Fusiliers Mont-Royal Les

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally posted by Dianne
Hello:

I am new to this forum. I am researching my dad's wartime records and need some info. He was posted in East Sussex from Sept 42 until July 8th 44 when he landed in Normandy. I obtained his service records from the Canadian Archives but they do not give much detail because he hasn't been deceased for 20 years. I would like to know where in Sussex he was billeted. I know the FMR's head quarters was in Lewes, but my dad was in another place, and lived in a nizzen hut. Also he was a POW, captured near Falaise on Aug10th 44 and was in Stalag 357 in Follingbostel, Germany and liberated by the Brits in April or May 45. I would like to know what happened in the Stalag camp and where he went for rehab in Scotland before he returned to Canada.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dianne

Hi Dianne;

Just some notes to begin with, oh, and welcome to the MLU Forum.

- your father would have joined the FMR in Sept. '42, most likely as a reinforcement, after the FMR's heavy losses at Dieppe (Aug '42)

- the FMR were part of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division

- your father may have been captured on the morning of 8 Aug '44, when a company of the FMR were cut off in the outskirts of May-sur-Orne and he wasn't 'posted' as a POW until 10 Aug. this was during First Canadian Army's OPERATION TOTALIZE which was an attack down the Caen-Falaise road, with Falaise itself as the objective

- the POW Camp at Follingbostel was 'officially liberated' by elements of the 8th and 11th Hussars (British 7th Armoured Division) on 16 April '45, but the actual prisoners had taken over the camp some days before when their guards had fled in the face of the allies advance

I'll post more shortly.

Cheers