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Memories of Captain Harry Rawkins Part Two 鈥� 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment in Europe 1944 and the Liberation of Ootmarsum in 1945

Part two of an oral history interview with Mr. Harry Rawkins conducted by Jenny Ford on behalf of Bedford Museum

Well I came back - we were sent back to Greatham, which is somewhere near Hartlepool and we were sort of held in Reserve after 鈥楧鈥� Day because it was certainly chaotic on the beaches but we were held in Reserve to fill in any vacancies that occurred. And by God, there were some vacancies. Anyhow we stayed there for quite a long time and I was not called. I did not take part in 鈥楧鈥� Day and my first encounter with the Continent was 鈥� are you conversant with all the phases of the War? Do you remember a thing called the Falaise Gap? Well I was then an East Yorks. I was with the East Yorkshire Battalion. The Germans were still occupying the coastal strip, but I got in and joined the 2nd Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment. We sailed from one of the south coast resorts, I think it was either Dover or one of the south coast resorts and we sailed into the Continent. I presume there were still pockets of Germans on either side of us but we got through.

When I met up with the Battalion - I was a Captain by then I think and I was, it鈥檚 no good going into the details but in those days they had what they called a Support Company. This was a three inch mortar platoon, a carrier platoon and a six pounder anti-tank gun and I was commanding, well for a time, both the mortars and the carriers. But the great thing was when the Germans were just beginning to withdraw and as I say I was serving with the East Yorkshires and the Colonel, whose name I can鈥檛 remember now, sent me out with my Carrier Platoon to do a recce and to see what was what. I ran into this town of Ootmarsum which is a town on the borders of Germany and Holland. I say we didn鈥檛 have a battle because the Germans were already pulling out but when we arrived at Ootmarsum I was met by the Burgomaster who rejoiced in the name of Baron Honory Schimelpendic van der Oije.

Well when they decided that, or least when we got away because, as you can image, they said, 鈥楬urrah, you are the first English troops we鈥檝e got. The Germans are pulling out the other side of the town.鈥� In vain we tried to get away because everybody came out with bottles of wine and biscuits and packets of food that they had obviously stored up. It took me a hell of a long time to round up the troops and follow these retiring Germans! I think that one of my people did let off a volley of shots in the direction that we heard these Germans pulling out. But nothing was happening so we came back to Ootmarsum and I collected up the bits and pieces of my Platoon, who were being taking off to all sorts of locations by all the ladies, it was a right old pandemonium. I eventually collected them up and reported back to Head Quarters.

The Burgomaster wrote to the Colonel and asked if he would allow me to go over and spend some time with them in Ootmarsum and it was then that I was made a Freeman of the Town. We had an enormous party. Beer was served from a brand new jerry can - you know what a jerry can is? Well it was a brand new one. Of course there were enormous stocks of fuel and equipment and the Burgomaster got hold of one of these jerry cans which was perfectly clean, in fact it was brand new and we had it filled with ale and we drank from that.

I ended up in Bremen. Bremen which was a great port as you know and that was where my war ended. I was in a little suburb called Wegesach, I think it was and of course we captured the brewery at Bremen and there was a lot of old booze to be had. And I think that most of the people who were there replenished their stocks of booze from this brewery.

I came back to Bedford. I came back and asked the Insurance Company what job they could offer me and they said, 鈥榃ell we can offer you nothing more than to take up the reigns that you put down when you were called into the Army.鈥� Well, it didn鈥檛 suit me because having come from being a Major in the Army it didn鈥檛 suit me to come back to a very menial task in England so I鈥檓 afraid I did the dirty on my Company and said, 鈥業 would rather stay in the Army.鈥� I applied for a Regular Commission and eventually I got through. Do you remember General Horrocks, Sir Brian Horrocks? Well he was the final man who interviewed me and he said, 鈥榊es, I will recommend you for a Regular Commission,鈥� and that鈥檚 how I became a Regular soldier.鈥�

Mr. Harry Rawkins was later commissioned to the rank of Major in the Green Howards and served in Keyna in the 1950s and served during the Mau Mau Insurrection. Major Hawkins served in Singapore and returned to Aldershot as Adjutant at the School of PT in the 1960s.

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