大象传媒

13/10/44
RIGHT ACROSS FRANCE

From Conde we went right across France to near Vernon in three or four moves. As I mentioned before, the country now began to show progressively fewer signs of fighting, though at least two of the towns were rather badly knocked about, probably by bombing. Chiefly Putanges and Argentan, I think. And for a stretch beyond Conde the grim tale of dead horses continued, while over practically all the route there was a smashed or burnt Jerry truck or tank by the roadside every two or three hundred yards. But the countryside was coming to life again, and most of the wayside cottages and villages were intact, with tricolours flying and groups standing by the doorways to smile and wave at us. Outside one cottage there was a large board with the words 'Thank you for liberation" scrawled roughly in chalk. At another place an old girl stood at the doorway of a house shouting "Vive L'Angleterre" to each truck as it passed over a railway crossing. The appearance and dress of the inhabitants of these villages was brighter and smarter than those of the country people we had seen further back in Normandy - in the villages around Bayeux the appearance of the people was almost in keeping with the strongly medieval character of the villages themselves. However we had little opportunity to pass more than a few words with them en route.

THE WEATHER BREAKS
Two other features marked our emergence from what I call the battle area - from just beyond Conde. Firstly the spell of good weather broke, and from then on, until only about eight or nine days ago, it was invariably a case of night and day of heavy rain, followed by a night and day of fine weather. At one leagure, after a particularly heavy downpour during the night, we had a busy day repairing sets into which the rain had leaked through the vehicle roofs, causing a variety of faults. But we were pretty lucky with our moves - they were usually on fine days, so that only once or twice did we have the unpleasant job of packing up and unpacking in the pouring rain.. Secondly, the heavily wooded country of Normandy began to open out a little, becoming at the same time, down to near Gace, rather more hilly. Consequently there were some glorious cross-country views to be seen during our moves, with everything looking wonderfully green in the bright sun after the previous day's rain. The appearances of the villages had altered from the type further back in Normandy which I have remarked upon before; they were nearer to the average villages to be encountered almost anywhere in England, some of the houses new, most of them more or less old, some in red brick, some in white washed clunch. I should be inclined to compare this part of the country with rural Gloucestershire or Warwickshire. The few towns, however, had a distinctive appearance not to be found in England, chiefly die to the prevalence of the Continental sunblind.

From about Gace to Pacy the country became still clearer, and also flattened out, so that, with extensive cornfields stretching out on either side of the road it bore a strong resemblance to our part of East Anglia. We covered this stretch in one journey of nearly 80 miles. It was just after the final capitulation of the Germans in Paris, and it was probably in consequence of this that there was a noticeable increase in the enthusiasm of waves and smiles from the people who stood at the doorways of the farmhouses and cottages, and in the main street of the villages and small towns. There was, in fact, a look of real gladness on the faces of these people which was good to see. Many of them threw us apples as we passed, and during one temporary halt in a village, a middle-aged lady, beaming all over her face, came alongside the trucks distributing some fine tomatoes.

ACROSS THE SEINE

Pacy is close to Vernon, and a couple of days later we were across the Seine, commencing our dash across Northern France into Belgium. I do not remember the exact date, but I do not think that August 31st was more than a couple of days out. I was over a day ahead of the Main Corps, being at this time, on the General's recce party - a small collection of tanks, armoured half-tracks and scout cars. There had been a spot of fighting just over the river (and Vernon itself had been pretty badly knocked about). A mile or so past the bridge, Jerry had held some high ground and as we went round a bend half-way up the hill we came across the wrecks of two of our Bren carriers and a scout car. Halfway round the next bend was the cause of the trouble - a knocked out Tiger tank. A little further on, a dead Jerry lay spread-eagled on the bank, head downwards, then the remains of another under a ground sheet by the side of the road. We leagured that night (in the pouring rain), in the grounds of a chateau which the Germans had abandoned the previous day. There were piles of equipment, ammunition and broken rifles everywhere - usually the evidence of a surrender, a couple of dead Jerries under a tree in a courtyard, the smouldering remains of a barn and a couple of corn stacks in the farmyard, but the house was undamaged except for broken windows and some of the farm workers and servants were still living in the cottages near the farm buildings - either they had never left or they had returned before we got there.

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