大象传媒

I was moving back from Vimy Ridge towards the coast in May 1940, with my unit. The Germans were flying low and firing with Bofors (two pounder guns) onto us and along the road. We suffered lots of casualties, and the road became so damaged with bomb craters that we had to use tins of Bully Beef to fill in the craters to enable the tanks to move on.

I arrived at Dunkirk on June 2nd, the last day that soldiers were taken off the beach. The overhead bombardment was terrifying. Lying face down in the sand while the planes flew overhead gave me a feeling of helplessness and isolation. I can鈥檛 describe the fear I felt as the planes and gunfire got closer to me, then the relief that I was still alive as they flew off. But I became numb with the horror of seeing my friends lying dead and injured all around me.

Men were lined up on the beach and jetties waiting for the boats to come to ferry them to the ships waiting in deeper water; they were sitting targets for the enemy planes. I was impatient to leave as soon as possible and decided on my own plan of action. I was a very strong swimmer, and had even thought of swimming the English Channel before the war started, so I decided to skip the queues and swim out to a waiting destroyer. It must have been a mile offshore, and I swam hard through discarded equipment and bodies, fearing it would leave without me, but I was seen in the water, and someone on ship signalled to me to hurry up.

I was exhausted when I was hauled up onto the deck, just before the destroyer set sail back to England. The sailors looked after me, fed me and gave me a sailor鈥檚 outfit to wear while my own uniform was cleaned.

I was given leave on my return, before returning to my unit, to fight again.

Gunner Lowe attended the Ceremony for the Rededication of the 大象传媒 War Memorial at The Mailbox on 14 November 2004. Whilst at the Mailbox, he told his story to a volunteer who has entered it onto the website on hisbehalf. He is aware of the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

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