大象传媒

Letters of Love
from the Teutoburger Wald
by Patricia Handley

I was born in 1941 to John and Florence Southall of Lye Stourbridge
during the 2nd World War and for 3 years my loving and hard working parents lived in peace and loving harmony,cared for me and brought me up in a troubled World of torment and strife caused by the war.

My father, known as Jack to the family and friends,worked at the Austin Motor Company in Longbridge Birmingham as a machinist and assembler of the Fairy Battle fighter bomber aircraft manufactured there.
My mother worked in the typical Lye metal industry.

At the age of 29 in 1944 my father was called up to serve in the British armed forces and left mother and I at home to wait patiently and eagerly for his safe return. As I was only 3 years of age at the time I have very little recollection of him but in the following years my parents had corresponded with each other almost daily while he was away,firstly with
The 1st Bn The Durham Light Infantry training in England and then while in Belgium and Germany having been posted to the 3rd Monmouthshire Regiment with whom he saw active service. I was always mentioned in these letters with great love and affection.

From the news on the radio and in the newspapers my mother and my fathers sister Auntie Beatrice followed the progress of the Allied forces into Germany and hoped that the war would soon be over and my father would return home safely.

During the early days of April 1945 my mother received the dreadful news that her husband had been killed in action on the 2nd April at the Teutoburger Wald near Osnabruck together with many others of his Regiment while attacking a strong group of German forces ensconced within this formidable forest area. It was later learned that my father had shortly before, been promoted to Lance Corporal and led a section of troops in 鈥淒鈥� Company and they were supporting a Corporal in the action who was later awarded aVictoria Cross.

My mother and her family and friends were shocked and filled with sadness for a very long time, there had been very little information from the War Office of the events or circumstances of that fateful day and I grew up during the following years with very little knowledge my father's demise or of his final resting place. It was not until much later that I learned that he, together with other casualties of the actions of those fateful days was at rest in the Reichswald Forest Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Cleve in Germany.

My mother had fond memories of the happy days spent with my father but long after the trauma of his sad loss she remarried and from thereon I had a happy childhood, teenage years and marriage and had two lovely daughters and two grandchildren.

When my mother passed away in the 1990鈥檚 it fell to me to clear the effects and furnishings from her house and while doing this I came upon a large cardboard shoe box concealed in the bottom of a wardrobe. Upon my examination of the contents I was delighted and suprised to find nearly 100 letters in envelopes together with other momentos and photographs which my father had sent to my mother during his service life. I now realise how much my mother treasured these and how in her quiet moments had happy memories of her short time with him.

During the year 2004 together with my Aunty Beatrice and with the aid of the British Legion we visited my fathers grave at Cleve,a sad,but memorable journey. We were both exhausted from the coach journey but hoped that we could afford the cost of a further pilgrimage in later years.

A chance meeting with an old school friend then led me to a most amazing and wonderful experience whereby, having described to her my journey to my fathers grave, she told me of a local gentleman who was researching the history of another local serviceman Cedric Holdnall who had served with him and that they had also been in the battle at the Teutoburger Wald during those early April days.

Some time later I made contact with this gentleman,named Ray Griffiths and learned of his association with the 3rd Monmouthshire Regt. and the 1st Herefordshire Regt, both regiments having taken part in the fighting on the 1st,2nd and 3rd April 1945. Ray also told me of his friend Brian Poole whose brother in law Billy Smith, a member of the 1st Herefords was also killed in the actions of 1st April.

Brian and Ray had visited the scene of the fighting during April 2003 and had met one of the German soldiers who had also taken part in the fighting, he is Dr Wolf Berlin. From the many maps, war diaries, books etc and their contacts with survivors of the battle Brian and Ray have a very good knowledge of the events and happenings of those April 1945 days.

When Ray had examined my fathers letters he found many facinating similarities to his own movements such as they both attended a football match in Brussels, they were stationed near to each other. He also noted that some of my fathers letters were censored by a Captain V Mountford, this was the Company Commander rescued by the Corporal who received the Victoria Cross for his actions.

As a result of a generous donation to Veterans of the 2nd World War from the Big Lottery Fund, Brian and Ray had planned and organised a journey to the Teutoburger Wald for a group of friends in early April 2005 and asked if I would like to join them? I was delighted to accept and learned that the visit would include a meeting and memorial service with a group of German soldiers called The Friends of Bergen who had also been in the action during those early days of April 1945 and also a visit to the Reichswald Forest Cemetery at Cleave.

It was a most most moving experience and I was deeply grateful to all the people who had supported me.

During the course of their research Brian and Ray had discovered a stained glass Memorial Window in our local church and upon it are my fathers and Cedric Holdnalls names,together with 47 other names of men of Lye and Wollescote who had lost their lives during the 2nd World War. They have traced the records of all but one of these men, a D HART,and would be pleased to here from any of his surviving relatives.
I now have the opportunity to visit the church and be with the memory of my father always.

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