7.9 KiB
Supplementary Source Inventory — Pte. Bill Bloggins (placeholder)
Calgary Highlanders, 1–10 September 1944
Purpose: Curated list of supplementary documents to accompany the Calgary Highlanders main war diary narrative for the v2 prototype descendant report. Focus window: 1–10 September 1944 Source PDFs covered: Calgary Highlanders, 5 Cdn Inf Bde, RHC Black Watch (R de Mais inventory not provided) Inventory coverage: CH pp. 1–45 of 343 · 5 CIB pp. 1–56 of 193 · BW pp. 1–51 of 144 Document count: 24 items Status: Ready for use; gaps flagged at end
Selection criteria (priority order)
- Documents covering specific events the Calgary Highlanders were involved in during 1–10 Sep 1944
- Brigade-level signals, sitreps, or orders covering the same dates and actions
- Sister-battalion entries that mention or coordinate with the Calgary Highlanders during the focus window
- Patrol programmes, patrol reports, casualty returns, or other operational documents adding detail beyond the diary narrative
Source 1 — Calgary Highlanders War Diary
File: Calgary-Highlanders_War-Diary_Sep44.pdf (343 pp; inventoried 1–45)
| Page(s) | Document type | Date covered | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Appendix index | Sep 44 | Master key to the file — locates Appx 12 (Memorial Service 3 Sep), Appx 13 (Dieppe march past), Appx 10 (Daily News sheets) referenced in narrative for focus window |
| 21–26 | War diary narrative pp. 15–20 | 11–13 Sep 44 | Just outside window — direct continuation of Loon Plage fighting Bloggins entered 7–10 Sep; drop if hard 10 Sep cut required |
Source 2 — 5 Cdn Inf Bde War Diary
File: 5CIB_War-Diary_Sep44.pdf (193 pp; inventoried 1–56)
| Page(s) | Document type | Date covered | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5–20 | Bde war diary narrative (Brig. Megill) | 1–30 Sep 44 | Brigade-level command perspective on the same operations; only 1–10 Sep entries in scope |
| 22–26 | Part I Orders (Appx 1) | 15 Sep 44 | Marginal — dated outside window but routine orders often cover preceding fortnight (dress, censorship, discipline) |
| 28–34 | AFW 3008 Field Returns of Officers (Appx 3) | wks ending 2 & 9 Sep 44 | Officer strength returns spanning focus window — establishes who was commanding what when Bloggins arrived |
| 35–43 | AFW 3009 Field Returns of Other Ranks (Appx 4) | wks ending 2 & 9 Sep 44 | OR strength returns — directly relevant to Bloggins as reinforcement; bde-level intake picture in his first days |
| 44 | Mov Order No 4 | 1 Sep 44 | Bde move order on Day 1 of window — order under which CH moved from Totes area |
| 45 | Trace "T" — unit dispositions | 1 Sep 44 | Companion trace to Mov Order 4 — shows CH placement within bde at start of window |
| 46 | Mov Order No 5 | 1 Sep 44 | Second 1 Sep move order — sequencing of bde group movement |
| 47 | Trace "R" — route sketch | 1 Sep 44 | Route sketch for Mov Order 5 |
| 48–49 | Mov Order No 6 | 5 Sep 44 | Mid-window move order covering advance toward Dunkerque outpost line |
| 50 | Route Card, 2 Cdn Inf Div | 5 Sep 44 | Div-level route card companion to Mov Order 6 — divisional context for bde move |
| 51–52 | Mov Order No 7 | 6 Sep 44 | Move order issued day before CH narrative records Bourbourgville advance — likely the order that put CH into contact |
Source 3 — RHC Black Watch War Diary
File: RHC-Blackwatch_War-Diary_Sep44.pdf (144 pp; inventoried 1–51)
| Page(s) | Document type | Date covered | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6–15 | Bn war diary narrative (Lt-Col Ritchie) | 1–30 Sep 44 | Sister-bn narrative; only 1–10 Sep entries in scope. BW alongside CH through Dieppe parade (3 Sep) and advance to Dunkerque approaches |
| 18 | SHAEF "Enemy Defences" trace | 23 Aug 44 | Pre-window but describes enemy defences CH would encounter at Bourbourgville/Loon Plage from 7 Sep — operational intel context |
| 19 | Dunkerque Plan of Port & Town | n/d | Terrain CH was advancing toward through focus window |
| 20 | Dunkerque defence overprint map | Ed. 11 Sep 44 | Compiled from air photo info as at 1 Sep and other sources as at 10 Sep — situation across Bloggins's first ten days |
| 21 | Defence overprint legend | n/d | Companion key to the overprint — needed to read p. 20 |
| 24–25 | RHC Field Return of Officers | wk ending 2 Sep 44 | Sister-bn officer strength at start of window |
| 26–27 | RHC Field Return of Officers | wk ending 9 Sep 44 | Sister-bn officer strength at close of window |
| 33 | Field Message Form (Lt-Col Ritchie to coys) | 10 Sep 44, 0025 hrs | Only timed BW signal in window — H-hour change to 0755, RV at 853093 at 0700; bde-sector operational tempo on closing night |
| 34–35 | RHC Field Return of Other Ranks | wk ending 3 Sep 44 | Sister-bn OR strength — comparison of reinforcement intake across CH/RHC/R de M |
| 36–37 | RHC Field Return of Other Ranks | wk ending 10 Sep 44 | Same, end of window |
| 50 | APIS 2 Cdn Inf Div trace, Part I | 1 Sep 44 | Divisional intel trace from first day of window — beach defences, MGs, minefields in bde sector |
| 51 | APIS 2 Cdn Inf Div trace, Part II | ~1 Sep 44 | Continuation of p. 50 trace |
Items considered and excluded
| Source | Page(s) | Reason for exclusion |
|---|---|---|
| BW | 22–23, 28–29, 30–31 | Officer returns wks ending 16, 23, 30 Sep — outside window |
| BW | 38–39, 40–41, 42–44 | OR returns wks ending 16, 23, 30 Sep — outside window |
| BW | 46–49 | Undated coy messages and faded carbon — cannot place in window with confidence |
| 5 CIB | 53–56 | Mov Orders 9 (17 Sep) and later — outside window |
Gaps — material expected but not in catalogued ranges
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R de Mais war diary inventory — not provided. Largest gap. R de Mais was the third bn in 5 CIB, operating alongside CH throughout focus window. Without it, criterion 3 (sister-bn coordination) is half-answered.
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Calgary Highlanders Appendices 3–15 — none catalogued. The CH Move Orders (Appx 4), Messages (Appx 5), Patrol Programme (Appx 6), Memorial Service 3 Sep (Appx 12), and March Past Dieppe (Appx 13) are all directly in scope and almost certainly the highest-value supplementary documents in the entire source set. Inventorying CH pp. 46–343 should be the next priority.
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5 CIB Ops Log (Appx 13, sheets 109–161) — un-catalogued in pp. 57–193. Bde signal log for the whole month; would be the single richest source of bde-level granularity for 1–10 Sep.
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5 CIB Patrol Programmes and Patrol Reports (Appx 6, 7) — un-catalogued. Patrol activity at Loon Plage from 9–10 Sep described in CH narrative; patrol reports would corroborate.
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5 CIB Int Report on Dunkerque, 13 Sep (Appx 10) — outside date but retrospective on focus-window area; un-catalogued.
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BW Appx 6 (Warning Orders, movement tables) and Appx 8 (Sitreps) — un-catalogued in pp. 52–144. Sitreps would map well onto focus window.
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No casualty returns in any catalogued range. CH narrative refers to casualties 7–10 Sep at Bourbourgville/Loon Plage; actual casualty returns (Part II Orders, AFW 3010-series, or unit casualty lists) aren't in catalogued portions of any file. Likely in CH Appx 2 (Part II Orders) or BW Appx 2 ("to follow").
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No artillery task tables in scope. CH Appx 3 (Arty Task Tables) and BW Appx 7 (RCA Conc tables, tasks) both un-catalogued and would directly cover fire support for actions Bloggins was in.
Recommended next inventory pass
To meaningfully increase supplementary-source density:
- CH pp. 46–100 — capture early appendices likely covering 1–10 Sep (Move Orders, Messages, Patrol Programme, Memorial Service, Dieppe March Past)
- 5 CIB pp. 57–100 — find start of Ops Log (Appx 13) and patrol material (Appx 6, 7)
- R de Mais Sep 44 war diary — full inventory pp. 1–~50 to recover sister-bn coordination evidence
These three passes would roughly double the supplementary-source density of this list.