Hello Everyone, I came across this photo online. Does anyone know what unit these para's are from? Also, when and where, this photo was taken? The poses are perfect for a small vignette that I'm planning. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Regards, SG

SG, these paras are from the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. The two troopers on the right are wearing US issue jump boots, and you can just make out the straighter style of jump wings worn on the left brest of the Dennison smock instead of the arm on the figure to the far right.
Some of the battalion took training at Fort Benning, Georgia and many Canadian paras purchased and wore American jump boots. This photo is in a book called "Tip of the Spear". I will pull it out and post more info in a bit - Scott

I just found the photo in the book which states that the picture was taken in the "Belgian Ardennes" during the German offensive of 1944-45. The Battalion was shipped there on a boat as a part of the British 6th Airborne to help stem the tide. From what I have read they only saw limited action while there.
This is the book I cited above:
http://www.amazon.com/Tip-Spear-Parachute-Battalion-1942-1945/dp/1550023888/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358556682&sr=1-8&keywords=tip of the spear
It is mostly a pictorial study of the battalion in WWII drawn from veterans collections. Perfect fo us figure and uniform nerds. The history of this batallion is pretty interesting. Arriving in England in 1943 they were attached to the British 6th Airborne and paticipated in the Normandy jump. By September of 1944 when they were returned to England, about 3/4 of the the original 550 or so men in the batallion had been killed, wounded, or captured. They would go on to be the only Canadian force to participate in the Battle of the Bulge, and following that, they participated in the parachute landings during Operation Varsity.
Although this is a Wikipedia entry, it seems accurate at a glance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Canadian_Parachute_Battalion
Hope this helps SG. Let me know if I can provide any other info and I agree this would be a great vignette - Scott

If you need uniform info for this battalion, there is an old Military Illustrated two part article, which I have; I would just need to dig it out. That photo would make for a cool vignette.

Hello Scott, Thanks for the info. I was planning to use this photo as reference to scratchbuild these figures in a small vignette hopefully, in a bulge scene. The snow in the photo peaked my interest and thanks to you, I'm glad that it has been confirmed. I did notice the jump boots, it also had me puzzled to how they were obtained. This Canadian force does sound very interesting, and I'll have to check out the book you mentioned. I thought that these troops were British by the way they were dressed, thanks for clearing that up for me. Thanks again Scott, Regards, SG

Hello Matt, Thanks, if you could post some photos, that would be great. Regards, SG

No problem SG, happy to help. The Canadian para dress and equipment was all British and outside of the beret badge, wings, and the odd set of jump boots, they were pretty much equipped just like the British Paratroopers. I have seen some photos of them using US folding stock M1 carbines though.
Hopefully Matt will post some pics from the MI article which is good. I too have that article but, unfortunately, no way to scan it. Histoire and Collections also has this book:

http://www.amazon.com/D-Day-Paratroopers-Vol-British-Canadian/dp/2915239312

This book is fantastic. Full color throughout of uniforms and gear with a chapter on the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.

Hello Scott, Thanks for the tip. Regards, SG

It will take me a few days, but I will try to the pics.

Hello Matt, I like the sound of that, but no rush my friend. Regards, SG