A lancashire lad Goes to War : Chapter 11

Operation Overlord

We knew that there was going to be a big push and eventually we made our way to Purfleet. We arrived sometime the end of May and just hung around waiting, and eventually all our equipment was loaded on to a utility ship - very primitive with welded seams and not pot-riveted which made them quick to make but easy to sink.

We were all crammed very uncomfortably below the decks with hammocks strung up for us to rest in, and we travelled to Normandy as part of Operation Overlord during the late afternoon of 6th June, arriving off Gold Beach in the early hours of the following morning. The battleships were all around us and the Germans were flying over regularly bombing. All I ever saw - not that I saw very much being below - were Messerschmidts. We stayed on until our ship for two days under air attack whilst other ships unloaded, before we were allowed to climb down the rope ladders lashed to the side of the ship into the landing craft. The trucks were lifted in by crane. The landing craft ahead of mine was almost hit by two bombs dropped from a Bf-l 09, drenching the occupants, but finally we came onto dry land at 10:30 hours on 9th June. The enemy wasn’t around and the Loadmaster pointed us on to a road. From there we then headed to an orchard where we were ordered to stay. We stayed in that orchard for two or three days and then someone came for us and we were moved forward of Bayeux close to Tilly sur Seulle where we spent the next two or three weeks. This part of the front was static owing to the battle for Caen to the east and the heavy defences impeding the American forces to the west. Close by was a grand French chateau that had not been looted, so I occasionally went over there with some other soldiers to admire the fine-cut glass and chinaware. We were troubled by a bad smell near the gates, which became worse with time. Only later did we hear that ten or twelve Canadian soldiers had been shot in the back of the head and buried there in shallow graves.

While I was resting in my slit trench one day, my mates woke me up to tell me that we had no tea. We tossed a coin for the task of returning to the truck to get some more supplies, and unfortunately I lost. Whilst I was hunting through waterproof rations box which was located on top of the truck, we suddenly came under artillery fire. I jumped off the truck and dived into an unoccupied officers' slit trench nearby. When I returned to my slit trench I found five pieces of shrapnel embedded in my pillow. They had come from a shell that had exploded in the tree above the trench. That was certainly one time that losing the toss had great benefits.

Qui Etes-vous?"

At the beginning of September we had been making steady progress and were heading towards Belgium, but on 4th September we were stopped by a dispatch rider from advancing any further than about two miles outside Brussels. He reached us with orders for us to stay where we were, as the higher echelons wanted the Belgian Brigade to be the first into Brussels - which was understandable. We were in a nice spot, with nobody throwing nasty things and just right for a quiet brew. We stayed there for about two hours until another rider arrived to say that the Belgian Brigade had been held up and we were to proceed with haste to the capital. They thought that the Germans had gone but we were still to be careful.

So we set off at a fair speed until we reached the outskirts of the city, when we slowed down to about fifteen or twenty m.p.h. The streets were deserted even though it was about 8 o’clock in the morning. About half a mile in we saw a man come out of a house and stare at us. He then asked "Qui etes-vous?" I shouted back that we were English and he replied by shouting "The English are here!" while running up and down. A few people opened their windows and started shouting and waving to us while hanging their national flag out of the windows. We had almost reached the city centre when we had to stop because there were many hundreds of
people crowding around us, shaking our hands, hugging and kissing us. Men and perhaps waiters arrived with trays carrying glasses of champagne that they said had been hidden until the Germans had gone. We were the first Allied soldiers they had seen since the Germans arrived four years previously. Two tanks had passed through the city during the night but their identity was not known, as they had not stopped. It was an unforgettable experience to witness the pleasure and relief on the faces of all these people.

Our Skipper was in the jeep leading us; I was in the one just behind. He was a very quiet, reserved man and when I looked at him time just did not matter. There was a late teenage girl sitting on his lap and two more sat on the bonnet. He was very ill at ease and to increase his embarrassment one of the girls was wearing his flat officer's hat. He asked his driver to continue but this was impossible as he also had a young girl draped across him and a glass of champagne in his hand (which he was struggling to drink). I cannot remember how long the folk kept us there - it was just like a dream - but eventually we started to inch forwards, the crowds still milling around us, hugging and kissing and shaking our hands and plying us with endless drinks.

Another dispatch rider arrived with instructions to park our trucks and remain where we were until further notice. Our contingent comprised the Troop Commander's jeep, 6 field trucks and 2 HQ trucks so a tree-lined street not far from the Royal Palace suited our purposes. I could not see any more troops following us into the city, so I do not know when the first back-up troops arrived. I could not hear any artillery - only bursts of small arms fire somewhere in the distance. There were less people around us by this time and someone organised some food.

At about 17:00 the 'Skipper' gathered us together and said that anyone who wished to go into the city centre could do so provided that there were sufficient remaining to mount a guard. "Get cleaned up and look as smart as you can - and don't get into trouble. You can go at 6 o'clock." I washed, shaved and dug out a clean shirt with a liberal shaking of talcum powder. I set off with a lad called Dawes (he was a full-time ballroom dance instructor) and Johnny Lock tagged along. As we walked passed the bars people called to us to have a drink; we thanked them and declined as we wanted to have a look around the big square we had passed through earlier.

We had been unable to see anything previously because of the crowd of people. Dawes spoke good French and was able to chat with the citizens and translate for us.

Eventually 3 adults and 2 girls in their early twenties stopped us and thanked us for driving out the Boche. Would we like to spend the evening with them at their flat? The group was a mother, father and daughter, with an older cousin who owned the flat and a younger cousin. The parents were called De Coq and the daughter was called Odette - I cannot remember the name of the cousins. Johnny Lock asked Dawes to explain to the man that he was seeking the company of girls and to excuse him, but Dawes and I accepted the invitation.

The flat was very impressive, being big and expensively furnished. The lounge must have been 5-m square with a polished block floor. We sat there and talked (both the girls spoke very good English), had a few drinks and some real coffee. As time went on the parents said it was time to go home and we thought that we should go too. The cousins protested and said that there was a spare bedroom with a large double bed, if we did not mind sleeping together they would be honoured if we would stay. We agreed, providing that we were up by 06:30 to return to our unit. Sure enough, at 06:30 we were awoken, had a wash down and went into the dining room where all 3 cousins were waiting for us. We sat down to quite a number of freshly-made waffles and honey washed down with fresh coffee. At 7 o'clock we thanked them profusely and set off for the tram.

A tram eventually came along. The driver greeted us like long-lost brothers and would not take a fare. He claimed to know where our unit was parked but I do not think he was supposed to go in that direction as he kept alighting from the tram to move the points. When we stopped for the last time he pointed us in the correct direction and we thanked him. "No, it is us that thank you" and after a few minutes' walk we were back with our unit. The news reel cameras arrived in Brussels about two or three hours after we had entered the city, and they assumed that the troops arriving then were the ones that had relieved Brussels. This was not correct, but it was probable that the film team did not know that we were already there, and this fact has never been officially acknowledged. My parents went to the cinema twice in the hope of seeing me, as they had no idea where I was, and of course I was not on the newsreel.

We set about checking our equipment, as this was the first real stop since Normandy. As the Front had advanced we had packed up and waited perhaps a day before we were sent forwards again, only to put down another 'base' and start locating the enemy guns again. Up until then we had often been shelled, strafed and bombed so it was nice to be in that quiet, peaceful area of Brussels. The two cousins arrived in the afternoon and Dawes and I were invited to the De Coqs' for the evening. They returned at 6 o' clock to take us to the right house. Mr De Coq had a workshop at the rear of the house where he made jewellery - he showed us his wares (necklaces, brooches etc) and they were beautiful. Odette designed a lot of the jewellery. The evening passed very pleasantly and we walked back to our billet for 11 o'clock. There were now several other units in Brussels but I do not know their identity. We stayed for four days and then word came for us to move forward, on 7th September, back to the Front Line.

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