大象传媒

Pte Ernie Blewitt was my great uncle. His father had fought in the Boer War and WW1, so he was keen to join up at the start of WW2. It was the opportunity for the adventure and excitement that he craved.

When the rumours started that there was going to be a huge operation, he couldn't wait. This was going to be big and he didn't want to miss it.

Although he had a ferocious cold by the time he was on board, and his commanding officer gave him the option of staying behind, he refused to stand down.

The 大象传媒 made a recording on ship before they set sail, of them all singing "The Bells are Ringing" and "If I Had My Way"; something light hearted for the folks back home.

The morning of 6th June he woke to find himself facing the beach of Hermanville, in France. The sounds of intense bombardment filled the air, shells from battleships thundered overhead, bombing from the air and landing craft, mortar bombs, exploding enemy shells. It became patently clear what they were going into now. The first concern was that the Germans may have poured oil into the sea and were about to set it alight, but thankfully this had not been the case.

The landing craft slid to a halt on the sandy beach which was already littered with destroyed vehicles and some dead. As they disembarked, the army issue water-proof trousers promptly filled with water, making it hard going to wade through the sea onto the beach. Soaked through to the skin, they ripped off the water-proofs and dropped them on the sand.

They learned that their objective was to reach Caen, capture the town and the ground immediately south of it that day. The troops were to ride the tanks, but these were struggling to get off the congested beach. Grouped in an orchard, the soldiers witnessed a Germany anti-tank battery that was holding up the movement of the Battalion towards Caen. The Brigadier shouted to Major Wheelock "Go and deal with that!"

The Major took Z company up towards the ridge at Perier-sur-le-Dans. Taking out the battery was essential if the tanks were going to get through. On them rested the success of the entire Division, being the central thrust of the assult, aimed at Caen. Moving towards the ridge, they hit a barrier of barbed wire. The German soldiers were continually sweeping this barrier with steady gun fire. They managed to drive the gunners from their emplacments, but the German soldiers went to ground and continued to cover the barbed wire with intense machine gun fire. Several times the Germans got back to their positions and shelled again. It was during this engagement that Ernie received fatal wounds from an enemy mortar bomb which exploded next to him.

Eventually a Polish soldier was captured who was able to show them the way through the wire at the back of the battery. Z company gave chase to the gunners through the woods, while the guns were blown up, making safe the nearby route to Caen.

The German soldiers fought long and hard, earning the respect of the British soldiers for their tenacity and determination. It was six hours later, around 11pm, when Major Wheelock consolidated his men. Three dead soldiers, one of them Ernie, were moved to a meadow where they were buried alongside others until they could be laid to rest in a British War Cementary. Cut off from the rest of the Battalion, the remaining Company camped in nearby woods until the following morning when they got back "more by luck than good judgement".

The achievement by the KSLI that day meant that they had gained a strong foothold in France and had advanced further inland (5 miles) than any other ground troops, including the Canadians and Americans. They were less than 3 miles from Caen and had fought off the only German armoured counter-attack in the whole of Normandy.

Major Wheelock received the MC for his great courage in action that day.

In the words of Ernie's last letter "So long all, and God Bless"

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.