Photos WW2 British & Commonwealth Forces

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British MK VI light tank, one of many light AFVs derived from the Vickers Carden Lloyd carrier.

 

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Briefing of Canadian infantrymen outside a hangar at the airfield, Carpiquet, France, 12 July 1944.
https://amzn.to/2NoHCmN

 

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Fusilier McCartney, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, armed with a Bren gun near Pyingyaing, between Kalewa and Shwebo, January 1945.

 

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Parachute-qualified soldier, who is armed with a PIAT anti-tank weapon, undertaking winter infantry training at A-35 Canadian Parachute Training Centre (Canadian Army Training Centres and Schools), Camp Shilo, Manitoba, Canada, 20 March 1945.

 

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17 Jan 1944 – Arielli River, Italy – Perths moving into their first combat action north of Ortona. Infantrymen move past supporting Sherman tanks of the Three Rivers Regiment (12th Armoured Regt, 1CAB.)
https://amzn.to/3ocmMUB

 

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Q: When is a DUKW not a DUKW?
A: When it's a wood / canvas / tubular metal etc., dummy.
This is another of the 1:1 vehicles created for use in the pre D-Day "Operation Fortitude" deception scheme, complete with its buffers, canvas tilt...and jerrycans!
(IWM)

 

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A Female Worker Spray Paints the Landing Gear of a De Havilland Mosquito Airplane. Downsview,Ont., 1944.
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Canadian infantrymen holding a former German position on the airfield at Carpiquet, France, 12 July 1944.
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Canadian infantrymen holding a former German position on the airfield at Carpiquet, France, 12 July 1944.
https://amzn.to/3sPBXGx

 

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This is a 1:1 inflatable "Sherman" manufactured in the UK by the famous Dunlop Rubber Co., for the pre D-Day "Operation Fortitude" deception plan.
The attention to form and detail was exceptional, so any enemy viewing it from a distance at ground level or from a high flying reconnaissance plane would likely be completely fooled.
(IWM)

 

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Dutch civilians celebrate their liberation by Canadian troops in Utrecht, The Netherlands, 7 May 1945.
(Alexander Mackenzie Stirton/Library and Archives Canada/Canadian Press)

 

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WWII. Burma Campaign. 1944. A British Royal Marine of No. 44 Commando sheaths his iconic Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife.

 

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BUNA, PAPUA. FIGHTING DURING THE FINAL ASSAULT ON BUNA. AUSTRALIAN MACHINE GUNNERS IN ACTION AROUND 5.30 PM NEW YEARS DAY 1943. DEAD MAN ON LEFT WAS CORPORAL CHARLES KNIGHT. PRIVATE JOHN SENIOR IS BEHIND THE GUN AND TX678 SERGEANT G.C. LOWE ON THE RIGHT. THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN DURING THE ACTUAL FIGHTING

 

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In May 1945 Private Richard Murray was one of only 30 POWs still alive at Ranau. He and Pte Keith Botterill stole rice from the Japanese to build up food stocks as they intended to escape. When the theft was discovered Pte Murray stepped forward to take responsibility, knowing he would be killed. He was bayonetted and his body thrown into a bomb crater at Ranau on 20 May 1945. Pte Murray sacrificed his life to save his friend. Pte Botterill did escape, he was one of only six survivors of the Sandakan death marches.

 

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Australian-designed CAC Boomerang fighter aircraft from No. 5 Squadron RAAF at Piva Airfield on the island of Bougainville on January 11, 1945.

 

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North African Campaign. German Infantry surrendering to men of a New Zealand Bren carrier unit. A wounded prisoner can be seen riding in the back of the carrier.
Office of War Information Photograph.

 

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General Sir Bernard Momtgomery looks at a map of Sicily.
The landing of Sicily, named Operation Husky, took place on July 10, 1943 when the British Eighth Army led by General Montgomery and the American Seventh Army led by Lieutenant General Patton landend on the southern coast of the island.
It was the beginning of the Italian Campaign which lasted for almost two years.

 

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Members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry with the Buffalo landing vehicles used to cross the IJssel River. They are seen near Zutphen, The Netherlands, on 11 April 1945, during Operation Cannonshot.
(G.B. Gilroy/Library and Archives Canada/Canadian Press)

 

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The crew of a British Light Tank Mk.VIB having a “brew up” and cooking their Christmas dinner beside their vehicle, in Libya, North Africa, 31 December 1940.
Note – they are sitting on fuel or water containers and using a cut in half, empty can (a “flimsy” – the infamous 4-Gallon non-returnable petrol tin) for heating the food, referred to at the time as a “Benghazi Boiler”. The tanker seated in the middle is holding a can of ‘Pilsner Lager’.

 

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An Egyptian Army corporal stands sentry in Cairo, Oct. 23, 1942, while further to the west the British Eighth Army fights at Alamein. Never fully trusted by the British, the Egyptian military was mostly relegated to rear duties. (IWM E18253)