Always in Front

Eric Brewer’s diary records:

18^th June: “Shifted on to Granville*. Met stiff enemy opposition. Arks** and Carriers went in to try to find all positions but 88*** opened up and we lost heavy Ark, also a couple of Carriers - total loss in men is 12. We were forced to withdraw as the 88 could pick us off like coconuts but later on tanks went in followed by artillery and mortar fire which knocked out 88; also killed approximately 200 Gerrys.” (From Eric Brewer’s Diary by kind permission of Derek Brewer and his family.)

* Presumably Grainville-sur-Odon, between Villers-Bocage and Caen

** Arks = Armoured cars

*** The Flak 88 was the legendary German very high velocity anti-aircraft gun that could also be used successfully against tanks and infantry.  “The unforgettable lightning crack of an 88 mm remained implanted in the memory of every survivor of the campaign.” (From ‘Overlord’ by Max Hastings, Macmillan 2016 edition)

 

“Recce in Normandy meant driving down a road until something fired at you.” (From Recce Armoured Assets.)

 

Sandy Handley's armoured car was always at the front - he wasn't very happy about this:

“The one thing what I was upset about was for that first three weeks (?) our car, the Light Humber, would always lead the Heavy Humber if on recce patrol. When the other half of our troop arrived and it came to a recce patrol our car was always leading, then the 2 Heavy cars, then another light car at the rear.  Our job as recce was to patrol to a point - and a lot of times in front of our Infantry - until we reached a certain location or unfortunately got fired upon by the Germans, in which case we reversed out the way quickly. Sadly our Regiment had its share of casualties.

It wasn’t always recce text book fashion.  Before a recce patrol operation, officers of the troops would attend an O Group, that is a plan of battle.  No 10 troop - that would be four cars and sometime four Bren carriers would go up one road.  No 5* (that was my troop) would go up another road, four cars and Bren carriers behind.  On some of the narrow roads if anything nasty cropped up it was difficult for the cars to turn about; better for the Bren carriers, they could turn on their own axis.  Our job wasn’t to start a battle, we went to get the low down where the enemy was.”

*Dick’s troop.

 

Sandy in front

“In my troop we had two light Humber armoured cars and two heavy Daimler armoured cars.  I was in a light Humber car and my friend Sandy Handley was in a light Humber but he usually led the troop. He complained to Lieutenant Williams “Why do you always send me in front?”  Lt. Williams said “Do as you’re told Handley.”

"I think I looked very young and Sandy was 5 years older than me.  I think that was the reason he was in front.”  (Anthony Rampling’s WW2 account, personal comm.)

 

Eric Postles recalls 18th June 1944:

“We moved back a few miles and were joined by the remainder of the regiment from England alongside a heavy gun battery which was regularly firing at the enemy.  By now we were so tired that the noise from the guns did not disturb our sleep.  We got our first mail since Nightingale Wood and among the letters was one from Gladys which I replied to the same day….”  

There were regular parcels from home containing among other things cake, which we shared out.  Dad also sent the Ormskirk Advertiser every week.  The first mail we had sent had been field postcards dated 8 June on which you crossed out the appropriate parts to say whether you were safe and uninjured.  Later our letters had to be unsealed for censoring until we got green envelopes which could be sealed and not necessarily censored. 

The days were long and tiring.  Stand to was about 4am and stand down at 10pm.  In addition we took turns of night guards.  Dawn and dusk were the times of expected German attacks and most mornings we would be shelled or mortared.  Apart from a couple of thunderstorms the weather was hot and traffic caused white dust everywhere when disturbed.  The Germans would then shell the area and notices told you “Dust means death”. 

Apart from in Bayeux civilians were rarely seen.  The farmers had abandoned their farms turning cattle out into the field where many were killed and lay smelly and bloated with their feet in the air.  Those alive were in pain from not being milked.  Apples on the trees were red and looked delicious but on tasting were bitter and were only used to make cider.  Most farms had cider vats and prized finds were small barrels of Calvados (apple brandy), which proved an effective remedy for sleeping off “Bomb happiness*”.  We never had anyone sent back with it.

Storms at sea broke up the artificial harbour at Arromanches on 19^th June and artillery shells were in short supply.  During German attacks the Navy was called upon to break them up, the shells going over us created a noise like an express train.”

 (Extract from ‘My War Years’ by John Eric Postles ISO used by kind permission of the author.)

*the soldiers’ nickname for shell-shock.

 

18^th June 1944 – a V1 bomb striking the Guards Chapel, near Buckingham Palace in London, during a service kills 119 people.