| Index | Recent Threads | Unanswered Threads | Who's Active | Guidelines | Search |
 |
World Community Grid Forums
Category: Community
Forum: Chat Room
Thread: On this Day |
| No member browsing this thread |
|
Thread Status: Locked Total posts in this thread: 716
|
|
| Author |
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Tuesday, 17th April 1945
It was my turn for night duty. This consisted of guard duty, as there was no casualty work. Germans might not now own cameras, binoculars or copies of "Mein Kampf". I used my time on guard to inspect the premises. There was no sign of these articles about, apart from some photographs and negatives, which appeared to be on 35mm cinema film. They must have had a Leica type camera, which used this kind of film. |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Wednesday, 18th April 1945
We were now on Luneburg Heath, at a communications centre, where road, rail and canal meet. However, we could not explore anywhere, as we were awaiting a movement order. We spent a little leisure time listening to a large musical box with changeable discs. One disc, for example, played “Stiller Nacht.” It was about now that we received our first leave roster; the first man on it seemed to take that musical box home with him. Now we were on enemy territory, what we once considered loot we were beginning to reclassify as “booty.” |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Thursday, 19th April 1945
----------------------------------------The Aller crossing was now secure and we continued advancing in daily short hops, in a northward direction, towards Luneburg, across Luneburg Heath. We still wear our formation signs, although these are supposed to be taken off before a battle; however, the only time we did that was between Groot Berg en Dal and Goch [Edit 1 times, last edit by Former Member at Apr 19, 2008 1:26:53 PM] |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Friday, 20th April 1945
We received an addendum to the leave roster, a short examination of which showed that I was next in line, which, judging from previous experience meant that my leave would be starting in a week or two. Other members of the unit started preparing letters and parcels for me to take to the UK. |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Saturday, 21st April 1945
My comrades had inundated me with things to take home. The only place where there was room for them was my kit bag, which soon filled up. |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Sunday, 22nd April 1945
Atkins found something quite bulky to fit in the old kit bag. It might even have been that musical box. I fitted it in the only way I could, by putting it on top of everything else, except my tin hat, putting that on top as a lid and tying the closure round its rim. Monday, 23rd April 1945 I packed my kit - not for leave, but for another spell of attachment to the Royals. Dr. Hooper was pleased to see me again, but I did not stay for long. About two hours later, Cpl. Farrier came to collect me again and take me to a temporary transit camp. I was on my way to Liverpool for 7 days “privilege leave”! The camp entrance was at one end of a tent, where the personnel in charge examined my baggage and informed me I had too much kit! |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Monday, 23rd April 1945
I packed my kit - not for leave, but for another spell of attachment to the Royals. Dr. Hooper was pleased to see me again, but I did not stay for long. About two hours later, Cpl. Farrier came to collect me again and take me to a temporary transit camp. I was on my way to Liverpool for 7 days “privilege leave”! The camp entrance was at one end of a tent, where the personnel in charge examined my baggage and informed me I had too much kit! |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Tuesday, 24th April 1945
After travelling all night, we arrived at Dieppe leave transit camp, together with troops from all over Western Europe. A junior officer in a tower above the gate tried to control 9,000 eager leave personnel below. A threat of tying to gun wheels seem to do the trick, even if the men knew this was an empty one, but he must have been fairly desperate to have made it, so we all took pity on him. |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Wednesday, 25th April 1945
We were travelling all night again, this time by ferry boat to Newhaven. There we found a fleet of railway trains, one of which was bound for Crewe, where passengers for Carlisle and Scotland would change, while leaving Liverpool passengers in the front half of the original train, and those for Manchester in the rear. As we settled in, a postman brought telegraph forms for us to fill in. Most of the chaps headed theirs with the name and address of the recipient and asked, “When will it arrive.” The postman told each of them it would arrive the next day. I headed mine with a telephone number, and heard that it would arrive the same evening. |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Thursday, 26th April 1945
I Arrived at Lime Street after midnight. All trams were now in their depots, but there were arrangements for us to travel home by local transport. There was a ‘bus for every part of Liverpool, except Mossley Hill. It seemed, therefore, that I had no ‘bus. My special conveyance did arrive soon afterwards and it was a Black Maria! I arrived home without a door key, but, thanks to the telegram, my sister, Barbara (real name) was there to open the door. |
||
|
|
|