Carrier grave yards

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by shaun

well i have just spent a few hours scanning a shed load of photos from years gone by, the first batch of carrier photos were taken in 2000 for me by a Brigadier i knew who worked in Shape Mon Belgium. he lived to the west of Mons and as he told me "I have tanks at the bottom of my garden" so he sent these photos. in my opion these vehicles were abandoned by the retreating British BEF and then stripped for spares by the Germans. there is no sign of a gas axe being used. they lay in a "nature reserve" but i now understand they have been recovered by the Belgium tank museum.

Shaun,

Thanks for putting up these pictures. I saw the remains of these Carriers at Kapellen in 2004, and always was interested to see them in their original setting. The remains are nothing more than that, everything that remained was wafer thin.

See Bren Carriers of the British Expeditionary Force recovered for their background:

Historically, researches to determine the unit who owned them permit us to give some hypotheses. The wood in question is in the sector appointed to British in the region. It has been occupied by C Company of the Royal Welch Fusiliers who were part of the 6th Brigade of the 2nd Division under Major General Loyd. who were dug in on the Dyle from May 12 between St Agatha-Rode and Wavre. After having carried out a diversionary counterattack on the night of May 15/16, the 6th Brigade withdrew into the Dendre before the German main body crossed the Dyle.
One can suppose therefore that the three recovered vehicles, either broke down or ran out of fuel and had to be abandoned by their crews. They do not carry any trace of battle damage and it seems that Germans never tried to recover them.

Regards,
Hanno