THE LATEST talk as part of Kidderminster Historical Society’s latest programme will be ‘The Worcestershire Regiment, Normandy and North West Europe 1944 to 45’ by Mark Jackson.
The presentation will be given on Thursday, November 13, fittingly, two days after Armistice Day.
The talk will detail when the 1st Battalion of The Worcestershire Regiment landed in Normandy on June 22, 1944, as part of the follow-on forces.
After a month of heavy fighting in Normandy, the allies broke out and rushed across a liberated France until the very heavily contested crossing of the Seine prior to a slower advance through Belgium and the Netherlands. This was, in particular, an attempt to link up with the airborne forces at Arnhem (A Bridge too Far).
Eventually, they crossed the Rhine into Germany and on VE Day had reached the outskirts of Bremen after 11 months of hard fighting.
Lt General Sir Ivor Thomas, who was their commander in the famous 43rd Wessex Division, said of 1st Worcestershires: “In the finest tradition of British County Regiments, the battalion never had a failure.
“If dour, dogged fighting, either in attack or defence came our way, if sudden counter-attacks came in from all directions, it always seemed to be 1st Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment who caught the brunt.
“Yet, with that battalion in the thick of it, and on more than one occasion, reported as being surrounded, neither I myself nor anyone else ever worried or had the the slightest fears as to what the results would be.
“That is a tribute I am as proud to pay as I was to have the battalion under command.”
A total of 268 members of the battalion laid down their lives between June 1944 and May 1945.
The speaker
Lt Col Mark Jackson OBE is Chair of the Board of Trustees, The Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire).
He had two great uncles from Kidderminster – Leonard and Lionel Humphries – who served in the Worcesters in the First World War.
His father, Anthony Jackson, who was also born in Kidderminster, served in the Worcesters in the Second World War and Malaya.
Mark followed their example, serving a full career in the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment before becoming the CEO of St Richard’s Hospice, Worcester.
He is President of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regimental Association in Worcester and was High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 2020.
Kidderminster Historical Society meetings start at 2.30pm and are held at The Museum of Carpet, Stour Vale Mill, Green Street, Kidderminster.
There is a small charge for visitors who are very welcome but must book to ensure a seat.
Visit: kdahs.org or facebook.com/KidderminsterHistoricalSociety for more information on this, future events or Kidderminster Historical Society.
