Tag Archives: 1 Border Regt

The Story of Glider 88 – the Battle for LZ 2

Posted on 02/11/2022 by Ian Murray

Surrounded by enemy positions, with many wounded at risk, a small group of glider troops overcame the odds. Glider: Waco CG-4A number 88, ‘Powder River Montana’, serial no. 245697.Glider carrying: part of 11 Platoon of B Company, 1st Battalion of … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Archive Documents, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Veterans' accounts | Tagged 1 Air Landing Brigade, 1 Border Regt, Cape Murro di Porco, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | 8 Comments

The Story of Glider 110 – Glider Pilots Fight for the Ponte Grande

Posted on 20/12/2020 by Ian Murray

The pilots in Glider 110 landed their Waco in the centre of LZ 1, then went on to fight to the finish for the Ponte Grande bridge. Glider: Waco CG-4A number 110, serial no. 73603 (or 73683).Glider carrying: 6 pounder anti-tank … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 1 Border Regt, A G Walch, Glider Pilot Regiment, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Ponte Grande bridge, Victor Miller | 5 Comments

The Story of Glider 107 – Escape and Evasion

Posted on 27/09/2020 by Ian Murray

Glider 107 landed near an Italian garrison who shot at it the instant it landed, and then patrolled for survivors. Glider: Waco CG-4A number 107, name “Rocket”, serial no. 277177.Glider carrying: Half of 10 Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion of the Border Regiment.Troops’ … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily | Leave a comment

The Story of Glider 124 – A Life and Death Decision

Posted on 30/08/2020 by Ian Murray

The pilots of Glider 124 staked everything on reaching land. A few inches of height either way meant the difference between life and death. Glider: Waco 124, serial no. 277233.Glider carrying: Half of 14 Platoon, B Company, 1st Battalion of the Border Regiment.Troops’ objective: Outskirts … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Glider Stories | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | 2 Comments

Wilf Oldham – Ordeal by Water.

Posted on 02/01/2020 by Ian Murray

Wilf Oldham risked being swept away crossing the River Rhine, as British troops escaped the destruction of 1 Airborne Division at Arnhem. It was not his first airborne fiasco, nor his first ordeal by water. First came Sicily. UPDATE – … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Veterans' accounts | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Wilf Oldham | 1 Comment

Lt J S D Hardy, RSO of 1 Border Regiment in Operation Ladbroke

Posted on 15/10/2018 by Ian Murray

Lt J S D Hardy was Regimental Signals Officer of the 1st Battalion of the Border Regiment in Operation Ladbroke. This is his account. Lt J S D Hardy was part of the Battalion HQ team of 1 Border Regiment … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Archive Documents, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Veterans' accounts | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Cape Murro di Porco, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | Leave a comment

The Story of Glider Y – Bayonets & Threats of Execution

Posted on 30/03/2018 by Ian Murray

Waco glider Y was posted missing in Operation Ladbroke. A recently discovered Italian report has the details: Y’s men were captured and interrogated. Bayonets were brandished, executions threatened. Glider: CG-4A Waco Y.Glider carrying: Sub-sec of 9 Field Company Royal Engineers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 1 Border Regt, 2 South Staffords, 9 Field Company Royal Engineers, Augusta Sicily 1943, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943 | Leave a comment

Unpublished shot of a tank on the Ponte Grande

Posted on 09/03/2016 by Ian Murray

A previously unseen film shows what the heroic defence of the Ponte Grande bridge by British glider troops was all about – tanks and vehicles crossing, headed into Syracuse. This is the remarkable story of how that footage came to be taken. … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Photo Stories | Tagged 1 Border Regt, 2 South Staffords, 3 County of London Yeomanry, 44 Royal Tank Regiment, Capt Fletcher AFPU, Gliders in Sicily, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Ponte Grande bridge | 2 Comments

The Story of Glider 126 – A Rare Good Landing

Posted on 07/01/2016 by Ian Murray

Glider 126 made a good landing not far from the LZs, a rare occurrence in Operation Ladbroke. This is the story of the men who flew in her and fought for the Ponte Grande bridge. Glider: CG-4A Waco 126, “Lil Miss-Take”, serial … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Battlefield Visits, Glider Stories, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943 | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Gliders in Sicily, Guy Rigby-Jones, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Ponte Grande bridge | 4 Comments

The Lost Photos of Operation Ladbroke

Posted on 04/01/2016 by Ian Murray

Somewhere somebody has an album with some unique, unpublished photographs of Operation Ladbroke in it. Historians have seen them, but nobody knows where they are now. A plea for bringing them to light. I’m hoping readers may be able to … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, Photo Stories | Tagged 1 Border Regt, 2 South Staffords, Glider Pilot Regiment, H N Andy Andrews, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, Ponte Grande bridge | 4 Comments

Terror off Terrauzza – Operation Ladbroke gliders in the sea

Posted on 23/10/2015 by Ian Murray

A peaceful beach today was once a scene of death. Its horror was painstakingly photo-graphed by the cameramen of a US film unit. Their images reveal a harrowing truth about Operation Ladbroke. In the corner of the bay where the cliffs of the Maddalena … Continue reading →

Posted in All Posts, Battlefield Visits, Operation Ladbroke - Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) in Sicily | Tagged 1 Border Regt, Glider Pilot Regiment, Gliders in sea - Sicily, Gliders in Sicily, Michael Samek, Operation Husky Sicily 1943, Operation Ladbroke Sicily 1943, SAS Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Sicily, US glider pilots in Sicily | 1 Comment