A slightly shorter update this time as much of the past few weeks has gone into the frontend facelift which I'll cover below. But there are two new war diary entries, two new maps, and an impromptu visit to Hankley Common.
With the good weather this weekend, I made an impromptu trip to Hankley Common in Surrey. During the war, the heathland there was used for trials of methods to breach sea walls and beach obstacles in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. A deep dive into this site and the trials which took place here is in progress and should be released in the near future, but in the meantime here are a few pictures from the latest few trips.
War Diary: 5th East Yorkshire Regiment: November & December 1944
November finds the battalion holding the Nijmegen bridgehead around Bemmel and Heuvel, with flooding from the Waal and Neder Rijn threatening their positions and the ground too heavily mined for many patrols.
5th East Yorkshire Regiment: November 1944
In December Field Marshal Montgomery presented decorations to RSM F. Gibson the Military Cross, Pte F. Miller the Military Medal, five days later the battalion embarked from Ostend and was home in Yorkshire by the 15th.
5th East Yorkshire Regiment: December 1944
The January to May 1944 diaries should be going up over the next few weeks, which will complete the unit's full year.
Two New Maps
Two more GSGS 4250 sheets have been added to the archive: 10E/1 Conty, covering the area around Hornoy, Poix, and Conty, and 10D/5 Molliens-Vidame, taking in Airaines, Sorel-en-Vimeu, and the approaches to Amiens. Both are 1943 second editions. The eastward expansion continues.
Behind the Scenes
The site redesign I mentioned last time is now live. Some parts of the frontend were over ten years old, and the first significant chunk of the overhaul has been deployed, with a cleaner layout and a better mobile experience. There is more to come over the next few months, but the heavy lifting on the backend and frontend is nearing its end. Once it is, the focus shifts to new features and content!
What's Coming
The next update will likely be a little later than usual as I have a Normandy trip booked, this time mainly in the American sector, visiting new locations and memorials and following up on some leads from official after-action reports. There should be plenty to share when I get back.
As always, thank you for your support. It genuinely helps me keep the servers online and adding new material.