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Long Range Desert Group 10th Nov 1941 Orders 10th Nov 1941 Orders 17th Nov 1941 Prisoners 18th Nov 1941 Prisoners 19th Nov 1941 Prisoners 31st Mar 1941 Recce 1st Apr 1941 Recce 9th Nov 1941 Orders If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here. Those known to have served with Long Range Desert Group during the Second World War 1939-1945. Adams Walter Russell. L/Cpl. Baker Leslie. Bennett MM & Bar. Robert William. L/Cpl. Bowen Thomas Edward Morse. CQMS. Bowen Thomas Edward Morse. WO2. Brown Sydney Robert. Cotterill Albert John. WO2 Hurman MID, Preston John. Maj. Mackay John. Pte. Parker James. Driver Young Thomas. Pte. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of Long Range Desert Group from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. Announcements The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 24 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web. 22nd April 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 263973 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible. 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Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. Want to know more about Long Range Desert Group? There are:1326 items tagged Long Range Desert Group available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. L/Cpl. Walter Russell "Wink" Adams T Trp. Long Range Desert Group Wink was captured 31st January 1941 at Jebel Sherif, Libya by an Italian ground force after being caught in the fire of Italian planes. T Patrol was part of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG). Wink drove the Ford 01 V8 pilot car called Te Rangi (The Leader) with Cpl. Roderick and Major P.A. Clayton at the head of eleven especially adapted trucks (either Chevrolets or Fords). The patrol consisted of 27 to 32 men, the principal role of this force being reconnaissance, charting, and intelligence gathering. They were a self-contained, independent body capable of travelling hundreds of kilometres into enemy territory over some of the most difficult and arid terrain in the world. Wink spoke to us about learning to speak Italian using his basic knowledge of schoolboy French. During his time in Sulmona (Campo 78), he was able to speak to the guards and became an interpreter for some of the officers. From what I remember when speaking to Wink, learning Italian and becoming an interpreter allowed him to stay in camp rather than working in the nearby coal mines, a job he detested and felt would be the end of him if he was forced to continue. Jan Adams Add to this record. Pte. Thomas Young 2nd Btn. Seaforth Highlanders Tom Young, (my father) joined the Seaforth Highlanders on 11th of August 1939 and was initially posted to 7th Battalion. In July/August 1940, he volunteered for the No.11 (Scottish) Commando and on 7th of September 1940 was accepted and went for further training on the Isle of Arran, before sailing to Egypt via Cape Town. He served with this Commando unit until August 1941, being involved in the Battle of Litani River, Lebanon in June 1941. When the 11th Commando was disbanded, he volunteered for and was accepted into the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) on 3rd of September 1941. He served with the LRDG until 19th of January 1943, mostly behind enemy lines. He was then posted back to the 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, in Libya and Tunisia and was involved in the Sicily landings, being wounded in the battle for Sferro Hills. He then returned to the UK and was involved in Operation Overlord, being evacuated back to the UK and treated in a Glasgow Hospital. Tom's medals include the Africa Star with 8th Army clasp, the Italy Star, and the France/Germany Star. Bob Young Add to this record. Sydney Robert Brown Long Range Desert Group My father, Sydney Brown is on the end of the front row wearing a black beret in this photo of the funeral of Robert Milchoefer, a private in the US Infantry. The photo was taken on 9th of January 1945 at Stalag IVB in Muehlberg an der Elbe. My father was in the LRDG and taken prisoner at the second siege of Tobruk. Hilary Brookes Add to this record. Maj. Preston John Hurman MID, 536 General Transport Coy. (DUKW) Royal Army Service Corps Preston Hurman enlisted the in Royal Army Service Corps and did his training in Woolwich and Dulwich. In May 1940 he was at the Officer Producing Centre, RASC at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate. He was commissioned on the 18th May 1940 into the Royal Army Service Corps (emergency commission). Until Septemeber 1940 he was with the Workshop unit RASC at Faringdon, Oxfordshire, and Eaton Hall, Cheshire. He then volunteered for the Middle East and in Sept 1940 took passage on the Duchess of York to Port Said via Cape Town and was posted to Abbassia 10 miles from Cairo for 6 week acclimatisation. From Nov 1940 to Nov 1941 he was with 345th Lines of Communications Company RASC in Egypt and North Africa, they moved to Tobruk and were put under siege by Rommel's forces, losing 2.5 stone in weight during the coming months, he was evacuated in late 1941 by HMS Hero and disembarked at Tel Al Kebir. From Nov 1941 to June 1942 he was with 7th Armoured Division. From June 1942 to Oct 1942 he joined the Sudan Defence Force and served with Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) & Special Air Service (SAS)) he was Mentioned in Dispatches for his participation with the LRDG and SAS in a raid on Jalo, North Africa in September 1942. Between Oct 1942 and Dec 1942 he contracted malaria and was sent to Sinai to recover. From Dec 1942 to Nov 1943 he was Brigade RASC Officer (BRASCO), 231st (Malta) Infantry Brigade involved in the preparation of the invasion of Sicily Operation Husky and landed on Amber Beach, southern tip of Sicily, on the 9th Jul 1943 he took part in the landing in Pizzo Italy. From Nov 1943 to Apr 1944 he was Brigade RASC Officer (BRASCO), 5th Army Group Royal Artillery in Scotland. Apr 1944 to May 1945 he was Officer Commanding, 536 DUKW Company RASC in preparations for Operation Overlord. They were attached to 50th Infantry Division tasked with landing on the Eastern edge of Gold Beach (King Beach) to take the villages of La Riviare and Le Hamel. 6th June 1944 They landed in Normandy at 0730 Hrs, Preston was injured by the blast of an anti-tank mine on D+1, and was evacuated to a Canadian Field Hospital then back to the Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot. On 18th Aug 1944 he rejoined his unit. In Sep 1944 he saw action in Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) and in Mar 1945 during Operation Turnscrew (Rhine crossing). He was Town Major of Seelze, Germany and then returned to the Nijmegen area, the Netherlands. In May 1945 he was posted back to UK and demobilised. (From the Full War Memory transcript held by The Imperial War Museum) Mike Hurman Add to this record. WO2. Thomas Edward Morse "Bill" Bowen 240th Company Royal Army Service Corps Bill Bowen served in the Middle East from February 1943 until October 1944 with 240th Coy and 396th Coy. We believe he served with the LRDG during these postings and was heavily involved in combat. He ended the war as a WO2 still in the RASC. Richard Bowen Add to this record. CQMS. Thomas Edward Morse "Bill" Bowen Royal Army Service Corps Bill Bowen fought in North Africa, believed with the LRDG. He took a German Warrant Officer as his prisoner whilst behind enemy lines and this man became Bill's batman thereafter. He was mentioned in the Deserts Rats' magazine as: Often seen walking through the canteen with a pint of beer in his hand, shouting "Any complaints?" Richard Bowen Add to this record. Pte. John "Daisy" Mackay C Btn. No.11 (Scottish) Commando Private John Mackay, son of Hugh Kenneth and Elizabeth Mackay and brother of Georgie Mackay, was a 16 year old farm servant when he enlisted with 5th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders in 1938. He left home on September 2nd 1939. In the summer of 1940, his time was spent patrolling remote sites in Wester Ross and Sutherland when he and some of his fellow soldiers decided to volunteer for the Special Service Brigade. He was then sent to Africa to join the 11th Commando. John Mackay set off on his first patrol on 11th Oct 1941, destined for Kharga in the Libyan Desert. In Egypt, April 1943, the fit and healthy members of the Long Range Desert Group, of which John was now a member, were sent to train in Lebanon at the Mountain Warfare School. He was then ordered to fight for the Dodecanese Islands, and LRDG were sent to the island of Calino at the start of the campaign. On 20th October the Battle of Leros was underway, and British command gave the LRDG orders that the island of Levitha was to be captured immediately. On the night of 22nd October the commandos of ‘B’ Squad slipped into canvas assault boats and prepared to land on the nearby beach. Unfortunately they came under heavy machine gun fire and the end result was that there was no option but to surrender. John Mackay was officially captured by the Germans on October 24th 1943. The LRDG men taken prisoner on Levitha were first shipped over to Yugoslavia from where they began the long train journey to Germany. Private Mackay ended up a POW in Stalag 8b, Lamsdorf, Poland. In late January 1945 he made the journey to Trieste to work salt mines in northern Italy. Once he was set free he had to make his way back to the British lines on foot, and once back in Britain he spent a period convalescing in hospital prior to coming home. John arrived at Fort George in March 1946, and was reunited with his family two months later. Add to this record. L/Cpl. Robert William Bennett MM & Bar. Long Range Desert Group Robert Bennett was awarded a Military Medal while serving in the North African campaign for carrying messages over an unchecked minefield. He was awarded the Bar to his Military Medal for landing his HQ vehicle on D-Day, while under fire from mortars and machine guns. He managed to manoeuvre it over the beach and, when another communications vehicle failed to make it to sure, used the spare radio set to maintain communications for the whole of 30th Corps. He served with the LRDG, Royal Signals, 30th Corps and several others, including helping the French resistance, being awarded two medals for it. He was dropped into France posing as a Major and a lieutenant, yet was never actually these ranks. I am currently attempting to find out more about him as part of my Extended Project Qualification for A-Level. If anyone knows any more information about my Great Grandfather, I would appreciate you getting in touch to discuss him. Tom Tugulu Add to this record. WO2 Albert John Cotterill North Staffordshire Regiment My Dad, Jack Cotterill joined Nth Staffs in 1933 and was posted to Palestine in 1936. In 1939 he was shipped off to France and was evacuated from Dunkirk with 300,000 of his mates. In due time he served in North Africa and volunteered to be trained as a commando. After serving in 6th Commando and spending time with the Long Range Desert Group,he was sent to Italy where he was captured by the Italians. When Italy surrendered, he was handed over to the Germans and sent off to Germany to finish the war in a POW camp. He was repatriated by the Soviets and sent back to the UK. In 1946 he was sent to Trieste (Betfor) where he met my mother,a local girl. They were married in 1947. I was born in the British Military Hospital and we stayed in Trieste until 1954 when the Regiment was sent back to England. In 1955, Dad left the Army and we emigrated to Australia. Dad went through WW2 uninjured, survived the commandoes and spent two years in a POW camp. In 1973, aged 57,he died of cancer. Mum passed away last Xmas. Dad did not talk about the war that much except to say that his most fondest memory was not the food or the thought of someone shooting at you or the wonderful RSM but the bond he had with his mates (even the RSM). I joined the navy in 1966 and two years later,I was in Vietnam. It was then I understood what he meant. Joe Cotterill Add to this record. Leslie Baker Royal Army Medical Corps My Grandad Leslie Baker died when I was 7. I belive he saw action with the LRDG and with General Teto in Yugoslavia. Any information would be very greatful. Dawn Hardy Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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