Photos WW2 British & Commonwealth Forces

[BravoZulu]

Commander of a New Zealand Stuart Mk. 1 (M3 Light Tank) from the 2nd NZ Divisional Cavalry Regiment scans the desert horizon in North Africa - August 1942

 

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Universal carriers of the 53rd Striking Force, Royal Armoured Corps, passing through Amesbury in Wiltshire, 9 August 1940.

 

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Bombing up a Typhoon 1B, summer 1944

 

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Airfield of Melsbroek, Belgium, following a daylight visit by the RAF Bomber Command on 15 August 1944

 

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Far forward in the Finisterre Ranges, well on the way to Japanese held Bogadjim, these Australian troops, after a tough climb through the hills, pause for a breather. Identified, in the foreground, second from left (face visible) is: NX117057 (N123241) Alan Francis Pooley, 2/10th Battalion, who enlisted on 22 September 1942.

 

[BravoZulu]

21 August 1944
Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks (looking at the camera), the newly appointed GOC of the British Army XXX Corps, in his Humber staff car chatting with American troops in Argentan, in the Orne department of northwestern France.
In June 1943, Horrocks sustained serious injuries during an air raid at Bizerte in Tunisia. Bullets from a strafing German fighter struck his upper chest and carried on through his body, piercing his lungs, stomach, and intestines. He underwent five operations and spent fourteen months recovering.
It was a year before Horrocks recovered sufficiently and was restored to the acting rank of lieutenant-general in August 1944. He was sent to France to assume command of XXX Corps during the cataclysm engulfing the trapped German 7th Army and 5th Panzer Army in the Falaise Pocket.
Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC (7 September 1895 – 4 January 1985)

 

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Grave in North Africa that contains the remains of a British (or Commonwealth) soldier, a German soldier, and an Italian soldier - 27 July 1942

 

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Severely damaged De Havilland Mosquito FB Mark VI, MM401 'SB-J', of No. 464 Squadron RAAF based at Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, parked at Friston Emergency Landing Ground, Sussex. The aircraft, flown by Squadron Leader A G Oxlade (pilot) and Flight Lieutenant D M Shanks (navigator), was hit by anti-aircraft fire while attacking a flying-bomb site in the Pas de Calais on 21 February 1944. The port engine was shattered, and the port undercarriage and most of the outer starboard wing was blown off. Despite the damage, the crew flew MM401 back and crash-landed safely at Friston ELG. The port engine nacelle is seen here supported by a caterpillar tractor to enable the aircraft to be moved off the runway.

 

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Pilots of No. 19 and No. 616 Squadrons pose alongside a Spitfire at Fowlmere. Sitting on wing (left to right) are Squadron Leader Brian 'Sandy' Lane (CO 19 Sqn), Flight Sergeant George 'Grumpy' Unwin and Francis Brinsden (with 'Flash' the Alsatian and 'Rangy' the Spaniel). Front row (left to right) are Sergeant Bernard 'Jimmy' Jennings, Flight Lieutenant Colin MacFie (616 Sqn), Squadron Leader Howard Burton (CO 616 Squadron) and Pilot Officer Philip Leckrone (616 Sqn). 21 September 1940

 

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Armourers pose with a 500-lb. bomb under the wing of a Handley Page Halifax Mark II at a wintry No. 4 Group airfield on January 22, 1942

 

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Soldiers of the 7th Hampshires, 130 Infantry Brigade, crossing the River Seine at Vernon - 28 August 1944
The front soldier is carrying PIAT bombs, the soldier behind him is carrying 2-inch mortar rounds

 

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Australian soldiers and native carriers assemble at Eora Creek near the battlefield at Isurava, 28 August 1942

 

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A prototype Australian AC1 Sentinel Cruiser Tank MkI negotiating a gully during trials at the Villawood test track in Sydney. 1942

 

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Boulton Paul P.75 Overstrand twin engine bomber 1934-41. The RAF's first bomber to have a power operated gun turret and an enclosed cockpit.

Used for training only during WW2 until retired in 1941

 

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Naval ratings, under the watchful gaze of a NCO (left) sweep up spent cartridge cases for the eight barrelled, Vickers two pounder Mark VIII 'pom pom' gun. These ratings were firing live ammunition at the anti-aircraft gunnery school, Portsmouth Harbour. 1941

 

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Personnel of "B" Troop, 5th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, firing a 25-pounder gun/howitzer. Note the barrel is in full recoil. From left to right: Sergeant Jack Brown, Bombardier Joe Wilson, Gunners Lyle Ludwig, Bill Budd, George Spence, Bill (Scotty) Stewart. Malden, the Netherlands, 1 Feb 1945.

 

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A Royal Australian Air Force de Havilland Express is used to evacuate wounded soldiers in North Africa - August 1942

 

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Canadian soldiers sit in their landing craft as it makes its way to Juno beach as the D-day landings get underway - Normandy, France, 6th June 1944

 

[Mike1976]

New evidence on the loss of HMS Hood by now 108 year old Lenn West who was on board HMS Prince of Wales.

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[BravoZulu]

Belgian nurse with the Resistance bandages a wound for a soldier with the 1st Battalion the East Lancashire Regiment, 53rd Welsh Division, in Antwerp - 11 September 1944