Sword Beach to Bremen., A Veterans tale. Sapper

PLease Note.
There is a page 29 on this thread I am unable to get on to it...Is there a fault.
Sapper

 

Hi GOW I know! I know! Folk are always hammering on me to publish. Now I am nearly 84 I better starrt or it wll be to bloody late....... Big Grin!
Sapper

 

Thanks Sapper, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your WW2 experiences. What I would like to ask is, did you become numb to death, grisly sites and tableus during the war? And after the war, how do you react to seeing violence of a similar nature? The reason I ask is that in my experience you do become numb to death. Let me explain. I spent 7 years as a photographer, forensic expert in South Africa at the height of the political unrest. Murder, bombings, rapings and massacres where part of the daily job. I joined at the age of 17 as I had the choice between the police or the army. No other choice. As a photographer I visited gruesome scenes daily for 7 years. At 1st you battled and then became numb. No other feeling whatsoever. Every scene was made up of a chunk of meat and not a person. If you did not distance yourself, then you would not cope, and could end up doing something crazy like the examples you gave. What I find strange is that now, 15 years later, I am affected by seeing similar sites. Seeing a necklacing(burning) now makes me anxious, panicky etc. Back then it was run of the mill and never bothered me. What did affect me during those dark days was seeing cruelty to animals and children. If the object of the crime was defenceless, then I battled to ignore the emotions that go with such ugly scenes. Sometimes for no reason I will wake up in the middle of the night having relived a scene, more afraid now than when part of it. Amazing how the mind works to allow you to somehow cope with such experiences when going through them.

Thanks again for the history.

 

Thank you for the message. Men died around you every day. Men were wounded every day .Some of then horrific,shell or mortar is not selective where it strikes. So one has to do roughly what you speak about.... Turn off!

Thank you for your kind words. By the way where do you live in south Africa? My son lived there for some years. We spent 6 week holiday touring from Joburg to Pretoria. Krugersdorp. Swaziland. Blyde River canyon resort. Kruger park Oliphants. Lataba, The Drakensburg mountains. Monte Aux sources hotel. Hle Hlue. Mtunezini. The Amphitheatre. Zulu land. Mbabane. Loved it. Loved the Indian Ocean and the Sea coast.
Cheers
sapper

 

I enjoy reading your stories. Thank you for your service.

 

I live on the coast in East London. East London falls between Port Elizabeth and Durban. A lovely little town. South Africa is a beautiful country, just a pity it is going the same way as the rest of Africa. I will stick it out with my family until it becomes another Zimbabwe and then have to look for greener pastures. Big pity as there is so much potential here. But then again, this is Africa and this is the natural order of things in Africa.

As a matter of interest, my grandfather fought in North Africa during the war. I have some of his medals, buss passes, pins and pictures. Unfortunately he spoke very little about the war. So it is a privelidge to read about your experiences during WW2. My wifes grandfather who also fought in North Africa/Italy did not like the Americans much. There was an incident when their American fighter escorts allegedly left their bombers unprotected when pounced on by enemy fighters. Not sure of the details. He also mentioned he was in Italy when Mussolini was killed. He took a photo and this was confiscated on his return to South Africa. Again he spoke very little of the war. Such a pity as I am sure they had numerous interesting stories that were lost forever when they passed away.

 

Hi Falcon thanks for that.
Sapper

 

Hi Sapper.
I'm a new member and have just started the journey of reading your account of Normandy.
My Grandfather fought at the Chateau De la Londe on 27th June 1944. He was driving the lead Churchill Crocodile of three (141 RAC). The tank was hit by a concealed PAK 75.
Do you have any memories of the Crocodiles on that day?
My Grandfather survived the action, wounded but he managed to get back to British lines. You may know that Crocodile crews were executed by the Germans if caught.
He died in 1969 when I was 10, but I'm told he rarely spoke of those times, suffering with his nerves.
Very Kind Regards - Grahame

 

HI Grahame.
Fortunately I missed the Chateau re la londe. I was busy elsewhere. My mate was there and it affected him, and later suffered a very nasty bout of shell shock. The Chateau was a real horror. During those times the company was spread far and wide. Seldom did we get back together as a unit.
Anyone that fought at the Bloodiest square mile in Normandy was a hero. That battle caught up with my mate on the night assault crossing of the Escaut Canal.

The genuine shell shock in my mind is the very worst of wounding. Oddly enough although I was very severely wounded, I outlived all my Veteran friends. All of them.
Best Regards
Sapper

 

Thank-you Sapper.
I have set myself some time over the weekend to read the whole of this thread!
When I researched my Grandfather's regiment, it's amazing what you can find if you really look hard, especially with the help of veterans. Some years ago I corresponded with Lionel Roebuck of the East Yorkshire Regt, after I found his memoirs at the Imperial War Museum. He put me onto Eddie Jones of the 2nd South Lancs. Eddie was actually in the infantry supporting my Grandfather at the Chateau and was able to fill in details that weren't clear from what I had already discovered.
Not sure if you ever been in touch with these two veterans.

My respect goes to you and your comrades in arms. Please be assured they will not be forgotten.
Grahame.

 

Oh I have known Lionel for years. Last time I talked to him was from France, where he was at my friends Jacques and Colette Tirard's little museum
Sapper

 

Hi Brian.

I had a busy weekend, but have now managed to print the whole of this thread! Much easier than trying to read it on screen. I wanted to get to the part about La Londe, which I managed to finish reading this afternoon.

I have visited the Chateau on three occassions now. The last being in April/May last year. Each time I have been made very welcome by the owners. The family have been resident since before the war, albeit turfed out by the Germans during the occupation. On this last visit, an English speaking member of the family walked us around the grounds, sharing the knowledge he had of events.
With Lionel's help all those years ago I have managed to build a picture in my head of where my Grandfather was, combined with accounts from his regiments private papers of what happened that day.
Eddie Jones of the South Lancs who fought alongside his tank was so helpful.
Perhaps I can share with you the account as I have figured out of that small part of the battle for the Chateau?

Very best wishes - Grahame.

 

Glad it was of help Grahame.
Be careful what you do with the printout it is covered by my copyright
Cheers mate.

 

Good Afternoon Brian.

Please be assured that my printed copy is for my eyes only! Once read I will be putting it through the shredder apart from any reference to La Londe which will be put safe with my own research.

I am writing some details of my Grandfather's part at La Londe, under the heading 'Battle For Europe' in 'Theaters of the Second World War' which may interest you.

Very best wishes and a big thank-you for sharing your experiences.
Grahame.

 

Hello Mr. "Sapper". Today I stumbled on this Forum, and came across your fantastic story -if I may call it that- about WWII. I spent most of the day reading it. It brought back many memories for me. I was born in the eastern part of the Netherlands in the town of Cuyk. Three miles away is the village of Linden that you mentioned in your story. My Grandfather was born there! Then across the river is Mook, where my mother was born. At the time of your visit to our mudfilled country I was seven years old and now relived thru your writings many exciting moments. Across the street from my old home was for a time a British outfit stationed. The soldiers frequently treated us kids to goodies including lunches. I don't know what outfit they were from, but I do remember that their vehicles had an eye in a triangle
emblem on their bumper. For most of the Sept. 44 through Feb. 45 we were actually evacuated from our home because of the constant German shelling, but found refuge in the village of Beers. Both Linden and Beers are part of my old hometown and are only a few km's away. I have a book about the battles in Overloon ( we call the town "the second Caen") and Venray. It is called "The forgotten Battle" and is written in English and highly detailed by a well know Dutch writer Korthals Altes.
Greetings from California and many thanks to you and all Allied troops for the heroic efforts you all made for our liberation.
Ed van der Heyden.

 

Thanks Grahame. That's a good mate.

Kuuk. Hi...Thanks for that mate. The British veterans have a special place in their hearts for the people of Holland. Many of us shared what food we had with the Dutch folk, for they had so little at that time. If you recall, we made an agreement with the Enemy not to firer at our Lancaster bombers that dropped food for the Dutch people.
The Army sign you saw; a shield with an eye in the middle was The Guards Armoured Division.
Sapper

 

This is worth recalling. Even after 65 years.....

If ever an army fought in a just cause we did. We coveted No man’s country;
we wished to impose no form of government on any nation. We fought for the clean,
the decent, the free things of life, for the right to live our lives in our own way,
as others could live theirs, to worship God in what faith we chose,
to be free in body and in mind and for our children to be free.”
Sapper

 

Well said, Sapper! And Amen! A beautiful post!

 

:S!

 

Very nice indeed.