Gentlemen;
I didn’t really want to get involved in this discussion, but I’ve been following it since the thread started. To basically say that a unit ‘Officer Commanding’ did what they liked and basically ignored set down policy/orders/directives, is pure and simple rubbish. As Clive pointed out “If everyone were to go in their own direction - which could be 180 degrees off-track, then there would be no order. The result would be chaos and armies are not generally known for that”, this is certainly true of the Canadian Army of 1944. Even though 3rd Canadian Infantry Division was under command of the I British Corps (Second British Army) at the time of the invasion, the policy/orders/directives as set down by higher headquarters would most certainly have been implemented by the Canadian ‘Officer Commanding’ at the various levels of command within the division as these policies/orders/directives reached him and he implemented them within his command.
Moving on, the events being discussed in this thread occurred 65 years ago and as we all know, the more time passes, the more the details fade, so much so, that at some point the memories of someone who was there those 65 years ago cannot entirely be relied upon to give us the complete details of what he was issued with or of what the exact colour of it was or whether it was of Canadian or British manufacture, etc. This is why it as been asked earlier in this thread if any form of an ‘official’ paper trial had been found that stated, for example: that bright pink bow ties were to be worn by the section commanders in the infantry battalions, or that platoon commanders were to wear black top hats as a form of easy identification by the men under their command ... the point I’m trying to make is that, if a man 65 years on says that his whole unit was issued with British manufactured BD prior to the invasion, or that all of his unit’s small arms were replaced prior to the invasion, there would be a paper trail left that would document the policy/order/directive that lead to this man’s whole battalion having been issued with British manufactured BD or of his unit having had all of their small arms replaced prior to the invasion.
Such paper trails do existence and in the case of the Canadian Army of 1944, these are held at Library and Archives Canada under Records Group number 24. Although it can be a pain in the ass to sift through the documents, you are more then likely to find a copy of that policy/order/directive that directed section commanders to wear bright pink bow ties and platoon commanders to wear black top hats those 65 years ago, mind you, sometimes you’ll find the document that implemented a policy/order/directive in the most unlikely of files, but the paper trail is there at Library and Archives Canada and in the case of the Canadian Army of 1944, it can be found within Records Group number 24.
For the purposes of the subject of this thread and since the original discussion seems to be around an infantry battalion (and for those who are interested in reading the actual policy/order/directive that implemented this or that those 65 years ago, and for those willing to sift through the files), the documents pertaining to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the various statements and questions raised in this thread, can possibly be found within the following files at Library and Archives Canada:
Assistant Director of Ordnance Services, 3rd Canadian Division:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 16044
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 16045
3rd Canadian Infantry Division - Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 13775, Reel T-10532
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 13776, Reel T-10533
3rd Canadian Infantry Division - General Staff:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 13765, Reel T-7620
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 13766, Reel T-7620
Headquarters, 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 14127, Reel T-12013
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 14128, Reel T-12014
Headquarters, 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 14138, Reel T-12157
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 14139, Reel T-12158
Headquarters, 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 14151, Reel T-12330
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 14152, Reel T-12331
Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Machine Gun):
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15025
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15026
Regina Rifle Regiment:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15197
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15198
Royal Winnipeg Rifles:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15233
Canadian Scottish Regiment:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15035
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15036
Queen's Own Rifles:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15168
Le Régiment de la Chaudière:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15180
North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15126
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15127
Highland Light Infantry of Canada:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15075
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15076
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15269
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15270
North Nova Scotia Highlanders:
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15121
- RG24, National Defence, Series C-3, Volume 15122
Cheers
__________________
Mark
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