Service Records of a Cartographer

The contributor shared the story of his father, Robert Joseph Leary, who worked as a cartographer transferring information in photographs into maps. The contributor noted that Robert was called up in 1942-43, and he had worked in the print industry prior to being called up to serve as a cartographer. The contributor advised that Robert had worked with aerial reconnaissance photos, and he had travelled to the D-Day beaches a month after the invasion. Robert was then relocated to printworks in Brussels. The contributor stated that Robert did not speak much about his wartime experiences, and he spent much of his time playing cards. He also discovered Calvados (apple brandy) in Normandy, and he was called up to be on the roof of a printworks. The contributor had obtained Robert's unit's war diary from KEW National Archives in the Royal Engineers map reproduction section.