The Evacuation of the 157th Battery 16 to 20 1940

Just after midnight on the seventh day of the Battle of France a top secret urgent order was issued consisting of one word, "SCRAM". It was recieved in the Battery HQ of 157th Battery by Rogers, who was on duty that night. The message he noted down was the command for the 157th HAA Battery to evacuate the AASF airfields that they had been defending in the area around Reims for the past 6 months. The chaotic scenes that followed were not in line with agreed evacuation orders and resulted in the 53rd HAA Regiment being split up a few days later.

The breakout of the German army from Sedan on 14 May 1940 led to secret plans being issued for the move of the AASF from the area around Reims, where both the RAF and members of the British Territorial Army had been stationed since late September 1939. The plan was to evacuate the AASF south to the area around Troyes. By 15 May 1940 the Germans were reported to be in the Reims area and preparation for the evacuation of the anti aircraft regiments defending the AASF airfields was commenced. All the guns were in action all day gun walls were removed and stores were packed in readiness.

The orders, which were marked "Secret", were issued by 12th Anti Aircraft Brigade on 14 May to 53rd Regiment. They gave detail instructions of how the evacuation would be notified and location of the new airfields the AASF would be operating from. The word "SCRAM" would be issued to from the Brigade Headquarters to start the first part of the move followed by "SCRAM TWO" to initiate the second part of the move. All units were instructed to be ready to move at two hours notice. The plan envisaged a controlled withdrawal of the units down the main road leading from Reims via Louvais, Marevil, Vertus, and terminating at Fere Chamemoise. It further stipulated that all units would move with two days of fresh rations and three days of reserve rations. The Batteries of the 157th, that is PIP I, II and III, were assigned to defend AASF airfields at Anglure, St Lucien Ferme and Echemines.

At 00:40 hours on 16 May, the 53rd Regimental HQ issued the following urgent order to the 157th Battery HQ (codename PIP) in Vezernay.

"SCRAM VERY URGENT Stage III Para. 5 and note."

The intention was to put the first part of the evacuation into effect. However, at 04:30 hours the Officer Commanding 157th HAA Battery issued another order to PIP I. It read:

"Scram immediately - take only predictor - height indicator -Breeches - spotter telescope - personnel. You have one 3 tonner and two 30 cwt. Very urgent. Just rendezvous BERGERE T 28 38 * Ends"

The urgency of the situation is well captured in this brief message which was sent by Major Jim Chivers RA. The hand written record original of the message is on the files at the National Archive in Kew and was written by Rogers, with whom Frank shared his billet whilst in Vezernay. Frank mentions Rogers on several occasions in his letters.

The order of the move in one stage, and not the planned two stages, resulted in the 53rd HAA Regiment leaving behind 16 of their 24 3 inch anti aircraft guns. Stores were also abandoned and the petrol dump was fired.

On the afternoon of 16 May 1940 Lt Col Krohn, the officer commanding of the 53rd HAA Regiment sent a message by Despatch Rider to Major Chivers which read:

'Many valuable stores left at PIP II also canteen stock etc * Send one lorry under responsible NCO with small party of men to collect as much as possible * These HQs now situate VIZZACERF 10.5 kilo's south east of MERY * Report progress your move per this * DR [Despatch Rider]" (File reference National Archive WO167/637)

The failure to implement the evacuation orders in two stages as planned resulted in the firing of the fuel dump which caused the next day when trying to evacuate the 157th Battery to the Troyes area. Whilst the Battery regrouped at Droupt St Marie on 17 and 18 May, the 12th (AA) Brigade was putting plans in place to move the Battery again.

The decision was taken to split the 53rd HAA Regiment and attach the 158th Battery to the 73rd HAA Regiment. This Regiment was tasked with the anti aircraft defence of Nantes. This decision, in time, put the men of the battery on the SS Lancastria which was sunk with great loss of life as it left Nantes later in June 1940. The 12th (AA) Brigade believed that the "SCRAM" evacuation on 15 May had been made more difficult by the "over-reaction of certain units" which resulted in stores and guns having to be salvaged from the airfields around Reims. During one of these salvage operations 2 officers (including the Regimental Chaplain) and 5 other ranks were captured by the Germans. A later review of campaign in France by the 12th (AA) Brigade was damning and concluded that "they [53rd] had exceeded the evacuation order." As a result of the botched evacuation 14 of the 18 guns of the 53rd were left temporarily out of action and had to be sent to Nantes for refitting.

The 53rd (less the 158th Battery) was ordered to move to Rouilly-Geraudot Station on the Troyes to Piney railway line to load and entrain at 17:00 hours on 21 May. The Regiment was ordered to move as much equipment as possible to a concealed position close to the station on 20 May. By this stage the 53rd only had 14 guns remaining and they were further ordered to hand over all their anti tank rifles and ammunition to the 73rd HAA Regiment. The 158th Battery took 176 rounds per gun for their four 3 inch guns and the 53rd was ordered to dump the remaining anti aircraft shells; the 12th (AA) Brigade HQ was to be told the location of the dump, although it was probably never recovered with the rapid advance of the Germans.

Not all of the 53rd Regiment travelled by train on 21 May and a group travelled by road to Nantes in the Regiments remaining motor transport.. The route took them via Sens, Montargis, Orleans, Tours and then to Nantes. Sufficient petrol for 300 miles was carried in the convoy.

Sadly, the 53rd HAA Regiment did not come out of this period well. The panic and chaos caused by the rapid German advance, the rumours of paratroopers, spies and fifth columnists will all have added to the over reaction to the evacuation order early in the morning of 15 May 1940. The Regimental diary recorded on 13 May that "Parachute troops dressed as workmen are reported to have been dropped." Such reports, true or not, led to chaos behind the lines.

The botched evacuation in the early morning of 15 May had a significant impact on the involvement of the Regiment in the rest of the French campaign. Some personnel of the 158th Battery were drowned when the SS Lancastria was sunk and the other two batteries ended up becoming the last Bristish regiment to be formally evacuated from France when they left Marseille on 18 June 1940.