大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War website by Sutton Coldfield Library on behalf of Robert William Cheshire, (Ralph Frederick Cheshire's son). The contributor fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

These diary extracts were written by the late Ralph Frederick Cheshire whilst serving as Staff Sergeant in the Royal Engineers in Normandy. They were kindly bought into the library by his son. Some name places and other details were deleted from the original typed document by censors for security reasons at the time.

Diary

There is so much to tell you that I cannot put in my letters and which I may not remember, so I am writing it down to show you when I come home.

Shall I start from T__ camp at H___ K__. This was a camp underneath trees on a hill, surrounded by wood and open country. It would be a grand place for camping out in peacetime if one had a car. There is an excellent golf course about two miles away. We moved there on ___

The next place I want to tell you about is the ___. where we were deposited on___. The place here is a derelict area of slum which has been smashed by bombing. Tents have been placed where once there were houses.

Hundreds of troops are here, caged in behind barbed wire, it gave me the impression of a concentration camp. Dust is flying about all over the place. One鈥檚 boots are covered with dust two minutes after cleaning: one can taste the dust in one鈥檚 mouth. We spent a quite half an hour shaking the dust out of our blankets and beating our pailliases. The officers have to clean their own knife, fork and spoon the same as the O.R鈥檚 and use the same wash place and latrines. In the NAAFI a Lieut-Col may be waiting in the queue beside you.

There is a loud speaker which announces that certain units will ready to depart etc.

Over the other side of the barbed wire one can see slum cottages and the dirty faced ragged kiddies continually asking, 鈥� any badges or buttons鈥�.

Over in the S.W corner of the camp the charred shell of a church, the steeple still remains, towering over the ruins.

We have been confined to camp of course, but yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) we were let out like convicts on parole and I was able to phone you. It was a grand treat, but I paid for it afterwards, I felt miserable because part of me seemed miles away.

Sterling over 10/- has been exchanged for F.Frcs.

Wednesday
We have been allowed out again and I have had a grand long talk to you and felt so near to you. Your companionship matters more than anything else to me. I do hope Mother and Addie are getting better.

Thursday

At 0650 hours the loud speaker startled us from our sleep to say we should be ready for departure at 0815 hours. This meant a dash for a wash, dress and breakfast, collect sandwiches, blankets in bundles of ten back to stores and on parade in 鈥渂oat order鈥�.

We march to the waiting army trucks which convey us to the docks. We 鈥渄ebus鈥� and sit around on the grass until a loud speaker tells us our turn to move. We now have to wait, but a NAAFI Van supplies tea and sandwiches. Everything is well organised.

As our turn arrives we file on to the boat which is painted grey and has a number instead of a name. It would be about 8000 tons.

We boarded about 1200 hrs, handed in our embarkation tag, collected pailliasses and found a convenient place on deck. At 1600 hours we moved from Tilbury Dock.

It was interesting to see the handwavers along the dockside, in the warehouses etc. Our feelings are very mixed as the boat slips away from the quay. We sailed down to ___where we stayed for the night sleeping beneath an awning on one of the decks.

Friday

0600 hrs anchor weighed . 0800 hrs breakfast of spam, biscuits and tea.

As we approached the ____. we can hear the guns firing on the French coast.

1030-1100 we are passing the cliffs of Dover and the thought strikes me , as it probably did many others, 鈥淥h to be seeing them again coming the other way鈥�.

1300 lunch spam and biscuits. Visibility poor: cold and wet.

Saturday

About 0330 hours I awoke to the sound of guns and getting up saw tracer shells flying through the blackness, and also saw a vessel completely enveloped in flames. I learned later that four Jerry 鈥淓鈥� Boats had attacked us but were routed.

0530 hours. Breakfast of stew, biscuits and tea. A glorious day today. All around hundreds of British and U.S craft, Cruisers, Destroyers , corvettes, etc overhead are planes which look more like silver birds. It is reported that a Jerry plane dropped a bomb but was chased away. We see what look like floating fortresses, or floating docks. The fellows seem in good spirits. I feel full of enthusiasm for the venture.A fellow below is playing an accordion.

0800 hours. We can see the French coast. Two corvettes come past and give instruction by loud speaker to the Captain on the bridge, then a destroyer falls into line.

1030 hours. Still off the coast 鈥� heavy fighting going on, smoke can be seen on the land. It appears that the enemy are shelling the beach and the crusier and the destroyer near to us are replying, the noise is deafening. There is a ceasless overhead traffic. We heard continued gunfire from a battleship not far away through the night.

Sunday

1200 hours. Changed ship to LCT with transport. Landed on beach at 1300. Quite a good landing compared with some.

We assembled in the assembly area and received instructions where to go together with a guide. Everything was well organised.

We marched to ____ a little country town. The roads were extremely dusty and much traffic (vehicular) passed us. At _____ we spent the night in trenches, and apart from shell fire was quite uneventful.

Monday

Morning saw us off again, after breakfast on our 鈥渢ommycooker鈥� and halting in a main road we saw Monty in his jeep escorted by GMP鈥檚.

We marched in clouds of dust to our new abode, Douvre, which we found to be a large white house surrounded by grounds and trees.

We dug trenches underneath the trees, but as there was not much time before dark, these were not more than two feet deep.

I was N.W.O. i/c Picquet that night 鈥� and what a night. About 2330 hours, Jerry came over. The first I knew of it was the exploding of numerous Antipersonnel bombs in the garden at the front of the house. Fortunately I was not going the rounds of the billets but standing by the front doorway with men who had just come off duty. We instantly 鈥渉it the deck鈥�, crawled inside the doorway and lay on the floor while numerous A.P bombs exploded outside and around the house, some even bouncing off the house. The noise was terrific, the explosions reverberating through the windowless house. A lull came in the bombardment and we dashed down the steps outside the house and into the basement, where we crouched to the tune of a further shower of A.P. bombs, until we fully expected the house to come tumbling down. This was followed by a further lull, except for the intense A.A. and Artillery fire which went on all around us.

Not one of our men were touched, although the bombing was concentrated. A man from another unit was carried into the cellars and laid on a stretcher, with bomb splinters in his shoulders, arm and both legs. His wounds were treated with first field dressings by two of our men and he and another were taken down to the C.R.S.

We spent a very disturbed night, as Jerry appeared to know we were there. Fortunately all our men left their shallow trenches early on, and had taken shelter in the cellars, which were stoutly built but not impervious to H.E.

On the following morning we made a tour of inspection and found considerable evidence of the previous night鈥檚 activities. Bomb craters were back and front of the house, and we found ten to twelve unexploded bombs that were later dealt with by the B.D. lads, after we had sandbagged for safety.

The trench, which we vacated, showed signs of a visit from an A.P. bomb. It had exploded about three feet on one side of the trench. One fellow鈥檚 haversack-pillow was pierced, and Jerricans my end of the trench were riddled. The lawns back and front of the house were pitted with bomb craters.

That day we decided against the trenches and took to the cellars in the basement, and night came and found officers and O.R鈥檚 sleeping side-by-side underground.

The next few nights were inclined to be exciting as Jerry came over and the ack-ack and arty defences were terrific. We wondered whether or not Jerry would pin-point the house with HE, as it was quite a conspicuous landmark for any plane, and each night at the same time you could here the steel-helmets being donned, as we lay in the crowded cellar, when the ack-ack started clattering away and we heard the
鈥渨oof-woof鈥� of the Bofors increasing, as the drone of the planes drew nearer.

Later we put in 12鈥漻12鈥� timber supports in the cellar and blockaded the windows with stone and continued to sleep down there each night until we changed our billet.

A few nights later I was picquet I/C again. I was patrolling the front of the building, when a fast plane came roaring across the sky. It was very low and seemed to come directly over the lawn in front of me, appearing very suddenly over the tops of the trees. I thought it was one of ours as there was no ack-ack etc, although I did not recognise the sound of its engine. It had no sooner passed when the ack-ack opened up and searchlights followed in its wake. There was terrific gunfire and ack-ack barrage that night and Jerry planes were over again.

There is heavy gunfire during the daytime which is inclined to be a bit disturbing; it is difficult at times to work in the offices owing to the noise of the gunfire and the blast caused by the shells. We seem to be in between fire from our ships in the bay and that of the enemy. We can recognise which are our shells 鈥� they go- BOOM whe-e-e-e bump. The Jerry shells are just-whe-e-e-e CRUMP. We can see Jerry ack-ack firing at our planes, and at night, the 鈥渇laming onions鈥�. It is a very pleasant feeling to know that the Navy鈥檚 guard are giving us covering fire.

I was out walking with Capt Lamb one evening and we went to see remains of German equipment etc on the side of the road a few minutes walk from the billets. We debated whether to go any further but turned and came back. A day or two later we heard that Jerry strong point had been taken. I had heard a lot about these strong points, I decided to have a look at it. I took the Unit bicycle expecting to go some way, with Sten gun and steel helmet, and on enquiry found that it was up the same road that I had traversed the previous time. I cycled away and a few hundred yards passed the spot I had visited previously. I discovered the strongpoint to be in the wood, about to 10-15 minutes walk from the billet.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.