大象传媒

I was in the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) as a messenger boy at A2 fire station, in Lower Ashley Road in Bristol, during most of the Bristol Blitz. When I was eighteen I was called up to the Dorset Regt at the Keep at Dorchester. I did four months training there then I was sent to the 5th Dorset Regt at Walmer, near Deal in Kent in Deal bay: inf boy.

I was in Deal bay for about six months and then I went to HG bay. My eye-sight was not good, The battalion then moved to Minster near Manston Aerodrome. Later we moved to Hastings Sussex in September 1943. I met Irene at a dance in Hastings and we went dancing as much as we could. I had most of my Sunday dinners at her mother鈥檚 house.

We sailed to Normandy in June 1944 from London docks. The weather in the channel was so bad we could not get off the ship for four days, it was very rough. I landed on Gold Beach on an ammo lorry on a Sunday. We were moved to a holding place near Bayeux. The first Battle was for Cheux, the next battle was Hill 112, which started on July 10th and lasted about three weeks. The battalion took Chateau de Fontaine between the rivers Odon and Orne, and then onwards to Mount Pincon.

We moved on to Falaise. On the way the battalion cleared the village of Proussy. One hundred and sixty-five prisoners were taken. The road at Falaise, the smell and the dead cows and horses. And the Germans, it is hard to describe. The Germans fell back and we moved a long way to just outside Brussels, crossing the Seine at Vernon. Next we got ready for market Garden Arnhem. On a Sunday, September 17th we moved in Ducks behind the Gaurds Amor on one road. We only reached a place called Driel. On the way we fought at Phillips factory at Eindhoven Grave, then to Nymegen where I cleared the Railway bridge of the Germans who were the tenth Panzer division, then on to Driel where we were shot at by Tiger tanks. We could not reach Arnhem, so we helped to get Airbourne Division back. We gave them soup and rum as they came up from the river.

We were at Reichswald forest when we helped the 9th USA army and then onto the Rhine crossing. I had a poisoned arm so went back to Brussels 129 hospital. After a stay at the holding unit I had leave for home. I landed in England, and then on to Hastings on the Sunday. I saw the vicar on Monday we were married on Tuesday May 8th by the Bishop of Chichester. I had seven days leave then I went back to the 5th Dorset at Hamburg. We moved on to Berlin for about five months. I buried O鈥橞all who was from Bristol in a cornfield in Normandy and about twenty of my Battalion during the move to Berlin.

I was class B when I was released late 1946.

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