e-mail Extracts from Issue 103 Dec 04

THE TUNMORE FAMILY
Brian Tunmore wrote to say he saw the site pieces on the Tunmore family. He is one of the 3 sons of Sjt (later CSM) David Jesse Tunmore, one of the first soldiers sheltered by Nurse Edith Cavell. (See B&C 100 Jun 03, B&C 97 Dec 01, B&C 88 Jun 97 and The Britannia No 29 Feb 1947.) Brian, like his brother David, served in the Royal Corps of Signals.
On 19 May 1919, after a memorial service in Westminster Abbey, the body of Edith Cavell was re-interred in Life’s Green in the precincts of Norwich Cathedral, on the outside of The Regimental Chapel. Brian informs us there is a photograph of David Jesse Tunmore, a Bearer at that ceremony, in the Regimental Museum in Norwich.
B&C 100 Jun 03 reported another success of the B&C site when Sue Haines in Wales, the grand-daughter of David Jesse Tunmore, found the site pages and sent more information.
Chris Basey provided information on the Tunmore family in B&C 97 Dec 01. Chris and Brian welcome any information on the 3 brothers of David Jesse Tunmore, all of whom served in The Regt. Contact Brian and Chris via the Norfolk Section Editor.
[B&C 103]

MAJ JIM HOLL TD JP DL AND A CENTIPEDE BED
Jim Holl, the former 2IC of 6 R Anglian, died in Aug 2004 click here for his obituary . Maj David Reed TD QVSM recalled the apocryphal tale of Jim, as OC B (Bedford) Coy, being collected from home for a 1972 6 R Anglian TA weekend by his Coy 2IC Ron James. Jim had been accustomed to ‘Old TA’ weekends where a Mess Dinner, with silver candelabra and Mess Kit, even out ‘in the field’ were de rigueur. Ron arrived in his 1956 Ford Popular and was aghast at the amount of kit his OC, Jim, expected him to pack in the car, not least of which was one of those ‘centipede’ camp beds. Ron managed to persuade Jim that all he needed was the uniform kit he was wearing, plus, maybe, if he was so inclined, a wash & shave kit, and perhaps a change of ‘shreddies’.
[B&C 103]

JOHN LING AND THE BOOK OF BERGH APTON
John Ling found the B&C site while researching for the ‘Book of Bergh Apton’ in which he is writing a section that covers the 25 men of the village who fell in the World Wars, most of whom were in the Regiment.
'One of them was 5773757 Pte Len Cain of D Company, 7 Royal Norfolk, who died on the same day David Jamieson won his VC. I have just found your website on which I read your account of the action with interest and would be very grateful if I might quote from it to round off the paragraph on Len Cain:
...... describes the action and concludes with the words ‘their heavy losses caused the Germans to withdraw. By evening, when 12 SS Panzer Division finally gave up, the Coy (Company) position was largely intact, ringed with German dead and burnt-out tanks’.
Naturally, permission was granted. We look forward to receiving cost and source contact details of the book.
[B&C 103]
After Note Jun 05 Click here for cost and details.

MISSING AFTER LE PARADIS
In B&C 102 Jun 04 from Rob Snowball was a query concerning his Great Uncle 5771119 Drummer Ronald Edgecombe 2 R Norfolk, the brother of his grandmother Ruby who in Jun 04 was aged 92. Ronald, a drummer in HQ Coy, 2 R Norfolk, was wounded around the time of the Le Paradis massacre on 27 May 1940. He was supposed to be in a Red Cross station / Field Hospital near Dunkirk 2 weeks after the farm incident then he disappeared.
Webmaster Comment: A search on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site www.cwgc.org listed a casualty and answers the query, which has been passed to Rob:
5771119 Drummer Ronald Edgecombe 2nd Bn The Royal Norfolk Regt. Husband of MJ Edgecombe of Paddington, London. Died between 28 May-2 Jun 1940. He is commemorated on Column 44 at the Dunkirk Memorial. The CWG site, at www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=2082800&mode=1
states:
'The Dunkirk Memorial stands at the entrance to the British War Graves Section of Dunkirk Town Cemetery, which lies at the south-eastern corner of the town of Dunkirk, immediately south of the canal and on the road to Veurne (Furnes) in Belgium. On entering the cemetery through the columns of the Dunkirk Memorial, two Commonwealth war graves sections will be seen: Plots IV and V from the First World War and Plots I and II from the Second World War. There is also a further First World War section (Plots I, II and III) in the main part of the cemetery to the right of the main entrance.'
It adds: 'Dunkirk witnessed the landing of the British Expeditionary Force in September and October 1914. Throughout the First World War it was a seaplane base and later an American Naval Air Service base. The town was also a French hospital centre and the 8th Canadian Stationary Hospital was there from November 1918 to April 1919. Although an estimated 7,500 shells and bombs fell on the town during the war, ship building and other port activities continued. During the Second World War, Dunkirk was the scene of the historic evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France in May 1940.
The Dunkirk Memorial commemorates more than 4500 casualties of the British Expeditionary Force who died in the campaign of 1939-40 and who have no known grave. The memorial was designed by Philip Hepworth. The engraved glass panel depicting the evacuation was by John Hutton.'

It is sad, that having survived the massacre at Le Paradis, Ronald later died in the retreat to Dunkirk.
If you knew Ronald, or anything about him please contact Rob via the Norfolk Section Editor.
[Not in print copy B&C 102 but answer in B&C 103]
And see 5770839 Pte Martin Christensen 2 R Norfolk KIA 27 May 1940 query by Sue Christensen

CORUNNA IS IN SPAIN - NOT PORTUGAL !
Another geographical error by the Norfolk Editor (like placing Almanza in Portugal - see B&C 101 Dec 03) has come to light in an e-mail from Angel Riveira, who spotted an error concerning the country where the tomb of Sir John Moore is located.
B&C 97 Dec 01 and B&C 99 Dec 02 inadvertently stated that Corunna, the location of Sir John Moore's tomb, was in Portugal. The webmaster, a former Geography schoolmaster, should have known better than placing it in Portugal. La Coruña, known by us Brits as Corunna, is a city in north-west Spain.
Hopefully, all site references have now been corrected !
Thanks Angel.
La Coruña, probably of Celtic origin, came under Roman control in the 1st century BC. La Coruña was the port from which the Spanish Armada sailed against England in 1588. In 1589 the port was taken and almost totally destroyed by the English navigator Sir Francis Drake. In 1809, during a battle of the Peninsular War between the British and the French, the British general Sir John Moore was killed and buried in La Coruña. (From Encarta Encyclopedia (c) Microsoft Corporation)
[B&C 103]

6 RANGLIAN TA CHARACTERS
24409403 WO2 Russell Smith wrote from the Isle of Man.
While surfing the net I came across the 6 Royal Anglian archives on the B&C site.
I joined B Coy 6 RAnglian at Bedford in May 1976 when the OC was Maj Ron James, the CSM WO2 John Martin and my Pl Comd, later, was Maj Alan Spearing.
What an absolute blast to read all the character histories, many of whom I remember with much affection.
B company at Bedford was transferred to the 5th Bn TA and became 1 Coy, then they re-roled completely to the Royal Logistic Corps.
I ended my TA career as WO2(RQMS) with 158 Regt, left for about 18 months, then re-joined as WO2(SSM) back at 201 Sqn in Bedford and served for another two years.
I still keep in touch via the 16 Foot OCA in Bedford and would like to hear from anybody from 6 Royal Anglian days.
[B&C 103]