1st Airborne Division: badge and emblem, 108; Bruneval as first raid, 207–8; creation of (October 1941), 105–7; four-unit plan for Bruneval, 171–2, 173; headquarters at Syrencote House, 107, 181–2, 195; initial planning for Bruneval, 147–8; new variations of clothing for, 107; Royal Engineers section, 171, 172, 173, 190–2; see also 1st Parachute Brigade; Browning, Major-General Frederick ‘Boy’; C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion
airborne forces: 16th Air Assault Brigade, 357; 2 Para’s post-war service (1946 to present day), 356–7; action in southern Italy (Operation Colossus, February 1941), 362, 93–8, 340; British army sceptical of concept, 51, 54, 56, 92; British establishment of (1940–1), 56–66; Bruneval as decisive moment for, 340, 341; Bruneval as first ‘battle honour’, 340; Churchill orders creation of (June 1940), 56–7, 59, 60; Churchill’s renewed order after Crete (May 1941), 99; D-Day and, 349; demolition parties, 53, 94, 95; initial British volunteers, 62–6; Market Garden and, 349–52; methods of jumping from plane, 63–5; in North Africa, 345; operation in Sicily, 347–9; parachute development and, 48; Soviet development of, 49–51; see also 1st Airborne Division; 1st Parachute Brigade; C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion
airborne forces, German: assault on Crete (May 1941), 98–9; assault on Fort Eben-Emael (10 May 1940), 54–5; Blitzkrieg concept and, 51–2; Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers), 52–4, 107, 214, 294; inter-war development of, 51–4; Luftwaffe parachute school, 52–3
Anquetil, Bernard, 157–8
Appleton, Edward Victor, 10
Archaeology Department at Cambridge University, 129
Arnhem, bridge at, 350–1, 356
Assault Landing Craft (ALC), 181, 206, 259, 260, 283, 339
astronomy, radio, 358–9
Atlantic, Battle of, 140–1, 151
Attenborough, Richard, 319
Attlee, Clement, 119–20
Auchinleck, Claude, 140
Babington Smith, Constance, 129
Baldwin, Stanley, 11
barrage balloons, 17
Battle of Britain, 58–9, 68, 71–6
Bawdsey Manor, 23–6, 32–4, 43, 73–4, 112
BBC: and government during war, 302–3; Oslo Report broadcast, 109–10; radio during war, 301–7; reporting of Bruneval raid, 303–6; reputation overseas, 306–7; television, 32, 301; transmitter at Daventry, 8, 19, 39
Beaverbrook, Lord, 115, 116
Belgium: Belgian Resistance, 134–5; German assault on Fort Eben-Emael (10 May 1940), 54–5; German invasion of, 54–5, 70
RAF Benson, 132
Berlin: Bomber Command attack on (August 1940), 75; Olympic Games (1936), 42
Bernal, J.D., 143
Biting, Operation see Bruneval Raid (Operation Biting)
Blackett, Patrick, 14
HMS Blencathra, 287
Bletchley Park, 113, 130, 141, 358
Blitz, London, 76, 117
Blitzkrieg (lightning warfare) concept, 51–2, 55, 70
Boer War, 85
Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, 71, 80
Bomber Command, RAF, 46, 93, 99; 51 Squadron, 175–6, 181–2, 183, 205; attack on Berlin (August 1940), 75; centimetric blind bombing radar, 83; diversionary bombing raids for Bruneval, 205–6, 220–1, 228, 233; policy of night bombing, 120–1; techniques to combat Kammhuber Line, 333; Thousand Bomber Raids, 332–3, 334–6; transport for Bruneval raid, 2–3, 174–6, 181–2, 183, 205–6, 229–31, 235–7, 308
Boot, Harry, 77–9
Bowen, Edward ‘Taffy’, 20, 22, 24, 31–2, 33, 68–9, 76, 83; Tizard mission and, 80–1
Bracken, Brendan, 311
Breit, Gregory, 10
A Bridge Too Far (film, 1977), 352, 356
British army: Dunkirk evacuations, 55, 70; medals awarded for Bruneval, 339–40; Microwave radar technology and, 80; parachute training and, 63, 100; radar assisted anti-aircraft guns, 32, 80; rejection of airborne forces concept, 51, 54, 56; resistance to Combined Operations, 88–9, 92–3; Royal Engineers, 171, 172, 173, 190–2; volunteer paratroopers, 62–6; XXX Corps, 350
Bromley-Martin, Peter, 170–1, 195, 196, 315
Brooke, General Sir Alan, 105, 149, 150
Brooker, John, 179
Browning, Major-General Frederick ‘Boy’, 106–8, 225, 299, 341, 349, 352; final pep talk at Tilshead, 226; initial planning for Bruneval, 147–8; inspects C Company at Tilshead, 170; observes parachute jump at Syrencote House, 182
Bruneval Raid (Operation Biting), xivmap; accuracy of intelligence, 299, 340; arrival in Portsmouth after, 287–8, 303–4, 309, 312, 314, 315; BBC news reporting of, 303–6; Beach Fort pillboxes, 203, 216–17, 255, 257, 270; British casualties, 250, 262, 265, 266, 271, 284, 290–1, 292, 298, 315–16, 340–1; British prisoners, 291, 292–4, 296–7, 298; capture of Würzburg equipment, 243–6; Chiefs of Staff discuss plan, 148–50; cinema newsreel relating to, 312, 313–16, 317; conditions on board Whitley bombers, 230; covert French support for marooned Paras, 290–1, 294–6; as decisive contribution to the scientific war, 337–8, 357; descent to beach, 273–5; dismantling of Würzburg, 205, 207, 246, 247–8, 250–1, 252–4, 261–2, 297, 321, 340; diversionary bombing raids for, 205–6, 220–1, 228, 233; Drake raiding party, 204, 241, 250, 251; emplaning and take-off, 229–30; evacuation from beach, 278–82, 283; final exercise on Solent, 183–4, 209; final preparations for, 209–10, 226–9; firefight on beach road, 257–9, 261; flight to drop zone, 229–33, 234–6; folding trolleys used on, 183, 210, 246, 247, 261–2, 273; French naval escort for returning flotilla, 287; Freya station at Cap d’Antifer, 131, 204, 213, 220, 233, 248, 290, 297; German army troops and, 161–2, 215–21, 233, 234, 236, 240, 248, 263–4, 293; German coastal defences, 212–21, 233, 327; German investigation into, 290, 297–8; German losses, 284, 297–8; Hardy raiding party, 203, 205, 241, 280; Hotel Beau-Minet, 160–2, 216, 240–1, 256, 263–4, 291, 293–4; human intelligence (HUMINT) and, 153–4, 158–66; intelligence report, 217–20; interrogation of Heller after, 323–6; Jellicoe raiding party, 203–4, 241, 258, 280; Jones proposes, 136–7, 185, 340; La Poterie village, 217, 240, 250, 251–2, 289, 294; landings, 1, 2–3, 238–9, 241–2, 246, 249; Le Presbytère, 161, 204, 214, 233, 236, 240, 248, 253, 258, 272, 278, 280, 297; location of Würzburg radar station, 131–4, 136, 201; Luftwaffe personnel and, 161, 213–15, 218, 245, 248, 273, 292–3; medals earned during, 339–40; men left behind, 283–4, 286, 289, 290–6; military consequences of, 340–1; monument at site, 364–365; need for German speaker on, 196–9; Nelson raiding party, 202–3, 220, 239, 255–6, 257, 258, 261, 263, 270, 276, 291; Noah landing party, 207, 259; order to proceed with mission, 225–6; parachute drop, 1–2, 236–7, 238, 241, 246, 249, 275–6; photo reconnaissance of site, 3–4, 131–5, 136, 337; photographing of Würzburg during, 192, 205, 248, 250, 251, 253, 297; planned dates for, 183, 201–2, 222; planning for, 146–50, 153, 167, 170–8, 185–6, 187–8, 192–9, 200–11; postponements (24–6 February 1942), 222–4; press reporting of, 307–10, 311–12, 317, 318; prisoners taken, 244–5, 269, 270, 274, 275, 277, 285–6, 298, 323–6; problem of locating beach, 206; as publicity success, 301, 303–6, 309–10, 316, 317–18; RAF transport for, 2–3, 174–6, 181–2, 183, 205–6, 229–31, 235–7, 249, 308; Rectangle famhouse, 204, 214, 248, 250, 251, 272, 273; Redoubt pillbox, 216, 262–3, 272; rehearsals and run-throughs, 4, 180–4, 206, 211; return across channel, 282–3, 284–8; Rodney raiding party, 204–5, 249–50, 265–6, 275–6, 277, 281, 309; role of infantry, 179, 259, 313–14; Royal Navy and, 176–8, 179–81, 182, 184, 206, 207, 259–61, 266–7, 275, 276–83, 284–8; scientific examination of Würzburg material, 299, 321–3, 330–1, 338; snow on ground, 3, 228, 241, 246, 247, 248; specialist radar participants, 184, 185–90, 191–6, 245–6, 259; Spitfire escort for returning flotilla, 207, 286–7; Stella Maris villa, 161, 162–3, 215–16, 234, 241, 255, 256–7, 258–9, 267–70, 297; terrain models for, 3–4, 210; training for, 167, 170–1, 173–4, 176, 178–84, 190, 312, 313–14; transport of captured Würzburg equipment, 272, 278, 279–80, 282–3, 285; Vi
lla Gosset, 4–5, 161, 203, 213, 242–3, 248, 272–3, 326–7; weather forecasts, 225, 227–8; Würzburg equipment (codename Henry), 4, 131–7, 146, 201, 202, 204, 205, 207, 213, 233–4, 236
Buckingham, John, 111
Bureau de Contre-Espionage, de Renseignement et d’Action (BCRA), 154, 158
Burma, 149
C Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion: arrival in Portsmouth after raid, 287–8, 303–4, 309, 312, 314, 315; cinema newsreel of, 312, 313–16; film and photographs of arrival in Portsmouth, 309, 312, 314; final preparations for mission, 209–10, 226–9; flight to Bruneval, 229–33, 234–6; postponements of mission (24–6 February 1942), 222–4; selected for Bruneval mission, 148; at Tilshead, 167, 169–74, 182, 190, 196–7, 209–10, 225–6; training for Bruneval mission, 167, 170–1, 173–4, 176, 178–84, 190, 312, 313–14; see also Bruneval Raid (Operation Biting)
C-47 Dakota aircraft, 345
Campbell, Corporal, 275, 276, 283
HMS Campbeltown, 343, 344
Canada, 80–1, 119, 317
Canu, Charles, 294–5
Cap d’Antifer lighthouse, 236, 259–60, 263
Casa Maury, Marquis de, 143, 299
cathode ray tube, 10, 15, 17, 21, 32, 33, 40, 76; in Freya, 44, 124; television and, 32, 45, 301; Weedon experiment and, 8, 18–19, 34; in Würzburg, 233, 251
Central Interpretation Unit, 126–31, 132
Chain Home system: Battle of Britain and, 72, 73–4; Bawdsey Manor and, 32; Chain Low system, 71; construction of (1938–9), 26–8; extension of system in south-west, 71; lack of cover for attack from France, 70–1; Luftwaffe bombing of radar stations, 74, 79; night attacks and, 31, 73, 76; at outbreak of war, 67–8
Charteris, Lieutenant Euan, 202, 241, 255, 263–6, 274, 281, 285; awarded the Military Cross, 339; capture of Stella Maris villa, 267–70; death of at Oudna, 346; dropped in wrong valley at Bruneval, 238–40, 252, 263; flight to Bruneval and, 232, 235; sends Campbell to find Lumb, 275–6, 283, 292
Chauveau, Charles (Charlemagne), 159–65, 202, 212, 213, 295, 307
Chennault, Lee, 130
Cherbourg, Basse-Normandie, 70, 118, 328, 349
Churchill, Winston: American entry into war and, 138; approves use of ‘Window’, 334; Atlantic sea lanes and, 342; ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ and, 140; Cabinet Room meeting (21 June 1940), 115–17; Chiefs of Staff meetings and, 149; Combined Operations and, 88, 90–1, 141–2; commando units and, 85, 86, 89; Dardanelles campaign (1915–6), 86–7; expansion of Combined Operations and, 141–2; on fall of Singapore, 151; February 1942 as lowest point, 151–2; friendship with Lindemann, 11–12; Lindemann’s Downing Street unit, 114, 115; new military and intelligence units, 84–5; on Observer Corps, 68; orders creation of paratrooper force (June 1940), 56–7, 59, 60; promotes Mountbatten, 341; receives report on Bruneval raid, 298–300; renewed order for airborne forces after Crete, 99; on Special Operations Executive, 84–5; Tizard mission and, 80, 81; visit to Ringway (26 April 1941), 98
cinema, 310–11, 318–20; newsreels, 312–16, 317
Clarendon Laboratory in Oxford, 11–12, 112–13
Clarke, Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley, 85
Cleasby-Thompson, Captain, 62–3
Clements, Percy ‘Clem’, 94
Cockburn, Robert, 330, 331
Cold War, 358
Colossus, Operation (Tragino aqueduct attack), 362, 93–8, 340
Combined Operations, 88–93, 98, 137, 138; 9 Commando raid on Houlgate (November 1941), 144; Bruneval as publicity success, 301, 303–6, 309–10, 316, 317–18; Bruneval as triumph for, 341; expansion/reorganisation under Mountbatten, 141–3; intelligence section, 215, 217–20; Mountbatten appointed commander, 91–2; Mountbatten’s media promotion of, 311–12; Mountbatten’s promotions after Bruneval, 341–2; planning for Bruneval, 146–9; recruitment drive, 143; scientific advisers to, 143–4; Sir Roger Keyes as commander, 86–9, 90; Special Operations Executive and, 142–3; St Nazaire raid (28 March 1942), 342–4; training in Scotland, 142; Vaagsö raid (December 1941), 144–6; see also airborne forces; Commando Units, British
Commando Units, British: 9 Commando raid on Houlgate (November 1941), 144; communications between land and sea, 144; first raids (June-July 1940), 86; formation of first units (June 1940), 85–6, 92; Lofoten Islands raid (March 1941), 89–90, 312; Spitzbergen raid (August 1941), 90; St Nazaire raid (28 March 1942), 342–4; training on Loch Fyne, 89; Vaagsö raid (December 1941), 144–6
Cook, Commander Frederick Norton, 177–8, 183, 206, 305, 315; Bruneval mission, 260, 276–7, 284, 285–6, 339; meeting with James on HMS Victory, 224–5
Cornell, George, 292, 294–6, 298
Council for the Protection of Rural England, 27
Coventry raid (14 November 1940), 117
Coward, Noel, 310–11, 318
Cox, Charles, 186–8, 209, 326; attached to Hardy raiding party, 205; awarded the Military Medal, 340; descent to beach, 273, 274–5; dismantling of Würzburg, 246, 247–8, 250–1, 252–4, 261–2, 321, 340; evacuation from beach, 279–80; parachute drop at Bruneval, 246–7; photographing of Würzburg and, 192, 205; post-war life, 355; at Redoubt pillbox, 263, 272; return across channel, 282–3, 285; at Tilshead, 190–2; training jumps, 188–90; visit to Air Ministry, 192–4
Crete, German airborne assault on (May 1941), 98–9
HMS Curlew, 177
Daily Mail, 150
Dakota aircraft, 59
Dalton, Hugh, 143
Daly, Captain Gerrard, 94, 95, 96–7
Danesfield House (Thames valley), 126–7
D-Day, 349
death ray gun research, 15–16
Dee, Philip, 79
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 13
desert war in North Africa, 93, 140, 148, 149, 151, 345–7
Dewarin, Major André, 154
Dobinson, Colin, 68
Domburg (Scheldt Estuary), 135
Douglas Corporation in California, 59
Dowding, Air Marshal Sir Hugh, 18, 19, 25, 33, 39, 67–8, 74, 115
Down, Lieutenant Colonel, 148
du Maurier, Daphne, 106
Duflo, Monsieur and Madame, 294–5
Dumont, Roger (Pol), 157, 159–65, 202, 213, 307
Dundee, Scotland, 34, 68–9
Dunkirk evacuations, 55, 70
Eben-Emael, Fort, assault on (10 May 1940), 54–5
Edgerton, David, 32
Edmonds, Eddie, 312, 313–16, 317
Egerton, Lord, 58
Eisenhart-Rothe, Colonel von, 215, 289–90
El Alamein battle, 345
Ellington, Sir Edward, 25–6
Embury, Frank, 291–2, 294–6, 298
EMI group, 10
Enigma machine, German, 113, 130, 141
Étretat, Haute-Normandie, 214, 217, 234, 294, 295
Evans, Driver, 65
Everitt, William, 276–7, 278
Ewing, Piper (Company C piper), 228
Falklands War (1982), 356–7
Farnborough, Royal Aircraft Establishment, 15, 110, 330–1
Fécamp, Haute-Normandie, 214, 231
Felkin, Squadron Leader Denys, 114–15, 323, 324–5
HMS Fernie, 287
Fighter Command, RAF, 30–1, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73–4, 75, 119; attitude to jamming, 333, 334
First World War, 10, 12, 14, 15, 37, 106, 191; Dardanelles campaign (1915–6), 86–7, 88; parachutes and, 49; Zeebrugge raid (1918), 87
Forsyth, Macleod, 104–5, 173, 235, 281, 285, 309–10
France: airborne forces, 53; Bureau de Contre-Espionage, de Renseignement et d’Action (BCRA), 154, 158; collapse of (May-June 1940), 55–6, 70; Free French forces, 154, 155; French naval escort for returning flotilla, 287; French Resistance, 153–66, 200, 213, 295, 307; German coastal defences, 118–19, 121, 122–4, 130–5, 136–7, 212–21, 233, 327; German invasion of, 55, 70
Frank, Charles, 131, 132, 134
Freeman, Lance-Corporal, 271
Freya early warning system: desig
n and operation of, 44, 45, 119, 121, 123–4, 134, 329; jamming and ‘spoofing’ of, 333–4; R.V. Jones and, 119, 121, 123–5, 131; photographic reconnaissance of, 121, 122–3, 124, 130–1, 213, 327; station at Cap d’Antifer, 131, 204, 213, 220, 233, 248, 290, 297; wavelength of, 44, 45, 123, 333; Wilhelmshaven raid (December 1939) and, 46–7
Frost, Major John: awarded the Military Cross, 339; on Bruneval intelligence, 219–20; capture of Villa Gosset, 4–5, 242–3; commands 2 Para, 345; completes training jumps, 168–9; as consultant on A Bridge Too Far, 352; descent to beach, 273; estimate of German losses, 284, 297; evacuation from beach, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283; failure to contact Navy from beach, 276, 277–8; final preparations for mission, 226–8, 229; firefight on beach road and, 258; flight to Bruneval, 232; knee injury, 103, 148, 167; landing at Bruneval, 1, 2–4, 241–2; Market Garden and, 349–52; meeting with Churchill after raid, 298–9; men left behind on beach and, 284, 286; mission postponements and, 223; named in BBC news reports, 305; in North Africa, 345; operation in Sicily, 347, 348; opposes four-unit plan, 171–2; orders withdrawal to beach, 254, 261–2; Oudna raid, 345–7; parachute drop at Bruneval, 1–2, 241–2, 246; planning for Bruneval mission and, 172–3, 203, 207; post-war career, 356; as PoW, 352; ‘Private Newman’ and, 196–7, 199; quoted in newspapers, 308; radio communications and, 181, 182, 209, 252, 266–7; receives order to proceed with mission, 225–6; at Redoubt pillbox, 262–3, 266; rehearsals for Bruneval and, 4, 184; retakes Villa Gosset, 272–3; return across channel, 286; on Sten gun, 200; at Tilshead, 169–74, 190, 196–7; training at Ringway, 102–3, 148, 168–9; training for Bruneval mission, 173–4, 176, 181, 182, 184; volunteers as paratrooper, 100–1; wounded and captured at Arnhem, 351; at Würzburg site, 244–6, 247, 250, 252, 253, 261
Fyne, Loch (Scotland), 89, 178–81, 313, 316
Gale, Brigadier Richard, 100, 148
Garrard, Derek, 118, 185
de Gaulle, General Charles, 154, 155
GEC, 78–9
Gema (Kühnhold’s company), 39, 44
Geneva disarmament conference (1934), 11
German army see Wehrmacht (German army)
Germany, Nazi see Nazi state, German
Gibbon, Sergeant, 264
glider troops, 49, 51–2, 53, 55, 58, 59, 105, 190; British glider production, 99; D-Day and, 349; design of gliders, 61; German assault on Crete (May 1941), 98–9; operation in Sicily, 348; at Tilshead, 169–70, 226
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