大象传媒

Tom and I were very close from the time we were children. My earliest memory of Tom is of us as children鈥� Tom had made a little cart in which the two of us could stand. Then he had the welsh collie attached to the cart and we could stand in the cart and ride about like two Roman Legionnaires in a chariot. Tom would hold the reigns and the dog was a happy participant.

Tom became a regular soldier. His aim was join the Welsh Guards. And on his demob to become a policeman. He believed that having been in the guards, it would enhance his chance to become a policeman. He was in the Prince of Wales Company which I believe embodied the tallest men. They did special duties, such as Guard at the Palace. His first posting was in Gibraltar where he served in the garrison at the Rock.

When the war broke out, the Welsh Guards were sent over to France in 1939 where he saw much action. He managed to survive that and took part in the retreat from Dunkirk.

A few days after D Day landings the Welsh Guards crossed over to Normandy. The Welsh Guards formed part of the Guards Armoured Division. I served in the 11th Armoured Division which was an Assault Division similar in type to the Guards. Our dismissal sign was a Black Bull Division.

In Normandy, south of Caen an attack was planned involving 3 armoured divisions, the Guards in the centre, and the 11th Armoured Division and the 7th armoured division (Desert Rats) on the flanks. Our battalion was in a defensive position in the front line not far from the village of Cagney. Our tanks were dug in behind a hedge away from the enemy. I was standing behind the tank when I saw a figure crossing the field shouting with excitement. I was amazed I thought my eyes were deceiving me! It was my cousin Tom. He had found out that my battalion was adjacent to his and he had spent some time looking for me. How on earth did he find me in the turmoil, chaos and upheavals of the front line, I don鈥檛 know.

But we were glad to see each other! I think we were both pleased because this had been our first opportunity to speak Welsh for ages. Enemy shells were landing at the end of the field and shrapnel was flying all over the place. Our tank was under operation orders at the time, so we couldn鈥檛 go inside. I suggested to Tom that we got under the tank. There was just sufficient room for us to squeeze, stretched out, under the tank. And there we remained for about half an hour talking about mutual friends, our family, characters in the village memories of childhood and our future hopes. In our excitement we ignored completely the shells landing around us. As Tom left, the last thing he said was 鈥淲e鈥檒l have a drink together in the Black Lion in Llanybyther when the war is over.鈥� Alas, we never had that drink.

As a matter of interest, the shells landing near us were being fired from Tiger Tanks of the 9th SS Panzer division, who had just arrived from the Russian Front. Facing us also were the 12th SS Panzer Divisions (Hitler Youth). This division was made up of fanatical Nazis mostly between the ages of 18 and 22. The previous day we had taken a boy prisoner of 14 years of age.

As soon as Tom left, I couldn鈥檛 get pen to paper quick enough. I wrote home to my parents, to Tom鈥檚 sister, Nan and my aunt telling them all about my exciting meeting with Tom. You can imagine how I felt a fortnight later when I had a letter saying Tom had been killed just a couple of days after I had met him. I felt devastated. I鈥檝e often wondered since if he was meant to see me as a kind of last farewell. The guards made a frontal attack on a village called Montchamp. They sustained terrible casualties. From enquiries I made after the war I believe Tom was killed by a sniper. Among the killed was his company Commander Major Maurice Turnsbull who played cricket for Glamorgan and England.

In Tom, I lost a close and faithful cousin. I still miss him, 60 years on. I wonder in heaven, if he has found a cart with a faithful dog he can drive around. I鈥檓 sure he鈥檚 happy if he has. Tom loved his welsh collie, Cymro, and I鈥檓 sure the collie loved him.

I was very lucky to survive the war. I went with the 11th Armoured Division all the way from Normandy to the Baltic. I finished up in a placed called Glucksburg (not far from Lubeck) and you can see Denmark across the waters of the Baltic. Our battalion was almost completely wiped out, but we were proud to have one of the few Welsh servicemen to have won the V.C. in the last war. His name was Ted Chapman. I was only about 150 yards from him when he won his V.C.

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