|
|
|
2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The 2nd Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry was based in India when war broke out, they returned to England in July 1940. They joined 31st Independent Brigade Group, alongside 1st Battalion, Border Regiment, 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment and 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles.
In October 1941 31st Brigade, was became glider infantry and the 31st Brigade was redesignated the 1st Airlanding Brigade, 1st Airborne Division. In mid-1943 the 2nd Ox & Bucks with the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles, transferred to 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division. They prepared to take part in the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) but in April 1943 the battalion the mission was taken over by 1st Airborne. D Company commanded by Major John Howard were selected to land Horsa Gliders as part of Operation Deadstick just before the landings on D-Day on 6 June 1944, to capture Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal and the bridge over the Orne River which became known as Horsa Bridge. Teh aim being to secure the eastern flank of the British 3rd Infantry Division that was due to commence landing on Sword Beach at 07:25hrs. D Company, as the first Allied unit to land in France, landed very close to their objectives at 16 minutes past midnight. The remainder of the Battalion took part in the beach landings.
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Darell-Brown DSO, replaced Lieutenant Colonel Michael Roberts who had been injured during the landings and would remain in command of the battalion during the defence of the Ardennes and over the Rhine landing. After fighting through Normandy, the battalion was in action during the advance to the Seine in August and continued through St Philibert, La Correspondance, Pretreville and Malbortie. The 2nd Ox and Bucks, and 6th Airborne Division, was withdrawn to Britain early September to recuperate and reorganise. They returned to the front in Belgium in December 1944 to assist in the defence of the Ardennes. They fought through Holland to the River Mass and returned to Bulford Camp, Wiltshire, on the 28th of February 1945 to prepare for Operation Varsity and the Rhine Crossings in late March 1945. The battalion advanced across Germany and linked up with the Russians near the Baltic port of Wismar on the 3rd of May 1945.
The 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was selected to represent the British Army by providing the Guard of Honour for the meeting between British commander Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and his Russian counterpart, Rokossovsky, at Wismar, on the 7th of May 1945.
On the 17th of May they were relieved by Gunners from the 5th British Infantry Division and moved to the former German cavalry barracks at Luneburg before flying home and returning to Bulford Camp, Wiltshire.
31st July 1940 Mobilisation 
5th Sep 1940 Alert
6th Sep 1940 Orders
8th Sep 1940 Orders
9th Sep 1940 On the Move
10th Sep 1940 Orders
11th Sep 1940 Orders
27th Sep 1940 Reliefs
1st May 1944 Planning
5th Jun 1944 Take Off
6th June 1944 Pathfinders
6th June 1944 Landings
6th June 1944 Landings
6th June 1944 Landings
6th June 1944 Landings
6th Jun 1944 Attack Made
6th Jun 1944 Pegasus Bridge
6th Jun 1944 A Complete Surprise
6th Jun 1944 In Action
6th Jun 1944 D-Day
7th Jun 1944 Intense Fighting
7th June 1944 Objectives Taken
7th Jun 1944 Landings
7th Jun 1944 Snipers
7th Jun 1944 In Action
7th Jun 1944 In Action
8th Jun 1944 Shelling
8th Jun 1944 In Action
9th Jun 1944 Attacks Held
10th Jun 1944 Attacks
13th Jun 1944 On the Move
13th Jun 1944 Reliefs
14th Jun 1944 Defence
19th Jun 1944 In Action
20th Jun 1944 Reliefs
26th Jun 1944 Village Occupied
1st Jul 1944 Registration
3rd Jul 1944 In Action
8th Jul 1944 On the Move
23rd Jul 1944 On the Move
27th Jul 1944 Bombing
30th Jul 1944 In Trenches
2nd Aug 1944 Mines
7th Aug 1944 Holding the Line
16th Aug 1944 Intelligence
17th Aug 1944 Advance
18th Aug 1944 Advance
19th Aug 1944 Advance
20th Aug 1944 Advance
21st Aug 1944 Advance
22nd Aug 1944 Forwards
23rd Aug 1944 Forwards
25th Aug 1944 Heavy Attack
26th Aug 1944 On the Move
23rd Dec 1944 Back to France
25th Dec 1944 Freezing Conditions
30th Dec 1944 Holding the Bridgehead
2nd Jan 1945 On the Move
5th Jan 1945 Village Cleared
4th Jan 1945 Heavy Fighting
4th Jan 1945 Hard Fighting
9th Jan 1945 A Rapid Advance
17th Jan 1945 A few days Static
24th Jan 1945 On the Move
28th Feb 1945 Back to Wiltshire
1st Mar 1945 Preparations
12th Mar 1945 Orders
18th Mar 1945 Preparations
19th Mar 1945 On the Move
20th Mar 1945 On the Move
23rd Mar 1945 Preparations
23rd Mar 1945 Training
24th Mar 1945 Airbourne Landings
24th Mar 1945 In Action
24th Mar 1945 In Action
25th Mar 1945 In Action
25th Mar 1945 In Action
25th of March 1945 Crossing the Rhine
26th Mar 1945 A Brief Rest
26th Mar 1945 Reliefs Completed
27th Mar 1945 Advance
27th Mar 1945 Maintenance
27th of March 1945 On the March
28th Mar 1945 On the March
28th Mar 1945 Advance
29th Mar 1945 Orders
29th Mar 1945 Under Fire
30th Mar 1945 Advance
30th Mar 1945 Quiet
30th Mar 1945 On the Move
31st Mar 1945 Heavy Fighting
31st Mar 1945 Advance
1st Apr 1945 Under Fire
1st Apr 1945 Bridgehead
1st Apr 1945 Bridges
2nd Apr 1945 On the March
2nd Apr 1945 Shelling
2nd Apr 1945 Attack Made
3rd Apr 1945 Attack Made
3rd Apr 1945 On the March
4th Apr 1945 Attack Made
4th Apr 1945 On the March
5th Apr 1945 Bridges
5th Apr 1945 In Action
6th Apr 1945 Enemy Active
6th Apr 1945 Attack Made
7th Apr 1945 Advance
7th Apr 1945 Enemy Active
8th Apr 1945 Advance
8th Apr 1945 Attack Made
9th Apr 1945 Consolidation
9th Apr 1945 Maintenance
10th Apr 1945 Moving Forward
10th Apr 1945 On the Move
11th Apr 1945 Advance Resumes
11th Apr 1945 Orders
12th Apr 1945 Forwards
12th Apr 1945 Maintenance
13th Apr 1945 Forwards
13th Apr 1945 Maintenance
14th Apr 1945 Advance Continues
14th Apr 1945 On the Move
15th Apr 1945 Under Fire
14th Apr 1945 On the Move
15th Apr 1945 On the Move
15th Apr 1945 Advance
16th Apr 1945 Heavy Fighting
16th Apr 1945 Advance
16th Apr 1945 Advance
17th Apr 1945 Advance
17th Apr 1945 Quiet
18th Apr 1945 On the Move
18th Apr 1945 Advance
18th Apr 1945 Advance
19th Apr 1945 Moves
19th Apr 1945 Patrols
20th Apr 1945 On the Move
20th Apr 1945 In Action
21st Apr 1945 Area Cleared
21st Apr 1945 Prisoners Taken
22nd Apr 1945 Preparations
22nd Apr 1945 Very Wet Day
23rd Apr 1945 On the Move
23rd Apr 1945 On the Move
24th Apr 1945 Maintenance
25th Apr 1945 Training & Football
26th Apr 1945 Conference
26th Apr 1945 Training & Football
27th Apr 1945 Orders
27th Apr 1945 Orders
28th Apr 1945 Wood Cleared
28th Apr 1945 Awards
29th Apr 1945 Wood Cleared
29th Apr 1945 On the March
30th Apr 1945 Advance Continues
30th Apr 1945 Advance
30th Apr 1945 On the March
1st May 1945 Reorganisation
1st May 1945 Prisoners Taken
2nd May 1945 Reorganisation
2nd May 1945 On the March
3rd May 1945 Allies Meet
3rd May 1945 Reorganisation
3rd May 1945 Prisoners
4th May 1945 Reorganisation
4th May 1945 Prisoners
5th May 1945 Prisoners & Civilians
6th May 1945 Service
7th May 1945 Guard of Honour
7th May 1945 Guard of Honour
8th May 1945 Dispersal
9th May 1945 Football
10th May 1945 Censorship
15th May 1945 Recreation
17th May 1945 On the Move
18th May 1945 On the Move
19th May 1945 On the Move
19th May 1945 On the Move
20th May 1945 Leave
4th Aug 1945 Advance Party Prepare
If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here.
|
|
|
The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQs
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
|
Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
|
|
Want to know more about 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry ? There are:1498 items tagged 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
|
Mjr. John Jacob-Vaughan 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry My Uncle John Jacob Vaughan, was the Medical Officer with 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Pegasus Bridge (portrayed by an actor in the film The Longest Day). He the first Medical Officer into Auschwitz. Later he served in Burma.
I was told a story about two Burmese Gurkhas who were detailed to despatch Japanese soldiers guarding a river. They disappeared, you could only see the Japanese heads above the scrub. They never moved. When the Gurkhas returned one was asked why the Japs hadn't been despatched, the Gurkha smiled pointed to their kukris, and passed their hands across the throat. Sure enough on inspection both Japs were as dead as a dodo. They never moved.
He went on to become a flying doctor, a doctor on a film set in Hollywood. Quite a character. Now deceased, much missed.
John was a great photographer and had a wonderful, if not a bit macabre, collection of photos concerning Auschwitz prisoners.
|
Pte. Frederick Leonard Day 2nd (Airborne) Btn. Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry (d.24th March 1945) Frederick Day, enlisted in 2nd Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. He fought in the War Western Europe Campaign, 1944/45. During this time, he was involved in an air accident whilst flying over Germany, and is buried at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Grünewaldstrasse, Kleve, Germany.
We cannot find out much about him to add a story. The Day Family was a relatively large one and had lived in Duxford and Hinton Waldrist, Berkshire for generations. Frederick's great grandfather Thomas was born Duxford in 1811 and was a basket maker, and his sons agricultural labourers. His father Joseph had moved with Lizzie and lived in Windhill Hill Cottages, Kingston Hill, Kingston Bagpuize in 1911 but died in Aldershot in 1960 aged 85. His wife Lizzie died in 1947 aged 72 years. We have no proof that Frederick was ever living with his parents.
|
Cpl. Douglas Hallam Cutts 2nd Btn. Oxford & Buckingham Light Infantry Douglas Cutts first served with the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He had been to university and was a Lance Corporal after his exams, the highest ever scored. He served in Burma until, due to so many casualties, the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was disbanded and he joined the Royal Berkshire Regiment in Intelligence as a person who drew maps. He went out on reconnaissance in the jungle and helped with supply drops which were difficult during the monsoons.
Theresa Kowall
|
Pte. John Harry Wasdell 2nd (Airborne) Bn. Ox and Bucks Light Infantry (d.6th April 1945) John Wasdell is buried in Hannover Germany. He went over to Northern Ireland in 1940 where the Airborne was formed with the Royal Ulster Rifles, and that is where he met my mother, however we do not know much more about what he did during the war.
|
Sgt. Donald Peter Belcher 4th Btn. Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry I have no outstanding events just routine. I did see active service in Sicily, D Day, Ardennes, Rhine crossing also when the war ended served in Palestine, as a regular. I was demobbed February 1949 I would dearly like to be able to contact some or if anyone is still out there with army numbers around mine, it would be interesting to see us trying to step out at light infantry pace.
|
Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
|
|
|
