Looking for info on Harold Hughes 3 Commando

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 11/02/2019 22:07:33

Great update Nick. Another of our troop photos is filling up with the names of those portrayed.

I also thank John and Phyllis for all their help.

Nominal List 3Cdo MT 5 May 1944.xls

Attached are a couple of 3 Cdo troop lists, one given to me which I understand is from Peter Young?s personal notes and is for MT dated 5 May 1944 and the other which Lists 2 Troop (Heavy Weapons ? Vickers Machine Guns) again May 1944 provided by John Carney (thanks yet again to John!).

The first list should be viewed with an open mind as 5th May was, in Commando terms, a long time before d-day and much could have changed in the meantime e.g. we have spoken to Dutch Holland who was in MT along with Arthur Griffin, neither of whom are on the nominal list. Also I can?t be sure the spellings of names are correct so any correction would be appreciated.

Perhaps view this as a starting point to be amended as appropriate.

All the best

Hello NICK

I'm enjoy than you met John CARNEY, I know him since many years.
Are you in touch with BOB CUBBITT ?
I've moved to an other house, and i've installed internet last week, so this is more easy for me to correspond with you.
Now, I can looking for in my boxes about documents and archives.
I enclose photo taken last May on your grandfather's grave in HERMANVILLE.
sincerely
stéphane

Looking at the MT list, my Dad Cpl Potthast is included but I spotted another name there I recognise, T (Taffy) Hawcutt who was my Dads best man! I would be interested to find out more about him too.
I will post photos on the topic I started for Dad.
Regards
Anne

Hello

I enclose names about 2 Troop 3 Cdo, given to me few years ago from John CARNEY.

Sincerely

stéphane

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 30/10/2009 10:47:35

Stéphane, thanks for the new photo?s of Harold?s headstone it is much appreciated, I hope to visit Normandy in the new year and will let you know when we are coming over. I am pleased you have your computer working again and have updated the photo in the gallery with the full list of names, thanks again its fantastic to get a full list of names next to faces!

I hope to have some more photo?s soon. We have managed to contact Barry Norton son of the lady Harold was billeted with and he thinks they have a couple of photo?s in the attic and is going to try and dig them out. He was eight at the time and remembers Harold had a sten gun, rifle and pistol along with ammunition and grenades in his wardrobe (!!), he had a motorbike and side car that he drove his officer around in (don?t know who) as well as a small jeep called a champ (could be an Austin champ but I thought they were made after the war??). Also he kept his welbike in the garden shed.

Most houses in the street with a spare room had commandos in and Harold shared with a commando called Jimmy. This is news to me, apparently Jimmy was Canadian but had a Scotts accent ? again I don?t have a clue but if anyone has any ideas please help! Barry thinks there is a photo of Jimmy too.

We have been in touch with Colonel Reynolds and Major Westley who true to commando form have been extremely helpful and informative. As a result we have some more contact names and addresses to follow up so will post if we get anything back.

With regards Bob Cubitt, yes we have spoken to him and he?s a fantastic character and was very very helpful and this is how we managed to find Anne.

I will be putting another colourised picture of Harold in the gallery shortly that my mum had.

More to follow

Cheers

Nick

A quick update ? been distracted by work for a while but have been keeping up research.

Spoke to John Fearon of 3Cdo MT Section who was helpful, he remembers Harold and gave a couple of other names for guys in MT, these are:
Bob Longhorne (Jeeps) ? trained with Ken Prosser at Achnacarry
Charlie Finch (billeted with J. Fearon)
Bill Harding (billeted with J. Fearon)

He also mentioned Jack Carter was made up to Sergeant, and he remembers Austin Byrne driving a jeep up to the Wirral. He also recalled Taffy Hawcut, Kennedy, George Hancock, Tommy Hodgkinson and Jack ?Tank? Thompson.

More info to follow including a photocopy of a photo MT Section from 1945 (once I?ve got my scanner working) and I?ve been given a couple of pictures of 5 Troop which i?ll post too.

Cheers

Nick

Attached is the photo of 3 Cdo Motor Transport (MT) Section taken in Worthing in 1945. This was kindly given to my brother by Ted ?Dutch? Holland from MT. Dutch noted that Mick Scovell was unusually missing from the photo and also named a few of the guys and I will put a numbered version in the Gallery with these names on. He also gave two more names for MT, these being Hammond and Burt De-Liege.

The following are a few brief notes from conversations with a number of veterans in particular Dutch Holland, Ted Piggott, Bill Brian, John Fearon, John Carney and Scotty to whom I owe great thanks for the following. We will add more as we pull our notes together.

MT was a section not a troop and had a high turnover of men in and out of the section. If you had a specific MT related skill e.g. you were a mechanic or could drive you would likely be moved into MT at some point. Men were often called back/into Troops as required. For example we have found a record of my Grandfather in a vickers crew in 2 Troop with Thomas L. Coleman and Jack Carter (in welbike pic in earlier post with Mick Scovel) as well as in MT, and Scotty recalled being attached to MT for a short period.

MT did not, therefore, operate as a Troop did but individuals were attached to any other Troops or HQ or Officers across the Commando that had specific MT requirements for a particular operation e.g. on D-Day individuals were attached to and landed with different Troops and those that drove heavy vehicles landed later when the beaches were ready to receive them.

Within MT men generally knew best other men with the same role e.g. Bill Brian, Ray Field and Eric Jenkinson were all heavy vehicles and were close friends. Similarly John Fearon, Finch, Longhorn and Harding drove Jeeps and again were close friends. My Grandfather was listed as dispatch rider and was likely to have known well Siggers, Pothast, Prosser, Raybold, Brayne, Davis, and Davies.

More from the veterans to follow as we pull our notes together.

I said i?d post a couple of pics of 5 Troop but I notice that the recent fantastic batch of photos posted by Pete include better versions of the ones I have.

Regards

Nick

Hi Folks,
Thank you so much for posting the great press picture of 3Cdo on LCI's before D-Day.
We only have two photos of my Grandad during the war. On Saturday night we found another, he's sat on the back on the middle boat (second from left at the front dark hair, spread nose and chubby cheeks :)
His Name Is Joseph William Millard he was in troop 6. We all recognised him straight away. When i showed him the photo he started naming lots of names. He smiled all night remembering the names and faces. I plan on having it printed larger so we can write the names and ill send it in.
I know he was Injured from 88mm flack or a tiger tank, and was taken the Bayeux hospital to be treated.
He then went on to serve the medical if anyone has any more information or Photos he could be it, i would really appreciate it. It would be great to tell my Nephew more stores about his Grandpa.

Thank you.
Becky

Hello to all

About the photos with the LCI(s).

This is 45 RM cdo Landing Craft. Loading Number about 45 RM cdo : 289 is Craft 518 - 290 is Craft 532 - 291 is Craft 528 - 292 is Craft 530 - 293 is Craft 517

About 3 cdo : 284 is Craft 512 - 285 is craft 509 - 286 is Craft 535 - 287 is Craft 538 - 288 is Craft 501

Best Regards

stéphane

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 19/10/2018 21:38:51

Stephane,
Les Jordan (L.C.I.(S)530) inadvertently switched the Landing Table Index Numbers for No.3 Commando and 45 R.M. Commando when he transcribed the original document, part of Lt.Cdr. Curtis' 'Chronicles of D-Day'.

On D Day 45 RM Commando LCI's L.T.I.N. were 284-288 and 3 Commando's were 289-293.

Discussing the L.T.I.N. in a thread on WW2 Talk in 2015, Colin Henderson provided a Warsash berthing plan to confirm the correct numbers. The berthing plan came from Lt. Cdr. Jack Deslandes of L.C.I.(s) 518 (284) which carried elements of 45 R.M. Commando to Sword.

http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/landing-craft-colours-for-d-day.58118/

Several men from 3 Commando have also been identified aboard L.C.I.(S) 289,290,291 at Warsash on the 5th June 1944.

http://forum.commandoveterans.org/cdoForum/posts/list/15/834.page

Guy

Bonjour Guy.

Thank you. I read with great interest the forum on WW2 Talk. I met Colin years ago, he try to contact me few months ago, but no more news.
Anyway, don't know if it's mine who has trouble to understand but on this forum, these few words from Colin about the photo with the three LCI before leaving Warsah

" For H39041 (just before leaving for Warsash) 21 members of A Troop 45 RM Commando have been identified."

And i recall years ago, he told me on the 289 we could see an AFPU man with 45 RM cdo.

Needs to be in touch with Colin for "more light" !!!! ) )

Will see in other of my boxes what i've !

Best regards

stéphane

Hi Guy and Stéphane,

Sorry about my absence without leave!
No excuse from now on as I've retired from a very full time job.
It's always very frustrating not to have enough time to work on historical investigations.

I mentioned in the forum Stéphane refers to that I had the names of quite a few commandos in 2 photos taken by Capt Leslie Evans on June 5th:

H39038: photo of part of 'A' troop 45 RM Commando just before they left the camp for Warsash.
Marine Fred Harris sent me a copy of this photo with the names of all the 21 commandos from A Troop.
I corresponded with Fred for about 10 years. His last letter was a wad of interesting documents and photos about 45 RM Cdo,

H39041 : 3 Commando LCI(s) at Warsash (512, 509 & 535). I attended a Commando Association meeting at the Union Jack Club in 1998 and brought this photo along with me. Bert Britnell, Freddie Walker, Roy Cadman and others identified about 15 commandos in this photo. I identified Peter Corliss the midshipman of 512 standing on the bridge and he confirmed this.

B Beddows
(+Commando recognised by Beddows, killed at Merville on 7th June)
Ron Gower
Curly Merson
Puch Saunders
Gunge Chivers
Bert Nuttal
Lt Gordon Pollard (to check)
Reg Sterry
Lt Wardle
Jock Hanton
Capt Brian Butler (or Capt Clive Collins ?)
Bert Chillingworth
Mid Peter Corliss LCI(s) 512

I would like to post Fred Harris' documents both on commandveterans.org and ww2talk.com
Where would be the best place on each site?

I would also like to post all the documents that Les Jordan (LCI(s) 530 sent to me.
Plus lots of photos & films of commando reunions and D-Day commemorations.

Could you let me know about the size limitations?

All the best
Colin

Hi Colin

Can you email me direct on this on my email address below this message and let me know approximately how many photos, documents and films you are referring to.

Pete

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 28/01/2020 20:44:53

My uncle Pte Chas Thomas Vernon was on 501/293 LCI (s) Fell Coleville Sur Orne/Montgomery on 6th June.
Buried at Hermanville ... Perhaps some one can confirm.. Stephane maybe if Pte Hughes lays near to Chas.

I have never found an STILL of LCI s 501/293. I have found footage with the Commandos embarking at Warsash onto 293 - does anyone know if you can create stills from fim footage.

Also if any one has any info slightly related to LCI s 501/293 I believe 5 TROOP ? but never found any confirmation of this or seen him in troop photos....

Very new to Commandos and straight into Op Neptune and fell.

Was in South Staffs.

From Enfield

hope some one has any thing to add :)