The 507th were the American platoon that commandeered Tollerton Hall during the Second World War.
In 1987 they presented a memorial print and a plaque to the Hall which remained when the present owners moved in.
During World War II, the Hall was requisitioned by the officers and the soldiers pitched their tents in the grounds and fields. Liam Kershaw was given an aerial photo of the encampment taken in April 1944 . In it you can see the Hall and Coach house on the right, and along the top runs Tollerton Lane.
The Lake is at the bottom of the picture. On looking at Google Maps you can see that not much has changed.
Our thanks to Liam for reaching out to us after reading the World War editions on the website of the Tollerton History book and letting us use the images.
Continuing with the 507th, we have two pictures from June 2013 when a memorial in honour of the Regiment was unveiled on the site of the Latern Cross memorial opposite the church.
Shown on the left is Betsy Matthes Ostberg, the Daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Ostberg, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. On the right is one of his men, Roland H Daniel of B.Company, 507th PIR.
Lieutenant Colonel Ostberg was seriously wounded in action in Normandy, suffering a punctured lung leading the attack on the bridge over the Merderet River at Chef Du Pont. He was later given command of the 2nd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, a unit with which he was killed in action, on February 2nd, 1945, in Udenbreth, Germany. Betsy was three years old when her father was killed.
Roland H Daniel of B.Company, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, talks to the larger than anticipated crowd at Tollerton Hall as a memorial in honour of his Regiment was unveiled at a campsite he called home for 6 months. Roland died a few years later.
An email received from Alan Fahey (an ex pupil of St Hugh’s College) remembers this:
In about 1972 two or three of us pupils were approached in the grounds by an American gentleman and his wife and son. He explained that he was in the 507th during the war and had camped in the field near to the Hall prior to being parachuted into France. He took a lot of 35mm films of his visit. We asked if he wanted to look around the Hall and he was delighted to have a guided tour. He particularly remembered the main staircase and said that the room at the top of the main staircase had been the quarters of the senior ranking soldier in charge of the 507th.
Somewhere in the United States will be a 35mm film of his visit in the company of two or three 15 year olds (now 67!)
The sting in the tail for giving this war hero a guided tour was a severe telling off from one of the priests for allowing potentially dangerous strangers to wander around the building without informing staff that they were on the premises without permission.
Thanks for telling us this story Alan!
If you are interested in hearing a first hand account of a 507th veteran talk of story landing in France, check out this YouTube link by Owen Brady.
At the Newark Air Museum they have a turret that was once in situ at Tollerton airfield in the (now demolished) hangar that once held the indoor pill box along with an explanation:
There is also a memorial to the 507th PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment) in Picauville, Normandy, France. Follow this link to find out more.