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Reverend Reginald A Anwyl
Chaplain to the Forces (R.C.)
Attached 6th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, 154th Infantry Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division

Bemmel, Holland, October 1944

‘I have not much to say about the battle for Bemmel; it was severe but it was fought rather further in front of the Casualty Clearing Post, than most battles had been and though I was busy it was with more security than had been my fortune for some time. Receiving the wounded, searching, identifying the dead kept me fully occupied — at least I had always to be on call even when for an hour or two when things were quieter.

A Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry were attached to our Brigade for this battle and was seeing action for he first time. I noticed early on in the battle, that I was being presented with dead from this Battalion, and wondered rather petulantly what their own chaplain was doing — in fact I sent word to him that my own duties were heavy enough without doing his. Later a chaplain came and introduced himself to me and I forgave him everything when I found out he was a Priest! The name of this Priest I have forgotten but I shall not forget easily his relief at finding that I was ‘RC’ too. He said in a tired voice ‘this is my first action and I am absolutely lost. Tell me what on earth can one do? I am torn between about a dozen duties each seeming to demand my attention.’ Recalling my own bewilderment when I was new to the work I pitied him. The work of a chaplain, of a priest at least, was made more difficult by the feeling wherever one was, that there was a better place to be and in whatever one was doing, that one should really be doing something else. In this battle I noticed how many men came back as battle exhaustion cases, or as they were called in the last war shell shocked cases. I felt the latest arrivals to the fighting were the first to suffer from this collapse of nerves or whatever it is nor could I feel that all were deserving cases. However I knew that without my faith and sense of duty I might have lasted no longer than these — who were so young.

The original manuscript of Father Anwyl's memoirs are held by the Trustees of the RAChD Museum.

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