Sword Beach To Belsen

[Chris Canning]

I'll keep a long story short,phone rings during the week would you like to go to lunch on friday!! yea why not,I'll bring an old friend with me who went all through the war from D-Day till the end in a tank troup of Sherman flail tanks, as some one who has an interest in the war a fantastic afternoon,it would be great to tell the story,and I wouldn't even know were to start phewwww.

[Bixxer Bob]

Did you see the two-part piece on the 5th RTR on BBC last week?  Those guys went through it,  Africa, Italy, then Europe.  Iterviews with 3 survivors too!

[Chris Canning]

Yep thats what was the catalyst for the lunch/meeting.

[fraser j ross]

brilliant! tell us more please

[Chris Canning]

Absolutely endless stories.
Took 2 hours to get off the beach because of the traffic!!
His words 'We were that naive,they'd had no contact with the Germans and then he see's a Sherman burning,he thinks it's the bedding roll on the back of the tank has cought fire off the exhaust and the next thing boom they'd been hit by an 88 same as the tank in front,commander and gunner jump out he is also in the turret as radio man,but has to climb under the gun to out!!,when he has realised the driver is still in,jumps up on the tank pulls him out of the drivers hatch with his feet blown off,and he's telling me this with no facial expression what so ever.

Complete opposite,he said if the had any spare time when they got into Germany favourite hobby was looting,was telling how they found a granmother clock strapped it on the back of the tank and took it over the Dutch boarder and gave it to the Dutch family they were billeted with.

The Sherman ran on petrol,he said even the Brits called e'm Ronsons cuz the lit up every time they were hit by an 88,the tank did a mile to the gallon!!,he said he felt like he spent half his time in the war pouring fuel into it via gerry cans.

In Germany they were so concerned about Panzer Fausts they had a thing called brassing,were as they would machine gun all the likely hiding places as they travelled along,the gunner would be up to his knee's in spent case's and the Browning barrel would get that hot it would bend and they have to put a spare on.

Bixxer knows what I'm like, very rare for me to sit stumb for 3 hours,blimey I can't see me making 88 years of age never mind being in as good nick as him.

[Bixxer Bob]

You're lucky to have had the chance Chris,  there are few of them left and getting fewer by the day...  and most won't speak of their experiences even now.  My Grandad was a fitter / driver attached to the Royal Artilliary and one of the first into Belsen.  My memories of him as a small boy were mainly of a man in perpetual fury, angry with the world in general.  It wasn't till much later, and after he died, that we found out the source of his anguish. He never spoke of it.

[Chris Canning]

Before I even went I knew it was going to be one life privileges and so it turned out.

He was explaining how he struggled with nightmares for many years after the war,even had trouble sleeping in a normal bed,what he did tell me and I'd never heard before how they had loads of trouble with armed refugees dishing out their own retribution on the Germans driving around in hijacked lorries they even had a guy killed by them.

I asked him how they got on with the Tigers and Panthers and he explained how they had an Airforce liason guy with e'm and they'd shell the German tanks with yellow smoke shells and then he'd bring in the taxi rank typhoons.

He said in a very matter of fact way!!!,how he was refueling the tank just as it was going dark and he felt like a bumble bee had just wizzed past and he realized he'd been shot in the face by a sniper,then woke up hospital with a tag on him saying air evacuation and he was thinking yee haa the war is over for him,and a nurse came along cut the tag off and 3 weeks later he was back in the tank with the same crew.

He was saying with the combat you could only stand so much and his tank commander had said he was nearing the limit who went and told the CO and he was gone,Bill said he never saw or heard of him again.

[fraser j ross]

thanks for sharing that Chris

[Sin_Tiger]

You don't hear stuff like that on the Discovery Channel, it's a mite different sitting in the presence of one of these guys as they tell it.

My father in law, ex Polish free army, once told me the story of how him and his mate swam 20 km down river to escape the Nazi division they had been press ganged into, then made it to the coast to join up with the Brits. He had nothing but admiration for the Dutch people that risked their lives by helping them along the way.

[Spud]

only those who have never been and our leaders always seem to glorify war, never understood why they do that. It may be if the truth got out we would never go. We never seem to learn either. Glad to hear the old boy is still around. My old man lived all the way throught the second world war and would never speak about it.

cheers Spud

[Chris Canning]

only those who have never been and our leaders always seem to glorify war, never understood why they do that. It may be if the truth got out we would never go. We never seem to learn either. Glad to hear the old boy is still around. My old man lived all the way throught the second world war and would never speak about it.

cheers Spud

Well thats a pretty strange posting if you don't mind me saying,the old boy I met came from an era were they really knew right from wrong and it's a bloody good job they did,because the likes of you and I would either be speaking German or not here at all.

My father in law went all through the war and he never really spoke about it either,but as the last few old boys come to the end of their lives thank heavens they realise they have huge historical value because 10 years from now and probably a dam sight less than that you'll have to read about it in a book as the only option,and as the old boy said to me,'Most folk have no interest anyway' hence his amazment at my interest.

[Spud]

Re read the post and it was not well written by me so sorry for any upset. I've served and a lot of my family have served in the second world war and more recent conflicts, and I feel for these guys that went through all they had and they still suffer to this day. My point that i did not make was we never seem to learn from it all. I'm glad the old boy had someone to talk to and someone was there to listen and he is right people do not want to know and in any case they could never understand until they themselves have fought. I would like to see anyone who starts a conflict or who even thinking about sending someone into harms way either go over the top themselves or a member of their close family goes over the top first they may stop to think.
I have lost mates in conflict and to this day I cannot listen to the last post, i have grown to hate that piece of music. I also hate the phrase "glorious dead" never understood what is glorious about it. It would be a glorious day if all conflict were to stop, but they never will.
You are correct we owe these guys a debt, not only for fighting but also the pain and suffering they have had to carry all their lives. If you see him again buy him one from me and I will make sure you get one back

cheers Spud   

[Spud]

amendment to the above.

I wanted to join the military my dad was dead against it although most of my brothers and sisters and some uncles had been in. I eventually wore him down and he signed the paper work and off I went to see the world.
I got my telegram throught the post one morning during my leave, I was recalled to go to the Falklands I being very young and stupid was very excited to go I was going to fight and I was going to find out what I was made off. my old man who never showed much emotion stood in front of me and shook my hand and looked deep into my eyes, I can remember thinking what the hell is that all about. I now know, he was taking his last looK at the man I was, as he knew I would never be that man again.
cheers Spud 

[Sin_Tiger]

Well put Sir.

I failed the RAF entrance because they couldn't understand me over the radio due to my accent at the time, seriously.

[Bixxer Bob]

Odd, they have trades where clear speech is not mandatory.  Trust me, in our entry we had a Glaswegan, a taff from the valleys, a farmers boy from Norfolk, a straw-chewer from nr Taunton, a member of the Red Hand of Ulster, a scouser, a Yorkshireman and a Geordie.

Luckily, swearing is a great leveller.......