Photos WW2 British & Commonwealth Forces

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De Havilland Mosquito.

 

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Funeral of a British officer at German prisoner camp Stalag Luft III, 1943.

 

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The only combatant soldier ever to receive two Victoria Crosses, New Zealander, Captain Charles Upham, North Africa, October 16, 1941.

 

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An endearing photograph taken in 1945 during WW2 in New Guinea.
Signalman H.G. Gladstone, B Company, 2/5 Infantry Battalion, with his kitten ‘Tiger’.
He found the kitten in a deserted village at Malba and it is content to ride on his shoulder.
Lest We Forget.
Photograph came from the Australian War Memorial. Image file number AWM 093960

 

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Interesting Arnhem picture
Members of 7th Battalion KOSB wearing the Leslie tartan patch this shows it wasn’t limited to officers and NCOs at Arnhem.

 

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Humorous military signage # 11.
A little British black humour from the Western Desert, c. 1942.
The symbolism of the vampire bat said it all!
(IWM)

 

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The Vickers Light Tank Mk. IV was a successful 1930s design, well-suited to the British Army's requirements for a light reconnaissance vehicle and also an easily sea-transportable armoured vehicle for the policing of Britain's overseas territories.
It was a very "compact" vehicle which accomodated a crew of two...commander and driver.
However, as it was quite a short vehicle it tended to pitch somewhat on its suspension when travelling over uneven ground at speed!
This image captures a Mk IV doing just that. Note the commander's hand-hold on the turret...a very necessary fitting!
The tank just visible on the right is a Cruiser Mk IV (A13 Mk.II)

 

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British soldiers preparing to go to Egypt, saying goodbye to their wives, 1937.

 

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PM Winston Churchill was interested in firearms and was often photographed trying them out, for example the Thompson and M1 Carbine.
Here, he is firing a Sten Mk. II.
Apparently he dumped a full 32 round mag at a target 75 metres down range, 27 of which were in the bull, tightly grouped.

 

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Was size important?
Well yes...it was actually... when it came to bombs in WW2!
These were the bombs available to the RAF, each one annotated accordingly.
Only Lancasters were capable of delivering the biggest ones!

 

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A British officer, armed with a Stick, Swagger, Mk.1, prepares to lead his men ashore from their LCA during exercises.
Note the Bren on the right which would have provided suppressing or covering fire during the landing.
(LIFE Collections)

 

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Humorous military signage # 10.
British soldiers pause to read a sign put up by the US 5th Army a few miles from the front lines in the Crespino area of Italy, c.1944.
Blunt and to the point!

 

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Personnel of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade carrying Lieutenant Harold Hanreck of the United States Army Air Corps on a stretcher after his aircraft crashed into the Adriatic Sea. San Vito di Ortona, Italy, 31 December 1943.
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Piper A. Beaton of The Essex Scottish Regiment playing his bagpipes outside a ruined building, Xanten, Germany, 9 March 1945.
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Infantrymen of The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders eating lunch outside the railroad station, Vaucelles, France, 20 July 1944.
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Bren gunners of The Highland Light Infantry of Canada in a slit trench, France, 20 June 1944.
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An RAF Corporal stands in front of a de Havilland Mosquito FB Mk XVIII and shows the camera the 6-pounder shell fired by the modified 57mm gun mounted in the pod beneath its nose.
This variant of the Mosquito was designed to attack surfaced U-Boats and other surface vessels.
They were produced in small numbers and proved to be quite effective.

 

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Extract from Cairns Regional Council publication
"Looking at the beautiful surrounds of Trinity Beach today, you wouldn’t think that it was the location for intense training for thousands of soldiers in World War II.
Between May 1943 and December 1944, the beach was full of Australian and American troops who underwent intensive training – day and night – for all aspects of amphibious warfare before heading off into the war zones north of Australian shores, particularly in Borneo and Papua New Guinea.
Many of the soldiers camped along the Captain Cook Highway, particularly at Deadman’s Gully (near Clifton Beach). Conditions were rough and ready, especially during the wet season.
By late October 1945, the Trinity Beach training headquarters was shut down and the area again became a popular recreational spot for Cairns residents.
Major General George Vasey was the popular Commander of the 6th Australian Division which took part in the training exercises. Unfortunately, he was killed on 5 March 1945 when the RAAF Hudson he and 11 others were travelling in crashed into the sea about 400 metres out from Machans Beach.
To honour the Major General, the Mulgrave Shire Council named the esplanade at Trinity Beach after him. They also erected a plaque in a brick memorial wall to commemorate the loss of the 11 service personnel in this tragic crash.
Colonel Cummings Drive at Palm Cove was named after former Cairns resident Colonel Clem Cummings who was the Commander of the 1st Australian Beach Group based at Trinity Beach.,,

 

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Sherbrooke Fusiliers crew with a Sherman tank, which landed in France on D-Day, Zutphen, Netherlands, 8 June 1945.
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A KO'd Tiger 1 on Sicily. The sign indicates that the Desert Air Force claimed this kill. ( "Smashed by D.A.F.")
It is possibly being prepared for further demolition?