Bren at War

[Peter Laidler]

Re photo 1 again......... He won't be going out on patrol like that without going to the ammo compound first - to pick the ammo and his webbing up! Like Tankie says about the grenades. Pictures like that are the ones the AFPU's send home to your mum and dad to show them that beloved son is safe and well and looking warry! A quick tweak of the striker lever could shear the split pin and in your earliest military training lessons you were taught what to do and what NEVER do with grenades. Carrying them properly was day one, lesson one!

And who told him to stand the carrying handle up like that, not even locked into the AA position.

The interesting thing is his 'JERKIN, leather, sleeveless, MT drivers'. These were very warm and popular and used well into the 70's

[Luis Bren]

THE MALAYAN EMERGENCY 1948-1960
A British Bren gunner checks his field of fire from a concealed ambush position whilst on a patrol during the Malayan Emergency.



THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF JAVA
Bren gunners of the 3/9th Jats cover the advance of their regiment against Indonesian nationalists in Surabaya (Soerabaja)

[Vincent]

The Bren in the Malayan Emergency picture might have passed through Peter’s hands.

[Vincent]

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, we were at one of those things old folks go to. Seated next to me was a fine gentleman, a former Nepalese Gurkha by the name of Tul Bahadur Pun. With the help of a translator we hand an enjoyable evening.
He was a proud man. Proud of the work he had done and he had no hang-ups about it.
He was also modest. It was only when he was recognized and given an award I heard him addressed as “VC”, Victoria Cross.
When he came back to the table I asked him how he won the VC. His reply was, “By doing my job.” Then he told me what had happened and how he picked up the Bren gun.

Tul Bahadur Pun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Peter Laidler]

I went on a PT instructors course at Nee Soon/Tanglin camp in Singapore as a bit of what I thought would be a jolly. It was mornings only but xxxxxxx hard physical work! One of the instructors there was a Gurkha who'd got the VC in Borneo. We just knew him as Cpl. Bimbo.

The photo illustrates what I say about sights............ 800 yards was 750 yards to far! If it wasn't actual visibility, it was just constantly dark green. We had to take salt and pallaudrin tablets every day which so said, made you sweat twice as much as you would normally. Without those jungle/beanie hats the salty sweat used to run into your eyes and sting like buggery*
* 'sting like buggery' - a highly technical tropical medicine term used as a flowery descriptive term among the well read medicos amongst us!

[boltaction]

On page 6 of this thread, Luis Bren's 4:45 pm post--the second photo down of the soldiers using the Bren in the AA setting. Is one of the soldiers hunkered down in the woods behind not sighting a Boys? Hard to tell, but the magazine and muzzle brake sure look like it.

Ed

[Luis Bren]

Bren gun mounting on a Universal carrier Mk I, 8 October 1941.



Universal carrier Mk I of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry on the Sussex Downs, 18 October 1940. The crew demonstrate the use of the 2-inch mortar and Bren gun on an anti-aircraft mounting.

[Peter Laidler]

Top photo: Note the absent bott handle, strap and marking disc. And even a bipod! It'd have been easier to remove the bipod assembly but the Mk1 won't work without the sleeve. Stupid or what? And what sort of tripod is that? Is it a modified Browning M1917 type?

Note the bracket outside, close to the A27 radio call sign. That was for the Lee Enfield bodied 2" bomb thrower. The driver would certainly be getting an earful - literally - if the Bren fired while he was sat there. Mind you, so would the gunner too.......... from the driver

[Luis Bren]

No details with this one. Maybe you can fill us in! Universal carriers.

[Luis Bren]

A NewZealand soldier part of Expeditionary Force firing dual Bren’s joined by an AA mount during Operation Crusader in Afrika