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Major John Couch Adams Roseveare
Unit : Headquarters, 3rd Parachute Squadron, RE.
Army No. : 102034
Awards : Distinguished Service Order
Tim Roseveare commanded the 3rd Parachute Squadron, and in Normandy he had responsibility for the destruction of the five bridges across the River Dives. He was to have landed with the 8th Parachute Battalion on DZ-K and from there proceed to destroy the bridge at Troarn, however the pathfinders bound for his drop zone had landed near Ranville, and so he and many others found themselves on DZ-N, five miles from their objective. By 02:30, Roseveare had gathered in some forty-seven of his engineers, together with some 8th Battalion paratroopers and two trolleys loaded with 45 General Wade demolition charges and 500lb of plastic explosives. He had no vehicles, however, and so the journey on foot was a painfully slow affair, though they were fortunate in not encountering any enemy en route and so were not further delayed as they passed through Herouvillette and Escoville.
At 04:00, the group ran into a group of men from the 8th Battalion, who also possessed a Jeep being driven by Lance-Corporal Young of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was carrying medical supplies to the dressing station that was to be established at Le Mesnil, however the destruction of the bridges had priority and, emptying his load, which he was later able to carry to its destination with the assistance of several German prisoners of war mounted on bicycles, Roseveare commandeered the Jeep and set off for Troarn with explosives and a small group of his men. Roseveare describes their journey:
"We had set off down the road at a moderate pace with everyone ready with a Bren gun or one of our several Sten guns for any trouble. Just before the level crossing we ran slap into a barbed wire knife-rest road block. One boche fired a shot and then went off. It took twenty minutes hard work with wire cutters before the jeep was freed. We then proceeded on, leaving behind, it transpired later, Sapper Moon; two scouts were sent ahead to the next crossroads." At the following crossroads, on the edge of Troarn, the two scouts found a lone German sentry with a rifle. "On being dragged from his bicycle he protested volubly and we made the mistake of silencing him with a Sten gun instead of a knife. The town was now getting roused so we lost no time and everyone jumped aboard while I tried to make the best speed possible. As the total load was 3000lbs we only made about 35mph. At the corner the fun started. There seemed to be a boche in every doorway shooting like mad. However, the boys got to work with their Sten guns and Sapper Peachey did very good work as rear gunner with the Bren gun. What saved the day was the steep hill down the main street. As the speed rose rapidly and we careered from side to side of the road, as the heavy trailer was swinging violently, we were chased out of the town by a German machine gun which fired tracer just over our heads."
Shortly after the jeep came to rest beside the unguarded bridge that they had come to destroy. Here they found that the rear gunner, Sapper Peachey, was missing from the trailer, having been thrown off as they descended the hill at speed. He was taken prisoner. Lieutenant Breese and Lance-Sergeant Henderson took up positions west of the bridge in case the enemy had pursued them, meanwhile the rest of the group unloaded the General Wades and proceeded to ready the bridge for demolition. Five minutes later, at 05:00, the bridge was blown and a gap of nearly twenty feet was created in the central span. Some hours later, not realising that the bridge had been destroyed, Captain Juckes of the Squadron's No.2 Troop arrived and laid further charges, increasing the width of the gap.
Roseveare considered that it would be most unwise to head back in the direction of Troarn, and so he headed north along a farm track towards Bures. Eventually the track came to an end and they were forced to abandon the Jeep and proceed on foot. Believing the Germans to be present in Bures, they gave the village a wide berth and turned towards Le Mesnil, where Squadron Headquarters was to be established. By swimming several streams and using the cover of the Bois de Bavent woodland, they safely reached the village at 13:00. For his actions that night, Major Roseveare was awarded the Distinguished Service Order:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On the night of the 5th/6th June 1944, Major J. C. A. Roseveare was given the task of blowing up an important bridge at Troarn. He was dropped some five miles from his covering force, but he immediately gathered together a small force of Royal Engineers and some transport and made for his objective. Troarn was held by the enemy but showing total disregard for his own safety and magnificent leadership he pushed his way through under heavy enemy fire and captured the bridge which he then successfully blew.
See also: L/Sgt Irving (letter).