Aural Sculptors - The Stranglers Live 1976 to the Present


Welcome to Aural Sculptors, a blog aimed at bringing the music of The Stranglers to as wide an audience as possible. Whilst all of the various members of the band that have passed through the ranks since 1974 are accomplished studio musicians, it is on stage where the band have for me had their biggest impact.

As a collector of their live recordings for many years I want to share some of the better quality material with other fans. By selecting the higher quality recordings I hope to present The Stranglers in the best possible light for the benefit of those less familiar with their material than the hardcore fan.

Needless to say, this site will steer well clear of any officially released material. As well as live gigs, I will post demos, radio interviews and anything else that I feel may be of interest.

In addition, occasionally I will post material by other bands, related or otherwise, that mean a lot to me.

Your comments and/or contributions are most welcome. Please email me at adrianandrews@myyahoo.com.


Tuesday, 1 July 2014

D-Day And The Normandy Breakout

My Grandfather
James Kitchener Heath
5th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment

26th June saw the 70th anniversary of the day my Grandfather landing on Gold Beach in Normandy as part of the 59 (Staffordshire) Division, a follow-up formation that that reached France in the wake f the main invasion force. On a second site, as I have mentioned previously, I am attempting to piece together his wartime activities (which is proving to be no mean feat - he could hardly be described as prolific in terms of documenting what he did during his years in the army).


Thus far I have put together what I know of his home service activities and training within 59th. Tonight and over the next week or so, I will start on the period of his active service in Normandy which included:

  • Operation Charnwood
  • The Battle of Noyers
  • Fighting around the Orne Bridgehead and
  • Closure of the 'Falaise Pocket'

After these actions, heavy loses to the 59th and other units of the 21st Army Group meant that the 59th was disbanded as soldiers were drafted in to reinforce older, more established formations. My Grandfather thus found himself after the Battle for Normandy in the 11th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers with which he saw further action in across France, Belgium and Holland.

Please take a look if you get the inclination.

Insignia of 59 (Staffordshire) Division

2 comments:

  1. How cool! Love this kind of stuff...........going right over to subscribe. Thank you for all your hard work. It is much appreciated here in Northern California!

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  2. I had written a great long post congratulating you on your tireless effort in constructing your other site, which I have visited a number of times and google decided to lose the post. So, in a nutshell, keep up the great work in ensuring that the memories of these men, especially your grandfather are not forgotten.
    Thank you for sharing.

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