The Churchill Mark I Infantry Tank in Service with the Canadian Army Overseas, 1941-43

Some impressive research on this blog.

MilArt

by Mark W. Tonner

Introduction

The Churchill Mark I was the first ‘Mark’ (the term (‘Mark’) used to designate different versions of equipment) of the Infantry Tank Mark IV, Churchill (A22). The Infantry Tank Mark IV, Churchill (A22) itself, was an ‘Infantry Tank,’ specifically designed for fighting in support of infantry operations. For this role, the requirements for an infantry tank, as the British General Staff saw it, were that the tanks have heavy armour, powerful armament, good obstacle-crossing performance, and reasonable range and speed. It was the fourth in the family of infantry tanks that had been developed by the British. The three previous infantry tanks developed by the British, was the Infantry Tank Mark I, Matilda I (A11), the Infantry Tank Mark II, Matilda II (A12), and the Infantry Tank Mark III, Valentine. Within the Canadian Army Overseas, the units of the 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade were…

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Petty Officer George Grivel: A splendid man… – Redux

Final reblog

Lest We Forget

I received that comment from Joanne on Remembrance Day…

Comment:

Hello, George Grivel, ( the splendid fellow) was my uncle. I have some pictures of him but I’m sorry my scanner is on the fritz. When they speak of my uncle’s commanding voice I had to smile . He had an extremely deep voice which I’m sure sang beautifully but I never heard him sing. We didn’t see a lot of my uncle growing up as the navy was his life. He died in 1996 I believe. I would have to check that date. I was at his funeral. I’m sure he was smiling when the minister passed out in the middle of the funeral and had to be bodily packed out. The funeral was cut short and we all made our way to the cemetery. It was pouring down rain so everyone was slipping and sliding up the hillside…

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Petty Officer George Grivel: A splendid man…

The sequel…

Lest We Forget

I just wanted to learn more about George.

This must be the same person William Abbruzzese was refering to in his message he sent me.

Hi Pierre,

Enjoyed the info on Charles and the Athabaskan very much. My Uncle Lcdr George Grivel  RCN (ret) sent me a copy of the book Haida years back and told me the torpedo electrician mentioned as saving another of the survivors was in fact Charles

Please do approve the comment.

Bill

This is the source of this excerpt.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” The loss of HMCS Ottawa, September 1942

Late in the evening of 13 September 1942, while escorting Convoy ON 127, the destroyer Ottawa was sunk by U-91. Lieutenant L.B. Jenson, RCN, was on the bridge when the first torpedo hit:

An amazing geranium-colour flash forward was followed by a great pillar of water which went straight up! All of…

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Please do approve the comment

This is for your information Leanne.

Lest We Forget

Thank you for posting this blog. My father was Charles Burgess pictured in the reunion. I never met him and I was adopted . My name was changed to Abbruzzese. I have very few images of my father and know little about him.

Bill told me I could approve the comment he made earlier this week.

Hi Pierre,

Enjoyed the info on Charles and the Athabaskan very much. My Uncle Lcdr George Grivel  RCN (ret) sent me a copy of the book Haida years back and told me the torpedo electrician mentioned as saving another of the survivors was in fact Charles.

Please do approve the comment.

Bill

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RAF Elsham Wolds: Part Five

Part five of “RAF Elsham Wolds”

John Knifton

In a previous article I wrote about the tragic collision of two Avro Lancaster bombers, both of them from 103 Squadron at Elsham Wolds. The two aircraft were both trying to land at the same time, after permission to do so had been given to each of them by the Flying Control Officer. A subsequent Court of Inquiry found that “the accident was caused by the Flying Control Officer departing from the normal procedure.” They recommended that “Flying Control Officers must not depart from the normal procedure for landings”.
In the accident, therefore, Lancaster ND334, PM-unknown, was struck in mid-air by a second Lancaster Mk III, JB530, PM-F. That careless act, caused by the unfortunate decision of a still unnamed Flying Control Officer resulted in the deaths of five young men, namely the Flight Engineer Sergeant D.H.J.Cunningham, the Navigator Flying Officer R.H.Fuller, the Bomb Aimer Flight Sergeant C.Bagshaw,  the Wireless Operator Sergeant…

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