To accompany the obituary
of Maj David Jamieson VC CVO this gives an account
of his action at Grimbosq.
He was awarded the Victoria Cross on 8 Aug 1944 when
serving with the Royal Norfolk Regiment in the defence
of the bridgehead over the River Orne south of Grimbosq
in Normandy, gained by the men of his Regiment during
the breakout after the D-Day landings.
'…. two of the three tanks in support of the Company
were destroyed and Captain Jamieson left his trench
under close range fire from enemy arms of all kinds and
went over to direct the fire of the remaining tank
……. he climbed upon it in full view of the enemy.'
The citation for his VC concludes: 'Throughout 36 hours
of bitter and close fighting, and despite the pain of
his wounds, Captain Jamieson showed superb qualities of
leadership and great personal bravery. There were times
when the position appeared hopeless, but on each
occasion it was restored by his coolness and
determination. He personally was largely responsible for
the holding of this important bridgehead over the River
Orne and for the repulse of seven German counter-attacks
with great loss to the enemy.'
David Jamieson, then a Captain, was 2IC D Coy 7 Royal
Norfolk in 59 Division during the crossing of the Orne
south of Caen in the first week of Aug 1944. Before any
major action, it was customary to leave a number of
officers out of battle, who would act as a cadre on
which the Bn could be reformed if it suffered heavy
casualties. OC D Coy was left out of battle, so Jamieson
was in command of D Coy for the crossing, which was
initially successful enough for a bridge to be built and
for some tanks to reinforce the bridgehead. At this
point the River Orne runs through a deep, narrow valley,
with steep slopes on the western side but gentler slopes
on the east where the Grimbosq Forest offered useful
cover for the German forces which were preparing their
counter-attacks. Although all the bridges had been
destroyed, on 6 Aug three British Infantry Bns,
including the Norfolks, had waded across, driven back
the enemy, and occupied a stretch of the far bank, a
manoeuvre which enabled the Royal Engineers to begin
building new bridges, although the area was still under
heavy shell and mortar fire. On 7 Aug, 12 SS Panzer
Division, which had been rushed over from the Canadian
sector, launched three successive counterattacks with
the new and powerful Mk VI Tiger tanks supported by Mk V
Panthers. Bitter fighting, much of it centred on the
Royal Norfolks, and in particular D Coy, continued for
36 hours, during which five enemy tanks and an armoured
car were destroyed. On the morning of 8 Aug the enemy
attacked with a fresh Battle Group and succeeded in
penetrating the defences surrounding D Coy on 3 sides.
During this attack 2 of the 3 tanks in support of the
Coy were destroyed. Capt Jamieson left his trench under
close range fire from enemy arms of all kinds and went
over to direct the fire of the remaining tank, but as he
could not get in touch with the commander of the tank by
the outside telephone he climbed upon it in full view of
the enemy. He was hit in the eye and left arm, but, when
his wounds had been dressed, he refused to be evacuated.
Eventually, with all his officers dead or wounded, his
anti-tank guns silenced, supporting tanks knocked out
and flanking companies either overrun or withdrawn
across the river, he called artillery fire down on the
very edge of his own position in a desperate attempt to
stop the German advance.
It worked. The vital bridgehead was held, although at a
heavy price. Jamieson, whose cool and determined
leadership was chiefly responsible for the victory, was
among the wounded.
Describing the battle 50 years later, he told Steve
Snelling of the EDP: 'It was of immense importance and
it seemed that every senior officer in the British army
was watching our little action and wondering if we would
stay or run. I was determined to hang on, if we could,
but I was worried. My concern was that everybody was
going to skit and run, and I was determined to do
everything I could to stop it. It wasn't a happy
position.'
By this time all the other officers in the company had
become casualties, so Jamieson - who, at 6' 5' was the
tallest man in his regiment - walked around in full view
of the enemy, encouraging and reorganising the company
as casualties mounted.
The Germans launched three more attacks that day on D
Coy, which he managed to defeat largely by using his
radio to bring a skilled direction of artillery fire on
the attacking Germans.
As the Germans continued to press home their attacks the
Norfolks' position in the bridgehead seemed at times
hopeless, but Jamieson's determination, personal courage
and inspired leadership enabled each enemy attack to be
repulsed until their heavy losses caused the Germans to
withdraw. By evening, when 12 SS Panzer Division finally
gave up, the Coy position was largely intact, ringed
with German dead and burnt-out tanks.
References:
British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997) Detailed
action account plus campaign context.
Monuments To Courage (David Harvey, 1999) Provides an
accurate record of every known grave and memorial.
www.edp24.co.uk/content/news/asp/010509vc.asp
- EDP article by Steve Snelling.
www.british-forces.com/fkac/Vcs/Armyvcs.html
www.chapter-one.com/vc/award.asp?vc=631
- David Jamieson's VC and obituaries.
The Victoria Cross Reference at www.chapter-one.com/vc/default.asp
features all the VCs won since the Victoria Cross was
instituted in 1856, maintained by Mike Chapman mikec@chapter-one.com
Compiled from The Times, The Telegraph, 'Salute to a
Norfolk hero' by Steve Snelling of the EDP and
from www.chapter-one.com/vc/award.asp?vc=631
maintained by Mike Chapman.
(In Jun 2008 the above 5 link s failed.)VC prints, unsigned, are available from the
Norwich Regimental Office, price £5. |
B&C Norfolk Editor