大象传媒

Introduction

This is the testimony of one of my uncles, 7517826 Private Ronald Ritson, RAMC, about the latter part of World War Two during in 1945. Ronald gave me this testimony in 2000 for one of my university projects.

He agreed to assign copyright to me, that I could write about it, that it could be donated to an archive and that others could read it if they wished. I am grateful that he shared these memories with me.

The cold winter of early 1945

Late on in the War into 1945 we had this new Commanding Officer. They called him Major Mann. He was a nice fellow, but different from our previous CO we had had, Major Hargreaves. As far as my knowledge tells me, he was from Glasgow.

During that winter when were on to the German border, the weather was really so bad. There was snow, rain, sleet, wind, everything. The infantry then, they must have had God鈥檚 blessing on them, how to survive in that. And I would think the Germans must have had as well because they would have been in the Front line doing the same thing.

Of course it was in February 1945 that I got leave to come home and get married to Marie. My family caught the train down from Whitehaven to London. Then I got stuck in France because of storms in the Channel. When I got a crossing, I managed to send a ship-to-shore telegram to Marie to say I was on the way. I was two days late for the wedding. This was at St Chad鈥檚 in South Norwood, London, near Croydon.

The Siegfried Line

But anyway, we got over that winter and spring was coming. It was then that we were on the Siegfried Line. And I remember something to this day. I was doing my washing, and there was some barbed wire hanging there. I did my washing and I said to myself, 鈥淲ell, I鈥檓 going to hang out my washing on the Siegfried Line!鈥� Which I did do!

When I came back home I told an old pal of mine who had been in the First World War. He said to me, 鈥淕ood for you!鈥� They all thought it very funny. So I did 鈥榟ang out my washing on the Siegfried Line鈥�.

The German shelling

But what puzzled us, at that time, was that every time the Germans used to shell our lines, our artillery never used to fire back! Well, we asked our CO Major Mann, 鈥淲hat was the reason?鈥�

He told us, 鈥淒o you remember they used to fire back? Well they鈥檝e found out that every time our side fired on the German guns, they would move them. So, when they fired, there wasn鈥檛 any gun there!鈥� They used to send these spotter planes for reconnaissance.

Major Mann told us, 鈥淪o they thought, 鈥榃e鈥檒l not fire on them! Then they won鈥檛 move them until we come to cross the Rhine. And then, when we fire, we鈥檒l hit them, so that we won鈥檛 get any firing back!鈥� And that鈥檚 why we don鈥檛 fire back.鈥� Which was, to me, good thinking. We all thought that. Really, that鈥檚 what did happen. When our guns did fire the Germans didn鈥檛 fire back.

Crossing the Rhine

So when they crossed the Rhine, there was a terrible barrage that went up. There wasn鈥檛 very much fire come back from the Germans. So, they seemed to get across the Rhine O.K. I believe the German infantry put up some stiff resistance. But they did overcome it because we had the tanks for support.

They were pushing the Germans back pretty fast then. I think there was a lull then and everyone stopped to regroup for a spring offensive. There was going to be a push to finish the War. Our Division was going to push into Bremen in north Germany.

Entering Bremen

The Division swung round to the left, and went up into Bremen. My recollection of that was seeing the King鈥檚 Own Scottish Borderers, were marching up either side of the road with the bagpipes playing in front of them. It must have been a, a chilling feeling for these German people who were watching them. Here were the British Forces going to throw the Germans out of Bremen. Which they did do!

When we went up into Bremen we found this place was flat! There was not a building standing. We went to the docks and there wasn鈥檛 a ship afloat: just funnels sticking out of the water. So, our C.O. said, 鈥淚 think we鈥檇 better get out of here! It鈥檚 too quiet for us!鈥� So, we just got out of there. Bremen was just about the last action of our Division in the war.

The end of the war

Just before Bremen, after we鈥檇 moved into Germany we saw a British officer walk up to this house with Germans in it, civilians. He ordered them out! Obviously they had to come out. They were taking certain things with them and he wouldn鈥檛 allow them. They had to leave everything behind and go out with nothing! That鈥檚 what they did. Maybe there was a good reason at the time.

There were other Divisions further down south which were still carrying on fighting. I think they pulled our Division back for a while. Then it was the end of the war, May 8th 1945, V.E. Day. A few months later I was demobbed and went back to live at Scilly Banks and work at the pit again.

Conclusion

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line鈥� was a well-known popular song in wartime Britain before May 1940. The song became popular again in early 1945. By this time some British troops were actually on or near the pre-war German fortified Siegfried Line. Ronald鈥檚 Unit was among this number.

A few months after V.E. Day, Ronald left the army and started work again at Walkmill Colliery, Moresby Parks near Whitehaven, Cumbria. Ronald鈥檚 wife Marie left her own wartime service with the WRAF and they moved to the small village of Scilly Banks near Whitehaven in what was then Cumberland.

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