大象传媒

About half a mile across from the farmyard was the first block of houses in the village, and it was believed that they were empty. Our officer, looking through his field glasses said that he could see someone in one of the house doorways. "Wagstaff" he said, "take a man with you and see who it is, and bring him back here". I looked around but all of them appeared to be gazing at something far away, so I had to pick one of my crew. We put a round up the breech, and trotted over towards the houses, the last fifty yards we went very carefully. I told my mate to watch the front of the house while I went round the back, I bent down and peered into the kitchen over the window sill, nothing. I ran up the hall to the front room door, kicked the door open with my boot, and flopped full length on the floor, it was a good job I did, there was a terrific bang and plaster blew off the wall. It was my mate, he saw the door fly open and got nervous, I told him what I thought of him and he agreed with me, after that I told him to watch the front of the houses and I would go through them from the back. It was on the third house that I got 鈥榣ucky鈥�, I had done the two rooms downstairs, crept as quietly as I could up the stairs, kicked the front bedroom door open, looked in, nothing, kicked in the back bedroom door and there stood a woman. I only just managed to pull the rifle off her as I pulled the trigger, even so it put a hole in her sleeve, she jumped as foot and in a man's voice said 鈥榮he鈥� surrendered. I took him out the back way as it was safer, I let my mate march him back to our officer, while I followed behind. Jeff, our officer, took him back to H.Q. in his carrier to be questioned, he got away with it. I saw him later in Hereford, he saw me and looked away, so I said nothing and walked on.
We lost our first officer that day, he was a young second lieutenant, new to the regiment and he sat on the back of the trench in spite of the fact that Jerry was firing like the clappers. I suppose he thought he was setting an example, any way he got one in the head. The C.O. thought he should have a proper funeral, so Jeff collared my carrier, and my mate to fetch him, he came with us because he knew where he lay. I drove the carrier by the side of the body, it was dark by now, he was lying on his back with his head in his steel helmet. My mate and I jumped out, I took his shoulders, my mate his legs, and we heaved him onto the carrier, then back to his grave and the Padre. Again I got his shoulders and we dropped him into his grave, the Padre gave his history, an only son, and 20 years old. Then he read out the committal verse, then left us to fill in the grave. The next morning the bottom of my trousers and my boots were brown, his steel helmet must have been full of blood and I got the lot.
We did the usual of keeping Jerry busy whilst the battalion moved to new positions, after a time we would follow, preferably before dawn broke. This particular morning I remember for the mist, we had been having some lovely weather, that morning was beautiful, we were moving South West, the mist would be about twelve feet high and the sun coated the top of the mist a lovely golden red. It made me think of the times I went fishing all night and watching the mist on the water with the fish jumping, and the rings on the water as they plopped back in. My mate was driving so I lit a cigarette, took off the engine side cover to let the warm air from the engine wash around me, and dreamed of a nice cup of tea.
We hit our first lot of refugees on the main road that day, until that day we had seen a lot of planes but they seem to have business somewhere else, now it changed. A plane came zooming along the road, people scattered, we drove on, we had seen this all before. Suddenly bullets were flying everywhere, then he had gone, we took advantage of the empty road and the convoy speeded up. A bit later we turned off the main road and stopped in a wood, the conferences started. I got my cup of tea, then it was; ammo, rations, check oil, petrol and water, tighten tracks, and ask if they had heard anything yet. That was when we heard we were going to make a stand, where we had yet to find out.
The companies went off in their trucks, and we followed about one hour later, crossed a canal by one of those lifting bridges. I remember someone shouting to us, asking if we were the last, so it was evident that they were going to blow it up. I followed the other carriers as they went up the hill and turned to the left, and then stopped. The Sergeants spread us out along a wall on the other side of the road. I got landed with the 鈥榖oys鈥� anti-tank rifle, it was about six feet long, and fired a half inch armour piercing bullet, and told to watch out for any armour, as it was dark by then I had no chance, I pointed this out to the Sergeant, and he said to fire at the f---ing noise.
A few shots rang out, and a red Verie light went up, the next thing was the bridge was blown up. Up to then we had not seen a living soul, but when the bridge went up, we were surrounded by nuns from the convent across the road, chattering away in Flemish. I couldn鈥檛 understand a word of it, so I pointed to the Sergeant and let him sort it out, they were still at it an hour later, so he had sent them to Jeff. It was not until the Jerries had dropped a few on the road, that they thought enough was enough, and disappeared back into the convent.
Jeff had brought some more orders, we were to lay down covering fire, while the lads withdrew. Then he called me, I was to go with him in his carrier, he would drop me off, and I was to wait there until all the troops had withdrawn, then run back to our position, tell the Sergeant that the last had gone, and we would be away. So I stood there all on my 鈥榯od鈥� watching as the troops went running past. I knew it would take some time, for they had been strung out along the canal, and there were gaps all the time. I was more interested in their helmets than anything else, I expected to see a coal scuttle helmet any time. Fortunately the Officers must have been told to look out for me, for as they ran past the Officer would shout, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 my lot鈥�, or, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 my company鈥�. As I waited I could hear the bark of the anti-tank rifle amongst the rattle of the Brens and rifles, and I knew that I would have to clean that five foot barrel if we got out of this. At last another Officer came walking up to me, 鈥測ou can go back now, give us half an hour, and then pull out鈥�, and off he went with a trot, it was the C.O. I lost no time getting back and reported to the Sergeant, one by one we started up and then we were off, a quick turn round, a rapid turn at the end of the road, and the foot to the floor as we tore up the hill. We slowed down a bit after that, and a short time later stopped. The Sergeant, the senior one, walked to the carrier of the other Sergeant, they talked, then he walked to my carrier, stopping to talk to each driver as he passed them. 鈥淲e are going to Tournai,鈥� he said, 鈥渞ight?鈥� so now we knew where we were going to make a stand.
Towards dawn we caught up with the Battalion, and as it got lighter, so the refugees came onto the roads. They were thick on both sides of the road, but there was no waving and cheering now, they just stood there with their loaded prams and carts, watching us pass as we made our way to the river and the bridge to our positions. Then the German planes found us.
I never heard them at all until the first bomb landed, then I saw a 鈥楽tuka鈥� pulling out of its dive in front of me. Everyone had stopped and were diving for cover, but we had decided that it was safer to stay put and duck down, but my first reaction was to get out from under, so I was almost standing in the carrier when I saw the driver from the truck behind us jump out and run for cover. Unfortunately for him a bomb had just landed close by and it took off most of his head, the queer thing was that he still kept on running until he got to the doorway he evidently intended to shelter in, then he flopped down, kicked, and was still. I think they must have been after the bridge, for the next two dropped on the other side of the river.
Tournai is a largish town, divided by a river. We were on the eastern side, then having crossed the bridge we turned north, climbing a hill that overlooked the town on both sides of the river. We ended up in a village about two thirds up the hill, the refugees and most of the inhabitants of the town had been sent to the other side of the hill to a large park. All that day we were sorting out our positions, the best thing was the cooks put up dinner, tea, and even managed a cup of cocoa. We dug slit trenches all over the place for we could see that we were a good target for any plane, at the end of a village and on the side of a hill.
At about two in the morning the Sergeant woke me to tell me it was my turn for outpost guard. I collected my rifle and equipment, and was still buckling it on as he led me, still half asleep, through a gap in the wall and down a field into a slit trench that I nearly fell into. He told me to keep my eyes open for Jerries, and left me, and so I waited for the dawn.
All night long small arms fire had been hammering, and I stood or sat in the slit trench, smoking or just looking until the sky began to lighten in the east, coating the mist that was rising from the river with a rosy glow and bringing the town into view. Dominating the town and across the river to our left, were the five towers of the Notre Dame church or cathedral, I looked at them and thought what a fine vantage point they would make.
It was nearly full daylight now, and just as on the first day, I was looking at the sky and wondering what was for breakfast, I thought I could smell bacon frying, then I realised it was not my imagination, there really was bacon being fried. I looked to my right, and saw what I imagine were two cooks working over a fire, closer to me and about one hundred yards to my right I could see a camouflaged gun, a gap and then another gun, and then a line of them. I knew then that as soon as they opened up, things would get very hot. Only one thing to do, dig, and dig deep, which I began to do as quick as I could. I had dug about a foot out of the bottom, when I heard a sharp crack, I stood up and saw a puff of smoke dissipating in the air. I knew it was a ranging shot, and waited for the shells to come whistling over, nothing, except the guards on the guns started to shout for the gun crews, they came out and went to their guns, pulling off the camouflage nets and carrying ammunition. Suddenly over came the shells, I heard the whistles but most of them didn鈥檛. for about five minutes those shells kept landing, I saw it all from my trench, then they stopped aiming at the guns and switched onto the village street. The smoke from the guns dispersed leaving smashed guns and men all over the place, stretcher bearers began to sort out the wounded and carry them away.
I started to deepen the trench again when I heard the gas signal. It was a lump of angle iron suspended from a gate post and the guard belted it with another iron bar and shouted 鈥淕as!鈥� at the same time. That put me in a right state, for I had forgotten my gas mask and left it in my carrier. I was out of that trench and running like the clappers, trying to remember which way the wind was blowing, and trying not to breathe 鈥� an impossible task. I made it to the carriers, and was leaning over the side of mine to get the gas mask, when the Sergeant ran up. He was bent double and as he reached me he reached up and pulled me down to him. 鈥淏limey!鈥� he said, 鈥渢hat was quick, I鈥檝e only just sent your mate down to relieve you. Get your eating irons and get your breakfast, then report to me. You haven鈥檛 much time, we are out again soon.鈥� So off I went only to find a lot of our company waiting for breakfast too. One of our Sergeants took me to the front of the others waiting. It was bacon and a mug of tea, no bread. I took a swig of tea so I would not lose any on the way back to my carrier, and once installed in the driving seat I began to eat my breakfast.
All morning our guns had been firing back at Jerry, and now he decided to switch targets once again. I guessed he would use the towers of that church as an observation post, and his next target made that obvious. He must have seen the breakfast queue, they were still there. He was still firing at the village and the guns, high explosive shells, now the guns on the village stopped firing, there was a lull for a few seconds, then over they came. They burst in the air hurling red hot steel onto the men below, one second men were waiting for breakfast, the next, shapes lying on the ground, some in agony, others very still, except when another piece of shrapnel would hit them, they would twitch as if they were only sleeping and dreaming.

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