Dunkirque Bren Photo

[Brit plumber]

I was just flicking through an old Book I've had for years when I came across this old photo. Some may recognise a part of the photo from the BGS and this is the first time I've seen the whole pic so I thought I'd share it in case no one else had too.



Could we possibly start a pinned thread of period photos of Brens in action or otherwise?

Information

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[tankhunter]

Wow! Just look, all double dovetails Id' wager! AND the few that you can see, still have the 'spoon' folding butt strap. These were later removed as a modification as unnessacary.
Some of the 1937 webbing mag pouches are the auxillary versions. You can see this by the narrow neck straps in the picture. Nice photo, Thanks for sharing with us!

[Peter Laidler]

There was some comment about this photo at the time of the original BGS book, that it was taken aboad the Lancastria, prior to it leaving France, along with some other publicity photos of the hundreds of tons of other heavy kit that we'd brought back including a Scammell gun tractor no less!. Alas, it was literally ambushed and never made it back

[Brit plumber]

My Grandad was queing to get on the Lancastria but was lucky enough to be too far down the line. He never talked about it much but my mum remembers him telling her that he had to bury most of his kit and all his souvenirs.

Do you think those boxs in the top right are the drum mag boxs? The photo under that one shows some Tommys asleep and one has a Thompson 1928A1, when did the first shipments of TSMGs arrive? I always assumed they were post the fall of France?

[Peter Laidler]

I believe the first Thompsons actually purchased by the British Purchasing Commission in NY (the BPC) came after June '40 but the French had them prior to that. That's how many ended up in the hands of the British. I could be wrong. But when I spoke to a bloke who was captured early on in France (see Sten gun book, cheap and a good read.....) who later escaped and got back to the UK, he said that they did have some Thomsons and that if he'd taken one when he was alone, laying out a demo cable, he could have fought his way back the 200 or so yards to his own blokes who watched him being taken but couldn't fight them off with rifle fire. Where were we? Ah' yes. I've just read the caption properly and it would seem to back up the notion that this was taken aboad a bigger ship so maybe it was the Lancastria.

It's snowing a gale here in Oxfordshire.................

[Brit plumber]

Cheers Peter, no snow here, just some Jack Frost. Do I assume that 'laying out a demo cable' is what I think it is? Like laying 'A Yule Tide Log'!

[Peter Laidler]

No......... In this case, he was actually laying out a demolition cable as in demolition cable to blow a culvert at a road junction!

Have a goox Xmas BP and others

[Brit plumber]

Oh, there was me thinking he'd gone off for a read of the paper away from the wife. He really was laying a cable!

ATB Peter. Have a good X-mas.

[Kev G]

Nice picture but caption says Cherbourg.
Cherbourg was operation Aerial as opposed to the earlier Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk and allot more orderly.


Allot of transport as mentioned was also brought back.
(inc a dartboard !)



Re - Thompsons,MoS records show 1st batch of 182 delivered in May 1940 with 7,988 20 round box magazines.

ATB Kevin

[Brit plumber]

You know, I never even twigged that Cherbourg was that far from Dunkique! Bit of a glaring error by me there!