153rd (Leicestershire Yeomanry) Field Regiment: 129 Battery 130 Battery-131 Battery- Sexton /Sherman OPs
Unit No.75
17 September 1944: By the Regiment harboured in pouring rain on the side of the road just south of Valkenswaard and just beyond a grim place where eight Irish Guards tanks were still burning.
18 September 1944: The Regiment moved again at first light, but by mid-day it had still not cleared the town, in fact it had to go into action on the outskirts, firing on troops the other side. It remained here during the afternoon, firing concentratins the whole time, until just as darkness was approaching, when it appeared that the opposition had been overcome. The Regiment had to come out of action very quickly, and the whole division pushed as hard as they could in the dark. Eindhoven was passed through between 22.00 and 23.00hrs, where there were terrrific crowds cheering and waving, and at every small river crossing there were American paratroops who had done a grand job of work in capturing them intact. Unfortunately they were just too late at the bridge over the Wilhelmina Kanaal at Son, and a halt was called just south of the blown bridge, and the Regiment went into harbour. The REs worked flat out all through the night an did very well to get it completed by first light. An amusing incident happened that night when a certain Gunner officer walked on to the bridge to see how it was progressing, when a German POW who was helping in the job turned and spoke to him in perfect English and told him to move off as he was "bloody well getting in everybody's way and holding up the work!". He was not in the Regiment.!
19 September 1944: At first light we were on the move again with Grenadier Group and 130 Battery leading, the bridge at Grave had been captured intact but on the other side the situation was obscure. Contact was eventually made with paratroopa on the high ground South of Nijmegen, who had captured this, but the town and bridge remained in enemy hands. The Regiment went into action 3 miles South of Malden. The plan for the Regiment was to fire on the other site of the river for three minutes at intense rate pripr to the assault being put in. Although it fired on it many times the Grenadiers were never able to get quite to it, and the attack had to called off unitl the next day.
20 September 1944: Throughout the day the Regiment remained in the same location. It was on that morning that the sad news of the death of Tony Tasker was reported. He was in a house near the bridge which was also being used by an American mortar O.P and the room he was observing from got a direct hit from a shell. He and his crew Bdrs May and Ashwell and Gnr Chamberliain, had done really splendid work with the Americans. having had a most unpleasant time being continually shelled and mortarted. He was buried that evening in an orchard near the guns.
In the afternoon the Regiment fired smoke and HE concentrations to cover the airborne troops crossing the river west of the town. By this means the bridge was captured intact at about 17.00Hrs and troops immediately sent across to form a bridgehead. The bridge was soon to be known as Grenadier Bridge. At about 18.00hrs, 131 Battery were ordered to turn their guns round and support some infantry who were attacking south of Nijmegen near a village called Wyler, and with the first target taken on "C" sub of E Troop ranging, they were the first shells from British field guns to fire into Germany during this war.
21 September 1944: The Regiment was ordered to move over the river, 129 Brigade moving first, supporting the Irish Group who were leading the attack. The traffic got into an awful jam, and it was actually just as 130 Battery was on the bridge that the column cold move no further. The bridge was a wonderful sight and one that will be remembered by all who saw it that day.While waiting on the far side, 130 Battery received information from H.C.R. that a church was a suspected O.P. in Bemmel and as this could be seen from where they were, Bob Hoare turned his guns round on a road and took it on over open sights, having great satisfactory shortly afterwards in seeing it blown up. At the same time A Troop of 94 LAA were shooting furiously at all the German planes, and a great deal of the credit must go to them for the two ME's that were shot down that afternoon. Just as it was getting dark, the Regiment deployed all round the northern part of the Bridge, in a very cramped and not at all desirable positions, but all that was available.
22 September 1944: The Regiment fired on targets intermittenlty in support of the 43rd Division. The Germans in turn were mortarting and shelling the area round the northern end of the bridge. 130 Battery were very unfortunante in having a complete load of Nebelwerfers to land right in thier battery position, which was in the garden of a hospital. Dough Hamilton and his signaller were both killed and Gnr Ames of D Troop was badly wounded. They all had done extremely well and were a very great loss. Grenadier Group with 130 Battery in support were sent back to Veghel area. They moved back in the eveninge days and the remainder of the Regiment was ordered back to its former position in allotments south of the river.
23 September 1944: The Regiment was ordered back and joined 130 Battery just north of Uden to support the Grenadier Group. Derek Baer did some very good shoots in the late afternoon, silencing the German light flak guns which were firing at the Dakotas and Stirlings.
24 September 1944: Patrolling
25 September 1944: Patrolling
26 September 1944: The Regiment moved north and went into action between Grave and Heesch, this attack took up the days until the 30th, it fired a very great number of rounds both by day and night, and once completely broke up a counter attack started by the Germans.
30 September 1944: 130 Battery stayed behind to the rest of Grenadiers in Grave. But the remainder of the Regiment with the Goldstream Group moved that evening to the south-east of Nijmegen. It was not a pleasant spot,as there was a good deal of shelling and, bombing mostly by night. Sometimes the Regiment supported the Americans and 43rd Division troops north of the river, with the result that the guns were continually having to alter their zero-lines.
4 October 1944: The Regiment pulled out and went down to the 130 Battery area near Grave and rest.
10 October 1944: 130 Battery were the first to come out and they went into billets in Malden
13 October 1944: The Regiment was deployed and well dug in on the high grounds south-east of Nijmegen, were possible CPs were put near farms and houses to get the maximum of comfort. 130 Battery were unlucky in their position, for early in the morning the enemy started ranging on the only house on their position and did a copybook pin-point target finally scoring a direct hit.They had one casualty Sergeant Ellis who had to have a leg amputated. The Regiment remained in this position until 10 November, supporting the Americans.
15 October 1944: Propaganda shoot, the pamphlets were placed in smoke shells,replacing the smoke, and the papers were shot out of the base in the same way.
26 October 1944: 131 Battery come out, and after that 129 Battery.
10 November 1944: The Regiment moved out towards Sittard area.
12 November 1944: The Regiment moved as far as Eindhoven, but after that it began to pour with rain, the traffic was awful, the night was spent by the whole Regiment in an enormous barn full of some by-product from a chemical factory in Geleen.
13 November 1944: The Regiment moved to Germany, 129 and 130 Battery stayed just near the border at Jabeek,except for one gun of "C" troop who was just over the border.
1 December 1944: To Dutch interpreters joined the Regiment Willi Burki with 130 Battery who they had go to know in Malden and had brought down with them, and Jan van Wessen from Sittard, who joined 129 Battery.
6 February 1945: The Regiment moved from Belgium to Nijmegen to support in Operation "Veritable". The GPOs were immediately presented with a vast fire-plan for the operation, which was to start at 05.00hrs the next day, and included a three-hour smoke screen and a three long lists of concentrations. The guns came out their hides during the afternoon, and the gunners were kept very busy preparing the ammunition that had been dumped and which came to 600 rounds per gun.
16 February 1945: The Regi thesement moved into Germany.
12 March 1945: Regiment moved back to Nijmegen to rest and to refit and once preparing for another operation.
22 March 1945: Regiment moved back to Germany.
30 March 1945: The Regiment less 130 Battery took up position south of Aalten. From here onwards the fighting was extremely difficult and not very fast, although the Regiment sometimes travelled 18 or 20 miles in a day. Aalten was lightly held by the enemy, and the Regiment fired red smoke on a large water-tower, suspected as an enmy OP, as an indicator for the Typhoons, they scored four direct hits on the tower with their rockets.
31 March 1945: The Regiment went on through Aalten and Lichtenvoorde to Groenlo. It looked like Groenlo was a difficult nut to crack, but with the help of Air OP reported that large numbers of enemy withdrawing to the north of the town, and so the Regiment went into action and did some good shoots on these.
1 April 1945: Willie Burki was captured in a
captured Opel when he went of to visit his grandmother at Hengelo.(He later rejoined the Regiment after being liberated as a POW in North-Holland)
2 April 1945: Regiment went into action in Germany.
