Universal carrier

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

You've got it... this software gives you all sorts of options re presentation etc. Take some time to learn them and it'll be a lot easier for you!

Now, something for you.

COMBAT OFFICER
A Memoir of War in the South Pacific
by Charles H. Walker
Random House, 2004
ISBN 0-345-46385-4

Excerpt from Page 21:

Just as Sergeant Hoffman and I had nearly reached our position in the line I heard a Bren carrier roaring down by McCarthy's location. I found that Bob Campbell of our Company H had brought up a carrier to rescue the Marines still mixed in with the Japanese in the high grass. McCarthy and two other men had jumped into the carrier, which ran across to the Japanese line, defying the odds. Armed with only one machine gun on the Bren, McCarthy held off the enemy, enabling the Marines to pile in. Their return trip was made without incident in spite of heavy enemy fire. McCarthy was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the other men Silver Stars for the sortie.

These guys were Company H of the 164th Infantry, and this action took place on Guadalcanal late October 1942; you can figure out the Marine unit there, although the 1st Marines rings a bell.

There are other references to Bren carriers elsewhere in this text, but it will take me a while to find them.

On the subject of the carriers themselves, I'm wondering if they were pinched from the Aussies; the only other thing I can think of is that a limited number were acquired for evaluation purposes. Perhaps our Australian mates can shed some light on this? In a case like that, I wonder what the markings might have been, and indeed, whether the Aussies pawned off British or Canadian carriers on the Yanks, or whether the carriers were Australian.

I'll keep looking for more references, but this is a start! If you're serious about doing this project, we'll have to first establish carrier type and mark...



Jif