大象传媒

Introduction
I joined the Territorials early in 1939 as a Blacksmith and was with the Royal Engineers group based at Fenham Barracks in Newcastle. On 3 September 1939 I was called up automatically. Although I didn't want to go and was in an exempted occupation, farming, I went anyway. War was declared the next day. Throughout the war I was with 224 field company 8th Army Corps, 2nd British Army working mainly with 11th Armoured Division the Guards Armoured and the 15th Scottish Division.

Trainng and Preparation in England

In anticipation of a land invasion from Europe, I spent the early part of the war minelaying along the South Coast. We had been trained in minelaying and bridge building and in how to use weapons, particularly the 303 rifle. I trained as a motorcycle Dispatch Rider and carried a Pistol.
There had been a possibility of our unit being sent to India. As a trained blacksmith I would have looked after cavalry horses.

D-Day

Training for the D-Day landings was done on the south coast. The date and location of the landings in France were top secret. 'Operation Overlord' had been planned to start on the 4th June 1944, but because of bad weather it was postponed until the night of 5/6th June. I went on the 12th June, landing on Sword Beach, the nearest landing to Caen, which was 10 or 12 miles away.

Fighting in Europe

We had 2 months of hard fighting in France. I was involved in Operation Goodwood, the third British attempt to capure Caen. Although we weren't successful, it paved the way for the Americans to break through German defences. We went on to liberate Paris on 25th August. By September we were in Holland as the Allies tried to push into Germany over the Rhine bridges. I fought in the Maas River area and was involved with capturing the Bridge at Nijmagen.

The Perils of Dispatch Riding

As a Dispatch Rider it was my job to deliver messages between the units. I was regularly riding on the edge of and into enemy held territory. There were no marked border lines so when messages were to be delivered, it was a matter of finding your way with compass and instinct! As a countryman born and bred, I had the advantage of being used to rural terrain. The Germans would tie fine wire tightly across the road and many dispatch riders were decapitated as the wire could not be seen when approaching at speed. You had to ride carefully and not too fast to avoid raising dust and that being spotted by the enemy. I remember with sadness our Commanding Officer Peter Gray, who only days after his arrival went off on a motorbike with the cook and never returned.

I had a lucky escape in Holland one day. When riding along a road, a plane came out of nowhere. I recognised it as a Fokker Wolf- aircraft recognition had been an essential part of our Army training. And crutially, in this case, it saved my life. I dived off the motor bike and into a ditch as the aircraft began straffing the road with bullets! One day I came across an Allied lorry at a crossroads and was able to prevent it from taking the road heading into enemy lines. It wasn't carrying troops, but a Concert Party which included George Formby!

Fighting in Holland and Germany

I was fighting with the Allies in Holland until March 1945 when we finally crossed the Rhine at Wesel into Germany. This successful operation followed earlier failures to hold the Rhine bridges in September 1944.

We advanced to the Elbe and built a Bailey Bridge across, one of many I'd built during active service. Moving north we reached the Kiel Canal. Being able to spot German planes during this time had proved invaluable. I was able to raise the alarm on many occasions, thereby helping to prevent casualties.
Around the Kiel Canal area we blew up Air Raid shelters.

The end of the War

Although the War ended in May 1945, I wasn't demobed until May 1946. The first men to be demobed were married men and those with skills, like building workers, who were needed to help with building programmes in our cities.

In spite of all that happened to me and my comrades during the war, you felt a certain grudging admiration for the German soldier. He was certainly a dedicated and skilled adversary.

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