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Today is the anniversary of the D Day landings , and in particular the supreme efforts of the railways to cover it , (particularly the Southern Railway) , nicely remembered by the Network Rail post today
The railway played a crucial role in WWII, for which we say thank you to all those who served and sacrificed.
At the outbreak of war, railway companies evacuated 1.3 million children and some adults from big towns and cities.
In May and June 1940, they sent trains to take part in the rescue of soldiers from Dunkirk in France.
Later, train timetables were reduced to clear the tracks in the run up to the Allies’ invasion of Europe on D-Day.
Evacuations
The first wave of evacuations of children and vulnerable adults took place in the first week of September 1939, immediately after the outbreak of war.
All the Big Four railway companies – Great Western Railway (GWR), London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and Southern Railway (SR) – were involved.
A very timely reminder. Thank you. My Grandfather went over with 185th RA, only to take a direct hit on his 3cwt lorry during the fight for Caen. As was the norm (in my youth) he never spoke about such things, and only in more recent times (30 odd years ago now and long after his death) did I get access to his records via MOD, which his wife, my nan, had never seen. On seeing what his CO had written at the time, my nan was in tears (as was I then, and am even now writing this), it was/is very humbling indeed, and something I will never forget.
The Southern's main line from Exeter to Plymouth via Okehampton - alas now severed - was the busiest in its history in the run up to D-Day with huge quantities of ammunition and stores worked forward to Devonport. Signal boxes were manned continuously and sidings were built at Lydford on the edge of Dartmoor to hold traffic until Plymouth could deal with it. On the 'Withered Arm' unlikely stations in North Cornwall had huge ammunition dumps, with special trains working forward to Plymouth as the day approched. Some passenger services were suspended to accommodate the traffic - it was clear to the locals that 'something' was about to happen.
My late father-in-law landed in Normandy, Sword Beach, like so many he never spoke about and it was only after we had visited Normandy about a year before he passed away thet he said 'I was there'.
The Southern's main line from Exeter to Plymouth via Okehampton - alas now severed - was the busiest in its history in the run up to D-Day with huge quantities of ammunition and stores worked forward to Devonport. Signal boxes were manned continuously and sidings were built at Lydford on the edge of Dartmoor to hold traffic until Plymouth could deal with it. On the 'Withered Arm' unlikely stations in North Cornwall had huge ammunition dumps, with special trains working forward to Plymouth as the day approched. Some passenger services were suspended to accommodate the traffic - it was clear to the locals that 'something' was about to happen.
As far away as South Wales , input was made by storing and despatching trains to the south when needed. The GWR owned Bristol Channel ports certainly assisted , and I commented on other places about , for example military trains sent to assist the operation down what we know to be the south end of the Heart of Wales line ! - bit of a change from today of course ! (no offence to 153 / 150 supporters !)
A very timely reminder. Thank you. My Grandfather went over with 185th RA, only to take a direct hit on his 3cwt lorry during the fight for Caen. As was the norm (in my youth) he never spoke about such things, and only in more recent times (30 odd years ago now and long after his death) did I get access to his records via MOD, which his wife, my nan, had never seen. On seeing what his CO had written at the time, my nan was in tears (as was I then, and am even now writing this), it was/is very humbling indeed, and something I will never forget.
La Batille du Rail is a 1946 film based on true events on the French railways from the Normandy Landings until the end of the war. Members of the French resistance involved in general sabotage were known as Maquis, while railway workers involved in sabotage were referred to as Cheminots. At first, Cheminots were uncoordinated, with more than one person having a similar idea, for example, exchanging wagon labels or labeling wagons containing German supplies as defective. Many French locomotive depots were roundhouses, so a locomotive would be derailed, hopefully falling into the turntable pit. More audacious was detonating explosives to destroy or disable locomotives, no mean feat when there was a German soldier on the footplate, who was liable to shoot first and ask questions afterwards.
As German troops travelled north to counter the D Day landings, the combined efforts of Cheminots and Maquis effectively paralysed the French rail network, and as mentioned, around 100 railway workers paid the ultimate price of being executed or sent to a concentration camp.
Another British railway that only saw heavy traffic during WW2 was the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton railway. Envisaged traffic never materialised, but it was of strategic importance in moving troops and supplies to ports on the south coast in preparation for D Day.
in general sabotage were known as Maquis, while railway workers involved in sabotage were referred to as Cheminots. At first, Cheminots were uncoordinated, with more than one person having a similar idea, for example, exchanging wagon labels or labeling wagons containing German supplies as defective. Many French locomotive depots were roundhouses, so a locomotive would be derailed, hopefully falling into the turntable pit. More audacious was detonating explosives to destroy or disable locomotives, no mean feat when there was a German soldier on the footplate, who was liable to shoot first and ask questions afterwards.
I’ve recently read a lot about SOE and their liasion with the Resistance. Evidently one of the favoured means of sabotage was to drain the oil from axle bearings of wagons carrying military supplies, as it would cause a hot box / failure on the running line and cause a block of the line for some time. It was also very simple to do, and needed no special tools so minimising the risk for those doing it.
Another aspect of course was the very comprehensive heavy bombing on rail infastructure by the RAF in advance of D-Day , as the Germans had largely lost controll of the airspace by this time , daytime straffing of moving trains was also common. Not a great time to be a cheminot.
There is an excellent book called "Pacific Senator" describing the career on an engine driver , which has some observations of this era. Blatant sabotage was highy risky - but axlebox tampering was fairly easy , as was "accidentally" opening the discharge valves on loaded tank wagons.
I do think these various experiences were pretty universal, and furthermore it came only 25 years after WW1, which had been further devastating for so many families. Quite an element of the national support for the whole event I feel came from a 'settling the score' for what their immediate forebears had experienced then, which most of course remembered.
Family even in Taunton spoke about never having seen so many aircraft in the sky as came southward over them on D-Day.
There was considerable labour applied to the various enhancements by the US Army, to supplement the rail staff efforts. The Didcot to Newbury doubling was one such, using equipment they had brought with them from the USA before it went over to France. There are also still quite a lot of north-south road improvements along the south coast done the same way, sometimes of minor country lanes, if you know where to look. There are a number around Dorchester.
With the first introduction to service of the Merlin fitted Mustangs in the ETO (European Theatre of Operations) on December 1st '43, the stakes were raised, and by April '44 the additional 75 US gallon drop (fuel) tanks started to be fitted to the same, one under each wing. Whereas in the early years of the war fighters could only escort Bombers just in to mainland Europe, before having to scurry home to refuel, with the advent of the additional drop tanks, the US fighters could escort the heavies right through to their targets and out again. I believe any specific orders about straffing were deliberately vague in pre mission briefings, but (fighter) pilots were 'allowed' to go after any 'targets of opportunity' on their return home, provided the bomber escort aspect of a mission had been completed, and they (the fighters) had sufficient fuel left to still get back across the Channel.
By D-Day things had advanced en-pace, and when the RAF Typhoon's came on stream they were prolific in straffing missions. There are a few well known gun camera film clips out there, which some here may have seen or be aware of.
As you say, not a good time to be on the receiving end, but necessary for the bigger end game picture. I often think certain views expressed today about those times, may be different, had Mainland UK been invaded and taken over, but that's for another thread/discussion!
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Thank you indeed for saying so, but I would like to try to explain something (as best as I can), and I apologise here and now for veering OT.
My Grandfather would never have recognised himself as such, he was just doing his job, and thankfully he was (by all accounts) driving back to the ammunition dump, having unloaded his allotted load of shells at the guns, when his lorry became a target - how direct isn't clear from the records, but was enough to destroy the lorry and throw him clear. He had the scars to prove it to the end, and at the time was invalided out of action until 1946, when he rejoined his unit in a peace keeping roll in N. Africa.
I have come to understand something of the sentiments expressed in the here and now about WW1 and 2 and those who served, not only relating to my Grandfather (as above), but also to a couple of his cousins who were KIA in WW1. The records as we have access to today, give these guys details, but only with first name initials (and surname etc). I made a point of contacting the CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) to advise them that I could provide their full name details. This was not about making any changes to their headstones (heaven forbid, I would never go there, in any context), but more about the existing records.
In discussion about these things, I came to understand - which I had not understood before if I am honest, in my passion for such things - that those records now on file, are the exact details that were provided to the authorities by the immediate family (parents in this case) of the guys concerned. In other words, the records now on file represent the wishes of the immediate family at the time.
Whilst I understand the apparent need/desire in todays world to 'detail' everything without exception, I now completely understand the wishes of those at the time, and I will forever respect their privacy in these matters.
I’ve recently read a lot about SOE and their liasion with the Resistance. Evidently one of the favoured means of sabotage was to drain the oil from axle bearings of wagons carrying military supplies, as it would cause a hot box / failure on the running line and cause a block of the line for some time. It was also very simple to do, and needed no special tools so minimising the risk for those doing it.
Something similar occurs in the 1964 film The Train, based on real life events, in that the Germans did loot art galleries, and train 40.044, which was intercepted as it left Paris, and its cargo consisted of such looted items. As Paris falls to the Allies, an art-loving German colonel ransacks the Jeu du Paume museum, loading the paintings onto a train in order to take them to Germany. The driver in charge, Papa Boule, sabotages the engine by removing the oil caps and inserting franc coins to cut off the supply. So the engine leaves the train at a wayside station and returns to Vaires for repairs. The Germans are suspicious and order Boule to empty his trouser pockets, where the oily franc pieces are discovered. Paul LaBiche intercedes on behalf of Boule, who is unrepentant. Boule is therefore taken outside and shot.
A remarkable thing about D-Day is how comprehensively the Germans were fooled into thinking the main assault would be on the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy. Huge quantities of materiel were moved by rail to Devon and Cornwall and ammunition dumps and stores established at remote stations ready for the big day. US troops were transported and billeted in the area - the main road from Callington to Saltash for example had large encampments in the surrounding fields for much of its length.
You would have thought that the Germans might have noticed but MI5 had pretty much smashed any spy network early on in the war. There are multiple stories of agents arriving by U-boat in Cornwall but being so inept - like asking at the local station for train times - that they were promptly arrested! Photo reconnaisance was also difficult by 1944 and Gen. Patton had his 'phantom army' in Kent to aid the deception.
At Saltash Passage where a lot of the US troops departed, the road they used is named 'Normandy Way' in their honour.
A remarkable thing about D-Day is how comprehensively the Germans were fooled into thinking the main assault would be on the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy. Huge quantities of materiel were moved by rail to Devon and Cornwall and ammunition dumps and stores established at remote stations ready for the big day. US troops were transported and billeted in the area - the main road from Callington to Saltash for example had large encampments in the surrounding fields for much of its length.
You would have thought that the Germans might have noticed but MI5 had pretty much smashed any spy network early on in the war. There are multiple stories of agents arriving by U-boat in Cornwall but being so inept - like asking at the local station for train times - that they were promptly arrested! Photo reconnaisance was also difficult by 1944 and Gen. Patton had his 'phantom army' in Kent to aid the deception.
At Saltash Passage where a lot of the US troops departed, the road they used is named 'Normandy Way' in their honour.
The mis-information and deception efforts were quite something, and it largely worked.
There is a passage in Brickhill’s account of the Dambusters, describing how 617 squadron dropped ‘window’ (aluminium foil strips) to fool German radar that there was a large invasionforce heading for the Pas de Calais. This has been explained in various Dambuster documentaries since. What is never mentioned (but is stated in the book) is that Brickhill himself was a PoW at the time (in Stalag Luft III), and heard it announced on German Radio that an invasion force was heading to the Pas de Calais.
Last year, a podcast that I enjoyed was released called D-Day: the tide turns. The work done on deception was vast and some of it bold as brass. The preview episode with the headmaster is a story you don’t hear about often.
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