大象传媒

Having been ordered to defend a ridge near Lille, myself and three other soldiers were under fire with shells bursting around us. One of the men went on a recce, leaving the three of us alone. On his return he informed us that the rest of C company had gone.
We decided to pull back to Lille, picking up a french soldier on the way. With the Germans in tanks pursuing us, we entered the main street. Looking back, there was an armoured car immediatly behind us. Turning back another car appeared at the opposite end of the street, blocking our exit.
They opened fire upon us, hitting the frenchman in the back. Another soldier was shot in the leg. We dived into a ditch and returned fire, using the only weapons we had- one bren and three rifles, until we ran out of ammunition.
The Germans surrounded us, and took us prisoner. They then stood us against a wall and fired a machine gun over our heads whilst shouting "for you, tommy, the war is over". The five of us were taken to a P.O.W camp (Stallag XXA) where we spent the next three months, awaiting our movement to the next camp. Five years later I returned home.

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