Sapper Question

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Which Canadian sapper unit was involved in the rescue of the surviving members of the British 1st Airborne, at Driel in late September 1944? They were there, running boats across the Rhine IIRC...

[Jon Skagfeld]

Geoff:

You can start with looking up unit hostories of :

23 Canadian Field Company (part, I believe of an RCE Field Park).

There is also reference to 553 Field Company.

Interestingly, there is also reference to stormboats.

References are: Arnhem 1944, Martin Middlebrook, and Arnhem, The Battle Remembered, Robert Jackson.

[Mark W. Tonner]

Geoff;

Canadian Sappers at the Driel site were: 23rd Canadian Field Company, R.C.E. and an engine and boat maintance party from 3rd Electrical and Mechanical Platoon (Type 'A'), R.C.E. (from 10th Canadian Field Park Company). Note: all the above assets from 1st Canadian Army Troops, R.C.E.

Source: The History of the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers, Volume 2.

Hope this answers your question Geoff.

Cheers

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Thanks guys! Outstanding. I have verified both on my OoB for NW Europe, 1944... I will pass along the info!

BTW, Jon, nowhere in my OoB does any "553" unit appear, in any service eff 30 Sept 1944... must be a misprint or mistaken identity on the part of the author who mentioned it...

[Mark W. Tonner]

Hi Geoff;

Reference "553", they were the 553rd Field Company, Royal Engineers, one of two Field Companies from the Divisional R.E. assets of 43rd Wessex Division (260th Fd Coy, R.E. being the other) assigned to the sites east of Heveadorp and north-east of Driel.

Heveadorp site: 20th Cdn Fd Coy, R.C.E. and 553rd Fd Coy, R.E.
Driel Ste: 23rd Cdn Fd Coy, R.C.E. and 260th Fd Coy, R.E.

British Companies: equipped with assault boats - each of which required a crew of paddlers.

Canadian Companies: equipped with stormboats, with outboard motors.

Cheers

[Rob van Meel]

Hi,

Yesterday while unveilling a small monument to commemorate the location of the escape from the cauldron by some nearly 2,500 men of the 1st A/B Division, Mervyn (Gilly) Potter (in 1944 a sergeant of the Royal Engineers, 1 Airborne Division) mentioned in his speech a.o. the following

On the bank of the Rijn he spoke of the bravery and effort shown to the survivors of 'Arnhem' by Canadian Engineers. Although he had been given orders to report to the Canadian engineers running the boat service and help out in getting the men across, on arrival on the bank near the Old Church he was told to F... Off and lay down till his turn would come to get in a boat and over the river. He would like to find out more on the Canadian Engineers involved in that operation and he would like to express his gratitude for what in most books about 'Arnhem' has not been covered in any detail. Has anyone got any ideas where my dear friend can make any contacts to express his feelings. Although his eye-sight is very poor these days, a good friend of him lives in Clevedon, Great Britain, too and is on the internet and can handle email and all those modern since. But then this veteran, Derek, served with the Royal Corps of Signals and was detached to the RAF in a capacity as linesman.

I am open to all suggestions and I will pass them on to Merv.

[John McGillivray]

Terry Copp wrote an article for Legion Magazine about this rescue at Arnhem. Here is the link to it.
http://www.legionmagazine.ca/feature...tory/00-09.asp

John