大象传媒

Chapter 5.
In which I return to France.

D Day, when the Allied troops landed in France once again, was on 6th June 1944 and at that time I was on a boat steaming down to Southend on a round-about route to Normandy. The weather was dreadful with rain pouring down when we arrived at Arromanches with the first load of ammunition on D Day+2. We travelled with the ammo towards Bayeux and from there up to Caen, which had been literally flattened by the British and Americans, although the beautiful Cathedral was still standing.

Much has been written about the campaign through France. My unit stayed behind, clearing up the ammo as we went along, until we got to Conty where there was a very large ammo dump, and there we stayed. While I was there I met some very delightful French people. Father, Mother, son and daughter. They made us very welcome and they were all to become my life-long friends. The father was the local Inspector of the Gendarmerie. I understood that he was also the head of the local Maquis, but people didn't say much about things like that.

By that time I had been promoted to the exalted rank of Staff Quartermaster Sergeant and life was quite enjoyable. It was impossible to work on ammunition after dark, so we had the evenings to ourselves and there were quite a few dances and social events put on by Headquarters.

All good things come to an end and on the 23rd April 1945 our posting came through and I started off on a journey driving a 15 cwt. Ford in the company of two Corporals. And so into Germany, crossing the Rhine at 3.30 p.m. and spending the night in an old factory - damned draughty it was too! Eventually we arrived at our new unit at Walsrote. What a God-forsaken hole it was, in the middle of a forest. It was snowing and very cold, but the next evening we had a jolly reunion in the Sergeants' Mess.

The next few days were uneventful until 8th May (my mother's birthday) when we were casually told that the war in Europe was over and we were given a day off. Naturally we celebrated, but the next day it was work as usual.

The 17th May was a day I shall never forget. We were ordered to go to Belsen Concentration Camp to remove a load of ammunition. The appalling sight of those poor devils in that horror camp is something I could never describe. At the same time the camp guards and staff lived in the utmost comfort. I wondered how anyone could work in such an horrific place and what the German people thought about it. I spoke to someone living in the area and I was told that they
knew something was going on in the camp, but they didn't know what it was and they didn't dare to go anywhere near the place.

Soon we were on the move again, first to Nienburg and after a few days on to Rehden. Here the Colonel called two of us into his office and offered us a Field Commission, which we both refused as by this time we had had enough.

On Wednesday, 15th August we were delighted to hear that the war in the Far East was over. VJ Day was declared and again we had a day off.

1st September, 1945. Another birthday had arrived and I was looking forward to going home now that the war had finished.

Demob came fairly quickly after this. First we were sent to an assembly point in Holland from which we were sent back to England, leaving from the Hook of Holland. In England we went to a clothing depot to be issued with a demob suit (mine was navy blue), a raincoat, a trilby hat and a pair of shoes. After this I collected my demob papers and a railway warrant to take me to Sidmouth and home.

Sidmouth - February 2001

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