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On the 4th April 1944, I was called up, I did 10 weeks training in Northampton, then we spent 5 weeks on the East Coast, running up and down cliffs. I went to France in September, and spent the last 8 months of the war on the road to Berlin.

We went to Arnhem, but the battle didn't go according to plan. We had amphibious tanks that were to go up over the Dykes to cross the river Isal. The Royal engineers had laid charges to blow holes through the dyke, but the explosives did not go off, probably because a short while before the RAF had bombed the area and either they soaked the charges or they bombed through the wires. I was in ‘A’ co, this meant that we went first as always. We were trying to get over this thing in the motor, but it was now too steep, and with us in it was too heavy, so we all had to climb out so that it could climb over the dyke, and then when it got over the dyke we had to climb back in so we could cross the river. A soldier near me had his Bren gun standing up with his hand over the top. Well while this amphibious was bouncing along quite severely the damm thing went off, shot off two of his fingers, and shot in half the aerial of the radio that I was carrying, that did not work any more after that.

When we got to the other side there was a concrete fort buried under the ground by the railway bridge. It was all covered with earth, so we did not know it was there. So we dug trenches into what we thought was just a large mound of earth, all night. Anyway, as I was the company runner I had to get a message to ‘B’ company. On the way back I got shot at by a German who I thought was dead. Fortunately he missed and the chaps I was with saw him, got out his Sten gun and fired off a burst at him. Well he missed the German, but he thought he ought to give himself up anyway. On the way back to my company we picked up 9 more prisoners who had been dug into the railway embankment. After the RAF and artillary bombardment, they had also had enough.

The second in command, Captain Cartwright, found the entrance to the fort underneath us the next morning. He went down to investigate, found 60 odd Germans inside, who having had enough of the war, also gave themselves up to him.

Entered by Ian Nutley on behalf of Herbert Coot, Bedford, 28/05/04

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