大象传媒

Background
My Grandad, Albert Roberts, spoke little of his war experiences 鈥� all I knew was that he had driven a tank in France and Holland during the final 2 years of WWII. He sadly passed away in 2003. Recently however my Nanna, Barbara Roberts, discovered several pages of handwritten notes about his war experiences that we believe he wrote shortly before his death. I have typed these up exactly as written.

My Memories of 鈥楧鈥� Day by Albert Roberts

Early in 1943 it became more and more obvious that to open a second front in France would be suicide unless some method of getting armoured units safely ashore and in quantity was devised. This was to be proved after the disaster of Dieppe 鈥� incidentally the first time the Churchill tank was introduced.

The destruction of concrete defences and pill boxes and the bridging of anti-tank ditches and craters that would be met were the tasks which faced the Royal Engineers. But dismounted Sappers working in the open under fire and carrying explosives, bridges, etc would stand no chance of survival. The logical solution was to put Sappers into Armoured Vehicles.

Thus the first Assault Brigade Royal Engineers was formed and the Churchill tank was chosen to adapt to the job. The 5th Armoured Engineer Regiment, the one to which I was attached, formed part of that brigade.

So it was in April and May 1943 we found ourselves being sent to Catterick on courses for the driving and maintenance of Churchill tanks. The Churchill AVRE (Assault Vehicle Royal Engineers) was born.

During the next twelve months (as a result of reconnaissance over France) each form of defence that was noted had to be overcome by some means by the use of a specially adapted tank. One tank was adapted with a spigot mortar firing a 40lb charge capable of destroying a concrete block or pill box. Another carried a soft bridge held up by cables which could be blown by a small explosive charge by pressing a switch in the tank allowing the bridge to drop over a tank trap or crater. A third carried what was known as a 鈥榝ascine鈥� i.e. a huge bundle of chestnut paling big enough to fill a crater or tank trap, blown as before from inside the tank, filling the crater and allowing the tank to cross over. Another simply fed white tape out through each side of a tank to mark the lane, so formed as a guide to the following fighting tanks. There were several more but at least you get the general idea of what was needed.

We spent months on the South coast training on beaches similar to ones expected in France and also at Linney Head, the 39th Armoured Divisions tank training area in South Wales. About the beginning of May 1944 we were confined to cargo at Gosport along with the Canadians with whom it turned out we were to go in with. Our time was spent waterproofing each tank and fitting the special air ducts which protruded high enough for the tanks to land in deep water.

On the 3rd June we had our final briefing and were loaded onto the LCTs ready for the assault which was scheduled for the 5th June. However the weather was so vile we had to stay aboard for another 24 hours as it was decided not to go till the 6th. As it turned out we were anchored in the Channel during all the bad storms and all sea-sick, including the navy. Just imagine a flat-bottomed LCT with tanks on board with bridges etc suspended up in the air with that kind of weather.

The Channel crossing was a nightmare 鈥� the LCT creaked and groaned on the crest of every wave and I have a vivid memory of the Canadian tied to the Wheel. A stocky fellow with vivid red hair and a huge beard to match who kept shouting (in between being sick) 鈥淪he鈥檒l break her b____ back before we get across鈥�. The Channel was thick with ships of all shapes and sizes 鈥� just visible in the darkness and then lit up under the glare of broadside from the Battleships behind us.

We eventually sited land, the LCT dropped its ramp, and we ran off into the 鈥淒rink鈥�, (quite eerie seeing fish darting past the visor of the tank). Then we were clear, blew our air ducts off and followed the 鈥淔lails鈥� up the beach, marked our route, and eventually took cover on solid ground in the village of Coursellas sur Mer. It was then approximately H hour +1.

As a P.S. 鈥� a few weeks before 鈥楧鈥� day I was transferred from one company to another which upset me as I had trained with that particular crew right through. Several weeks after the landing I was transferred back. However, the tank I should have been in took a direct hit with an 88mm as it left the LCT and all the crew were killed. I am now a firm believer in FATE.

Walcheren

After the fate of Caen and the tank battle (Operation Totalize) in the Falaise gap in August 1944 , 5th Assault Engineering Regiment concentrated at Heronvillette for training in rafting and bridging and also were re-equipped with LVTs (Landing Vehicles Tracked) or 鈥淏uffalos鈥�. The transition from Armoured to Amphibious un-armoured vehicles went quite smoothly it being anticipated that the next obstacle would be the river Seine. However the German retreat carried on beyond that river and into Belgium.

I remember this area for the rotten smell of dead cattle, thousands of flies and mosquitoes and an epidemic of dysentery (Normandy Tummy) which laid us low for several days.

The Break Out from Normandy during September and early October saw the crossing of the Seine and the fall of Brussels and Antwerp. During this period the ports of Le Harve, Boulogne and Calais were also taken, the Germans having decided to leave strong forces there to deny their use as long as possible.

The Port of Antwerp had been captured, virtually intact, in September but its use was denied because of strong German positions at the mouth of the river Scheldt (Walcheren Island and the South Beveland Peninsular in particular). Until Antwerp could be used all supplies had to be carried overland from the 鈥楳ulberry鈥� port in Normandy, a distance of six or seven hundred miles.

Therefore the Scheldt battles, although involving relatively small numbers of men (Walcheren the most strongly held was about 10000), were crucial. The operation to clear the Scheldt estuary was split into three parts:
The South Bank operation, 鈥渙peration Switchback鈥�
South Beveland, 鈥渙peration Vitality鈥�
Walcheren, 鈥渙peration Infatuate鈥�.

Switchback was the first operation in the Western Hemisphere when Buffalos were used and was a complete success as the Germans had their backs to the river and did not anticipate an attack from that direction. At 2am October 8th the 9th Canadian Brigade were landed and stores and supplies ferried over four days, when the South Bank was cleared successfully. Our squadron of Buffalos were then withdrawn for the main attack on Walcheren Island.

To those who have little knowledge of a 鈥楤uffalo鈥�, I will try to explain what they were. They were American made and consisted of a tracked amphibious vehicle driven by an air-cooled aircraft engine and used mainly for ferrying troops, jeeps or Bren Carriers. As they were unarmed and carried no means of communication, we fitted them with Browning machine guns, short-wave radio and other essential gear to convert them to an assault craft. As a driver, I found the most difficult part was estimating the speed of the tide so that you hit the bank at such an angle to allow the tide to swing you round at right angles to the bank, so that you had enough time to drop down to first gear to climb out. If not it meant you had to circle and come in again with the danger that involved especially under fire.

Walcheren had strongly built and well-manned defences and was connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway which could easily be defended. It was decided the only method of attack would be frontally from the sea. As most of Walchern island lies below sea level it was decided to flood the island by breaking the main dykes. This was successfully achieved in October by Bomber Command 鈥� four great gaps being blown and the island flooded.

At midnight on October 31st, we left Ostend aboard Tank Landing Craft, and under cover of heavy naval bombardment, were dropped off at Westkapelle at about 9:45am November 1st. We had on board an Assault force from 4th Special Service Brigade (Commandos) and successfully ferried them the 400 yards or so to the beach.

My first sight of Westkapelle was funny but probably unique 鈥� a Royal Marine with one leg either side of a roof top, trousers down, relieving himself (I don鈥檛 know where he got the toilet paper).

As the island was flooded the only method of transport was by Buffalo and for eight days we were continually picking up and moving troops and stores until the Germans surrendered on 8th November. The work of ferrying troops and supplies continued until 14th November when we were pulled out to Terrengen. By that time the poor old Buffalos were virtually falling to bits from overwork. By late November the river Scheldt had been cleared of mines and Antwerp with all its port facilities intact was in full use.

V.E. Day

Where were you on V.E. day? We were in Deventer in Holland and it is a day I鈥檒l always remember. The Dutch people went mad and clapped us on the back, hugged us, kissed us and threw their doors open to us. We were all invited to the town hall and couldn鈥檛 believe our eyes when we got inside. There was a huge tub in the centre of the floor and the Dutch people had brought bottles of anything drinkable and tipped it into the tub. We were invited to dip our mugs or mess tins in and drink our fill. We all finished up rather the worse for wear.

We enjoyed their hospitality for the next three weeks when we had to move on into Germany. On our last night there, they arranged a farewell dance which went on till about midnight when we had to say goodbye to everybody.

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