大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Sarah Housden of Norfolk Adult Education鈥檚 reminiscence team on behalf of Hugh Griffiths-Jones and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I had a fairly good war and came out with barely a scratch apart from an appendicitis scar. I went to France in 1940 with the BEF and was chased out of there at Dunkirk. I was a Sergeant with the Engineers in Shropshire working at an ordinance dump. I was recommended for a commission and went to Llandudno Wells for a commission in the Artillery. From there I toured England, never going further north than Leeds. I visited towns, providing them with mobile heavy artillery.

I went over to France a few days after D-Day as part of Operation Overlord, providing protection over Le Havre. The RAF had bombed the centre of the town thinking that the Germans were there. But they were on the outskirts, and the French were not pleased with the English for the damage they had done.

I was in charge of the Marines operations room at the Battle of the Bulge when 170 Doodlebugs came over. There were a lot of casualties.

I finished up in Germany, near Belsen, and had to provide transport to get some of the people out. We then moved to a place where there was a big displaced persons camp and provided transport for people to get to the stations once they were well enough. There was typhoid raging in the camp and people were in a terrible condition.

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