大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War website by a volunteer from CSV Newcastle on behalf of Robert Pattinson and has been added to the site his/her permission. Robert Pattinson fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

In the early days of June 1944 we drove our vehicles on to the ships which were especially adapted so that the vehicles could drive off the front of the ship into the water and onto the beach. This was very successful and we were able to advance into France for a few miles. The main German forces were in the area around Calais, where they expected the invasion to be. We did come under severe opposition and we were held up for some time, we suffered a number of casualties and I lost a few friends. We did break through and as the American forces landed the German retreat became very fast.

As we were a regiment with fast armoured cars we had to catch up with the Germans and ensure they were not able to return as an attacking force. We took hundred of prisoners, there was so many all we could do was to tell them which way to go as there was no danger of them returning to their regiments as they were completely out of touch. The advance was so fast that we were soon approaching the Belgium frontier, as we approached this area we came upon stiff opposition. This held us up from relieving our forces who had been dropped to capture the bridge at Arnhem.

I was wounded in my leg and after treatment in a Brussels hospital I was flown back to a hospital in Oxford. It was now May 1945 and the end of the war with Germany had been declared. After treatment I was sent to barracks at Barnard Castle, where I stayed again training recruits in wireless communication until I was demobbed in 1946

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