- Contributed by听
- Civic Centre, Bedford
- People in story:听
- Capt J H Arseneault
- Location of story:听
- Northern Europe
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A2730214
- Contributed on:听
- 10 June 2004
I came through the Western Desert, Sicily, and the east coast of Italy, and was brought back to the UK for D-Day. My unit was the 44th Royal Tank Regiment. We were equiped with the Sherman tank, which was reliable and had a good engine, but its armour was not up to the task. A round from the German 88mm Gun would enter one side and go out the other. Previously, we had had the British Valentine tank which was adequate, but could only operate for an hour or so before the engine required servicing.
We were immediate follow up troops on D-Day, and went up through France, Belgium, and into Holland towards Arnhem. After winter in reserve in Belgium, we moved across the Rhine due east and then swung north towards Hamburg docks, where we finished the war. We had to clear the docks of German forces. British troops being nosey, we found a warehouse which was full of genuine Scotch Wiskey. There was a lot of it suitably disposed of that night - we felt we had earned it!
Next day we reported our find to Brigade HQ who sent a unit to collect it, but we received a share. Brigade reported it to Corps, who gratefully received it, but returned another share to us. It took us some time to work our way through our share!
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