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Jan 1940

(Data issued through Aldershot Command: 58th Billeted at Coldharbour House, Kingsley, 23 Officers (1 Lieut.-Colonel (M.Macewan), 3 Major's, 7 Captains, 3 Lieutenants and the rest 2nd Lieutenants), 470 other ranks, 1 medical officer, 1 O.M.E, 1 Chaplain plus 1 Signal Officer. Train route in England was Bordon, Farnborough, Winchfield then Southampton)

Orders for March to Evreux 21/1/40 - Convoy starting point is the more easterly of two crossroads leading North to Louvigny from main road about nine kilometres East of La-Hutte (starting: 0800-0900 hrs) ROUTE: Mamers B.2 - Mortagne Q.61 - Verneuil R.03 - Nonancourt R.24 - Evreux - Pacy R.36 - Vernon R.47 - Thilliers-En-Vexin R.56 - Gisors R.69 - Beauvais M.91 - Breteuil N.02 - Amiens - Bapaume N.57 - Arras H.40 - Lens H.51 - La.Basse H.5026 (This route includes the whole three days, arriving in La.Basse on 23rd Jan 1940) Citroen breakdown Garages were used in an emergency at Le Mans, Havre and Dieppe.

Feb 1940

58th Med Regt plus 65 Med Regt will move to their new location on 29th Feb by the following route: Lens H.51 - Arras H.40 - Bapaume N.57. Billeting areas in G.H.Q Troops area are allotted as under: 58th: Poziers, Bazentin, Longueval, Contalmaison, Montauban and Mametz.
65th: Grevillers, Pys, Warlencourt, Coucellete and Miraumont.
1 Regt R.H.A: Ligny, Martinpuich and Flers.
58th Med Regt now numbered 600 men. Documents issued for each captain included:

Security, System of marking maps, S.O.S signals, Types of fire and rates, Scales of ammunition expenditure in answer to air calls, dumping and holding ammunition, reports and returns, Anti-Gas, Signals, R.A.F, Traffic density, Reporting casualties, Discipline when occupying billets, Discipline - Vehicles, Organised outings and entertainments, Hygene, Mails and Censorship, Office Routine, Guards and Picquets, Ammunition returns, Ammunition storage, Stores-guns and Vehicles, Salvage, Petrol containers, Petrol-carriage of, Frost precautions and supplies.

March 1940

No extra Entries recorded. Posted at Waldwiesstroff. (See Captain Twomeys diary)

April 1940

58th Med Regt now numbered 631 men.

May 1940

May-June - In Depth:

Thursday 23 May 40:- 229 Battery remained in the Gheluvelt wooded area which became the W.L. and rear R.H.Q.

During the morning there was an air raid on Ypres and on the Regiments W.L. and R.H.Q., some bombs falling fairly near by. Our anti-aircraft fire seemed singularly ineffective. Gnr. Mollinson was wounded in the arm by a machine gun bullet from an aeroplane – our first casualty. 230 Battery prepared and dug their positions and O.P.s and laid line.

The positions were occupied in the early morning. Enemy advanced troops reached the line of the canal Menin-Courtrai by the evening.

As the 44 Div. Almost ceased to exist after the casualties sustained at Oudenarde, the linein front of us was held by the Belgian 3 and 4 Infantry Brigades.
NOTE;- It was considered inadvisable to mention this fact in Operation Order No.4.

Friday 23 May 40:- The Germans crossed the canal at Besseghem and pushed the Belgians back about1,000 yards, and advanced left handed towards Wevelghem, driving prisoners in front of them. We sent out many Officer’s patrols day and night to gain information, and 230 Battery did some shooting on the bridges over the Canal, on Besseghem and Lauwe.

Saturday May 25th 40:- An unfortunate incident occurred when replenishments of ammunition and petrol were sent up to 230 Battery in this position from the W.L. The party ran into some German Infantry who were advancing fast on all sides, and a petrol lorry and an ammunition lorry, also 2 motor cycles, as well as the following personnel were captured: Gnr. Boon, F.G., Gnr. Borrett, G., D.R.s (229 Battery), Bdr. Hale, H.J. L/Bdr. Baalam, J.C., Gnr. Blakely, T.(230 Battery) some others made a run for it and escaped.

Monday 27 May 40:- About midnight 26/27 May 40. Lt. Diamond who had been sent as liason officer to H.Q.M.A. at La Tache arrived with a message ordering the Regiment to destroy the guns and proceed to Hogstaad near Dunkirk via Quesnoy-Messines-Vlamertinghe-Elverdinghe.

The batteries destroyed their guns by removing dial sights, sight clinos and breech mechanism, and knocking sight brackets, wheels, etc. about. They then proceeded as independent columns on the route given to Hogstaad. By about 11.30a.m. the Regiment was assembled at Hogstaad and proceeded on orders from a movement control staff officer ot Houthem, where they sorted out what kit they could carry, and burnt all correspondence etc.

2nd Lt. Hindle on a motor cycle proceeded to Dunkirk but was given no orders for the Regiment. Capt. Twomey then went to II Corps H.Q. in whose area the regiment was rendezvoused, and was told to send an officer in to a different address in Dunkirk, and to take all the vehicles for destruction, east of the Canal east of the road Hogstaad-Furnes.

The C.O. went to Dunkirk and obtained a movement order in writing for the Regiment to march to Bray Les Dunes immediately, for embarkation.

Capt. Twomey and R.S.M. Fordham assembled all the vehicles of the Regiment with one driver each, and led them to the place ordered for destruction, here they were knocked about, and put out of action to the best of the ability of the few men in the short time available, and the party returned to rejoin the Regiment.

The Regiment marched on foot to Bray-Les-Dunes (about ten miles) arriving about 9p.m. and were told off in groups under officers, and remained for the night on the sea-front.

No rations had been available for issue on this day, and the two days of preserved rations had been used up; the last two drawings of rations had been on less than a half scale. Water was scarce. The weather all day was again hot and sunny, vast columns of smoke drifted from Dunkirk, over the beach, and Bray- the result of enemy bombing raids in which oil tanks and buildings had been set on fire.

Tuesday 28 May 40:- In the morning while the Regt. Was on the dunes, German planes attacked Bray and machine-gunned our columns coming into it. There was a lot of anti-aircraft fire. In the embarking arrangements on Bray beach, we were given Serial Number 2 for embarkation, but many other units arrived thick and fast through the night and day, and it became evident that all could not be embarked here, so the 58 Medium Regiment with various others were ordered to march along the sands to embark at Dunkirk (about 6 miles). After a short march a part of the beach was reached which was crowded with units, and on which embarkation was proceeding at two points. As the Regiment could not proceed beyond all this congestion, the C.O. found and reported to an embarkation Office where a Brigadier seemed to be in charge in a private house just behind the Belgian Coast Guard Fort in the dunes. Here we were allotted Serial No. 26 (verbally) for embarkation on the beach, and the Regiment prepared to spend the night spread along a portion of the dunes.

Just before dark several new ships, chiefly minesweepers, were sighted approaching, and Lt. Hitchcock waded into the sea, hailed the boat put off from one of these, and commenced to embark 230 Battery.

229 Battery and R.H.Q. were then brought up in parallel columns to form additional embarking parties in other boats.

The Minesweeper, H.M.S. Kellet could only take 450 of our men, and they were embarked. They consisted chiefly of 230 Battery and R.H.Q. and a few 229 Battery, with also the H.Q.M.A. Staff of III Corps and a number of ‘hangers on’ from other Regiments. When H.M.S. Kellet put off, Major Mason was left in charge of 7 other officers and 230 men chiefly of his own battery, and R.H.Q. and a few of 230 Bty. And of our F/3 R.A.S.C. section. These returned to the Dunes for a short sleep.

Wednesday 29 May 40:- In the early morning, another vessel was seen approaching the beach opposite us and we hailed the small boats, and managed in spite of a choppy sea and an incoming tide to get 12 more men off before the embarkation authorities arrived and took over the boats and embarkation. On making contact again with the embarkation office, it was then discovered that they knew nothing of our being allotted serial No 26 which was in fact allotted to some other unit, Serial No. 33 (last on the list) was therefore allotted to us, and a signed slip given as a pass, several other units having arrived during the night.

About 9a.m. we were marched on to a point further along the beach where serials were being sorted out and we then formed in a long beach queue of units forming up at various embarking points. We had found that three other units were included in serial No.33, and we lost the toss with these, and were again that much further back in the queues. In addition several units came in front of us, when it was given out that serial numbers had been abolished.

In the afternoon we abandoned this beach as hopeless, and marched for Dunkirk, in the hopes of embarking on what was left of the Mole after the German air raids.

After being stopped by a beach picquet lined up from the dunes to the sea, we managed to take over their duties, and stopped further units from going past this point.

We then followed behind the last of the units in front of us, but progress was very slow, as the beaches were by now crowded with troops. During one halt we scraped holes to take cover from a German air raid, and witnessed a very intensive dive bombing raid on the vessels just off the coast and on Dunkirk, and its mole, lasting two hours. One destroyer was sunk, another hit, and one transport sunk, and two set on fire, but the crowded beaches were fortunately left alone.

The night was spent continuing the march to Dunkirk very slowly with very short marches and long halts owing to congestion, at each halt all went to sleep in the ranks where they halted. Dunkirk was shelled by land guns at night.

Thursday 30 May 40:-In the morning we were told that embarkation seemed fairly hopeless, that we must go back to the dunes, dig in against air attack, and establish a Command Post on the forward edge of the dunes, and await orders. Later by mere luck we found out that the beach had been divided into sections, and making contact with the other units of our section, we organised it in groups of 60 men – there were 32 groups in our section of about 200 yards – and drew from the hat the order in which the groups would embark. Again we drew badly on this deal. About 3.30p.m. Major Mason attended a conference in which beaches were amalgamated and serial numbers again allotted. He managed to obtain serial No.7 for the Regiment, but it was discovered that 4 Medium Regiment were also in that serial, and on the toss we again lost, and had to be behind them. Ships were expected at 6.30 but did not arrive until 10p.m., and loading was very slow and continued all night, The enemy shelled the dunes and beach intermittently all night.

Friday 3l May 40:- At daylight there was still all of 4 Medium Regiment to embark and two embarking points with a number of small boats loading troops into two small Dutch vessels – a Destroyer having been previously filled and put off.

Major Mason and Capt. Underwood and 2/Lt. Stevenson loaded troops at one point and Capt. Grimwood, Capt. Twomey and Lt. Brennan at the other point. The tide was coming in fast and the waves were increasing under a fair wind. The water was finally up to the armpits. Having loaded all 4 Medium Regiment the remainder of 58 Medium Regiment were eventually got on and at about 8a.m. the ships left the coast for Margate pier, where we arrived at 6p.m. Trains then took troops to various parts of the country at random.

The bulk of the regiment was assembled at Larkhill between 2 and 11 June 40, and on 12 June 40, moved to Poole, Dorset, where they were billeted awaiting re-equipment.

June 1940

July 1940