大象传媒

Continued from Edwin Longworth (family story)

Whilst still at Carlton, I was sent for by the office staff (March 1943). They told me that my father had had a stroke and that I was to go home right away. My pass and travel warrant were ready and I went. He died the next day.
We moved about September 1943 to Bedale in Yorkshire, having lost many of our troops who had been sent to the 8th Army in North Africa as replacements at the time I was in hospital. That was the end of the 10th Tank Brigade. The vehicles stood derelict on the park.
I went on leave at Christmas and I had to report back afterwards to 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, Duke of Cambridge's Own at Harrogate. Thence to C Company at Otley. I was the only one joining a lot of Londoners. Before I left 10th Tank, Jock wished me all the best. How often we parted with friends and never saw them again.
At Otley we were billeted in the Liberal Club. We had double decker bunks and as I was the last arrival, mine was on top. The wash place was in the cellar. We had cold water and no light. I was detailed for guard duty the next day, and was put on a charge for having the wrong colour of blanco on my equipment - I hadn't had time to do anything about it. I came up before the CO and received 7 days CB.
In March 1944, most of the Battalion were moved to Brighton by train, leaving all the carrier drivers and administration. We then moved to the showground at Otley, and were accomodated in Nissan huts. We were issued with new rifles and new type bayonets, and in April we loaded all the carriers on to railway trucks and entrained ourselves to Brighton, Sussex. I shared a room in a large house on Sussex Square with 2 lads there, one called George and the other Cheeseman.
The next 6 weeks were spent waterproofing the vehicles. Every joint, seam, bolt, rivet and screw had to be waterproofed, cleaned off and treated with Bostick solution. A kit was supplied to each vehicle and a waterproof canvas extension to the height of the vehicle. In theory we could drive off a landing craft in 6 feet of water. In June barrage balloons were floating in the sky over the Channel, and on June 6th came the invasion of Normandy. Our function later was to beark out of the bridgehead created on the first landings which were successful. We left Brighton on June 16th and headed for London and Tilbury. We bivouacked near Purfleet overnight and on 17th June loaded on to a ship at West India Docks. During this time the first of the "V1" flying bombs came over and dropped in the city. We sailed in the evening of the 17th and then were hove to in the Channel until the 24th, when our vehicles were unloaded on to landing craft. When the craft came up on a wave, at the crest, the carrier was lowered and then let go as the craft descended. We scrambled down the netting to the craft, and then went for the beach. We landed dry shod, thanks to our 6 weeks work waterproofing.
Whilst at sea we had slept in hammocks and our food was ration packs for a number of men, which was lettered according to what was contained in them. We had the same every day for the week and F packs were the worst. I went ashore that day with a splitting headache. We then had to drive to a certain place where we bivouacked and we rested on Sunday.After tea we were briefed about Mondays events. We were in support of the Royal Scots, Royal Scots Fusiliers and The Cameronians who under a creeping barrage were to break out and go for the River Odon. Our function was to follow on, and on them attaining their objective we had to prepare our machine guns ready for a counter attack.
On 26th June 1944 the wounded were coming back loaded on jeeps, and although they attained the objective of the river and crossed it, there were about 50 per cent casualties. We had lost one or two in our Company, and we spent the night in a farm yard. After dark we were resting and had a meal, and the NCO pushed a letter into my hand. I read it with the glow of a cigarette. For breakfast that day we had tinned bacon, beans and bread. Near midday someone gave me half of a large tin of rice pudding, cold. Nobody wanted more so I ate it all. We made bivvy with the carrier sheet and spent the night there.
Day 2 - we had no brief, we just had Platoon Sgt in the lead, our Platoon Commander was Lt Whitehead and I can't recall seeing him in France at all, so we had Sgt Foley. We went through a hail of shellfire, I just put my foot down and kept going. In the afternoon we came into a small town and stopped in the main street. This was Granville Sur Odon. Nobody seemed to know what we should be doing and eventually we pulled out and parked somewhere all night. Day 3 - the Jocks started an attack to take Granville; we had been in the main street for over an hour the day before! Then we were given a position on a railway crossing. We had Sgt Reid in command now and we sat in dugouts. We were being shelled all the while, by close proximity anti-aircraft shells, fired horizontally and by the Nebel Werfers, multi barrel mortars. You had to keep near a foxhole and take a dive when you heard them coming. George had his hand almost severed at the wrist, the first aid man tied the sinews.
Day 4 - the same place; the shelling continued and in the afternoon I think I was dozing in the foxhole when Lance Cpl Paddy Neenan shook me and said "Come on Ed, Jerry's broke through, everybody's pulling out", and they left everything and ran. I caught up with them about 300 yards away. They had stopped in a field and were just sitting about. So I sat down too, after a while Sgt Reid said "Go and get your carrier". We all went back and resumed our places. A German tank had come down the railway, and a 17 pounder anti-tank gun on the crossing had been knocked out, the gun crew had gone. Sgt Reid was awarded the Military Medal - I wonder what for? I never saw an officer all that week.
Day 5 - We pulled out for a rest. C Company was together again. We had done 14 miles in 5 days. The rest period was to give us time to get cleaned up, and put all our kit and gear in order, including vehicles. We went in again on July 12th, the object being to widen the bridgehead across the Odon river. A salient had been created by the 15th Scottish Division so it became known as the "Scottish Corridor", but the tank regiments were unable to exploit the breakthrough because of the closeness of the country, known as the Bocage Country, small fields and thick hedges and ditches. A similar situation developed with panic withdrawals, indeed Capt Uren faced them with his pistol and told them to get back. We were on this ridge, the guns were mounted on their tripods and in fact had done a shoot. I was by my carrier and was digging in, the ground was stony and hard work. A group of men stood watching me and talking when a salvo of mortars came over, some made a dive for my trench which was only about 6 inches deep then, about 3 were casualties. They wouldn't bother digging in which was the rule, they stood about in groups talking. These weren't soldiers, they didn't know the basics about self-preservation.
After about 6 days we went out for a rest again. 10 Platoon had by now only half of its men, so the other 2 platoons in C Company were made up to strength from our platoon and I moved to 9 Platoon. Another incident I recall must have been before then, we were left hanging about, and there was a good bit of shelling but nobody had dug in, not even me. I had crouched in the shelter of my carrier and a shell landed nearby. I didn't realise till I started again that the carrier wouldn't steer and I found a big hole in the brake back plate and the brakes didn't work. A tracked vehicle steers with the brakes. I had gone down the road a bit when it went up a bank, and there I left it, and went off with another section. We then stopped in a small field and parked . I had left my small haversack in my defunct carrier and when I went back for it, it wasn't there. It was my small kit, soap, towel, razor and things, but above all my writing case and addresses and letters from home. I noted a flail tank clearing mines in the next field and standing there watching was Cheeseman. Sometime later, someone said that Cheeseman had been killed. So many were lost that day, that 2 platoons were made up, out of three.

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