大象传媒

The 2nd, 1/7th and 8th Battalions were part of the BEF in France and Belguim. Like other units they had to fight their way back to the beaches of Dunkirk when the German army launched their Blitzkrieg.

The 2nd Battalion was given the task of keeping open the main supply route to Dunkirk. They were in defensive positions around the town of Wormhoudt. By the 27th May 1940 there were fears that they would be cut off. It soon became clear that the nearby hamlet of Esquelbecq was a German stronghold, which included three battalions of the SS Adolf Hitler Regiment. The SS attacked at 7.30am and by 4.00pm had completely overrun the position. About 70 men from the Royal Artillery, 2nd Warwickshire and 4th Cheshire Regiments were stripped and herded into a milking shed. The troops threw in grenades and opened fire with machine guns, killing over half the men. The survivors of the massacre were taken prisoner a few days later by the regular German army. The dead are buried at Esquelbecq war cemetery, though many were never identified and the culprits were never brought to trial.

At the same time the 1/7th and 8th Battalions were in Belgium. On the 16th May with the Allied front crumbling rapidly they were ordered back. With the Germans advancing in a pincer movement there was a danger that the BEF would be cut off. 143 Brigade (including 1/7th and 8th Battalion) was sent to defend the Ypres-Comines canal zone. The lives of many thousands rested on the depleted force. The troops withstood the assault of three German Divisions on the 27th and 28th May. This saved 2nd Corps and did much to aid the successful withdrawal of the BEF. Just one night made a big difference to the number of men that reached England safely (midnight 28th May 25,000 and 29th May a further 47,300). However, the loss of life amongst the three Battalions was great, on their return to England their combined strength was less than 700 men (about one Battalion).

The 2nd Battalion landed on Queen beach, a sub-division of Sword on 6th June 1944. The 1/7th Battalion joined them on the 29th June and both took part in the fighting around Caen. The first engagement for the 1/7th was on the 8th July to capture the village of St Contest. It was a hard fought battle as they were up against the first-rate 25th SS Panzer Grenadiers. Even so by 6.30pm they had reached their objective having lost 26 men and 96 wounded. By the end of August the Allies had secured Normandy and the Germans were retreating.

The 1/7th were disbanded on the 31st August 1944 and the 2nd remained in North West Europe. After a period of training and reinforcements in mid September 1944 they moved to Holland. They helped with the eastward advance around Venraij so that in March 1945 the Allies crossed the Rhine.

During the War the 1st Battalion were mostly stationed in India. In October 1939 they were near the Afghan Frontier keeping the supply roads open. Following internal security duties in other parts of India in April 1945 they were ordered to join troops in Burma. However, having met little resistance in Rangoon and with the dropping of the two atomic bombs in Japan they returned to India.

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