Sole Common Camp, England-Which Engineers?

[warrenkw]

Hello,

I am doing archaeological survey work in the area used by the 101st airborne for forming up and training in England prior to D-Day and Market Garden.

 

SOLE COMMON CAMP USAAF station number 424.

I have been told it was an engineers base by the only local old enough to remember, but searches have turned up nothing. The unit built a glider runway at Wickham, gliders (ground still posioned with dope), and the camp itself. The camp is halfway between RAF/USAAF Welford and Craven House (101st HQ), near Newbury, Berkshire. Nearest US neighbours at the time were Gen 'Nuts' Mcauliffe & staff billeted at Wormstall House, a Glider Field Artillery unit at Wickham House (next to Wormstall) and a parachute packing depot (503rd?) at Welford Farm.

 

I've looked at websites for engineers attached to the 101st, but they all say they were based at Basildon Park or Camp Ranikhet. The first is too small to accomadate all the troops (so HQ i think) and the later apears to have disapeared all together. It is possible that Ranikhet and Sole are the same because:

1) Basildon Park and Ranikhet are listed as being near Reading, but Basildon Park is near Newbury, so perhaps Ranikhet is as well.

2) Ranikhet is the name of an Himalayan base camp, and Sole Common is hilly, where as Reading is mainly flat.

 

Any help would be hugely appreciated,

Tanks very much,

Jim Harriss, Ridgeway Military and Aviation Research Group. (search RMARG if you want to check us out).

[Walt's Daughter]

Sorry this reply is short but I've been down on the couch with a bad sinus infection, but wanted you to know that I did get a chance to read this.

 

I am more than happy to help and will see if I can also obtain some info from my 101st friends.

 

I'll get back with you when I'm feeling a little better. Promise.

 

Best of luck with your research and Merry Christmas!

[Walt's Daughter]

Jim:

 

I sent a note off to Mark Bando. Will let you know if I hear anything. Will keep searching in the meantime.

[jim harriss]

Thanks for the replies and starting the ball rolling.

 

Joy of joy's I now know who was there!

 

I found a site stating the 876th Airborne Engineer Aviation Battalion moved out from station 424 for Normandy, but they call it Boxford (nearest village).

 

So are there any Veteran's of the 876th AEAB, that would like to share there memories (photos would be wonderful) of England with me, out there?

 

Does anyone have any info on station 424, and was it Boxford or Sole?

 

Thanks again,

Jim

[Walt's Daughter]

Wow, talk about being on the same wavelength tonight. I just sent out another email tonight to the creator of this site. Here is what I wrote to him mere minutes ago.

 

------------------

 

Hi Randy:

 

Saw your post on the WBG forum and just had a chance to check out your site. Great job! It's always interesting and refreshing to see a different perspective on the war and the units that flew and fought.

 

I am the daughter of a WWII 540th Combat Engineer, and have created and dedicated a site to my father and his fellow VI Corps Engineers who fought in the ETO from 42-45. I am also writing a comprehensive history on these units.

 

I recently received a question from a new visitor to my site and was wondering if you or anyone you know could shed some light on it. Here is what he wrote.

 

Hello,

I am doing archaeological survey work in the area used by the 101st airborne for forming up and training in England prior to D-Day and Market Garden.

 

SOLE COMMON CAMP USAAF station number 424.

I have been told it was an engineers base by the only local old enough to remember, but searches have turned up nothing. The unit built a glider runway at Wickham, gliders (ground still poisoned with dope), and the camp itself. The camp is halfway between RAF/USAAF Welford and Craven House (101st HQ), near Newbury, Berkshire. Nearest US neighbors at the time were Gen 'Nuts' McAuliffe & staff billeted at Wormstall House, a Glider Field Artillery unit at Wickham House (next to Wormstall) and a parachute packing depot (503rd?) at Welford Farm.

 

I've looked at websites for engineers attached to the 101st, but they all say they were based at Basildon Park or Camp Ranikhet. The first is too small to accommodate all the troops (so HQ I think) and the later appears to have disappeared all together. It is possible that Ranikhet and Sole are the same because:

1) Basildon Park and Ranikhet are listed as being near Reading, but Basildon Park is near Newbury, so perhaps Ranikhet is as well.

2) Ranikhet is the name of an Himalayan base camp, and Sole Common is hilly, where as Reading is mainly flat.

 

Any help would be hugely appreciated,

Tanks very much,

Jim Harriss, Ridgeway Military and Aviation Research Group.

 

I have also contacted Mark Bando (yes the 101st historian and fellow friend), to see if he could shed any light on the situation.

 

Wow, this is kind of freaky! While I am writing this, Jim contacted me and gave me more info. Here is what he just added minutes ago...

 

Thanks for the replies and starting the ball rolling.

 

Joy of joy's I now know who was there!

 

I found a site stating the 876th Airborne Engineer Aviation Battalion moved out from station 424 for Normandy, but they call it Boxford (nearest village).

 

So are there any Veteran's of the 876th AEAB, that would like to share there memories (photos would be wonderful) of England with me, out there?

 

Does anyone have any info on station 424, and was it Boxford or Sole?

 

Thanks again,

Jim

 

Merry Christmas to you and a happy New Year. Continued success. I plan on placing a link to your site on my Links Page tonight and also introducing your site on my forum.

 

Warmest regards,

Marion J Chard

Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek

540th Combat Engineer WWII

www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com

---------------------------

 

Oh, the guy's site? http://www.440thtroopcarriergroup.org/

[440thtcg]

Jim,

 

Was sent your way by a kind email from Marion today. I may be of some help. My 9th AFA references in my library have the 876th AEAB arrived USAAF Station 424 at Sole Commom, Berks by 7.43, first unit assigned to 9th EC, carried out mainly maintenance of airfields, France Belgium and Germany.

 

Found another reference to them at Normandy on D+6 involved in patching together temporary strips for glider recovery. Last photo on my website article, Rescue at Remagen shows pilot Bud Berry of the 439th TCG doing a glider snatch recovering gliders at Normandy.

 

Contact for their reunion association (don't know how current this is)

 

876th Airborne Engr Bn (Aviation)

Mr. Elwood F Fahrenholtz 610-696-4384

1201 Greenhill Rd

West Chester, PA 19380-4010

 

Suggest you also contact the decsendent organization the 876th Engineer Battalion through their website for current association contacts. As the 440th TCG Association maintains contact with the 440th Airlift Wing, you may find a similar relationship between the WWII 876th and the present day unit.

 

Sincerely,

 

Randy Hils

http://www.440thtroopcarriergroup.org

 

rhils@panhandle.rr.com

[Walt's Daughter]

Randy, wow! I am so impressed at your quick reply and even more impressed that you had some info to help Jim. Thank you, thank you. I just knew when I saw your post on WBG today, that you would be able to shed some light.

 

Welcome to the forum and I hope we can send more folks your way.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[starstruck]

Jim, my father was a member of the 876th Airborne Engineers. He passed away back in 1975 and I had very little information about his war days. He told me stories during my growing up years, but I'm sure that I don't remember all of them. He always talked of his buddies and how he would like to see them, especially his best friend. That never happened in his lifetime. About five years ago I tried to find out any information about his service years. I inquired through the proper channels, but never heard a word. All I had was a photo of him with his airborne cap patch, a pair of wooden shoes from Holland, and his discharge. I used the information from the discharge to search the internet. On the discharge paper it said that he was in the 816th. I found a contact for the 816th and thought I had finally found them. Alas, when I mentioned the airborne cap patch, the gentleman stopped me only to tell me that the 816th wasn't airborne. I thought at that moment that I would never succeed, but my father taught me never to give up. Several months later I decided to call the local VA office to see if they might have any other information. The lady from the VA said that all that was in the file was a copy of Dad's discharge. Then she noticed that there was a correction made to the number, the one became a seven. I went back to the internet and found the contact to be Mr. Fahrenholtz. I immediately made a phone call. Mr. Fahrenholtz didn't remember Dad, but said that he would look in the archives for any information. He said that Company A was the only company to go to Holland and that he would contact some of the men in that company to see if they knew Dad. The next morning I received an e-mail from my Dad's best friend. They invited my family and I to the reunion in Saint Augustine, FL in May of 2003. I can not tell you how wonderful it was to meet these men that were with my Dad in WWII. In 2004 I met with them again in Columbus, Georgia. In May of this year I had a commitment that kept me from making the whole reunion, but I drove all night to get to Pigeon Forge to see them again. At first they talked about not having another reunion, but they did vote to have another one in May 2006 in Saint Augustine. I respect these men more that words can ever say and I truly believe that my Dad would be proud that I didn't give up trying to find them. They are not many in number, but they have a wealth of knowledge to share.

 

Sincerely,

Jan Mueller

daughter of Ezra E. Allred

876th Airborne Engineers

[Walt's Daughter]

A heartwarming story this morning. It's the first thing I saw when I checked my computer and it brought a small to my face.

 

Jan it's great to have you here and I know that Jim will be thrilled to talk with you. I believe this will be a nice Christmas present from Santa!

 

It was also good to know that Mr. Fahrenholtz is still with us. Yeah!

[jim harriss]

Thanks to everyone for the replies, after 6 months of dead ends it's great to have something to get my teeth stuck into.

 

Thanks Jan for confiming that Mr.Fahrenholtz still runs the 876th Assoc, I will be writing to him shortly and look forward to a fruitfull correspondence with the Assoc Members.