Chronology of Noteworthy Events - Part 2 (Continued) As Britain and its Allies prepared for D-Day, there was great excitment in Tweedsmuir Camp. Security was tight. Leave was suspended indefinately, maps recalled by the Orderly Room and RAF Platoons were practising on the camp's firing range. Thursley Common was being churned up by columns of tanks rehearsing manoeuvres and in the air Allied planes made their way to mainland Europe. In Tweedsmuir all ranks speculated that these activities were directed towards the opening of the Second Front. 1944 11 January 1944 Medical Officer began a series of ten First Aid lectures for personnel on Permanent Establishment (PE personnel). 15 March 1944 Audit of the following camp accounts: Regimental Funds; Officers' Mess; Barracks' Damages; Sergeants' Mess; Regimental Messing; Personnel. Audit Board consisted of Maj. McAlpine, Capt. Hall and Lieut. Ashbury. 19 March 1944 A few PE personnel attended an American - Canadian rugby game at the White City Stadium. Although the American's won, all agreed that the Canadian team "... played with plenty of kick." 4 April 1944 Privileged leave and 48 hour passes suspended indefinitely. Much speculation about the opening up of the Second Front. A very successful dance was held in the gym; transportation "... provided for ladies from neighbouring localities." 5 April 1944 "Surplus military maps in possession of PE personnel were called in by the Orderly Room." 8 April 1944 Senior NCOs were instructed to report to the rifle range for firing practice. All ranks were advised that "... in future, only their Regimental Number, Rank and Name would appear on correspondance emanating from them." 11 April 1944 Capt. Kay, HQ CRU with a fire fighting squad from 1 CARU gave a demonstration of how to put out fires caused by incendiaries. Thursley's ARP Wardens and all camp personnel attended. 1 May 1944 2 RAF Platoons practised on the indoor firing range. "A great deal of activity in the air ... with Fortresses, Liberators, Spitfires, Lightnings, Bostons and Marauders mostly in evidence." (In 2006 we had the opportunity to visit the Biggin Hill Air Show where we witnessed the awesome capacity of the Fortress). Click the image for information about the Flying Fortress. 2 May 1944 A lecture on The Underground Movement in Europe was given by Mr Camille Honig in the gym. Honig was formerly a newspaper editor in Warsaw "... who was once intimately connected with the underground movement. The gym was packed with PE staff and transit personnel." 10 May 1944 An RAF Regiment did small arms practice on the indoor firing range. In the afternoon Col. Keene left for Yorkshire to view a new "overflow camp" for 1 NETD. This was Carburton Camp near Worksop. (There were 2 camps in Carburton, No. 181 and No. 249, both used for holding POWs. Just what the arrangements were regarding 1 NETD using these camps is unclear). 12 May 1944 Col. Keene returned from Yorkshire in the evening. Attached personnel who did not possess a firearm were issued with one by the QM. 19 May 1944 "Salute the Soldier" fete held on Thursley Village Green. Many transit personnel attended. 21 May 1944 Churt Home Guard practised on the indoor firing range. The Home Guard NCO was Lloyd George's gardener. (Lloyd George was Britain's prime minister from 1916 to 1922. Following his resignation, Lloyd George lived in Bron-y-de, Churt with his second wife, Frances Stevenson, until September 1944 when they moved to Ty Newydd near Llanystumdwy, Wales. After George's death on 26 March 1945, Stevenson, now the Dowager Count ess Lloyd George of Dwyfor, moved back to Bron-y-de where she lived for the rest of her life). 22 May 1944 Lt. Col. Abrams met with Col. Keene to discuss proposed move of transient personnel from Jasper Camp to Carburton Camp. 23 May 1944 An RAF Regt. "of about 1,000 strong" attended a lecture in the gymnasium. "A Home Guard major presented himself ... for interview." The Orderly Room sergeant asked to see his ID card but the Major did not have one. "Even more embarrassing he had no letter of any kind." The situation was resolved when Major McAlpine, the unit's draft conducting officer, recognised the Home Guard major "... thus rescuing him from being incarcerated in the Guard House. "We feel", wrote the diarist, "that we are one up on that very efficient organisation, the Home Guard." 24 May 1944 An advance party, comprising Col. Keene, 2 officers and 49 other ranks left for Carburton Camp at 0730 hrs. The Carburton War Dairy for this day reads, "Nucleus of PE staff ..., accompanied by Col. Louis Keen, ... arrived at this location (Carburton) about 1800 hrs. 4 cooks had previously arrived from 1 CASCRU and a hot meal was soon prepared. About 40 transit personnel also accompanied this party. Party transported from station to camp (Carburton) by 5 vehicles on loan from 1 Cdn Admin Tpt Coy RCASC." 31 May 1944 Manoeuvres in progress "... on the outskirts of the camp; continual firing heard and columns of tanks moving in to attack." It was thought that this represented part of a much larger scheme that would "... merge into the opening of the Second Front." 1 June 1944 Large number of camp personnel made an application for the 1939 - 43 War Medal. 2 June 1944 Unusual number of Fortresses in the air over the camp. 3 June 1944 "A fire broke out in one of the sleeping huts this morning. Staff Sgt. Johnson lit a cigarette after he went to bed and then promptly went to sleep. His room-mate discovered the fire at 0200 hrs and woke Johnson up. Both men fought the fire and turned in the alarm but fairly extensive damage was done to the room and its contents before the fire was brought under control. The Unit Fire Brigade were on the scene and did good work." A detachment of RAF Regiment were firing on the indoor range all day. "Occasional rumblings of heavy gunfire coming up from the south coast were heard today." 5 June 1944 Allied aircraft over Tweedsmuir Camp all day. "At no time throughout the 24 hrs was the noise of planes absent; big events seem to be pending." 6 June 1944 D-Day was reported in the diary as follows. "Great excitement today with the official opening on the Second Front. Our staff took turns to bring us the latest news items from the radio." 7 June 1944 Great deal of air activity over the camp. 8 June 1944 Reports that the weather was not helping events in mainland Europe. It was very dismal with poor visibilty. "It might as well be the middle of November." No planes were heard flying. 20 June 1944 First flying bomb seen over the camp, heading in a north westerly direction. "Everybody ducked but happily it continued chugging on its evil way." 24 June 1944 Despatch Riders from CMHQ and Acton seem very tired due to the heavy bombing raids on London. 6 July 1944 A "good sized map" of Europe was pinned to the wall of the Orderly Room to help personnel keep abreast of the Allied advance in France. Although they viewed the Caen Bridgehead as disappointing, "armchair strategists" considered that Montgomery was preparing "for something much bigger." 7 July 1944 Plenty of air activity over the camp; fleets of Fortresses, 50 in each group, "... were droning continuously all morning." 19 July 1944 Again, armadas of heavy and medium sized bombers were flying over the camp. Camp personnel felt a certain privilege in having "... a ringside seat of the aerial acitivites." They noted that the skies over the camp seemed to be the "confluent zone for bombers" possibly because of the radio communication post at Hindhead. A further diary entry reads, "... the American fleets fly ... in compact formations, while RAF Lancasters and Halifaxes 'straddle the sky'." 22 July 1944 In the afternoon a garden party was held in the grounds of Dye House in aid of The Prisoner of War Fund. The event was organised by Lady Ironside and opened by Maj. G eneral, The Honourable PJ Montague. Col. Keene provided the guard of honour from the Lorne Scots Unit. Lady Ironside wrote to the camp commander thanking him for the help contributed by the unit. "The money realised was greatly in excess of that anticipated." 31 July 1944 As war operations in Europe were now becoming increasingly successful for the Allied Forces more shipping was made available, allowing for a larger number of drafts for Canada. 1 August 1944 A fire started in the cook's quarters at about 0300 hrs, which was investigated by a court of inquiry. Stirrup pumps were used to put out the fire. Educational Branch of the unit announced that transit personnel were to attend classes in mathematics, English and citizenship. 2 August 1944 Another fire broke out in the camp. This time an unoccupied barracks, Hut No. 10, was completely burnt out. Godalming Fire Brigade was at the scene together with Unit Fire Fighters but they could only control the fire to prevent it from spreading. The police were called as well but no explanation given in the War Diary as to why. A doodle bug flew over the camp, exploding near Elstead. Col. Keene went to the scene, which turned out to be a field across the road from 'The Donkey' pub. He brought back parts of the doodle bug's engine and tail assembly as souvenirs. (Whilst visiting Elstead in 2005, we spoke with a woman who as a child lived in the village during WWII. She conveyed to us her story of this very day, remembering that she, her brother and her mother were visiting friends who lived close to The Moat on Thursley Road. They heard the doodle bug's roar overhead followed by silence and an explosion. "Mum", she said, "thought the bomb had landed on our house. We rushed home as quickly as possible, leaving our tea and cakes on the table. When we got home, mum was relieved to find the bomb landed on a barn a mile or so away from our house"). 3 August 1944 Court of Inquiry was assembled to investigate the fire of the previous evening. (Presumably, since evidence was being taken all day on 4 August, the fire was treated as suspicious). Maj. Rollit, Lt. Col. Grace and Capt. Price of the Canadian Educational Services, CMHQ visited the camp and were "... greatly impressed by the educational set-up (there) and with the co-operation of the commanding officer." 5 August 1944 A very hot and sultry Saturday. On Thursley Green a Garden Party was held, including sports and a flower show organised by the Thursley Horticultural Society. Many Canadian troops attended. At 2000 hrs a "... smash-up occured just outside the camp entrance between a Despatch Rider on a motorcycle and a soldier from 53 RHU on a bicycle." Although no one was seriously injured, "... the bicycle was a total wreck." Privilege leave was reinstated, becoming effective on 8 Aug 44. Priority lists were drawn up as personnel who had not had leave for a long time were "... entitled to first chance." 20 August 1944 Camp command held a Garden Tea Dance this day, a Sunday, with many prominent army and civilian guests attending. Those present included Major-General JH Roberts, Brigadiers Shields and MacDonald, CMHQ, Sir Bruce Thomas, Vice-Admiral and Mrs Hamilton, and Mr J Lomax, Chief Treasury Officer. 24 August 1944 A cheerful entry was made in the 1 NEDT Diary this day, referring to the discharge of 2 female personnel. "The 'service plus' rendered to a female in the different offices when going through the procedure of being discharged is remarkable." 25 August 1944 Although by now 1 NETD diarists were reporting fewer doodle bugs flying over the area, one fell on, and exploded in, Peper Harow. 26 August 1944 Wave after wave of heavy and medium bombers "... soared over the camp towards the Continent." 5 September 1944 Due to the large number of transport planes flying over the camp rumours started to spread about "a new invasion." A Lightning plane "spluttered over the camp" at about 1900 hrs and was losing height. However, it overcame its difficulties and was soon proceeding northwards on a more level course. 7 September 1944 A party of 25 other ranks visited Winchester Cathedral on a tour organised by the unit's Educational Office. An announcement by the press that there was a partial suspension of blackouts "... was received with enthusisam by all." 8 September 1944 An imminent Stores inspection necessitated all personnel to turn in their small arms to the QM Stores. Many transport planes are seen over the camp. "The strategists (were) now convinced they must be flying supplies to France, instead of sticking to their invasion theory of a few days ago." 10 September 1944 "An impressive formation of planes flew over the camp during the afternoon - 13 in a line formation, wing tip to wing tip." 11 September 1944 All staff were required to be on the parade ground for the purpose of posing for group phot ographs. "Three different types of photos were taken, one of the whole unit, one of the officers and senior NCOs and one of the original Lorne Scots who (were) still on strength of NEDT." 12 September 1944 Fleets of Dacotas were passing over the camp all day carrying supplies to the Western Front. (On the day we viewed the Flying Fortress at Biggin Hill in 2006 we also had the opportunity to board a Dacota). Click the image for information about the Dacota. 22 September 1944 The weather was ideal for flying and again "... many planes passed over the camp." 24 September 1944 Heavy gun fire was heard in the distance during the morning. 5 October 1944 At 1800 hrs the sky over the camp was "... dotted with large four engined bombers ... heading eastwards towards the Continent." 24 October 1944 A further procession of bombers heading east started at 1800 hrs and continued for over an hour. 25 October 1944 The war in the Pacific was centre stage with diarists reporting that the Japanese Fleet was being "heavily engaged". 4 November 1944 More transport planes (Dacotas) seen flying over the camp. 6 November 1944 Maj. Barber, the Quartermaster and the camp commandant "... went on a furniture scrounging trip ... to the Canadian Barracks Services." 25 November 1944 A large number of personnel, comprising "... 409 stretcher cases and 336 medical walkers ...", departed from Tweedsmuir and Superior Camps. All walking personnel left for Aldershot Station and "... stretcher cases were transported to port of embarkation (Liverpool) by two hospital trains." 26 November 1944 The temperature tumbled overnight causing a frost, which covered barracks' roofs. (For those of us who lived in Tweedsmuir this, no doubt, evokes fond memories of the camp). Forty officers from Italy arrived through 1 Canadian Reception Depot for return to Canada. A large procession of bombers were heading east in the evening, taking advantage of a bright moonlit night. 27 November 1944 An estimated 1,000 bombers were heading east in the evening between 1800 and 1900 hrs. An intriguing entry was made this day, which reads, "Unit 'B' 1 Detachment of the Canadian Army Show, the personnel of which are at present on strength in this unit (Tweedsmuir Camp) for return to Canada, gave a very pleasing display of their talent in the gymnasium at 1900 hrs. This particular unit (1 Detachment of the Canadian Army Show) is under the direction of Sgt. Maj. Eddie Sanborn who is well known in the music circles in and about Montreal in civilian life." (We've been able to find a little about Sanborn from thecanadianencyclopedia.com "Boat cruises often employed dance bands as entertainment. Don Romanelli led bands on the Lake Ontario boats Cayuga and Chippawa as early as 1918. Art Brown played in the 1920s and Eddie Sanborn in the 1930s on Canadian Steamship Line boats on the St Lawrence River and Great Lakes; and boats of the Union Steamship Lines carried dance bands for evening excursions from Vancouver, while those of the CP and CNR took bands on longer trips along the west coast.") 28 November 1944 The newspapers reported "the biggest fighter battle of the war taking place over Germany." 23 December 1944 Col. Keene, "... looking very fit ...", returned to Tweedsmuir Camp "... on being discharged from 22 Canadian General Hospital." 25 December 1944 "This special day was observed in the spirit of good fellowship among the troops. The Padre held two services of Communion at 0800 hrs and at 0930 hrs. Part 1 orders contained a special message to all ranks from the commander. The men had the traditional Christmas Dinner of turkey with all the things which should accompany it, including roast pork. The officers were present and served the men. The QM had obtained plates on which to serve the dinner, instead of the customary mess tins; this was obviously appreciated by the men and it added much to the enjoyment of the meal. The concert, which was to have been given in the afternoon, was unavoidably cancelled but there was sufficient beer for all the men and they made the most of it. Capt. Ferris (Catering Officer), dressed in the robes of Santa Claus, distributed cigarettes and candy to the ORs to their doubtless amusement but obvious pleasure and appreciation. A movie 'Follow the Boys' was shown in the evening but there weren't many present." 30 December 1944 "Today was the day of the Officers' New Year Party and throughout the afternoon preparations and decorations were the order for the day. The party was restricted fairly well to the PE officers and a few transient officers remaining in the camp and the ladies invited by them. There was a friendly atmosphere and everyone seemed to enjoy the evening very much. Cocktails were served at 2030 hrs and dancing began immediately. Capt. Ferris made another appearance garbed as Santa Claus and caused some merriment by his actions. The weather, which had softened somewhat during the day, reverted to frost with a full moon shining; a perfect setting for the party was provided." 31 December 1944 Three Holy Communion Services were held by the Padre in his office "... at 2000 hrs, another at 2130 hrs followed by a third". The weather was bright and frosty, causing the roads in and around the camp to become slippery. "The camp had an air of quiet as the old year drew to a close. A watch-night service was held by the Padre at 2345 hrs for those wishing to greet the New Year in quiet thought." Copyright © 2006: Zen and Wies Rogalski