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Memories of Mr. George Alan Pinnington,

My father is now aged 80 and still in good health. He and my mother have been married now for 55 years. My father was born and raised in Roby, a suburb of Liverpool

Over the years Dad has written accounts for me of his time with the 51st Training Regiment (Royal Armoured Corps). His memories also include drawings by himself.

The Charge of Lubeck

‘We crossed the autobahn and turned towards Lubeck, we only had 45 minutes left before the main bridges were due to be taken by our troops and we were 20 to 30 miles to go – we accelerated up to a speed of 50-50 mph – it was a fantastic sight with some 200 vehicles made up of half tracks all speeding to Lubeck which we reached about mid afternoon. Everybody appeared to be going about their everyday business when we entered it!! Lubeck itself reminded me much of Pembroke Place as it used to be in Liverpool with the Royal Infirmary on the left, after passing this we came across a railway bridge and looking down saw a train load of POW’s just about to leave so orders were given by the tank commander to blast the engine’s boiler which we did and all the POW’s came off and the first person I saw was a Pilot Officer who used to live in Archway Road, Huyton!!’

Christmas 1944

‘A little memory of Christmas 1944 I will never forget. We were stationed in a small village near Hanover. I can’t remember its name. However, the village church was in a square and surrounded by half timbered shops one of which had been taken over as a canteen by the regiment and while we were there, there was a carol service at the church on Christmas Eve. There were literally hundreds of people going. It was thick snow underfoot and getting dusk, and from the church came the sound of that old Christmas carol ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’. The atmosphere was perfect, so much so that when I hear it now at Christmas it always brings back memories of this picture.’

The Ardennes

‘Having arrived back from hospital we had to take the old Shamans to the Stadium in Brussels as we were going to get our new Comet tanks which had just arrived from England but we no sooner got the Shermans into Brussels when we had orders to collect them again as we had heard that the Germans had broken through the American lines in the Ardennes and we would have to go and help them!! The old Shermans were white washed as snow camouflage in the encounter near Brure we were in the thick of the fighting and we lost several of the old Shermans. However, we eventually arrived back at Brussels and went to collect our new Comet’s again and proceeded to go to the firing ranges just outside Dunkirk – we fired at a captured Panther front armour on the range and whilst the gun was very accurate it was still inferior to the German Panther.’

Army Days 1939 – 1945

‘Call up papers duly arrived and ordered me to report to Renshaw Hall for a medical which I did and after a lot of coughing and spluttering I passed A1. Eventually my railway pass and orders to report to the Border Regiment at Carlisle Castle arrived. When we arrived transport was waiting for us and we were driven to Hadrian’s Camp which was just outside the city centre for our basic training. Arriving at the camp we were met with our Platoon Sgt. and Corporal who showed us our barrack room and gave us an idea as to what would be expected of us over the next few weeks. These would be PT drilling, rifle drill, grenade instruction, and aptitude tests etc., etc., until the big day ‘the Passing Out Parade’. Having eventually done all these we were given our results and myself and about six more were told to report to the 51st Training Regt. At Staindrop Camp, Barnard Castle, Yorkshire and we would be joining the Royal Armoured Corps, this was the one section of the Army I was hoping to get in.’

51st Training Regiment (Royal Armoured Corps)

‘Arriving at the 51st RAC Training Camp we were issued with new uniforms, badges etc., before being formed into our respective troops and barrack rooms and given instructions for the following day. Reveille would be at 6.30 a.m. and breakfast at 7.00 – 7.30 a.m. after which it was on parade for PT on the tank park which was just across the road from the main entrance. This would last for about three-quarters of an hour after which it was a shower and a chance into denim overalls for the day’s instructions which would consist of engine maintenance. The classrooms were superb with cut away engines from the little Austin Seven to a Rolls Royce and the instructors were first class. Every other day we would go out in either a Hillman or Austin pick up each with a crew of two, one driving whilst the other would be in touch with HQ at Staindrop, who would give us map instructions as to where our next point of call would be, thus we got driving, map reading and wireless communication all in one. At lunch time we would change over so that we all got the same chance on the subjects and in doing so went all over Yorkshire returning to camp late afternoon. We would then get a wash and scrub up before going to the mess for tea, after which it could be Guard Duty or evening off at the NAAFI.’

The Falaise – the Charge of the Armoured Brigade

‘At 5.30 a.m. on 18th July the attack on German defences began with a bombardment of 720 guns followed by 1000 four-engined Lancasters and Halifaxes. As the British guns leaped into life ahead of the advancing armour the tanks of the 3rd RTR rumbled forward in single file through a minefield, on the far side they deployed to form into a 32 tank in line followed by the Fife & Forfar Yeomanry and they in turn were followed by the 23rd Hussars in successive waves then after the bombers there was a thunderous artillery barrage, which made us think we were in for an easy ride to a notable victory which was not to be!

As the tanks of the Fife & Forfar Yeomanry followed those of the RTR and followed by the 23rd Hussars we began to loose formation having to drive round bomb craters. The 3 RTR and the Fife & Forfar Yeomanry were now in line abreast coming up to the railway embankment of the Caen-Troarn railway line. Before we reached the embankment we encountered the fortified village of Cagny where the Germans 88 mm were and they hurled their shells with deadly accuracy at the British tanks. A dozen Shermans burst into ugly black smoke in flames. The 23rd Hussars who were halted who were in the following wave, halted as they came upon the burning Shermans. Soon the battlefield was littered with blazing tanks but they continued advancing in successive waves giving each other covering fire and carried on to penetrate the last line of defence. When we went off the air we had lost 57 tanks out of 61! It was at this point after a skirmish when we were replenishing the ammunition, I was getting some ammo out of the sponons (?) that the gunner had orders to travis the turret on power just when I had my arm through the turret cage to reach the ammo. It jammed my arm against one of the turret supports and I lost the use of my right arm. I went back to the field dressing station and from there was shipped back to England along with some more of the lads.

Scotland

‘We arrived at Dover this time and immediately put on trains to take us to our respective destinations, myself another three Scottish lads ended up at Kirkcaldy Cottage Hospital. On arrival we were shown into a ward which was a lovely circular one with a balcony outside which overlooked the Firth of Forth. The first thing we had was a good hot bath, the first for six weeks and this was followed by a good bowl of Scotch porridge. Every morning the nurse would come round and draw off a large amount of watery blood from the bleeding muscle – over a few weeks they had it under control and I began to get the use back in my arm. The Scottish folk were wonderful and after the second week my Squadron Leader’s wife, who lived in Kirkcaldy, had heard I was in hospital and invited both myself and the other three lads to their house for afternoon tea! By now the time had come for us to be allowed out so we were issued with new uniforms – not the khaki battle dress but the ‘Hospital Blues’. In case you don’t remember them they were brought in during and after the 14-18 war for wounded ex servicemen as I remember seeing them when we went into Liverpool with my mother when we were kids. They consisted of a jacket and trousers made from light blue flannel with a white shirt and red tie. We had to wear these but were allowed to wear our regimental Tank Corp. berets and cap badge. We eventually got the all clear from the medics and received orders to proceed to a holding regiment which was no other place but Chippenham, Newmarket. It was quite an easy few weeks and in November we reported back to the Fife & Forfar Yeomanry but by this time they were in Ypres, Belgium. We formed a new crew and were the only crew in our Squadron of the original lads we had in England. Each crew was billeted out and we stayed with a Mr. & Mrs. Gadayne, 22 Kalvaarstraat. They were very hospitable and homely and every morning as we left to report for duty the local milk girl would be doing her daily deliveries of milk with her dog cart.’

D Plus Two

‘Departing from Gosport, the channel was still very rough – so much so that we had to go down into the hold of the tank landing ship to refasten the tanks as the shackled holding the chains loosened off with the swell.

We arrived safely on the beach and the first thing we saw was an AA sign to Bayeux with a military policeman directing us up the beach (talk about home from home)’

Thoughts of yesteryear prior to going into action

My great grandfather and my father was staunch church goers so it was only natural that I was brought up the same way and my father had me join the church choir and follow in the family tradition. Mind you it was just an excuse to get some pocket money as you were paid £2 per month with extras for weddings and funerals.

Having been brought up in a religious village and these thoughts came flooding back to me prior to going into action for the first time. I myself had a feeling that I wouldn’t be killed but I would probably get wounded. However, on the day before we went into action the clergy of all the denominations held a communion service in the Normandy orchards and you wouldn’t believe the hundreds who were there whether they believed or not, grasping at straws in the hope that it would see them through the following days.’

Hill 112

This was part of an attack on Caen. The 23rd Hussars and the 2nd Fife & Forfar Yoemanry backed by the 3rd RTR moved up to lead. As the leading tanks came over the ridge they were struck by terrific shell fire and one after another they burst into flames from the German 88mm guns which they had been able to get there during the three day gales in the channel. Whilst this was a fierce battle the thing that amazed me was how our echelons had been organised into what was virtually a ‘service station’ at the bottom of the hill where we drove in and were able to replenish our fuel and ammunition’

Aldershot and the white cliffs of Dover

‘We moved from Bridlington to Aldershot and were stationed at Warbury Barracks, an old cavalry barracks, it was the usual drilling, PT and tank training but by this time we knew that the inevitable was not far off.

We took delivery of half a dozen new Shermans with a long barrel and anti aircraft gun on board. Our crew was allocated one of these and ourselves and the other five crew members were ordered to Beachy Head to fire the guns in. It was a beautiful day and a good run down but you could tell things were about to happen, the South was bristling with troops and vehicles and it made one think what we might have to contend with during the coming weeks and months.

After returning to Aldershot we got news within the next couple of weeks to proceed to the South of England and eventually ended up at Gosport which was to be our departure base for the big one.

We were due to go over on D Plus One but due to storms in the channel it was put off till the following morning.’

Bridlington

‘We arrived at Bridlington and were billeted in some large semi-detached villas just off the front, the only thing that was missing were beds to sleep on. It was a lovely front bedroom and I remembered that up in the loft over the stable in my Dad’s yard at Roby there were some folding camp beds that had been made in the 1st world war so I got him to send them to us by rail. They duly arrived and we had these in our bedrooms and it made it home from home.

We had been out on exercise with the Guards Armoured Brigade and on arriving back at Bridlington we got word that the King and Queen and the two Princesses were going to inspect our Brigade. Imagine the tanks muddied up to the eyeballs so they all got washed down and painted ready for inspection.

While we were here we had to do an exercise in water proofing the tanks in case it should be required during the invasion. This was done by sealing down all the hatches with a waterproof compound, i.e. drivers and co drivers hatches, the turret and gun etc., and fitting an extension exhaust cowling. These all had a small electrical charge attached which could be detonated and released as required. Having completed all these we would then have to drive the tanks into the water to the height of the exhaust and if satisfactory blow the charge to allow the crew to get out.’

The Exercise

‘First I must explain the difference between the English tanks driving positions and the Sherman. The English tanks had a driving position similar to the old sports car with a steering mechanism like a pair of handlebars and controlled by hydraulics; whilst the Shermans were controlled by two joysticks and operated by the arms and the legs of the drivers and would operate a ratchet principle on the floor.

We arrived at the rendezvous which was a valley about a mile and a half long with high hills on either side. The tanks were stationed on the tope of these and we spent the night here, afterwhich we had breakfast and got our orders to advance. The Shermans started to move over the edge but the drives had not had the experience of a situation like this and the weight of the tanks got the better of them resulting in about 50% going out of control. This resulted in the prop shafts getting such a whiplash that they broke just under the turrets resulting in the exercise being called off and the tanks returning by tank transporters.’

Gunnery instruction

Before going out in the tanks we had to train on gunnery and this was carried out in a large building with a very large electrical operated super sand table with various types of countryside, including desert and city, with sandhills, trees, bushes, churches, roadways, rivers and bridges with vehicles moving along the roads etc. At the front of the sand table were wire mesh containers the exact size of a real tank turret and could traverse either left or right. The gun was a small pellet gun fitted on the top of a normal barrel and when ordered to fire would prop. Small pellets at the target given.

At the end of all the training I was passed out as a wireless operator/loader and should it ever happen, take over as tank commander and eventually I and six or seven more of our troop were posted to II Five and Forfar Yeomanry at Newmarket. I had a week’s leave before travelling down to Newmarket to join the Regiment. When I arrived at Newmarket Station I met up with the other lads and the Regimental trucks were waiting for us to take us to our new camp which was in the small village of Chippenham, about three miles outside Newmarket. The camp itself was under canvas and in a large park something like Knowsley Hall.

We were the first intake of English lads to the Regiment and it took about a fortnight or so to get to know our new friends but once having got their friendship they were perfect and a better bunch of chaps you couldn’t wish for.

There was the annual church parade to the village church at Chippenham. I was thrilled to bits when we went on this as we had our own pipe band and the sound in the surrounding park was super.

We were at Chippenham for about three months before moving back to Rudston, a village just outside Bridlington, Yorkshire. It was here that we took delivery of our first tanks, these being the famous Shermans with the 75mm main armament and two Browning machine guns, one in the main turret alongside the main armament and the other in the co-drivers compartment, operated by him under instruction.

The day eventually came for us to go out on the moors for a week’s exercise – you can imagine the state of the roads after about seventy tanks made their way to the start line over newly tarmaced roads.’

Skirmish outside Hanover

‘Heading towards Hanover this particular day you wouldn’t have thought there was a war on at all, it was a beautiful sunny day and the world seemed at peace for once. We were the leading regiment followed by the 3rd RTR and the 23rd Hussars and as our troop was the leading troop our Tank Commander, a Sgt R. Vallance, always took the leading tank, the reason you will find out later. The road went through beautiful countryside with a pine tree forest on our left hand side and a straight road for a mile or so with trees either side which went to a T-junction.

The left hand turn was the one we would take towards Hanover. What we were not aware of was that the Officer Cadets of Hanover were holding this ground. We turned left and proceeded up the hill to the first bend and there in front of us was a manned tank trap, we went to skirt around this when all hell let loose and it was then we realised why our Tank Commander always volunteered to be the leading tank, they would always let the first couple of tanks through before opening up on them, but it always gave you a chance of getting clear. This time we did a left turn and as we were on the fringe of the forest managed to get clear and made for a farmhouse that was at the T-junction. We pulled to the side of the house and waited, as now the infantry were going in to the forest, they had a horrific time, so mush so that eventually a 24 hour truce was called to enable the medics to go in and get the dead and wounded out.

When the fighting started up again the Germans sent planes in to straff them and one particular one was shot down by either one of our lads or one of the infantry boys but it came straight down with a full load of bombs on and went in nose first; naturally the pilot didn’t stand a chance and when we passed that way at a future date there was a grave there with a little wooden cross at the head.

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