Relic BD Blouse, 9th Parachute Battalion, 6th Airborne

[tcrown]

I wanted to share photos of an extraordinary battle-dress jacket that is on display at the National Army Museum in Paris.
Army Museum Paris BD 9th Bat.jpg
This relic from the 9th Parachute Battalion of the 6th Airborne Division belonged to a sergeant wounded in action. It was found some fifteen years ago by a group of English historians who had come to study the capture of the battery at Merville, plugged in a hole in the wall of an outbuilding of the Château Saint Côme, south of Bréville-les-Monts. It could have been the bungalow that served as a RAP in the Bois des Monts which was the area where Col Otway initially established the battalion defensive position. Following the capture of the Merville battery on June 6, 1944, whose guns threatened the landing of the British 3rd Infantry Division on Sword Beach, the 9th Parachute Battalion's objective was to capture the heights of Château Saint Côme, which controlled the plain towards Caen.

This 1940s model battle-dress blouse is dated 1942 and equipped with buttons in metal that are heavily oxidized.
Army Museum Paris BD 9th Bat with Buttons.jpg
The blouse seems to have been carefully cut at the shoulders by medical staff for treating the wounded sergeant. Consequently, the shoulders straps were lost and with them, the marron loops identifying the 9th Bat members at the time.
However, all the insignia are present and offer a perfect example of ordnance printed Pegasus on coarse weave cotton drill (see https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ad.php?t=72788) as well as Airborne strips, typically worn in the summer of 1944 by all members of the Parachute battalions in the 6th Airborne Division (see https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...62&postcount=9)
Army Museum Paris BD 9th Bat close-up.jpg
The Parachute shoulder titles are also printed on coarse material which is typical for a combat BD blouse equipped with ordnance issued insignias.

The wings are the zigzag rigging lines type and not the earlier detached feathers pattern that was discussed here https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...3&postcount=13.

Finally, the four red chevrons at the bottom of the right sleeve mark four years of service.

I would be curious to know if anyone has heard about the circumstances of this finding.

[NORMANDIE18]

Very interesting, thanks to you Tcrown !
Normandie18

[William]

Tremendous find and a unique artefact from a historic event.

Thanks for sharing!

William

[Mike B]

Thanks for sharing the story tcrown, your posts are always educational and well researched. It would be great to hear answers to the question you pose regarding how and when the jacket ended up where it did. If the story is absolutely correct, it is a real time capsule. Whatever the circumstances it is a lovely find - and evocative museum piece.
Regards
Mike

[Home Guard]

Totally AWESOME!!! What a treasure!

Terry

[tcrown]

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad this is of interest.
I have contacted Neil Barber, the very knowledgeable author of 'the Day the Devils Dropped In'. Maybe he knows about the jacket.

[elwe23]

Hi Tcrown,

Good thread. Yes I have heard about this story and saw the BD as it is in my area of research and often go there.
I didn't know it was now in the army museum in Paris.
I know it was sold a few years ago on internet.

It was discovered in 1998 by a british group who were doing research in the area for the bataillon.
Lately some other people found two BD digging nearby in the other village during renovation work.

I'm gonna call tomorrow the person who surely know this story quite well as he was 8 years old on D-Day in Bréville.

By the way following my para wing thread, and our conversation about normandy variants, I was gonna post those photos but thought not to as they were not shot in 1944 and could represent some uncertainties. I have seen a few zig zag wings worn pre dday and during normandy now.

Best

[tcrown]

Thanks elwe23 for these details.

Indeed, Neil told me he was not part of the discovering but was informed at the time in the hope he would be able to name it. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.

Keep us posted if you hear more from your contact in Bréville. Cheers!

[elwe23]

Hi Tcrown,

More info on the subject:

The Sergeant could be Sergeant D.F. Bally, wounded in action in Bréville.

I called two of my contacts living in Bréville today. None of them ever heard about this discovery and story. One of them was there on D-Day and he knows the area by heart. One is living 5min by foot from Chateau St Côme.
They gave me some other contacts to call that might know. Will try tomorrow.

This BD was sold by the original discoverer in 2013.

[tcrown]

Thanks for the update, elwe23!
Any information to support your assumption?

[elwe23]

Originally Posted by tcrown

Thanks for the update, elwe23!
Any information to support your assumption?

Hi Tcrown,

It was written in the legend with the BD. I will have to do some more researches. That's all I know for now.
Seems like this english group of people kept their discovery pretty quiet until it was sold.