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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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Return from Dunkirk

by Jill Corin (nee Hampton)

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Contributed by听
Jill Corin (nee Hampton)
People in story:听
Happy (Vernon) Hampton, Corporal Horace Sly (Sligh?)
Location of story:听
Belgium, Dunkirk & Brecon
Background to story:听
Army
Article ID:听
A6347180
Contributed on:听
24 October 2005

I want to share a letter which my father wrote after returning from Dunkirk.
His name was Vernon (known as Happy) Hampton. He was a driver in the 8th Royal Warwickshire Regiment and also was with the Parachute Regiment for some time.
He was involved in Dunkirk, North Africa, Monte Cassino and somehow in the civil war in Greece.
As they were retreating from Belgium towards Dunkirk, my father had been driving to the front and back all day with supplies. He had one more journey to make when a Corporal Horace Sly (or Sligh? I do not know the spelling of the name) asked if he had eaten yet. My father replied that he had not, so the corporal told my father to eat while he took the last load himself. Unfortunately the truck was blown up and Corporal Sly was killed. My father felt guilty about this until he died in 2004.
On his return to England, on The Maid of Orleans, which resued him from the beach at Dunkirk, he was immediately transported by train to Brecon, where the troops were mustered. It was from Brecon that my father wrote this letter to his mother, sister and wife. They had not heard from him for months and feared the worst until this letter arrived.

Brecon
Sth. Wales. 2/6/40

Dear Mom, Ann and Lucy.

Cheers! at last we are safe again in our own land, but believe me I did not think I should ever see you all again, it鈥檚 been terrible out there. Of course you knew that we left France 4 weeks ago when I stopped writing and I have not had a letter so I hope they have not done the same with those letters as we did with our lorries and kit. I came to England with a small haversack with soap, towel, writing kit, 2 tins of corn beef and biscuits. All my clothes including overcoat went with the lorry in about 10ft of water, so that Hitler and his gang would not have it.

We left England on 6th January 1940 with 1000 men but we came back with 115, we had heavy losses in two battles. Cpl. Sly got killed in my lorry and, believe me, it has been on my nerves all the time. Well, out of 鈥淎鈥 Company, 13 have come back and 3 lorry drivers, but after we fought our way through Dunkirk there is only me left of the three of us, but when I come to Birmingham, I am hoping to find them at home, one of them used to work in the Drawbench.

I think we are only here for two or three days鈥 rest because we have not had our boots off for three weeks and last week we had 2hrs sleep, so you can tell. But what a happy and grand spirit the English People had at every other station they were giving us food, tea, pop and cigs and from Dover to Wales people lined the side of the Railway cheering us up, but of course it will not be half as much as you will I bet, but I think I shall be home sometime this week, and where we are, we are living like lords, the women have worked all night getting food ready for us.

By the way, I am listening to the news now about what our troops did, well, what is left of us, and we that are left walked roughly 125 miles to Dunkirk. Oh my feet! But when we knew that it was for homewards we did not mind. This is how we had our orders on Wednesday night: Break your lorry up, dump all the kits you are no more driving, you will be fighting in the front line in 2 hours鈥 time, oh and believe me I thought it was my time.

Well I am sorry I can鈥檛 write to you all separately but we had no money for three weeks, do not write back because I shall not get it.

Ann, tell Mr Dunford not to send my money to France until he sees me again.

Well, God bless you and thank Him for my safe return,

Yours always,

Vernon

P.S. GOD SAVE THE KING AND ENGLAND. I lost about 800 francs in presents.

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