大象传媒

Part 3:
We left Holland again on the ninth, to go back to Belgium. We were told that there had been trouble in Brussels, the Belgium Government in exile had arrived back from London to take over a country which had been occupied for four years, and the Resistance and the Communists resented this, causing talk of revolt. Our forces had to be deployed so that nothing interfered with our supply routes. We arrived at the little village of Waterloo, seven miles out of Brussels, at ten o'clock at night, we slept the night in the Mess-Hall, which turned out to be the local Church Hall. The next day we were allocated civvy billets, two of us were billeted with Maria and Louis Glibert at 31 Rue Fond-Vandenbosche, Jobi Bois, Waterloo, my mate was Ray Rasbridge, my relief driver. It was a good billet, very nice people, Louis and Maria are about forty and their son Andree was about eight or nine, grandad is living with them, a nice old chap. Each day on our way up to the guns we passed the great monument to the Battle of Waterloo, it was here that Napoleon was finally defeated. A huge Lion is on the top of the monument, which has over three hundred steps going up to the top. There are many smaller monuments to the different countries.
While we were at Waterloo we had an inspection by the C.A.G.R.A. and then on the 15th of December the Colonel from 53rd Regiment, R.A. came down and thanked us all for what he described as a "jolly good job". He said that although, in many cases the going had been difficult, we had always got the food, ammunition and petrol where it was wanted and always on time. Our Officer Commanding then told him we were very proud to have been serving such a grand Regiment and we will endeavour to keep working in close harmony until final victory and peace is assured for us all.
I left this lovely civvy billet on the 19th, but not to move location. It was time for my first leave since my embarkation leave, nine months ago. We were given 48 hrs leave, two of us at a time. I went into Brussels with 'Ginger' Turner, we Turners must stick together! We went to a hostel of the Toc H, getting there about three o'clock in the afternoon. Our leave had started at two o'clock, so first of all a nice shower, then a shave and change before going into the city centre on a tram. We walked round, before we ended up at the Church Army Canteen, we had a top notch supper and wrote a letter home, then back by tram to the hostel.
The next morning, after breakfast we got ready and at about ten o'clock we went by tram again into the city. We got a few little gifts to send home, most of the shops are decorated for Christmas and look lovely, we had dinner at the Red Shield Club which was waitress service, marvellous. In the afternoon we went to the E.N.S.A. cinema and saw a good variety show for a couple of hours. For the rest of the day we went sight-seeing, we saw the Royal Park, the Palace of Justice, the Bourse, and walked by Bon Marche.
The next day our leave ended and we had to be out of the hostel by two o'clock. In the morning we rushed around doing a little more shopping and having a look at the great Cathedral, then back at noon for dinner. We waited for the wagon to pick us up and after waiting until 5-30 we decided to see the Staff- Sergeant in charge of the hostel, he advised us to go to the Town Majors. We found his office and he told us to go to the main car park to see if any wagon was waiting there, no one was there so back we went and who should we see in the office but Jack Phillips and Billy Bishop; they like us, had failed to be picked up from the previous leave to ours.
This time the Town Major said he would inform our unit where we were, and meantime gave us each a pass to enable us to be fed and have a nights accommodation at the Belgian Army's St. Jeans Barracks. We followed instructions and soon found the Barracks, the rooms were quite comfortable and the food was plentiful but rather spicy! The next day we were told we could go out, but to be back at noon, if anyone came they would make them wait for us, so off we went; four boys on extended leave, we walked round until we found 'Cafe Blighty', this was a smashing N.A.A.F.I. canteen with reading, writing and rest rooms, a library, dining rooms, dance hall and a very large canteen. There seemed to be hundreds of blokes and many girls there, while there we all had our sketches drawn by Bernard, a Belgian artist, quite good for twenty francs.
We went back to the Barracks for dinner, still no one had been for us, so out we went again, this time to the E.N.S.A. News Cinema to see how the war is going on without us! Next we went to the 'Garrison Cinema: I can't remember the film, but I can remember the usherettes coming round with ices, is there really a war on just up the road? Anyway we went back to the Barracks at six o'clock, had another meal then went back to the Town Majors, this time he sent us to 21st Army Group Main to try to find out where our unit is, because they have moved and he could not trace them. The four of us arrived at 21st Army Group Main which was in Brussels and the duty clerks tried to trace our unit but could not find where they had gone - had the war ended and they had all been demobbed without telling us? Then a Captain arrived and he said he knew where the 4th A.G.R.A. was, so we were to proceed there the next day, he thought the Royal Artillery H.Q. should know where one of their supply platoons was located. With that we made our way back to the Barracks for the night, and so to bed, after supper, of course.
The next day, 23rd December 1944 we started out after breakfast to find the 4th A.G.R.A. Headquarters. We went by tram as far as they were going, or so we thought, but as we went through Waterloo we saw one of our staff cars parked outside a shop. We tumbled off the tram as soon as we could and ran back to the car, out of the shop came Lt. White, or Chalky, as we called him now, he could not explain why we had not been picked up from leave. We all piled into the car and so back to the platoon which had moved a second time, and were now at St. Genisis Rode, we were altogether in a little empty house, very civilised.
Christmas Eve passed without incident, and Christmas Day duly arrived, we were out working in the morning, but before we went out we had a large breakfast, consisting of bacon, eggs, tomatoes, beans and fried bread, delicious food. We all gathered together after work and at dinner time the O.C. came up and helped Chalky to serve us a slap-up dinner. The first course was Soup then the main course with; Roast spuds, Boiled spuds, peas, carrots, Turkey and Roast Pork with apple sauce. We finished off with Plum pudding and custard, just the job.
The rest of the afternoon we spent eating sweets, apples, pears, oranges and chocolates, but we soon had to leave off as it was tea-time, the Cooks fetched out fancy cakes, mince pies and then a real iced Christmas cake, we found we could not move for an hour or two. In the evening a few of us went to a nearby Cafe, where the locals invited us to a party. They had a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree, music and a sing-song in English, Flemish and French, what a mix up of languages, we really enjoyed this Christmas Day in Belgium.
We are only about three miles or so from Waterloo, so on the 27th I took a trip to see them again at the old billet, they were pleased to see me again and it was nice to see them all again and enjoy a cup of coffee with them.
On the 27th of December, we moved location again, this was due to the Germans advancing against the Americans in the Ardennes and so in what we had hoped would be the last months of the war, we thought the Yanks had made a blunder by under estimating the force opposing them. The Germans dashed down on Liege and Dinant with the threat growing by the day. While 30 Corps were moving into position around Dinant, the Americans were fighting hard to hold Bastogne, which was the centre of seven main roads.
Our new location was at Oret, but I was then detached to Company H.Q. at Mettet, this was up through Charleroi and Chatelot. Our Regiment of Artillery were now in action, day and night, so we had a lot to do to keep them supplied. On New Years Day 1945 I went up to the Regiment who are at a location just through the little village of Rosee. They were firing nonstop while we were there, and one of the tragic things of war happened while we were up there; one of the guns had a Breech Explosion, this was when the shell exploded in the Breech of the gun, we had heard of it happening but this was the first time we had seen the result. Most of the gun crew were killed and some were badly wounded, We finished unloading and left the guns feeling very sad that good mates had lost their lives like that. We had to travel through Namur and Gembloux on our way to the D.I.D. It is very beautiful down here in the Ardennes, and on the fifth we had a nice tour on our work journey, we went over the River Meuse at Dinant, then through Bearsing to Givet and back.
We had a very heavy fall of snow on the next day, and although everywhere looks like Fairyland, it makes driving very difficult, nevertheless we moved location again the next day, this time to Ciney where the Germans dropped paratroops in the Winter offensive. They have now all been killed or captured, we now have chill winds, blinding snow storms and freezing fog.
On the 8th of January we went down to the Regiment who are now at Wellen, the roads were atrocious, very icy with packed snow and drops of hundreds of feet just off the edge of the road. Luckily there were trees everywhere to stop us slipping over, but a good few of our wing mirrors got knocked off by the trees as we slid into them on the way down the hills. Some of the lads commandeered snow chains, which not being the right size soon started to chew their tyres to pieces, lucky I could not find any!
My wagon developed a bad knock in the engine on the 12th of January so I had to take it into workshops, they were at Leignon, a little village next to Ciney, we already had two wagons there so after booking in we were told to find our own billets. So the three of us, Taffy Matthews, Stan Keeble and myself did not fancy spending this freezing weather in a barn, so we started knocking doors. The second door we knocked was a lucky one, the couple there welcomed us in and told us we were welcome to kip on the living room floor, they were very kind, fetched a large mattress down for us to sleep on. They are a middle aged couple and grandad who is 76 years old, they have two daughters ; Marie-Therese, who is eleven and Andree who is seven. We had a grand time with the kiddies, playing games by the fireside, they made us feel really at home.
The next day we lost another member of our platoon, we heard the sad news from Hoddy, Cpl Hodkinson, our Clerk, that Tommy Lowe died just after tea, a post mortem was performed and it showed he had died from an abscess on his heart. It is a sad and sudden ending to his young life, we felt very depressed, he will be sadly missed by us all. He was one of our Despatch Riders and such a cheerful chap. The following day he was given a military funeral at a nearby American Military Cemetery 'Chalky' and all the Despatch Riders attended.
Our Ardennes campaign ended on the 16th of January when we were told we were leaving the next morning for Holland. We said farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Chaboteaux at their home in Rue de Dinant, the kiddies would have liked us to stay but we promised we would call if we went that way again.
Early in the morning we prepared our wagons to move and at seven thirty we left Leignon, we passed through many little villages and saw kiddies enjoying themselves with little home made toboggans as the snow is still about six inches deep. We travelled through Namur, Dinant, Tirlemont, Diest and Turnhout and so into Holland once again.
We arrived at our new location at Breda about five o'clock, we had stopped several times on the journey for some grub and a brew up. We were all together now with all the Company in a very large Barracks. It was a German Marine Barracks and on all the walls are excellent murals of German seacraft, whoever the artist was he was very clever with his paint brushes.
The Red Letter Day soon arrived, January 19th, everyone tense with excitement because the leave for home was being drawn out of the hat. My number is 23 out of 87 in the Company, so I reckon I am very lucky, and on checking I find that my leave date is the 1st of March, but we must allow for cancellations of sailing. due to bad weather
On the 23rd we drove to the F.M.C. in Belgium, via Braaschaat to Heide and Esschen, still a lot of snow on the ground, and kiddies still enjoying it.
The next day we moved again, back to Helmond, arriving at about four o'clock and at eight o'clock we started work, we are on a dumping programme taking ammo up to the gun positions near Mill. When we got near there we could have no lights, charming, only two kilometres from the front line, we saw infantry flares, heard a lot of gun fire and the mortars were dropping uncomfortably close. The guns are not up yet they will wait until we get the dump completed. We reloaded at the F.M.C. at Beek and went up at eight again the next night, even more of a racket tonight, not a pleasant place to be with eight loads of ammo and petrol.
Our dumping programme went on for five nights and then on the 30th I went on a detail to Dinant, it was a long run and we went via, Eindhoven, Hasselt, St. Trond, Huy and Ciney to Dinant. We kipped down for the night in a Nunnery, and fed with some Yanks, it was smashing grub they issued us with. The next day we loaded up our three wagons with a Rest Camp and started back at five in the afternoon, we travelled the same route we went down and arrived back at Gemert, the destination at 3 am on Thursday, the 1st of February. On the way back we saw one of our airfields which was shot-up by the enemy on New Years Day, he certainly caught a lot of planes napping
The next day I was out on a coal detail, we went to a mine at Sittard, this was the first time we had crossed the Maas. We went up via Maesyck and on the return trip we came through Sisteren which was badly damaged, then on to Ittervoort, near Roermond. At this time, 'Chalky', Mr. White, had to-leave us, he has been posted to the infantry.
A couple of days later we had an exciting journey; we had to go to Stein for more coal, the thaw with rain and more rain had started now and this had broken up the cobbled roads, our route was closed, so being enterprising blokes we decided to find an alternative route, in our attempt we went through Horn and down to a village on the banks of the Maas. We were soon stopped by the Airborne who told us to get back before we drew fire from the Panzers who were only 300 yards away across the river. Then they started to machine-gun us, I think we were just out of range, or lucky, and as we turned round they started to mortar us, then we heard our shells whistling overhead, and as we had coal on board and not petrol or ammo, we were not too worried, so we made our way back round the mortar holes in the road until we reached the next Military Police Post and they put us on the right road after remarking that we were bloody mad to drive wagon loads of coal right up to the front line, they wondered if the Airborne wanted some coal for their fires
The next day of any note was the 7th of February when I went to Eindhoven to collect rations, but I could not get them until the next day. Ray and I decided to try and find a civvy billet for the night, we had a lovely civvy bed in the home of a ten year old schoolboy; Tony Petite, we gave his parents some rations, it was a good job we were on a ration wagon.
By now the 1st Canadian Army with British Command were fighting hard to reach the Rhine, but first the Reichswald had to be cleared towards Kleve. The heavy rain and fog was slowing everything up, terrible conditions, so the Canadians had to be augmented by 30 Corps under Horrocks. The fighting for Kleve was very hard and it was almost smashed to pieces when the city was entered on the 12th of February, this opened the Goch hinge of the Siegfried line. To make matters worse, the enemy had opened the dykes north of Nijmegen which swelled the Rhine which then overflowed and farms became islands of resistance.
On the 9th of February we left Helmond at eight in the morning with a load of 25 pounder shells, we travelled up over Grave Bridge to the front, we had to take cover in slit trenches for three hours, until the infantry cleared the enemy from our destination. Then we went through and over the border into Kranenburg in Germany, at the railway station of the town, or what was left of it, we unloaded our shells, we had got there before the guns. We saw scores of enemy dead laying about, it was a very hot spot, enemy artillery kept shelling us but their range was a bit out, most fell short. When darkness fell enemy fighters flew over low and dropped small bombs, but they gave their guns the range and we were soon being peppered by the 88's. A lot of fires were started, and as soon as it got light we made our way back to Helmond, back to the old Nut and Bolt factory in which we lived, very chilly with no glass in the windows and no doors in the door frames, yes the same billets we had when we were here before.
To be continued.

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