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This story was submitted to the People’s War Site by Alan Allsop, volunteer with H&HCAP on behalf of Albert Hedgcock and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site terms and conditions.

I was born at Rugby and came to Pilsley, Derbyshire when I was 4 years old and worked at Pilsley Colliery. I received my call up papers and travel warrant in 1940 to go to Derby station on to Trent Valley station and to Lichfield to start my army call up in the North Staffordshire Regiment, in which I served for 6 years. In May 1944 I was with the Regiment at Margate when I received a message from my daughter to say that my wife had taken ill and I was given 7 days compassionate leave. At that time we were preparing for the D. Day invasion and I was an anti tank platoon Sgt, which is next to the Commander of the Anti tank Platoon. When I returned from compassionate leave the Regiment had mobolised ready for the invasion and my platoon Sgt had been given to someone else and I was drafted to a holding unit at Salisbury Plain, and spent a night at Dover outside the castle. We were told that we were going over as reinforcements which we thought we were to take the place of soldiers that had been killed.

On ‘D’ day plus 6 I was shipped over and I remember going down below on what I think was a Destroyer and told to stay there until we were called on deck. We were issued with French bank notes, not a lot, as we did not have a lot money in those days. Down below there were ‘old sweats’ and they started to play the game Crown & Anchor, which I had heard of but did not know what it was all about. It was not long before me and my money were parted. All the spare pockets in our uniform we filled with cigarettes as I was a smoker at that time. When the call came to get on deck we were led to a gang plank and into the water. The water was chest high so that ruined the fags.

There were not many troops on the beach and we did not know what to expect, many lorries were going backward and forwards. The Destroyer must have had its bow on the on the sand and started firing the guns, that really made us wonder what was happening and we got off the beach as fast as we could between lanes of white tape which denoted that these areas had been cleared of mines. I think the name of the landing area was called Sword Beach, the Canadians were on our left. We were sent to another holding area and after two days we were sorted out and I was told to get on a lorry, we still did not know what to expect. As we proceeded the French villagers were in the upstairs bedroom windows waving flags etc. I thought to myself ‘I wonder if they mean it’ they had been under occupation for 4 years. I finished up in an orchard with the Durham Light Infantry, this battalion had taken part in the North Africa campaign and also the D Day landings and were seasoned soldiers and had lost a lot of troops in the invasion. They did not know what to expect from us. When we saw their equipment and looked back at the equipment we had trained with, we thought we had been wasting our time training. I started off on a two pounder anti tank gun, later we saw one of the new German Tiger tanks which may have been hit by one our rockets from a Typhoon aircraft, it was terrific. The engineers were experimenting on the 12:10 PMiger tank tracks with explosives to see how much it would take to disable the tank. I remember the massive 88m/m artillery piece, I think our Shermans only had a 6 pounder.
In the orchard I was placed next to two dead cattle and if you have never smelt a dead cow lying there for over a week. OH dear.

We saw and heard the big bomb raid on Caen, when the bombs dropped we stood and cheered, the ground simply shook with the vibration of the bombs. Later I walked into Caen and the destruction was unbelievable but made no difference to dislodge the German Garrison. The bombs were dropped to soon. Caen should have been taken on the 2nd day of the invasion but went into July before it was taken.
The Canadians played a big part and it was the first time I had heard their Multi Rocket Firing mortars. As rookies we could not understand the noise they made, it was like someone opening and shutting a squeaky garden gate.
The Navy were shelling and we could hear the bangs as the shells went overhead it was as if they were running on tracks, like a whistle.
I was knocked over in a Brengun carrier by a mine and although I did not have any superficial wounds, something had happened to my knee. It swelled up and I could not walk so I was taken to the hospital were I lay for two weeks with a steel cage round my left leg so that I could not move my left knee. After two weeks a medical officer came to inspect my knee, I believe he was a Welsh rugby player a Big Big Captain. He read my notes and released my leg from the cage and moved me to the edge of the bed, turned my foot and pushed it down, I nearly went over his head! I was de-classified as B7 so that put me out of any more action.
I joined No 5 B.S.A. (Beach Sub Area) which was a ground administration unit, I then had a few trips to Belgium taking detension soldiers, ie deserters etc. They were terrible journeys sitting on the back of a large truck over the back wheels with the snow blowing back into the truck. I then went to No 12 L.O.C. (Line of Communications) at Ypres, Belgium. And then on to the Eindhoven on general duties. Then they asked for volunteers for Germany, I had an interview and went as a Provo Sgt. (police) to an area in Germany consisting of various camps. They were trying to make this place the Aldershot of the Rhine. One camp was for chemical warfare training and one was a dog training unit. To visit these camps I had to get the jeep or a motorbike which I was qualified to drive.
In November 1945 the Company officer sent for me and said now you are B7 release which meant I was demobbed and could return home, but they offered me a vacancy as Regimental Quarter Master Sgt for a further two years. I contacted the wife and she said no, you come home I have had enough. I came back to Tibshelf and went back to work at Pilsley Colliery until 1956.

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