大象传媒

On March 25th 1945, the assault over the Rhine took place at Rees and our Engineering Company was in the front of the assault under a huge barrage of artillery. It was our job to bulldoze the ramps down to the river, drive in the posts to guide the tanks down to where the floating bridges were being assembled and place them into position.
After the assault took place, we were retained in the area to assist in the building of the permanent bridge over the Rhine, which was approximately hundred yards short of a mile in length. This bridge and one further down at Wasel, took the whole of the 2nd Army into Germany, and led to the end of the war in Europe on May 25th.
After the war ended, we then followed the other troops into Germany, ending first in Hamburg and moving later to Hanover. Whilst we were in this area the Concentration Camp at Belsen was released and some members of our company were sent in to assist. I was not. Later we were asked to assist in the rehabilitation of some of the young girls who had been released and found that most of them had come from Yugoslavia, as it was then.
Later they were repatriated back to Yugoslavia, but were not at all happy to go as they felt they would only end up in a Russian Concentration Camp.
We finished our work in Germany removing bombed bridges out of canals. It was at this time that I saw a notice in our Company H.Q. asking for volunteers to train as Clerk of Works in the army to replace the people who had been called up and would later be discharged on demobilisation. I volunteered on my own behalf and aso six of my colleagues. We were accepted and were sent back to Chatham, where we were again tested and accepted, took a one-year course, promoted to Staff Sargeants and started our new career.

W Lowbridge

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