大象传媒

3 Jan. 2006.

Subject - Sergeant William Mark HICKS
5th Div. Duke of Cornwall鈥檚 Light Infantry
(43rd. Wessex Division)
Location of story - Cheux , Northern France
Date - 27th. June 1944.

My great-uncle, William Mark HICKS (Bill), Army No. 5616789, joined the 5th. D.C.L.I. as a Territorial Army member during 1934. By the outbreak of the 2nd. World War he was a Corporal and in December 1939 was promoted Sergeant. He was in the Support Company and was a 鈥楳ortar Sergeant鈥�.
On 19 June 1944 he boarded the ss William Jones at the Royal Albert Dock in London with the vehicles which comprised the 鈥楽upport Company鈥�. The main body of 5DCLI embarked at Newhaven on the ss Biarritz. Due the stormy conditions the men were cooped-up on the ships for two days before setting sail for France. On 鈥楧-day鈥� they landed on Juno Beach.

On 24 June 1944 Bill was to become the first serving member of the 5DCLI to be awarded the Military Medal. The following story I have pieced together from books (both English and French) and from hours of audio-taped interviews of eyewitnesses, including Bill himself. These I have collected to write a biography of Bill. The story of his heroism even made a feature on the cover of a 1960s comic, 鈥楾he Victor鈥� Issue No. 395 dated 14 September 1968.

At dawn on 27th. June the centre of the small village of Cheux was totally congested with vehicles stuck in mud following days of rain. Bill was in the leading Company and took up a position in a small orchard about a mile south of Cheux in a hamlet called Le Haut de Bosq where the 9th. Cameronians had taken half of the village. Due to a break-down in communications, the Cameronians had withdrawn their heavy guns, not knowing that the 5DCLI had theirs tied-up in Cheux. Sometime between 9 and 9.30 a.m. the Cornishmen were relieved to hear the sound of what they thought were their heavy guns approaching. Using the high hedges five German Panther tanks had made their way up the road to the orchard and burst through. The first opened fire on the four 17lb.anti-tank guns of the DCLI knocking all of them out. 鈥楢ll hell let loose鈥� as it dawned on the men just what was happening. They scrambled for cover. A small anti-tank gun took out one of the Panther tanks. Bill got a PIAT(Projector Infantry Anti-Tank) gun and with a Corporal RONAN at close range he fired the PIAT and a shell smashed through the side of one of the tanks. Bill told me 鈥淚 told the bloke with me to get more ammo for the PIAT, and I knocked the second tank out, they didn鈥檛 like it much!鈥� The remaining tanks were either destroyed or fled. The 5DCLI had been in action for the first time in WW2 but had lost 20 men either killed or wounded including the Battalion Commander Lt.Col.Atherton. For his part in the action Bill was awarded the Military Medal. My research has failed to come up with any more information relating to Corporal RONAN.

Bill moved with the battalion on to take part in the battle of Hill 112, and later through Belgium, Holland and then into Germany. On 18 November 1944 he was seriously wounded Near Hoven Wood (Germany) where he had part of his face destroyed by shrapnel. He recovered and continued to live a full and active life until his death at his home in Bude, Cornwall in October 1990.

Any more information about Bill, Corporal RONAN or any of his colleagues would be much appreciated. Please contact me at mayglynn@hotmail.com. Thank you.

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