Its been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, these past couple days at the Regtl Archive. As noted in my earlier post, former Lance Corporal George Adams of Calgary has passed away at 100. This news coming hot on the heels of some good news that Sergeant Bill Heil, (now 98 years young!), one of Captain Duncans right hand men in the 123 L.A.D., will be presented the French governments highest order, the Legion d honneur (Legion of Honour). Bills medal will be presented to him in a ceremony in Victoria, BC on November 27. Sgt. Heil was a member of 33 Light Aid Detachment, RCEME that was attached to the 13th Field Regiment RCA and landed in Normandy the evening of D-Day, June 6, 1944. Sgt. Heil later was transferred to the original Kangaroo Squadrons L.A.D, in charge of the Squadrons Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) where he remained for the rest of the war. From his citation, ...This capable senior NCO was then transferred to the ‘KANGAROO L.A.D.” and placed in charge of the recovery tank sent to rescue those crippled KANGAROO vehicles that did not make it off the battlefield. Often under the most challenging conditions of terrain, weather and enemy harassment The immediate success of these Armoured Personnel Carriers in battle, would mean a continuation of their use throughout Operations in France... As they were unique vehicles in the field, spare parts would be hard to come by and new replacements for those beyond repair would be non-existent. Therefore, it was imperative that any battle damaged KANGAROO that could be recovered, was. Any irreparable KANGAROO was to be scavenged for its serviceable parts. At this time the fast moving Canadian Army was not fostering an official recovery program, hence no support was given to the L.A.D crew. Though Heil and his OC were able to beg and borrow materiel from their former unit, 33 L.A.D... Upon the close of the Falaise Gap, SGT. HEIL and his crew were pressed to scrounge enough transport vehicles (in part and whole!), tools and field supplies like tents and cooking equipment from what the retreating German Army had been left behind in abundance. These items would continue to sustain the operations of the new KANGAROO SQUADRON though operations at LE HAVRE and BOULOGNE until the Canadian Army was prepared and able to supply the beleaguered unit properly. HEIL continued to serve in this capacity with the 123 L.A.D. of the later 1 CDN ARMOURED CARRIER REGIMENT. Put to the test again and again by that hard fighting regiment and many an awkward predicament. Until they were disbanded in June of 1945 HEIL performed his duties with the utmost devotion and expert professionalism. Congratulations Mr. Heil! A very interesting and large cache of documents, mostly conference notes and letters from the BRAC (Brigadier Royal Armoured Corps) office to the Regiment and some personal notes and letters from Brigadier J.F. Bingham (a friend of our Lieut. Col. Gordon Churchill) have been found and copies sent to the Archive. Among the items are documents that fill in some vital holes in the narrative of the early Squadron and formation of the regiment and personnel selection. Some new letters and statistical notes related to the issues of the Regiments disbandment and perpetuation in the postwar era. Thanks to researcher Ken Joyce in Ottawa for digging just a little deeper... Ken also dug up a very cool piece of Regimental artwork. The first draft sketch for our Regimental cap badge from office JR Gaunt and Sons in London. A big shout out to Stephanie Ogle too for some wonderful photos of her Father Lieut. William Ogle. Ogle served as a Kangaroo for only a few short days, but he left a lasting impression and created a very troubling mystery for his driver Corporal Carl Atkinson which lasted 66 years. The answer to that mystery is a fascinating and inspiring story... which well tell in due time... :) Had a great conversation with our Association Chairman, Mr. Colin McMechan today, hes looking forward to this years Annual meeting on the 8th of November and has hopes for a good turn out, as do I. I think it is going to be a packed house this year. My travel arrangements are complete today. I will be in the Toronto area Nov 7 thru 10 and in St. Thomas on the 11th and 12th. Still a lot of preparations on my end to complete before the meeting... William Miller Jr. 1CACR Association Secretary and Archivist in Calgary (WJM)
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 04:34:07 +0000
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