大象传媒

Introduction

James Parkinson from Whitehaven in what was then Cumberland, was my father's cousin. Whitehaven is now in Cumbria. James was a career soldier, beginning as a private and leaving the service with the rank of Sergeant.

During his military service two major events stood out: the Dunkirk evacuation and the Normandy landings. This short account of these two events is based on his verbal account of what happened.

Unfortunately, I did not make a more detailed record of James' account of his wartime experiences before he passed away. It was before I took much of an interest in the World Wars. These two events are posted so that others can perhaps begin to understand the experiences and emotions of the Dunkirk evacuation and the Normandy Landings.

The Dunkirk experience

During the Dunkirk evacuation, like many others, James was told by his officers "It's every man for himself. Make your way back as best you can". James and his comrades made their way to the beaches at Dunkirk. Eventually, James made it on board one of the Dunkirk 'small ships' but was separated from his friends and all he had was the clothes he stood up in.

Upon reaching Kent, he was put on a train and taken to London. When the train reached London someone asked James where he wanted to go. Without any orders, but with no money, James said he wanted to go to Whitehaven (Cumberland), where his family lived. He was given a train ticket from Euston Station to Whitehaven. Luckily for James, some of the other passengers on the train gave him a little food and something to drink during the journey of 300 miles.

When James walked through the front door, it was a big surprise for his mother. Afterwards, it was impossible for James to describe the overwhelming emotion of the first moments of this occasion. My Great Aunt had no idea James had even made it back to Britain, and in fact, neither did the army. After about a week - when by this time Dunkirk had fallen to the Germans - James' mother said he'd better go and report to his Unit. By now, Britain feared immininent invasion from the Germans.

Somewhat reluctant to leave the comforts of home, James reported back to his Unit and initially found himself in trouble. They said he should have reported immediately upon arrival in Britain. In fact, James had been posted as missing. However, he had followed his last order and as everyone was needed for the likely battle ahead, no further action was taken.

Normandy Landing 1944

In June 1944, like many other thousands of troops, James was involved in the Normandy Landings. By this time James was smoking about 20 cigarettes a day. Some of his slightly younger comrades, with less experience of war, were still non-smokers. When they were being issued with provisions for the Channel crossing and after they had landed, one of his mates initially refused the issue of cigarettes, saying he didn't smoke. However, the soldier issuing them said he'd better take the cigarettes. Although he might not smoke at the moment, by the time the Landing Craft reached France, he would no doubt be a smoker!

The story goes that this was in fact the case. James had to give his mate some of his own cigarette ration after his mate had smoked all he'd been given!

No atheists

The other thing about the Channel crossing during the night of 5 / 6 June 1944 was that everyone said their prayers, whether they believed in a God or not. On that night at least, James said there wasn't a single atheist on board their landing craft. Without exception, everybody on the boat prayed that God would help them.

Conclusion

James was one of the lucky ones who survived the Normandy Landings and the Liberation of Europe. He made a career in the army and passed away peacefully in his home town of Whitehaven. Some of his best friends were not so lucky and died during the Liberation of Western Europe between D- Day and VE Day.

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