Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Slight change of theme this time round - Western Heights at War. We have various WW2 related displays in and around the Drop Redoubt
Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st October 10am til 5pm
Adults £4 and accompanied children free for the Drop Redoubt, and the Grand Shaft free all weekend
http://www.doverwesternheights.org
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 718- Registered: 28 Jun 2011
- Posts: 195
I'd have to double-check but I'm certain the poster shows a picture of Lord Lovat who led No. 4 Commando. A relative of mine served with them and prior to D-Day they were bivouaced at the Drop Redoubt.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
yes that is right John, that is Lovat in the Redoubt pre the 'trip' to the continent
Phil might like to contact you if you have a relative that was there
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
Very interested to read this John. I have spend a great deal of time researching what exactly the commandos were doing at the Redoubt - the Operation is one of my three or four 'pet' projects.
It is indeed Lord Lovat He is pictured on the afternoon of the 21st April 1942 briefing officers of No.4 Commando and of the Canadian Carleton and York Regiment. The raid that took place that evening was designated Operation Abercrombie and was a two hour reconnaissance raid on the pages of Hardelot near Boulogne. The office peering down is Captain Gordon Webb who led a party to destroy a searchlight battery on the early hours of the 22nd.
I am a bit reluctant to give the game away as to what happened at this stage, so I hope you pick up a copy of Dover Life later this month!
Some of those commandos and Canadians left their graffiti in the fort. Can I ask what his name was please John? I may have something in my files...
Guest 718- Registered: 28 Jun 2011
- Posts: 195
Hello Phil,
My relative was Canadian and had the same name as me. I have a photo of him wearing the insignia of the Special Service Brigade.
If you can send me your E-Mail address I can give you what information I have.
Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
Sure: try
phileyden@doverwesternheights.org
If he was at the redoubt on a different operation, this would be really something and new to all of us at WHPS.
Thanks!
Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
John,
Second from the right here (No.4 Troop, 2 Commando):
http://www.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/units/2/4+troop/ayr_-41.jpg.html
If he was in No.2 Commando at the Redoubt, this is new on me. I have only unearthed No.4 on the above mentioned operation with No.5 at St Margaret's in late summer 40. Most interesting.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Despite some panics when the main group pulled out due to lack of people available, we should have a good variety of displays for the public including some Commandos, some military vehicles, Red Cross and medical displays, some infantry, a token American and even a downed Luftwaffe pilot !!
Looking like a good weekend
Been nice knowing you :)
Judith Roberts- Registered: 15 May 2012
- Posts: 633
Really pleased that we will be in Dover next week and will be able to attend this event. It will be good to see the new theme for a change, but I always enjoy the WHPS events.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Glad you can make it Judith
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
This is shaping up to be a good, and very different weekend. We decided to change the theme this October from Napoleonic to wartime partly for variety and partly because we believe the 20th century is an overlooked, and just as relevant important part in the history of the Heights, Exact numbers and details are subject to confirmation at this time but we are expecting a large number of displays:
WW1 Australian infantry
WW2 Red Cross Nurses
WW2 Medical display
WW2 Infantry
WW2 Commandos (probably Sunday)
WW2 Vehicles on the Shaft Barracks site
WW2 Civilians
WW2 Women's Voluntary Service member
WW2 Luftwaffe news reporter
We will have a burger van on site as usual.
Admission £4 adults, free to accompanied children and half-price to WHPS card-carrying members.
If it is successful and the public give us good feedback, we will probably maintain our traditional Napoleonic displays in July and have a wartime theme in October. Please support us and let us know what you think, feedback is essential for us to plan next year's displays.
Just finger's crossed for the weather!
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
Well done Phil - and others too of course.
Sounds a very interesting week-end; also like the idea of changing the Aurtumn week-end to a differemt theme to that of the summer one.
I'll come up if I can.
Roger
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
I am hoping to get up there myself Sunday, all being well. Looking forward to it.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
SIte all prepared and ready for next weekend, just a few jobs left to do on Friday to finish off
The weekend can't be done without our volunteers, but we are a little short of people due to other commitments so if anyone wants to lend a hand marshalling please let us know
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
To add to the list we have some Home Guard, some more infantry and Maggie will be along with the Dover War Memorial Project displays
Been nice knowing you :)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
there is a lot of interest around the town paul, whps events are now more widely known about by the general public than they were 3 or 4 years ago.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Good to hear Howard, we had someone mention they are specifically travelling from Norfolk to the event so knowledge is spreading far and wide
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
Good to hear that Howard. Some of us do try and do our best to publicise our activities. Publicity isn't easy when funds are limited - at the end of the day we would rather spend our door takings on tools and renovation work than on expensive and glossy adverts, and we believe that's what the public would want too. We have no other income than donations and door takings so have to make the most of what we've got.
We've now laid out a programme until next spring as over winter our work will be outside the Redoubt due to small roosting aerial mammals. We will be helping the WCCP too in joint tasks, community groups working together.
Finger's crossed for the weather and we hope the public will come and enjoy the WW2 theme. It's a new area for us and our first purely non-Napoleonic theme day. If it's a success we will do another, if not, then we'll look back and build upon it.
Please come along everyone!
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
I'm sure that all those who can (and know about it), will - Phil.
I'm going to send round another Newsletter just now, so will add a reminder.
Roger
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
As is traditional a rather soggy Friday setting up for the weekend !!
Weather currently looks dry but overcast all weekend with some rain overnight on Saturday night.
Do hope that we get a good turnout, and if the interest from people wanting to display is anything to go by, I am fairly hopeful we will
Been nice knowing you :)