Dennis Elgar

This story is shared by the Trust with kind permission from John Hamblin, Researcher.

Dennis Elgar, Lieutenant 259265, 1st Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps. Killed in action on the 14th of June 1944, aged 24.

Dennis Elgar was born in Wiltshire in 1920 the second son of Frederick Samuel Elgar, an architect, and Rosa Elgar (née Bonallack) of Charlton All Saints in Wiltshire. He was educated at Monkton Combe School and attendended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Armoured Corps on the 12th of August 1942. He was posted to the 1st Royal Tank Regiment on the 16th of September 1942.

At 11am on the morning of the 29th of May 1944 the officers of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment were briefed for their part in the Allied invasion of France which was planned for the 5th of June. On the 3rd of June 1944, the Regiment completed the embarkation of their tanks onto Landing Ship Tanks at Felixstowe in preparation for their journey to Normandy. Their remaining vehicles were loaded on board the Liberty Ship SS Ignatius Donnelly at Tilbury docks with the operation completed by 4pm on the 4th of June. With bad weather forecasted in the Channel and off the Normandy coast on the 5th of June the invasion was postponed until the 6th of June 1944.

At 7am on the 7th of June 1944, the SS Ignatius Donnelly set sail as part of a large convoy bound for the beaches of Normandy. At 10am the convoy was sailing off Dover when it came under shelling from German defences on the French coast but no damage was caused. The tanks were disembarked on the Normandy beaches at between 2pm and 4pm that afternoon and then moved to an assembly point at Sommervieu. At 4am the following morning the SS Ignatius Donnelly arrived off the French coast but, due to the weather, the vehicles did not begin unloading until 8am on the 9th of June, with the final vehicle not landing until the evening.

At 9pm on the 13th of June 1944, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment had leagured near Ste-Honorine-de-Ducy when they received orders to re-open the Briquessard-Amaye to Villers Bocage road, which had been cut by the enemy, and keep it open until the 5th Royal Tank Regiment and the 4th County of London Yeomanry who had been left isolated in Villers-Bocage had been able to pull out.

At 5am on the morning of the 14th of June 1944, the Regiment began moving down the Briquessard to Villers road. The Germans were active to the front of the Regiment and throughout the afternoon it was clear a counter-attack was imminent. At 8pm enemy infantry were seen to be gathering and a short time later the attack began. The attack was driven off with heavy enemy casualties amongst their infantry and with the loss of two Panther tanks and had petered out by 11pm. The Regiment then settled down for the night but with orders that the crews should remain in their tanks and that there would be no sleep allowed.

In the fighting on the 13th and 14th of June the Regiment had suffered casualties of two officers killed with two wounded and with seven other ranks killed, four wounded and one missing. Dennis Elgar was among the dead. He is buried at Bayeux War Cemetery Plot XI Row M Grave 26 and he is commemorated on the war memorial at Charlton All Saints and on the memorial at Monkton Combe School.