1.) War Diary entries for 19 and 20 December 1944, for: - A.) 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment, Canadian Armoured Corps - B.) 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment Signal Troop, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals - C.) No. 123 Light Aid Detachment (Type E), Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: A.) War Diary entries for 19 and 20 December 1944, for the 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment, Canadian Armoured Corps: 19 Dec 44 Tilburg, Holland Weather: Cloudy with Fog Major H Baldwin, OC ‘B’ Sqn (Officer Commanding “B” Squadron) and Captain C. Wilson proceeded to PARIS (France) on 48 hr (hour) leave on the Continent. Lt-Col (Lieutenant-Colonel) Churchill, CO (Commanding Officer), Major Corbeau OC ‘A’ Sqn (Officer Commanding “A” Squadron) and Captain Rook, Tech Adjt (Technical Adjutant)[1] visited HQ 79 Armd Div (Headquarters, 79th British Armoured Division) to make contacts in view of verbal message received by Col (Lieutenant-Colonel) Churchill from BRAC’s (Brigadier, Royal Armoured Corps)[2] office that Unit was to come under command of that Division. A quiet day in the unit with very little work detailed. A Muster parade was held this morning. 20 Dec 44 Tilburg, Holland Weather: Cloudy with Mist & Light Rain Regt’l (Regimental) Sig Tp (Signals Troop)[3] and 123 LAD (Light Aid Detachment)[4] are placed under command 79 Brit Armd Div (79th British Armoured Division) effective today, but remain in support of First Cdn (Canadian) Army in present location. In view of this change it has been decided to hold the matter of proposed increase of Regiment to FOUR Sqns (Squadrons) will be held in abeyance (temporarily suspended). Royal Sigs (Signals)[5] detachment of three men and wireless (radio) van was attached to this unit from 79 Armd Div (79th British Armoured Division). All operators (wireless (radio)) within the Regiment have been accounted for by the Sigs (Signals) Officer, Lieut. (Lieutenant) Simpson[6], who put them in the wireless (radio) picture of this Regiment in general. Further instructions will be arranged on Sqn (Squadron) basis, as only about two in the Regiment are able to read Morse (Morse code)[7] Maint (Maintenance) and repair in general continues to be carried out. Training of personnel also well under way. Daily NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) classes supervised by the RSM (Regimental Sergeant-Major) are producing good results and is to be carried on as long as possible. (details in parentheses above added for clarity) Notes: [1] - the Technical Adjutant was the unit officer responsible for the maintenance, repair and recovery, of a unit’s equipment [2] - the Brigadier, Royal Armoured Corps, First Canadian Army Headquarters - the senior Canadian Armoured Corps advisor to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief First Canadian Army [3] - 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment Signal Troop, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals [4] - No. 123 Light Aid Detachment (Type E), Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers [5] - the British Army’s, Royal Corps of Signals [6] - the Officer Commanding, 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment Signal Troop, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals [7] - Morse code is a method of transmitting text information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment B.) War Diary entries for 19 and 20 December 1944, for the 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment Signal Troop, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals: 19 Dec 44 Tilburg, Holland Weather: Foggy Lieut. (Lieutenant) Simpson[1] went up to the 10 Cdn Armd Regt (10th Canadian Armoured Regiment)[2] at Grave (Holland) to try and get a regimental signals sgt (sergeant) from them, but was just a day late as the “man in mind” had been T.O.S. (taken-on-strength) the previous afternoon. Sgmn (Signalman) Turner, one of our electricians was evacuated to 2 C.C.S. (No. 2 Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps) with a bad case of tonsolitis (tonsillitis). In the evening word came through that the regiment was now “Under Command” of 79 Armd Div (79th British Armoured Division). 20 Dec 44 Tilburg, Holland Weather: Cloudy with fog in evening Lieut. (Lieutenant) Simpson[1] actually at work at 0730 hrs (hours) (7:30 A.M.) trying to get on net (get on the radio) to 79 Armd Div (79th British Armoured Division) - quite unsuccessful. Three sigs (Signals) officers (cipher, wireless & line) came over in the morning about 1030 hrs (hours) (10:30 A.M.) and the communication angle was “tied up”! By 1130 hrs (hours) (11:30 A.M.) We had a phone in and were on the Tilburg military switchboard. We now have a detachment of three operators with a 19 H.P. (No. 19 Wireless (radio) Set, High Power) with an “end-fed” aerial attached to us and they are to maintain our rear link communication to Div (Division). They are having difficulty in getting through as the frequency 3844 KC (kilocycles) is quite noisy. Lieut. (Lieutenant) Simpson[1] puts a claim in on Sgmn (Signalman) Turner. (1 Officer - 4 O.Rs. (Other Ranks))[3]. (details in parentheses above added for clarity and spelling correction) Notes: [1] - the Officer Commanding, 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment Signal Troop, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals [2] - the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse), Canadian Armoured Corps, of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade (Independent) [3] - the strength in personnel of 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment Signal Troop, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals C.) War Diary entries for 19 and 20 December 1944, for No. 123 Light Aid Detachment (Type E), Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: 19 Dec 44 Tilburg, Holland Weather - morning - cold; afternoon - foggy; evening - very foggy Repairs completed on 2 tanks[1]. Clothing Parade held at 0900 hrs (hours) (9:00 A.M.). Cfn (Craftsman) Desforges and Cfn (Craftsman) O’Brien proceeded on 48 hrs. (hours) leave to Ghent (Belgium) this morning. 20 Dec 44 Tilburg, Holland Weather - morning - cloudy; afternoon - cloudy; evening - foggy One 100 hr. (hour) check[2] completed today. Repairs completed on 5 other tanks[1]. 123 LAD (Light Aid Detachment) came under command of 79 Armd Div (Br) (79th British Armoured Division) today. (details in parentheses above added for clarity) Notes: [1] - the ‘Ram’ Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier was commonly referred to as a tank within the regiment [2] - the ‘Ram’ Kangaroo armoured personnel carriers’ 450-horse power Continental R975/C1 radial air-cooled 9-cylinder engine, required a thorough check after every 100-hours of operation (MWT)
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 04:17:02 +0000
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