大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Vishwanath Bhargava of the Chineham Learning Centre on behalf of Audrey Hall and has been added to the site with her permission. The author understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

Driver J Couzens
No. 1878895
118 Road Construction Co.
Royal Engineers

Stationed in Blain Brittany

Our company were occupied in making road in a big forest for storing petrol, oil etc. We watched demolition squad fire the dumps on our evacuation, a fire and smoke that I shall never forget. We were supplied by a Naafi in a field with all the goods a Naafi sells the company marching sound to each store and getting equal shares of cigs razor blades boot laces writing paper chocolates etc in fact our kit bags were loaded as if father Xmas had called on us, but unfortunately not one of the boys enjoyed their gifts as they all went to the bottom when the Lancastria sank.

It was about 8:15 am when we boarded the ship to take us to Blighty and troops were being loaded all day until I suppose there was any room left, the below deck was fully occupied when we boarded the boat so it was really out of the question to find a place to lay down so I got on the top deck and got comfortable nursing my kit bag snatching 40 winks when possible. The day was passing fairly quiet until Jerry started to bomb the other ships in the harbour and it was pathetic to see how close those bombs were falling. Anyway I was thinking that our boat could be the next target and it wasn鈥檛 long before it happened.

I was sitting beneath a lewis gun mounted on a tripod it was a beautiful day and the sun was brilliant and all of a sudden this bomber came almost in the rays of the sun and no time to do anything about it and so the bomb struck below in a vital spot and of course there were hundreds trapped the time by my watch was two minutes to four when we were hit, as I looked at my watch than of course we started to take water and we keeled over and was ordered to scram to the other side of the boat and to try to right her, but things were not going right and in the mean time men were trying to escape from below and I saw very many badly hit and burnt and not much could be done for them life belts were very short and of course not enough to go around, myself being without one but I did not want to panic and I was holding in readiness to go into the water when the time came.

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