Museum Highlights - 23rd Hussars
By Angel Drinkwater (Museum Assistant)
We will be highlighting some of the Museum’s recent acquisitions. The families of Corporal George F. Towle and William George Vincent, 23rd Hussars, have generously gifted us some of their wartime memorabilia, and so we will be taking the opportunity to explore their lives.
A Brief History of 23rd Hussars
The 23rd Hussars were a cavalry regiment raised 1st December 1940, formed from a small group of men from the 10th Royal Hussars (PWO) and the 15th/19th The King’s Royal Hussars. It was assigned to 29th Armoured Brigade, which made up part of 11th Armoured Division.
Major Charles ‘Roscoe’ Harvey, originally of 10th Royal Hussars, was given command. The initial regiment was made up of 16 officers, the majority being from the 10th Royal Hussars, alongside 281 Other Ranks, as noted in the December 1940 War Diary entries.
The men were billeted in Teddesley Hall, Penkridge, Staffordshire. Over the month, men and vehicles arrived, including six 15-cwt trucks, five Fordson 30-cwt lorries and a Velocette motorcycle. By 19th December the recruits were medically examined, and 22nd-29th saw regimental preparations interrupted by Christmas leave. By 30th December 1940 the recruits had returned, and six weeks of training commenced.
By the end of March 1941, the regiment hadreceived its firstthree tanks, one Mark II Valentine, and two Mark III Valentines.The 23rd spent the rest of the year training,having moved to Whitby on 15th-16th August.Major Reginald Peregrine Harding D.S.O also took over as Regimental Commanding Officer.
It wasn’t until June 1944 that the men of 23rd Hussars saw action. A light party landed at M Beach, Courseulles-sur-Mer on 13th June 1944, with the main party disembarking here a few days later. Between 16th-25th June the Regiment concentrated at Coulombs, where it headed Operation EPSOM. 26th June saw the Regiment’s first contact with the enemy. It also saw the Regiment’s first death in battle, as Tank Driver Lance Corporal Edward Charles Hogg, C Squadron, was killed. The casualty list has him dying of his wounds.
Across Operation EPSOM the 23rd lost approximately 39 men, with 23 missing, and many others wounded or taken as prisoners of war. The 23rd Hussars went on to participate in Operations GOODWOOD and BLUECOAT, where they would lose another 56 men.
Operation BLUECOAT proved successful in breaking through Germanarmoured formations in Normandy. By 12th August 1944 German forces had no choice but to retreat east of the River Orne.The German withdrawal collapsed shortly afterwards, due to lack of fuel, and constant pressure from Allied attacks.
During this time, the 11th Armoured Division was attached to XXX Corps (30 Corps), which successfully captured Flers, Putanges, and Argentan in the Falaise pocket. This culminated in a decisive German defeat, bringing an end to the Battle of Normandy.
The 23rd remained in the 11th Armoured Division with XXX Corps, aiding in the liberation of L’Aigle on 23rd August 1944, Amiens on 1st September 1944, and Antwerp on 4th September 1944. They moved on into Holland, covering the right flank of XXX Corps throughout OperationMarket Garden, but they were not involved in any direct ground action. By December 1944, the 23rd had been moved to a rest area in Ypres to re-equip.
In 1945, still attached to XXX Corps, the 23rd took part in Operations Veritable and Blockbuster, and aided in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and the capture of Lübeck on 2nd May.
The 23rd Hussars were disbanded on 21st January 1946. 157 men had lost their lives during the war. The complete list of casualties can be foundhere.
Acquisitions - William George Vincent
The photograph to the left shows William George Vincent, of ‘B’ Squadron, 23rd Hussars. Unfortunately we have very little information on his life, but his granddaughter has generously donated this photograph, alongside a collection of end-of-war era entertainment programmes, and, perhaps most interestingly, his medals.
Click the images below to get a closer look.
Acquisitions - Corporal George F. Towle
George Frederick Towle , SN. 7924659, was born on 21st February 1911. According to his Soldier’s Service and Pay Book, he was an ironmonger before enlisting into the army on 7th November 1940, aged 29.
Corporal Towle was billeted at the Metropolitan Hotel in Whitby, alongside the rest of ‘C’ Squadron. Throughout the war, Towle worked as a Technical Storeman, taking care of the hundreds of tools and equipment for his Squadron’s tanks.
He would have participated in Operation EPSOM, making up part of the squadron that made first contact with the enemy. His squadron saw much action on 27th-28th June 1944, crossing the River Odon and holding the position here.
He also went on to participate in Operation BLUECOAT, crossing the River Souleuvre on 30th July 1944.
He would go on to Le Bas Perrier, helping to bat off an enemy counter-attack on 6th August 1944. ‘C’ Squadron would remain at Perrier Ridge alone until the following day, believing that they had been abandoned. On 7th, ‘C’ Squadron were harboured at La Barbiere.
It is likely that he saw the liberation of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp on 15th April 1945.
After the war he returned to his home in Hull, with his wife Olive, and young daughter Christine. Here, he took up work at King and Company Steel Working. By the early 1950s he had another child, Peter, and had been promoted to manager, moving to a different branch in Darlington, County Durham. Upon his retirement in the 1960s he had become a Director of King and Company.
‘Found Cpl. Towle imersed in a heap of Indents in his Tech Office. “I reckon I’ve signed about 3,000 of them since I joined the 23rd” he declared.
Thirty two year old Cpl. George Towle was born in New Hollands, Lincs. He knows Yorkshire well, however, having been a commercial traveller with a Hull firm of engineering and building merchants since 192[?].
He knows Whitby well, has caught lobsters at Flamborough, has friends in Bridlington and spent part of his honey-moon at Ravenser.
Cpl. Towle is a case of “round peg in a round hole.”
“Knowing the supply side of engineering has been a great advantage” he says. And looking after a whole squadron’s tank kits is a big job, But Towle is used to responsibility. “Once” he told me “I walked round Bridlington with £11,000 worth of orders in my pocket. I used to do quite a lot in Brid. Very likely a number of the fire places in our billets are old orders of mine.
“Looks like I’ll have some replacement orders after the war”, he added, indicating some damaged tiles.
One of Cpl. Towle’s greatest assets is his memory. He can tell you practically all “C” Sqn’s Valentine and Cruiser tank numbers and their old drivers. A specialty is Crusader bevel boxes, of which he knows from memory every single part and number.
At present, Cpl. Towle’s wife and daughter are staying in Bridlington. At the beginning of the war they were twice bombed out in Hull.
In his spare time, Towle’s hobbies are gardening, reading auto biographies (and incidentally, he claims to have read every big naval battle there has been), sport – mainly, he modestly admits, as a spectator – and drafts at which he’ll challenge anyone in the Regiment.
Tank crews of all Sqns have recently visited his exhibition, of which he is justly proud, of Sherman tools, elaborately laid out to enable crews to recognize the unrecognizable.
“If you’re writing about me” he remarked, you must mention my colleagues, Tprs. Brewer and Sharpe-Tetley.
In all the time we’ve been together since Nawton, we’ve never had a row!‘
Transcription of the Letter of Recommendation seen on the left
