Remembrance Sunday!

 

I, like many Veterans, prepared myself for the act of remembering the fallen by polishing my shoes and medal and getting the rest of my kit ready on the Saturday before.

I was proud to have been given the privilege of representing the Rheindahlen Branch of the Royal British Legion, at the British Ceremony of Remembrance in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Reichswald! The British Senior National Representative, Group Captain RJ Niven, at the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre had asked for a representative who was also to recite the Kohima Epitaph during the Ceremony! 

As there were many Royal Pioneers buried in this cemetery I also took a Wreath given me by the RPC Association to lay in their honour. 

As I had never been to the Reichswald before I was up early and a good thing too, as the first thing I was called upon to do was scrape the ice off of all my car’s windows! 

My NAVI, as we say here in Germany, took me to the Reichswald via The Netherlands. The address I had was that the cemetery was on the Grünewald Straße and when I got to it I turned the wrong way and drove away from the cemetery. I quickly realised my error and turned round and soon found it. 

There was quite a gathering of Nations at the cemetery as one might expect. In fact all NATO Nations were represented including Poland a relatively new member State. 

I made myself known to Group Captain Niven and the Parade Sergeant Major. I was asked to lay the RPC Wreath in the third wave of wreath layers which included the local German Civil Dignatories and to lay the RBL Wreath last! 

The Wreath Layers were lined up about 20 metres from the Memorial Stone, so it was quite a Walk of honour to lay my two wreaths. 

The sun shone and there was frost on the ground. There were no microphones or means of projecting ones voice other than that learned on Army Parades. It was difficult to hear the voice of the RAF Chaplin who had come out especially from the UK, or the other actors in the ceremony! 

Consequently when it came to my turn to recite the Kohima Epitaph I put on my best parade ground voice and recited it as loud as I could!

“When you go home, tell them of us and say, 

for your tomorrow, we gave our today!”

After the ceremony I visited a number of the graves.

This man is the grandfather of fellow Pioneer Kevin Kittel!

Next year I shall make sure I take a number of the small RBL wooden crosses to mark the graves I visit!

This is how far away I stood during the ceremony and the distance I had to march twice to lay my wreaths!

Guests had been invited to a light lunch in the UK Community Centre following the ceremony and so I now went there. It was in a converted Military Quarter on what had once clearly been the Patch when the RAF had had a large presence in Germany.

Here I was able to have a conversation with the Chaplin Rev Craig Lancaster, who thanked me for my part, so I must presume my voice carried! 

I told the organisers that I would return next year to represent the Royal Pioneer Corps and if possible bring a second person to represent the Rheindahlen Branch of the Royal British Legion! 

My NAVI took me home this time not going via the Netherlands! 

Ferry across the Elbe

The accommodation in our former Railway Station is to be recommended. Mind you we are in the middle of nowhere and we’re it not for the petrol station opposite where the isotonic drinks came from we would be lost.

Our two humans were up early and keen to be off, but now we had the first problem they could not get the door to where the bikes were kept open! Each human tried, but it seemed as if the door was bolted from the inside at the top!

They decided to visit the Café in the petrol station to have breakfast! That done when they returned there were two women who had locked the door loading their car! Now they could get started.

After the thunderstorms of last night the day was sunny and promised to get hot. 

The route took us across the flood plains of the Elbe River and the scenery was lovely. If you want to see the stars this is the place to come, for there would be no ambient light from streets and buildings!

The Boys made good progress over these paths, until they got to the banks of the Elbe where the road was a bone shaker of an old cobblestone road!  

But first we crossed the Havel and as you can see the country side is beautiful.

Storks there were aplenty! From here we followed the dyke and the Elbe Radweg!

And then the bone shaker road to the ferry.

There were a couple of other cyclists there. 

The ferry was attached to a long wire anchored upstream and by pulling on one wire to position the bow it used the power of the River Stream to cross from side to side.

We followed the dyke along the River for quite a bit! 

We stopped at a place where there was a seat and shade for a short break, when a couple of cyclists we had seen on the ferry joined us. They had Trecking bikes without an emotor and were in their 60‘s and had started in Munich and were on their way to Hamburg!

At one stage our BBF needed to water a tree! Chris cycled on and when we followed we came to a point where our Navi said we had to turn off, but Chris was nowhere to be seen. The humans then spoke on the telephone and Chris kindly came back to us, but when we did turn off at the point Alan wanted the road we needed was closed for repair! We should have cycled on to join him after all! 

We cycled on to the village of Beuster where Chris led us off route to a great little Hofladen and Café where the humans had an isotonic drink and some lunch! 

Then it seemed a long drag to Arendsee particularly because we had a strong headwind against us.

In Arendsee Chris saw a cycle shop where he asked if they knew of a place we could stay! One kind cyclist showed us the way to the other side of the village to a small hotel, which did have a room for us. 

And so ended another 86 km day! As we write the clouds have closed in and there is thunder and rain again. We wonder what tomorrow will bring?

D-Day 75 years on!

There are moments in time and history which have great significance. 6 June 1944 is one such day. I can never think of this day without thinking of my father. Were it not for D-Day I would not exist.

My father was a simple man coming from a working class family. His father had served in the Royal Engineers in Mesopotamia in the First World War. Dad left school at 14 and tried his hand at various things before getting an apprenticeship as a mechanic. Being a small man, only 5ft 5inches, he made his presence felt, by being a bit of a rebel. Had he been allowed to he would have joined up much earlier, but being small he couldn't lie about his age.

He enlisted into the Territorial Army on 18 March 1943, aged just 18! He joined 7th Battalion The Royal Hampshire Regiment which were part of the 43rd Wessex Division.

He never landed at D-Day being part of this Division, but on D+18 24 June 1945. By this stage in his career now aged 19 he was a Lance Corporal. 

I had the good fortune of going on a Battlefield Tour with him and we retraced his steps in Normandy. He told me that his battalion were issued with bicycles which on landing they all dumped in a field. Within 48 hours of landing the Division was involved in the fight for Hill 112. the 7th Hampshires fought their way through Maltot, but sadly were forced to pull back by a fierce German counter attack. It was at this stage that my poor dad was badly wounded by friendly fire! A Canadian Typhoon strafed his position instead of the enemy! 

He was evacuated back to Wales to convalesce and it was here he was forced to learn how to embroider to improve the functions and motoric of his arm and hand. 

He rejoined his battalion, now in Belgium in Autumn 1944. The 43rd Division were involved in the drive to reach Nijmegen and to link up with the 1st Airborne Division which had been dropped on the far bank of the river Lek west of Arnhem. And we all know how that went.

He took part now in the Division's crossing of the Rhine and the 150 miles dash in 18 days to Cloppenburg, which is where he was awarded his Military Medal for gallantry. He was a section commander now and when the lead section commander was killed by sniper fire trying to cross the bridge in Cloppenburg, his platoon commander ordered him to take that section and cross the bridge. There was nothing but open ground down to the bridge and though my dad tried to get this section to follow him, they all refused.

He returned to his platoon commander and told him that if he gave him his section he would get across the river and clear the far bank.

As I walked the ground with him many years later, he told me how his section did nothing but complain about being volunteered and then about getting their feet wet as they crossed the stream, because he took his section across to the left of the bridge in dead ground to the enemy. He was now fed up of their complaining, so after clearing a house on the far side by the bridge he made them take up a defencive position and went on alone to find the sniper. The said sniper was located in a tall building, then a hospital. He found and took him and a number of others prisoner taking them back to his section. As he had seen from the top of the building a German motor base plate position which was shelling his company, he now returned with the German's sniper rifle as he was only equipped with a sten gun! He now sniped and killed the base plate position, returning to his section once more for more ammunition for the rifle!! 

Sergeants of the 7th Hampshires taken in Winsen Luhe

The end of the War saw his battalion first stationed in Winsen Luhe and then in Soltau. The photo of him receiving his MM from Montgomery was taken in the Church in Celle.

It was at this stage in 1945 that he met my mother!

As he was a volunteer enlisted man, he did not return to the UK when his battalion returned to be demobbed, but was transferred from one battalion to another within Germany until his time was up.

Back in the UK he was discharged and rejoined this time the Parachute Regiment, serving a total of 26 years until he finally retired as an RQMS (WOII). 

Upon final discharge he emigrated to New Zealand because, "I did not want to fall flat on my face in civilian life in front of my comrades!" 

He didn't fall flat but made a great success of his life and enjoyed a fulfilling second career in New Zealand. I owe him my life and he has always been a great example of a humble, but strong, brave, patient and determined man.