The second Horsa was flown by two volunteer pilots from the Royal Australian Air Force. The two men had assisted with the training for Op Freshman and stepped forward to fly Horsa 2. Their sacrifice is sadly little known.

Sgt Peter Doig was also one of the very early candidates for glider pilot training. The GPR was very much in a fledgling state in the winter of 1942. The RAF bomber crews tasked to tow them into battle were equally inexperienced as tug pilots. A lot was being asked that night.

Staff Sergeant Strathdee and his co-pilot, Sergeant Peter Doig, were piloting one of two Horas gliders. They crashed at Flesebekken in Lyseheiene. Strathdee and several of the engineers were killed on impact. Those who survived the crash were subsequently executed by the Germans.

It was exceptionally poignant to visit the CWGC plot in Stavanger today. SSgt Malcolm Strathdee GPR and Sgt Peter Doig GPR we're both volunteers to fly one of two Horsas on 20 November 1942. Neither man had the necessary flying experience to pilot a Horsa in such conditions.

On 18th October 1942, Hitler issued the Fuehrerbefehl which accused Germany's opponents of using methods that did not conform with the accepted laws of war and the Geneva Conventions. Many of the Freshman troops that were captured by the Germans were later unlawfully executed.

Finally, after many years I found my way to Norway and visited the graves of many of the men who died on Operation Freshman. It is especially significant for me as the ill-fated Freshman was the first glider-borne operation mounted by British Airborne forces during WW2.

For #Somme110 there is a free Guided Tour of Courcelette British Cemetery by @poppymercier.bsky.social on 20th September.

This former orchard at Etreux, France, where Irish soldiers of the Royal Munster Fusiliers were surrounded on 27 August 1914 now contains their burial pits.

The crew of a Halifax bomber from No. 1586 (Polish Special Duties) Flight, buried side by side. Their aircraft was hit and shot down by enemy flak while on a mission from Brindisi, Italy, to supply the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising. 📍Budapest War Cemetery 🇭🇺

🗓️ #OTD in 1943 – a meeting at Cossac HQ Norfolk House, London, discusses recce requirements for Operation Neptune, the Allied landings in Normandy planned for May 1944. COPP boss Nigel Willmott advocates using X-craft midget subs (📸 IWM A 22900). #NavalHistory ▶️ buff.ly/Uq9Bakr

PHOTO OF THE DAY. The Beatles manager Brian Epstein photographed on the flat roof of his London home a week before his death (1967). 📷 John Benton Harris

#otd 1940 Gillingham came under air attack by Luftwaffe bombers. Incendiary bombs set fire to the bus depot with men rushing into the fires to drive parked busses out. 20 people were killed in the bombings Full story here; jerijerod14.substack.com/p/the-medway... #history #ww2 #Medway

The Medway Blitz

When Gillingham was ablaze

jerijerod14.substack.com

PERSON OF THE DAY. 27 August 1967. Brian Epstein (aged 32), manager of The Beatles, was found dead in his London home. His death was due to an “accidental drug-alcohol overdose”. Epstein was pivotal in the group’s success as he smartened up their image and secured them a recording contract.

FACT OF THE DAY. 27 August 1979. Lord Louis Mountbatten (aged 79), former Viceroy of India and uncle of Prince Philip, was assassinated when IRA bomb exploded on his boat in Mullaghmore, Ireland. 3 others died as a result of the explosion.

#OnThisDay - 27 August 1864, the drinking fountain at Middleborough, now G2 listed, was presented to the town by Taverner John Miller MP. The fountain was moved to its present location close to the #RomanWall in the 1970's. More: colchesterheritage.co.uk/Designation/... x.com/ColCivicSoci...

3/3 Lords, Captains, superior officers and 'gentlemen of quality' were ordered to gather at The Kings Head Inn and all large guns were to be left where they were mounted.

2/3 The articles stated that all horses and their equipment should be gathered the following morning into St Mary's Church, while all arms, colours and drums were to be sent to St James' Church. Private soldiers and officers below Captain rank, were to gather into Fryers Yard.

1/3 #OnThisDay during the #SiegeOfColchester - 27 August 1648, after querying the meaning of the terms "fair quarter" and "rendering to mercy", the Articles for the surrender of the town were agreed and signed.

Private William Austin of 2 KOYLI died of exhaustion at a German work camp on 17th October 1918. So near and yet so far.

@thegreatwargroup.bsky.social #FWWhist #History #1GM #FWW #Grande-Guerre #WW1 Remembering another atrocity, committed 112 years ago today: not as large as Dinant (676 killed), Tamines (374) or Ethe (277) but the 122 assassinated from Rossignol was another horrific crime. (See alt text for details)

112 years ago today, the beleaguered citadel at Longwy fell (26/08/14); the town reduced to rubble by the German siege guns. @thegreatwargroup.bsky.social #FWWhist #History #1GM #FWW #Grande-Guerre #WW1

The Morecambe & Wise Show (26th August 1970). "One star, one stool."

Ernest Packham served with the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers). His role as a Shoeing Smith reminds us of the vital role horses played in the Great War. Originally buried within Delville Wood itself, his remains were later moved to a nearby cemetery. 📍Delville Wood Cemetery 🇫🇷

PERSON OF THE DAY. 26 August 1819. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was born in Coburg (now in Bavaria, Germany). He was husband of Queen Victoria until he died at the relatively young age of 42 in 1861. Victoria was so devastated that she wore black for the rest of her life.

FACT OF THE DAY. 26 August 1959. British car manufacturer Austin and Morris launched the Mini a two-door compact car. The original was considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture. In 1999 the car was voted the 2nd most influential car of the 20th century behind the Ford Model T.

Private William Austin of 2 KOYLI died of exhaustion at a German work camp on 17th October 1918. So near and yet so far.

General Haig visited Yvrench on 26th August 1916 to see a tank attack demonstration. He wrote that the demo was "quite encouraging"

#OnThisDay during the #SiegeOfColchester - 26 August 1648, "All is lost but honour". Barnardiston, is sent out at noon to negotiate terms. He does not return until after 8. The Royalists hold a council reaching: "a determination to make an unconditional surrender of the town".

Lance Corporal Leslie Harries, 1st/5th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment, was killed on this day in 1918. Before enlisting in 1914, he was a draper’s assistant from Hinckley, Leicestershire. 📍Fouquieres Churchyard Extension 🇫🇷

#TombTuesday Robert Curthose c.1054-1134. 1st son of William Conqueror had ferocious feuds w father and brothers. As Duke of Normandy he led army in 1st Crusade but lost Normandy to brother Henry I who locked him up for life. Buried Gloucester Abbey/Cathedral. Bog oak painted effigy c. 1240.