294th Field Company Royal Engineers - War Diary - May 1944

1 May 1944 METTINGHAM.

General training including a lecture by a Medical Officer on First Aid.

2 – 4 May 1944

Mine training.

5 May 1944

Anti-Gas training.

6 May 1944

FRITTON Rifle Range.

7 May 1944

2 Platoon marched past in ELLINGHAM “Salute the Soldier” Week.

8 May 1944

Driver/Operators took part in Divisional Royal Engineer wireless competition and won it.

9 May 1944

Officer Commanding and Second in Command attended cloth model exercise at 146 Brigade HQ on move forward of Brigade Group from concentration area to objective on “other side”.

In the evening 2 Platoon demonstrated an opposed river crossing, using assault boats and Bailey Bridge, to the inhabitants of ELLINGHAM in aid of their “Salute the Soldier” Week.

10 – 15 May 1944

49 Infantry Division Exercise “SHISHAH”.

16 – 27 May 1944

Company engaged on collecting stores, waterproofing of vehicles and equipment, and general preparation for eventual operations.

20 May 1944

Field Return of Officers attached to War Diary. For details see below.

28 May 1944

09:00 hours. Company on six hours’ notice to move to marshalling area.

Appendices attached to May 1944 War Diary for 294th Field Company, Royal Engineers.

Field Return of Officers dated 20 May 1944

Page 1 of the Return shows a complement of 7 Officers as against the War Establishment of 7. No changes in Officer personnel were reported as taking place in the previous week.

Page 2 lists the 7 Officers but it is noteworthy that Lieutenant Burdett is no longer on the strength of the unit and that Lieutenant J FULLARTON 277497 is now part of the complement. This change must have taken place before 13th May, but, curiously, no mention of either departure or arrival was included within the War Diary. Lieutenant John FULLARTON is shown on Page 2 of the Return as being on detachment to the Company from 31st January 1944. Sadly, he was killed in October 1944 while with the Company.

It is known that Burdett – by then a Captain – was on the SS Fort McPherson en route to Normandy in early June 1944 when she was struck by an air-dropped glider bomb, which thankfully failed to explode. Both he and Corporal Jackson were awarded the George Medal (gazetted on 1st December 1944) for their work in recovering the bomb from a coal bunker and winching it overboard. It is not yet known in which Engineer unit they were then serving, but it was almost certainly associated with 49th Infantry Division, as companion units were also on board that vessel.

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