Drinkall - A Londoner in the 51st Highland Division: Jack Drinkalls Story

A LONDONER IN THE

st HIGHLAND DIVISION

JACK DRINKALLS STORY

By

Mike Drinkall

S/B

SOMES

BOOKS

A Londoner in the 51 st Highland Division

Jack Drinkalls Story

Copyright 2014 Mike Drinkall. First published in 2014 by

Somes Books.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-99299494-0-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval system without written permission of the Publisher.

Published by Somes Books, 1 Somes Close, Uffington, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 4UE, UK.

www.somesbooks.co.uk

Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of this information contained herein.

Printed in Britain by Spiegl Press Limited, 42 Guash Way, Ryhall Industrial Estate, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 IXH.

Dedicated to the memory of my

Dad, Jack Drinkall

Royalties from this book will be donated to the

st Highland Division Veterans Association.

Taking a Stand

I ask you to stand with me
For both the injured and the lost
I ask you to keep count with me
Of all the wars and what they cost
I ask you to be silent with me
Quietly grateful for our lot
As I expect you're as thankful as me
For the health and life we've got
I ask that you wish them well with me
All those still risking their all
And I ask that you remember with me
The names of those that fall
I expect that you are proud like me
Of this great nation of ours too
So enjoying all its freedoms like me
Support those upholding them for you
I hope that you are hopeful like me
That we'll soon bring an end to wars
So you'll have to stand no more with me
And mourning families no different from yours

'Til then be thankful you can stand with me
Thinking of those who now cannot
For standing here today with me
At least we show they're not forgot

John Bailey
May 2011

Reproduced courtesy of the author.

Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Abbreviations x

List of Photographs xii

List of Figures xvi

List of Maps xvii

Foreword xviii

Introduction xxii

Chapters

1. Early Years 1

2. Growing up in Southwark 11

3. The Path to a Second World War 19

4. Joining the Terries and the Royal Artillery 33

5. Landing in France 41

6. Arrival on the Belgium Border and Movement

to the Maginot Line 55

7. Fighting on the Maginot Line 64

8. Return to Normandy 72

9. The Battle for Abbeville and the German

Counter Attack 79

10. The Impossible Line 87

11. St. Valry-en-Caux and Ark Force 97

12. Last Chance at St. Valry-en-Caux 102

13. Ark Forces Fate 118

14. Legacy and Remembrance 130

Epilogue

Appendices

1. Dads Family Tree 145

2. Mums Family Tree 146

3. Dates and Locations of the 75 th Field Regiment,

Royal Artillery in France in 1940 147

Description of the 51 st Highland Division

first battle at Festubert WW I booklet

published in the field in March 1940 149

5. Maginot Line 151

6. Order of Battle 51 st Highland Division,

Saar Force and Ark Force 153

7. Blitzkrieg 157

8. Operation Dynamo 160

French Chain of Command for the 51 st

Highland Division and the 1 st Armoured

Division on 28 th May 1940 162

10. Operation Aerial, the Evacuation from

North-Western France, 15-25 June 1940 163

11. Operation Cycle, the Evacuation from Havre

between the 10-13 June 1940 169

12. Battle of Flodden - 9th September 1513 171

13. Article published in the Press and Journal

Newspaper 10 th March 1942 173

14. St. Valry-en-Caux Commemorative Stained Glass

Window in the Church Eglise Paroissial XVI Sicle 176

15. Scottish Country Dance Reel of the

st Highland Division 179

References

Index

Acknowledgements

My wife Barbara for her constant support, patience, encouragement and greatly improving my grammar and prose;

My sister Brenda Arnold and cousins Marilyn Basted, Zara Van-sittart, Joan Wright, John Drinkall and Bob Haddad for all their help with memories of our family history;

Tom Felton and Tony Plunkett for their suggestions to improve the script and proof reading;

Gordon and Annie Hill for being wonderful travelling companions and excellent fellow researchers during our trips to France and Scotland;

Andy Cawley for the production of the maps and cartoon drawing, without his help I would have struggled;

Dr Tom Renouf, Secretary of the 51 st Highlands Division Veterans Association, for his encouragement, suggestions on sources of information and writing the Foreword;

John Bailey for his kind permission to reproduce his moving poem, Taking a Stand ;

Medwyn Hughes for his advice on the technicalities of producing a book;

Paul Evans, Librarian at The Royal Artillery Museum, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, London for providing the War Diaries of the 75 th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery and his guidance relating to them and provision of other Royal Artillery documentation;

Staff at Mairie Annexe de Graville, Rue De Verdoun, Le Havre, France for their guidance on locating information on Le Havre during 1939/40;

Raphal Distante, Historian, St. Valry-en-Caux, France for reviewing Chapter 12 on the attempted evacuation of the 51 st Highland Division from St. Valry-en-Caux and for his permission to publish photographs of the town taken before the war and in June 1940;

Carol Morrison, Administrative Officer, The Army Personnel Centre, Historical Disclosures for providing copies of my Dads service file and suggestions for research sources;

Heather Johnson, Library Assistant, The National Museum, Royal Navy, for information on Operation Cycle to evacuate British and French troops from Le Havre area of France in 1940;

Helen Mavin, Collections Assistant, Photograph Archive, Imperial War Museum, London for her clear and patient explanation of search methods within the archive;

Anne Wade, Scottish Screen Archivist, National Library of Scotland, Glasgow for providing the Scottish Television film on the 51 st Highland Division in WW II;

Dr Patricia Dark, Manager, Lucy Tann, Assistant and other staff of the Local History Library, Southwark, London, for their permission to reproduce photographs and their help and guidance on accessing information on the local area in Southwark, London where my Dad lived in the 1920s and 1930s (their enthusiasm was infectious!);

Dr Janet Kennedy Director and the Trustees of the Charterhouse-in-Southwark, London for their permission to reproduce photographs from their collection;

Staff at the National Archive, Kew, London for professional assistance in locating documents from the British Admiralty and Ministry of War;

David Luck, Senior Archivist and Amy Proctor, Archivist at the London Metropolitan Archive, London for their help in building a picture of what life was like in London in the interwar years.

I am deeply grateful to all those whom I have quoted in this book, without them it would have been impossible for me to write. I have tried to ensure that all sources of information included are quoted and referenced correctly, but I apologise in advance for any errors or omissions which I may have made.

Mike Drinkall

th August 2014

Abbreviations

A/S Air/Sea

AT Anti-tank

A & SH Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders