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Category: Community
Forum: Chat Room
Thread: On this Day |
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Thread Status: Locked Total posts in this thread: 716
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Monday, 18th September 1944
Once again, we were part of an entire modern army, queuing to cross a frontier, except that this time we had to cross the bridge first. This was “Joe’s bridge”, at Beeringen, captured by the Irish Guards, under the command of Lt Col J.O.E. Vandeleur. We were not sure how long the crossing took, but we ignored the doganes (customs officers) and went through Eindhoven like a dose of salts. The rest of the time was slow, dull and uninteresting - the events were not memorable even if the achievement was. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
September 19-22, 1944 (continued). . .
----------------------------------------Now for a change, instead of rivers and canals, the Royals had to battle their way across railway cuttings and viaducts which the enemy treated as ready made earthworks. Winkling their men out of them proved a long and costly operation, which must have made us very busy, but the memory, being merciful, has not kept a record of those days. [Edit 3 times, last edit by Former Member at Sep 20, 2008 11:43:58 AM] |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
In retrospect:
----------------------------------------According to military history, this phase of the battle for Best took these three days, but the memory is dim. I know we spent at least one night on a local, somewhat isolated boulevard in the grounds of what people then called a lunatic asylum, under some sort of canvas. The officers had acquired a radio set which could receive the B.B.C. and invited Barnett and me to join them to listen to a B.B.C. production of "Die Fledermaus". [Edit 1 times, last edit by Former Member at Sep 22, 2008 3:31:49 AM] |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Further retrospect
Google Earth has a satellite view of "Best, Netherlands" as it is now, with the boulevard (or one like it) clearly visible in the complex of railway embankments and cuttings which the Germans were using as defence lines. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Saturday, 23rd September 1944,
Rain added to our miseries, flooding our accommodation. The ration truck must have been stuck in the mud somewhere, so this day was a fast day. I can not remember what, if anything we ate after the breakfast porrige ran out. No doubt Angus found us a few neglected tins of sardines, while some of us used up their iron rations, which they were supposed to keep for real emergencies. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Sunday, 24th September 1944.
On about this date or later, we withdrew from Best, and swung across to Gemert, on the other flank. The British forces in the Netherlands were in spearhead formation and were well organised for counter marches, so the axes, diversions and laterals were sign posted as such. Our old main axis was now called "Club Route" and distinguished by a playing card style club logo. |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Tuesday, 25th September 1945
With the prospect of leave in mind, I started looking around for something to take home with me. Although there was no longer any threat from the Uboats, the Merchant Navy was too busy to reorganise itself for comparative peace and bananas were not the only fruit that was not reaching Britain. There are now some rather luscious looking black grapes appearing in the Belgian shops - but how fresh would they be after the journey home? |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Tuesday, 26th September 1944
Boekelscheweg A 190, Gemert Our new location was a hamlet a few kilometres north of the town and B Coy members were the guests of Cornelius and Johanna Reijnen-Goosens and family. We slept comfortably in a two-storey barn/hayloft, where I had chosen for myself a very private, hidden corner, under the lowest part of the roof. This turned out to have been the place where Corny (as we called him) had hidden at least one Jewish person during the occupation. All this was a temporary diversion, a sort of "Plan B". Plan A should have been a straight run through Gheel, Aalst, Turnhout, Tilburg, S'Hertogenbosch, Grave and Nijmegen, to Arnhem. That plan, it turns out, was not quite dead. 7th Armoured Division (the Desert Rats) was advancing through our old positions round Mol, Aare and the Escaut canal. One of their battalions, the 5th RTR had been attached to 15th Scottish on loan and had probably gone back to the Rats for this attack. Wednesday, 26th September 1945 Over the last few weeks, nearly everybody had received twelve days' home leave, and now it was my turn, so I bought those grapes |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Wednesday, 27th September 1944.
The next few weeks were restful and peaceful. Once toilet and morale were completed, there was no duty for us to perform between meals, so we devised our own ways of keeping active. We played schach (chess) and damenspiel (draughts) with Corny, took the children for walks, borrowed the occasional horse or bicycle and went for short rides or took a short walk to explore the footpaths, being careful not to stay away too long, in case of unexpected movement orders. The rest of the time, we just sat at the roadside and watched the Ark Royals and other "funnies" passing by, while I learnt songs from Corny and practiced the harmonica. Thursday, 27th September 1945 After the first day's travelling, I arrived in Dieppe leave camp for an evening meal, a night's sleep . . . |
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Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Thursday 28th September 1944
One day we went to the Wilhelmina Canal for boating practice in the canvas boats with which the flying squad was already familiar, regarding them as practice for a past operation! This time nobody supplied us with ropes to sling across the canal, so we just assembled the boats, then paddled them across and back. Friday, 28th September 1945 . . . an early breakfast and a ferry boat to Newhaven. Here, every platform had at least one train waiting and, I believe, there were other trains waiting nearby for platform space. After sending telegrams home, we boarded the front half of a North bound train. At Crewe, the rear half was detached and replaced by half of a train from Euston. From here, the two complete trains went to Liverpool and Manchester, and anyone going anywhere else in the North had to change. I arrived home in time for tea and my leave began. |
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