"Pack up your troubles" - L/CPL Bartlett.D 2nd Bn. The R.Sussex. Regt. ((KIT BAG))

[retrovintagelove]

Morning all!

Can anyone help with gathering information on our man D.Bartlett?

Kit Bag states: 14895256 HQ. COY. L/CPL BARTLETT.D
2ND BN. THE R.SUSSEX REGT. 2584
GREENFORD MIDDX

When acquiring I was told he was with the Army Commandos. Sadly that is all I was able to unearth.

All the best. Gillan

[retrovintagelove]

Apologies about the upside down photos!... I should learn to save before uploading.

You can now view in comfort!

[retrovintagelove]

*bump*

[Larry C]

Hang tight Retro...someone will be along to help you out on the identity or any information that can be an offer of help on this kit bag.

What is the dimensions of this bag..in the photos it is hard to judge the size.

Regards Larry

[retrovintagelove]

Thanks Larry.

The dimensions are as follows: 35" x 11.5"

I was able to find the following information online which may shed light as to where he may have been stationed / deployed. There may be possible links to the '10th Parachute Battalion' as his 'Denison Smock' was included the grouping.

'Second World War
The 2nd Battalion was a Regular Army unit that was based in Northern Ireland at the outbreak of war. The battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Manley Angell James, were joined with the 4th and 5th Battalions of the Regiment in the 133rd (Royal Sussex) Infantry Brigade as part of the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division. The battalion was sent to France in April 1940, to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), taking part in the Battle of France and the subsequent retreat to Dunkirk where they were evacuated to England in the Dunkirk evacuation. The brigade was sent to North Africa in May 1942 where they fought in the Battle of Alam el Halfa in September 1942 and the Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.

In 1943 the 2nd Battalion and volunteers from the 4th and 5th Battalions were formed into the 10th Parachute Battalion of the Parachute Regiment which was a part of the 4th Parachute Brigade, serving with the 1st Airborne Division. The brigade participated in Operation Slapstick, an amphibious landing on the Italian port of Taranto, as part of the Allied invasion of Italy. They then fought at Arnhem during the disastrous Operation Market Garden in 1944 with the rest of the 1st Airborne Division. Captain Lionel Queripel, from the Royal Sussex was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously, during the Battle of Arnhem.

The 2nd Battalion was raised again, after the old one became the 10th Parachute Battalion, and along with the 4th and 5th battalions, which were merged to become the 4th/5th Battalion, was reformed with the 133rd Brigade which was sent to the forgotten theatre of war in Iraq and Persia in 1943 with the 6th Indian Infantry Division where they remained for the rest of the war, the 2nd Battalion joining the 24th Indian Brigade, and the 4th/5th Battalion joining 27th Indian Brigade.'

All the best.

Gillan