21st Beach Recovery Section REME War Diary: September 1944
The 21 Beach Recovery Section September 1944 War Diary covers the unit's move from Normandy to the Dieppe area under 1st Canadian Army, establishing HQ at Varengeville-sur-Mer and scattering vehicle recovery detachments across Seine-Maritime villages including Envermeu, Breaute, Cailly and Gamaches.
National Archive Reference: WO 171/2961
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| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graye sur Mer. | 1 | Rushton Bycrus trailer WD No X4688283 transferred to 23 BRS REME. Dyson | Appx I - AF W3008 Appx II - AF W3009B | |
| Trailer WD No X4945473 received from 23 BRS REME. | ||||
| 3 | BARV (T151819) received from No. 17 Veh Coy, Ward la France B/Down lorry | |||
| (L4564760) transferred to L of C Veh Coy. | ||||
| 9 | Warned to prepare for move of unit in near future. Work on beaches ceased | Appx III - AF W3008 Appx IV - AF W3009B | ||
| Preparations for move began. | ||||
| 14 | Instructions received for unit to move to Dieppe Area on 15 Sep 44. | Appx V | ||
| BARVs handed over to 20 BRS REME to hold pending further instructions. | ||||
| 15 | 0900 | OC moved in advance of unit to recce receiving area. | ||
| 0910 | Commenced move of unit by convoy to Dieppe Area. | |||
| Bourg Theralde | 2230 | Halted at BOURG THERALDE for night. | ||
| 16 | 0900 | Continued journey. Convoy halted at fam one mile from Dieppe. OC | Appx VI Appx VII Na WARF W3009B W3008 | |
| continued recce of area for billets. Unit under command 1st. Cdn. Army. | ||||
| Dieppe Area | 18 | OC took over Chateau at Varengeville sur Mer for Unit HQ and Billets. | ||
| 1500 | Unit moved in to Billets. |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varengeville sur Mer | 18 | 1800 | Unit came under command of 6 L of C Sub Area | |
| 20 | Ward la France B/Down lorry (L4893299) and Scammell B/Down Tractor (H4782574) | |||
| and crews loaned to 11 L of C Tps Wksp for recovery duties. | ||||
| 23 | Detachment of one Scammell (H5545083) and 4 ORs situated at Envermeu as | Appx VIII - AF W3008 Appx IX - AF W3009B | ||
| Recovery Point. | ||||
| 24 | Three additional ORs despatched to Envermeu Recovery Point. | |||
| 25 | Visit to unit of DADME 6 L of C Sub Area. Detachment of D8 Tractor | |||
| (E245089) and crew situated at Dieppe for recovery in Dock Area. | ||||
| Detachment of Ward la France (L4893305) and 4 ORs to Torcey le Petit | ||||
| Recovery point. | ||||
| 26 | Ward la France & Scammell returned from 11 L of C Tps Wksp under authority | |||
| of ADME 11 L of C Area at request of OC. | ||||
| Scammell (H4782574) and 4 ORs detached at Breaute (MR L716386) as Recovery | ||||
| point, Mack (5216005) and trailer and 4 ORs detached at Cailly(MR M316275) | ||||
| as Recovery point. Launch conveyed from Dieppe Docks to Rouen by Trailer. |
| Place | Date | Hour | Summary of Events and Information | References to Appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varengeville sur Mer | 27 | OC Visited detachment at Cailly and supervised unloading of Launch from | ||
| trailer at Rouen. | ||||
| Envermeu detachment moved to Gamaches (MR M614727) | ||||
| 29 | Recovery point at Cailly taken over by No. 1 L of C Recovery Coy. | |||
| Detachment at Cailly returned to Unit. | ||||
| 30 | Appx X - AF w3008 Appx XI - AF W3009B. |
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