General John Crocker with Soviet Delegation

Image size: 1600 x 1165 pixel. 584 KB
Date: Friday, 28 July 1944
Place: Somewhere in France
Photographer: Unknown

Lieutenant-General John Crocker (left, Commanding Officer of British I Corps) with members of a visiting Soviet delegation, 28 July 1944. Crocker (4 January 1896 - 9 March 1963) was not much of a talker and he was a lousy self-promoter because of it. Yet he was one of the most important British soldiers of the Second World War, commanding a corps in North Africa and subsequently being assigned “the most ambitious, the most difficult and the most important task” of any Allied corps commander during Operation Overlord. His influence was not limited to the period of the war either. He was intimately involved with the development of British armoured forces during the 1920s and 1930s, and after the war he oversaw the production of the doctrine and training publications that would guide the British Army for much of the Cold War. He also served as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Land Forces, and he finished his career as Adjutant-General to the Forces. Field Marshal Montgomery would have preferred it if Crocker had retired as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), but in 1949 Prime Minister Clement Atlee chose Sir William Slim for the post instead.

Source :
"Corps Commanders: Five British and Canadian Generals at War, 1939-45" by Douglas E. Delaney

John Crocker and Rod Keller in Normandy

Image size: 1600 x 1314 pixel. 630 KB
Date: Sunday, 25 June 1944
Place: Normandy, Northern France
Photographer: Unknown

Lieutenant-General John Crocker (right) speaking with the troubled commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Major-General Rod Keller, 25 June 1944. Ten days after this photo was taken, Crocker - the Commanding General of the British I Corps - recommended that Keller be relieved of his command. Major-General Keller himself was popular with his troops, who appreciated his manners and outspoken language; however, a drinking problem and several breaches of security measures before D-Day cost him the support of both his superior officers and his own staff. During the first month ashore in Normandy, it was noted he was "jumpy and high strung". His immediate superiors in I British Corps and 2nd British Army considered him unfit to command the division, but Lieutenant General Guy Simonds, who was scheduled to command II Canadian Corps upon its activation in Normandy, held off on making a decision about his relief, even refusing a resignation by Keller who himself admitted to the strain. During the Battle for Caen, Keller handled Operation Windsor poorly, sending a reinforced brigade in to handle a divisional operation and delegating the planning to one of his brigadiers. Keller was also reportedly shell-shy by August, and rumours began to spread among the division that "Keller was yeller." Despite the continued complaints from above and below, Simonds, and General Harry Crerar, another of his admirers, refused to relieve him. Fate intervened when he was wounded by friendly fire on 8 August 1944. US bombers accidentally carpet bombed his divisional headquarters during Operation Totalize. Keller received no further active military command. He died ten years later, in 1954, while visiting Normandy

Source :
"Corps Commanders: Five British and Canadian Generals at War, 1939-45" by Douglas E. Delaney
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Keller

British Soldiers Going to the Front

Image size: 1600 x 1074 pixel. 362 KB
Date: Friday, 29 September 1939
Place: Somewhere in England
Photographer: Unknown

Pictured above are British soldiers from the BEF (British Expeditionary Forces) preparing to ship out to France for the newly begun Second World War, September 29th, 1939. From September 1939 to April 1940 there was a period of time known as the "Phoney War." After the outbreak of war in September 1939, France and Britain had declared war on Germany but made no real action except sending French troops to the border and British Expeditionary Forces to the Belgian, Luxembourg, German, and Italian borders. The French and British adopted a mainly defensive strategy and relied pretty much on the Maginot Line and BEF forces on the Belgian border. During this period of time the British and French began air raid drills and conscription into their armies. Britian, expecting that it's cities would be devastated by bomb attacks, began a massive evacuation of children from areas considered to be at high risk of being bombed (i.e. major cities.) Hospitals were emptied to free beds for bombing casualties. Entertainment venues were closed. The snakes in the London Zoo are even killed for fear that a bomb might free them to roam the devastated capital! When bombing failed to materialize, life went back to a relatively normal way but the Allied citizens were still weary and reluctant about a new world war as a vast majority had seen or heard of the carnage during World War I. Civilians were issued gas masks, ration cards, and other essentials in the event of a bombing or even invasion. The French sent probes over the border but this was the most aggressive action they took on the Western Front, and this would be one of their gravest mistakes. In May 1940 the Germans invaded the Low Countries and then in June they overran France.

Source :
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg2J2D3HVw4/

Churchill AVRE with Small Box Girder Bridge and Churchill Crocodile

Image size: 1600 x 1008 pixel. 316 KB
Date: Saturday, 1 January 1944
Place: Unidentified place in England
Photographer: Unknown

Churchill Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) with Small Box Girder (SBG) Bridge and Churchill Crocodile flamethrower, two of "Hobart's Funnies" of the 79th Armoured Division under the command of Major-General Sir Percy "Hobo" Hobart (June 14, 1885 - February 19, 1957). The SBG was designed by Royal Engineers Colonel Millis Rowland Jefferis (1899-1963) who was an explosives expert who designed the Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT) which was a spigot mortar for paratroopers and light infantry to attack tanks; and the 290mm (11.4 inch) spigot mortar for the Churchill AVRE. The SBG could breach gaps of 30 feet (9 meters) and be deployed in 30 seconds. When not hung on the front of the AVRE for deployment, the bridge could be pulled on a small tire bogie behind the tank. The Churchill Crocodile, seen here without its accompanying fuel trailer, expressed flame through a nozzle in the front of the hull and had a turret-mounted 75mm (3 inch) main gun. The AVRE and the Crocodile, working together, would reduce bunkers and fortifications. The AVRE would fire its spigot mortar from close range, and the Crocodile would douse the debris with flame. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0056

British Churchill Mark VIII Tank

Image size: 1600 x 989 pixel. 313 KB
Date: Sunday, 1 October 1944
Place: Luton, Berdfordshire, England
Photographer: Unknown

Churchill Mark VIII, fitted with a 95mm (3.74 inch) Mark I howitzer. These tanks, designated close support vehicles, were conceived when the British encountered the Sturmgeschutz III (StuG III) assault gun. The original version, the Churchill Mark V, mounted the 95mm howitzer in a new turret on a Mark IV chassis. Only 200 were made, and they mostly supplanted Mark I and II Churchills on home defense. When the Mark VI variant was accepted for mass production, a 95mm version was requested from manufacturer Vauxhall, resulting in the Mark VIII. No record of the Mark VIII serving with front line units has been found. Unlike the StuG III, the Churchill Mark V/VIII howitzer lacked accuracy. Few Mark VIIIs were built starting in October 1944. The Churchill AVRE, mounting a 290mm spigot mortar, was much more successful as an infantry support vehicle. While the Mark VIII was quickly phased out of service, the 95mm howitzer remained in the British arsenal until the 1950s. 

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0055