大象传媒

Another April Shower
This story is submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a member of Market Harborough Branch, Royal British Legion on behalf of Kenneth West and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr West fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

After a most enjoyable lunch with friends, I was on my way home on the Arriva bus when we suddenly ran into one of those torrential April showers. Perhaps it was the earlier conversation over the coffee which then triggered the memory of another April shower 56 years previously on a very different vehicle.

We left the start line at dawn on 鈥極peration Destroyed鈥� to clear the Germans from the 鈥業sland鈥� between Nijmegen and the Rhine in preparation for the attack on Arnhem. Progress was slow, partly due to the intensive mine-fields, but also due to the poor wireless communications which always dogged us in Holland, contact between the infantry and their support tanks was nil. In desperation, our C.O. ordered a company signaller to sit on the back of the tank commander鈥檚 Sherman and relay messages and orders to him direct.
Eager hands 鈥榓ssisted鈥� me on to the hull where I was instructed to tap the tank man鈥檚 head twice whenever a message needed to be exchanged. Fortified by this improved technology the tanks of the Ontario Regt. of Canada rolled slowly forward.

We made steady progress until late morning when the order 鈥渟top advance鈥� came. I tapped the Lieutenant鈥檚 shoulder twice (a tank commander with a sore head doesn鈥檛 auger well for good relations) and passed the message to him. Our 4th Lincolns friends were encountering strong resistance at a waterworks 500m to our left front. That鈥檚 when it started鈥︹�ain spots as big as two bob bits. Down went the head inside the tank and the hatch closed. Fortunately, there was a tarpaulin on the hull and I was able to pull a corner of it over me to give some shelter from the worst of the shower. For 20 minutes I listened-in to the ensuing battle at the waterworks and felt sorry for the lads of the Lincolns. In war the sharp end isn鈥檛 the most pleasant place to be but when it rains it鈥檚 鈥榦rrible.

The rain stopped as quickly as it had started. The message came to 鈥減repare to advance towards the waterworks鈥�, so I tapped the hatch twice with my bayonet. As it opened gingerly, I saw a pair of eyes staring at me in disbelief. 鈥淐hrist 鈥� I鈥檇 forgotten all about you Jock鈥�, said the Canadian. 鈥淧repare to move sir鈥�..it鈥檚 stopped now鈥� I replied, referring to the rain. Down went the head and shoulders. Another head popped up, then a third. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a b****y cool customer Jock, sitting there with all that stonking going on鈥�, said the latter. I looked around where the tank stood and saw a number of black holes in the ground which were still smoking. Holding the head set hard to my ears, I鈥檇 been so engrossed in the Lincolns battle, huddled under the tarpaulin I hadn鈥檛 realised that the Germans had been shelling us.

A week later, after we鈥檇 taken Arnhem, we were again leading company and mounted on the Shermans of the Calgary Regt. 鈥淎wa鈥� dean yon road tae Amsterrrrdam鈥�. We鈥檇 gone but a few kilometers when the first tank was knocked out, so in the gathering dusk we harboured in nearby woods. As we sat, quietly chatting over a mug o鈥� char, one of the Calgary lads said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e so glad that we knew we鈥檇 be carrying you Jocks today. A guy from the Ontarios told us that when they cleared the island, a Jock signaller had sat on the back of the command tank, ignoring all the mortars and shells, he鈥檇 carried on as cool as you like, passing messages to and from his Battalion H.Q.鈥�.

I hid a wry smile. The truth was that even as a lad, I鈥檇 never liked getting wet. I suppose that from such half -truths are most legends born.

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