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What follows is the final account of the World War II experiences of Norman Ellis (1920-2004). It is based on an account of his wartime experiences that he wrote after the war. It follows on from ‘Norman Ellis's experiences in the Friends' Ambulance Unit’ and from ‘Norman Ellis's D-Day experiences in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards’. The story begins in Autumn 1944.

"The Brigadier decided to inaugurate a Brigade Rest Camp at Louvain [in Belgium] where tank crews and other men in the front line could be sent from time to time for a weekend’s rest, peace and enjoyment; and I was sent to form one of the permanent staff. The change from Nijmegen to Louvain was like one from Hell to Paradise. Belgium had been left almost untouched by the rapid German retreat, and almost peace-time conditions reigned. We were at Louvain several months having, it must be said, a very easy time. The Army had commandeered part of the Abbaye de Mont-César [a Benedictine abbey]. My particular job during the week, in tandem with another member of the unit, was to tend the furnaces under the monastery. Twice a day we had to remove the clinker from the furnaces and pile on fresh coke. We also paid a visit for the same purpose, very late at night. On such occasions we used to turn on the lights and wait a while until the lines of rats had scurried away along the big, dust-laden pipes above our heads.

"In the evenings I was free to enjoy myself in Louvain or in Brussels, which was only twenty miles away. Travel was free, and prices, before the mass advent of the Americans, were low. I read large numbers of French books, went regularly to the theatre, and spent many free days in the Bibliotèque Nationale. Naturally we became very friendly with the local inhabitants. They were Flemish, and most of those over thirty spoke nothing but the Flemish language [a form of Dutch]. But the younger people also spoke French. In Brussels, French was universally spoken. One of my proudest moments was when an old lady, with whom I had been chatting in Brussels for about ten minutes, asked me whether I was French or Belgian.

"Because I could speak French, I was also able to speak with the monks. They very kindly allowed me to use their library, which contained a large number of biographies and history books, many of them two or three hundred years old. They were Benedictines, and all of them had degrees … most of them liked nothing more than a long argument or discussion with someone from another country and background. Like the people of Louvain they were resolutely Royalist and Conservative."

"The troops came down from the front on a Friday night, and went back on Monday morning. Out job was of course to make all the preparations for their coming, and to make things clean and tidy again after their departure. This joyous interlude lasted until the end of the war. The Brigade then took up the occupation of Hanover, too far away for the men to come down on short leaves; and in June 1945 I joined it there."

After leaving Leuven, Norman spent a month in Hanover then in August 1945 rejoined the Regiment at Ochtrup, a small town on the Dutch border, 25 miles from Munster. There was relatively little to do, but he was made a member of the newly-formed Education Office, created to provide basic courses for soldiers about to return to civilian life. He wrote:

"Originally there were four of us on the staff, Captain Stirling, Sergeant Jones ("Jonah"), Lance-Corporal Roberts ("Robbo") and myself. Captain Stirling was a memorable character; charming, energetic, and creating an impression of great enthusiasm. On one occasion there was to be a Brigadier’s Inspection, and we three "Other Ranks" had spent a lot of time and energy tidying up the Office. Shortly before the Brigadier was due to arrive, Captain Stirling came breezing in, took one look round, seized a number of files from the shelves, and scattered the contents all over our desks. As he did so, he explained that it was vital to give the impression that we were absolutely snowed under with work. He left us soon afterwards, having been promoted to Brigade Education Officer, with the rank of Major." His replacement was Lieutenant Kirk.

On 7 and 8 December 1945, the HQ Squadron of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards presented a revue called "Black-Beret Pie" which included comic sketches, songs and impersonations. The script was written by E. Trigg, T. Roberts, M. Holdstock, A. Walkden and N. Ellis, who does not seem to have been one of the performers.

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