大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by (Helen Smith) on behalf of (John Rawlings) and has been added to the site with his/her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

Chapter Ten

INTO GERMANY

Dieppe was a good billet. We were there for several months in a sizeable village called Envermu, which provided good accommodation for men and vehicles with an Officer鈥檚 Mess in one of the larger houses. One of our neighbours was a pig farmer and it was not long before he asked us to sell him the scraps from the mess kitchens. Later we were invited in for afternoon tea with his wife and daughter, Yvette. I cannot understand how it is that I remember her name but forget the names of her father and mother!
As mentioned in a previous chapter, Dieppe was now the principal port for supplying the advancing troops. The huge stores which Monty had insisted should be available before the second front was launched were now being shipped to Dieppe as fast as transport could be found. There was more transport in England than in France and in consequence Dieppe was soon overloaded and growing by the day. In particular, petrol, which was one of the commodities for which our sister company provided transport, was being received in insubstantial four-gallon tins many of which leaked after long storage and rough handling. Repeated requests to stop further deliveries were ignored by which time the port was afloat. So great was the risk of fire and explosion, that the General in charge of port facilities flew back to England and pleaded with the War office to limit supplies. His efforts were in vain and the danger continued but gradually dropped as front line troops sent their own transport to collect. This, with the increasing demand, gradually brought the situation to an end.
Our own company was also busy but food does not present the same fire risk as petrol. However we could not escape involvement. When the fire risk was at its highest even food carrying lorries were used to carry leaky petrol tins. Complaints of poor food supplies which were tainted with petrol fumes continued for a long time.
With all vehicles and most of the men away on deliveries, the company HQ staff had free time on their hands. This led to many parties, supported by a strong contingent of nurses, many from Canada, and ATS now arriving in increasing numbers. Living some five miles inland from the port, our mess was limited to the local talent. Our programmes were not in the same category as those in Dieppe but nevertheless were equally enjoyable and with fewer after effects. Other depots were being set up nearer the front and the fall of Antwerp provided all the facilities needed. This reduced the length of the lines of communication taking us to our new base at Hove a suburb of Antwerp. Dicky Daw and I were billeted in a large mansion standing in its own extensive grounds with a long drive and a huge swimming pool, now empty for the duration. Madame was a gracious lady in every way and our welcome was generous. She showed us to a large double bedroom which we were to share. She explained that two German officers had occupied the room during their stay and their behaviour had been impeccable. Her husband was a banker and was a very pleasant gentleman with a great love of football which he shared with his son. They also had two daughters. Ines, the prettier of the two, was seldom home as she had connections in Sweden. Beatrice lived at home and was very pleasant company even to the extent of trying to teach me bridge. Other relations lived in Antwerp and we were to meet them in due course.
It was at the height of the buzz bomb season and their flight path was directly over our billet and the company office across the road. We had two very near misses. As the raids became more frequent we formed an ad hoc rescue team on 24-hour call. My first call out was to the house next door, also standing in its own grounds, which was hit late one evening. It was a similar house to the one in which we were billeted. It was difficult to find a way in. There was a broken window at basement level and, with some trepidation, I climbed in. It was dark and there was a smell of burning. I shouted in schoolboy French and there was an indistinct reply. I crawled forward as the burning smell increased and then realised that I was in the kitchen and the smell came from an over cooked evening meal. Thus encouraged, I continued shouting at intervals and received distant replies. Progress was slow but I found that I had travelled right round the basement and was approaching my point of entry. I scrambled out to find the person who had replied to my calls. He explained that as the front of the house where I had found an open window seemed to be an unlikely route to safety, he had gone in the opposite direction unaware that I was right behind. He confirmed that there was no one else in the house and we parted the best of friends. My second call out was when a bomb fell on a smaller house a short distance away at lunchtime. The front of the house seemed to have been demolished leaving the interior hardly damaged. Whilst we got there in record time, we found the family still sitting at the dinner table like figures at Madame Tussauds, frozen in shock. Unbelievably no one suffered serious injury. On the third occasion the bomb fell on a railway bridge near the company office. When we arrived at the scene we found an army vehicle pinned to the ground by a fallen girder. When we removed the debris we discovered that it was one of our own lorries and fortunately the driver was not seriously hurt.
Our original OC although a first class regular, suffered from a drinking problem and eventually this led to his removal. His replacement was the exact opposite, and he was heartily disliked by all. Again a regular, his earlier service had been a desk job in Cairo and this was his first field posting. He chose not to be guided by experienced officers and knew all the answers as written in the rulebooks. We therefore got on with our work with minimum reference to him. Dicky Daw was the second in command at the time and his position became intolerable. He engineered his own transfer from the company to BAOR HQ (British Army on the Rhine).
Our relations with our billeting family continued to prosper. Just before Dicky left we were invited by the Antwerp side of the family to coffee in a sumptuous restaurant in the city. It was known for its cream cakes the like of which I have never seen, let alone tasted. When the time to leave came, I thought, as an officer and a gentleman, I should offer to pay the bill particularly as they had been so kind to us in many ways. Having offered, I suddenly realised that I did not have enough cash to meet the imagined cost, and credit cards had not been invented then. Fortunately she would not hear of it and I breathed normally again.
The break through at the front was eventually made. Our forces crossed the Rhine and we followed at a respectful distance. When hostilities ceased we stopped in Diepholz, near Halle. Our initial mess was in a German pub which provided good sleeping quarters but little else. As PMC (president of the mess committee) I had the job of finding alternative property. I started at the Police station and was given a list of properties which were available simply because they were occupied by known Nazi supporters. I found a large house which suited our purposes with adequate bedrooms and common rooms and a good kitchen with excellent stoves and supporting equipment. At the police station I was asked when I would want the property and I replied, 鈥� when the present occupiers are able to move鈥�. The policeman gave me a strange look and replied 鈥淭hey will be out by 4 p.m. this afternoon鈥� and it was then midday. When we moved in the following day I found that the new stove and equipment had been removed and replaced with an old, damaged and dirty alternative. I reported this to the police who were furious and told me the original stove would be returned within the hour. And so it was. As I returned to the new Mess shortly after I saw the stove on a rickety handcart being pushed by an old man and his daughter, supervised by a policeman even to the extent of watching them carry the heavy stove into the kitchen and leave it in working order.
We enjoyed our stay here. There were no bombs, enemy planes, mines etc to worry us. There was a large lake nearby with beaches made from imported sand, much used by the locals at weekends. There was a Lancaster plane which had made a forced landing on the water but remained upright and presumably the crew were saved. It was on this lake that I was taught to sail. Small craft could be hired and Dicky, an experienced sailor, and one crew, quickly got under sail. I didn鈥檛 realise that a comparatively light breeze could cause such havoc. At one moment we were gliding along serenely, and then, without warning, the boat tilted to a frightening angle, and our skipper was shouting unintelligible orders. I found myself sitting with my backside in the water, whilst the other two, opposite, were suspended apparently in mid-air and only saving themselves by hanging on to some odd ropes that I had seen around. Although they seemed to be in danger of falling into the water, they were laughing their heads off and it took me some time before I realised that I was the object of their mirth. The boat returned to its proper upright position and the crew and I were sitting normally again. I was wet and uncomfortable until we disembarked. I was never again asked to crew a sailing boat nor did I understand why I was put in such an undignified position to be laughed at.
A convoy of heavy building stores destined for Berlin demanded a more senior officer than the usual platoon officer and again 鈥渢he lot fell on Captain Rawlings鈥�. Actually, I was quite pleased to get an active part and this would give me the opportunity to see Berlin. After an early start we got through the check points on to the autobahn. At the end of the day as darkness fell, we stopped in a lay-by. Shortly after, a small group of Russian soldiers pulled in alongside with much shouting, gesticulation and firing of automatic weapons at random. I believe it was their way of saying 鈥淗ello 鈥渇or they disappeared as suddenly as they had arrived. Meantime my new batman, Chambers, had found a house in the trees and a bed for me. There was a strict order not to fraternise with the locals and I was concerned with the party spirit emanating from the kitchen area. I reminded Chambers of this order and asked him to break the party up before I took official action. I can see his face now as he joyfully explained that the young ladies were not Germans but Latts. I thought that it was a good try on but he disappeared and brought me proof in the form of several passports of the family occupying the house. The party then continued until we resumed our journey at first light.
As we approached Berlin I noticed that the autobahn took a long bend away from our delivery point and it seemed beneficial to take a B road, which was more direct. It was reasonably wide at first but contracted as we approached a river crossing and I stopped to reconnoitre. It was a small river about thirty metres across, but what concerned me was the condition of the bridge. It was supported by central wooden piles of indeterminate age and as we watched vehicles cross there was a crunching sound which increased our fears. Eventually an armoured car or light tank approached from the opposite direction and moved gingerly over the bridge and the driver gave us the thumbs up to signify his relief, or so we interpreted it. As no one had come to harm as we watched I decided to 鈥渉ave a go鈥�. One by one our heavily laden lorries slowly crossed and we were in business again. We were late on our delivery and received much criticism but this was nothing compared with our relief that we were there at all.
When we got back to the company HQ there was evidence that something serious was in the wind.

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