of Bayeux.

There are 652 Commonwealth burials, 1 Polish and 35 German. Visitors can search the burials register and can also download a plan of the cemetery online.

This information is also in the cemetery. There are two stone porches on either side of the burial ground. In the wall is a memorial register with burials listed alphabetically. Each record has a reference number that relates to the grave. You can consult the plan at the front of the register to find the grave.

An extract from the Ryes burial register

There isn't much parking at the cemetery although you can park directly outside.

To help you discover more information about the D-Day landing beaches, you can click here to read this in-depth article with photos, videos and practical information.

  We spent 3 weeks creating the best online guide to Normandy on the web. It includes everything from a bucket list, must see attractions to the best places to eat and drink.

It covers Mont St Michel, Monet’s garden, the D Day beaches, wine tours and much more. .

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