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We arrived at Le Havre on 22nd January 1940 and there saw the first results of war. The liner Paris sunk in the harbour; what for, I never knew as it didn’t appear to be doing much harm to the shipping.

We disembarked, picked up our motor vehicles and started into France. As we left the dock area I noticed an MP waving frantically to me and then realised that in France they drive on the right.

Our first stop was at Bolbec, where we stayed for about 10 days. The weather was very cold and damp and I remember being on guard one night when I had to break the ice from my overcoat before I could get it off. It was like being in a suit of armour. The French had a good cure for the cold a PLUM CHAUD I think it was called, made from rum, sugar, brandy and hot water and as the French people were very friendly we got treated to quite a lot of these, also delicious pastries.

We moved shortly to Lorraine where the French Government ordered us to stay. This was owing to a quick thaw. The roads in France being mostly cobbled were chewed up into ruts and our heavy goods and track vehicles really tore the roads up.
Our next call was at Bethune. The journey was made in a blinding snow storm over the heights of St. Pol. We were stationed in the cafe Evo which was a dance hall. It was there that I met Leon Martin, a Gendarme who was attached to us for the rest of the time in France.
While at Bethune we performed various patrols mostly by motor cycle. I had a 500 cc side valve BSA which would do anything I asked.

Our next move was to Loos near Lille and on our first evening there Corporal Rosser a Metro PO and I went into Lille. We stood looking at the La Scala, when an officer invited us in. It appears that the officers had not been able to attend and we got seats in the front row of an ENSA concert. What a show, George Formby and his wife Beryl, a blind pianist, a wonderful soprano and a trampolinist. When he wanted two men to try the trampoline, he chose the two MPs who were sitting in the front row. Needless to say that was my first and last try on a trampoline.

Most of our troops at the time were employed in attempting to dig in along the Belgian Frontier, but even at this time it was obvious that it was a waste of time. 154 Infantry Brigade was used at this time, moving about the country obviously to make the enemy think that there were more troops than we had. We then visited Monelle for a short period and then to St. Pol where we were billeted on a farm, which was almost a holiday. We got hot baths at a coal mine just outside St. Pol where we put our clothes on a rope and pulled them up to the roof.

This spelled the end of our continental holiday for we were ordered to embark for Metz where we arrived in April 1940. We went to the Maginot Line at Monerain and as we went over the Maginot Line I saw my first death in War. There was quite a dog fight going on about us and as we watched I saw a body falling. It was a German pilot, his parachute did not open and he died in a mess. We buried him where he fell, almost on top of the Maginot Line. A few days later the Duke and Duchess of Windsor came to meet us and the Duchess placed flowers on his grave.

Our Division was not one to sit around and do nothing. They had a habit of going out on patrol and stirring things up. Before we went there things were quiet and after we stirred things up Gerry used to open up on us. This upset the French so they would bring up half a dozen 75s lift off a few rounds and vanish by the time Gerry shells came back. The French gunners had gone and we had to hide. One German gun we called the coal scuttle, because it would burst into a great cloud of soot and shower us with nails and tin and anything they could find. One of our chores was to be on duty at the Maginot where we checked all troops in and out. We were able to see the casements, which had to be seen to be believed. There is no doubt that if they had been used nothing would have got by. I remember one day a French travelling canteen in an old bus came along and I bought a bottle of champagne for my lunch, which consisted of herrings in tomato sauce, bread and marg and champagne out of the bottle.

There was not too much activity until Gerry broke out in May 1940 when we were ordered out. Travelling at night we reached Valery St. Francais where I tasted selective bombing. Each day German bombers took out a selected part of the town. The French people were completely lost and did not know which way to turn.

Our next call was at Melion, just outside Paris where we received orders to attack towards Abbeville. We were joined at the time by what was known as Ark Force, which were the troops remaining in France. It was in this action that we were supported by tank. They lasted about five minutes and were soon out of action.

This was a very bloody battle - we managed to drive Gerry back. This action was at the time of Dunkirk and I have always felt that our pressure allowed a lot of men to get away from there. We thought at that time that Gerry was easy as they did not appear to put up much of a battle. It just shows how you should not be misled.

On 5th June we were in the Foret de Ero near Blangi. Junkers 87 attacked us and just about laid low our R.A. Regiment H.Q. We were sent out to find them and I met Captain Roger Tavener with what was left of 23 Regiment RA staff, about 6 men. I knew Roger as a boy when I lived at North Tawton, Devon. He died the next day when he picked up some RSFS and was shot. This was followed by a tank attack on the evening of 5th June.

The next day was my birthday and the only drink we could get was champagne. I had rather a lot and I went to get on my motor cycle but fell off. I woke up later to find that all my section had gone and there was hardly any village left. I managed to get on my machine and rode off in the direction of Dieppe where I knew my unit had gone. A section of 25 pounders were on the side of the road in action, but not firing and as I went in front of them an RSM stopped me and said you are asking to get hit, those are German tanks over there. He looked at me and said “Lobby you ought to know better”. It was a chap I had served with in India three years before where I was known through out my service as Lobby. I got away with that one and shortly afterwards caught up with my unit. They said they had been caught under shell fire in the village and had left me thinking that I was dead.

We set up our HQ in a garage not far from a cheese factory near Sezzaine and Gerry thought that we were in the factory so bombed it with 3.0 87s. The only damage was to the cheese but the whole area was smothered in it.

We were due to embark at Dieppe, but further orders took us along the coast to Veulla le Roses where about 1 a.m. on the 10th June our DAQMG Roney Dougall, who has been my officer in charge at Bordon 1932/3, came up and I informed him that the Germans were between us and the West. He informed me that G.O.C. 51 Major General Fortune knew about this and had said a handful of Germans were not going to stop the Division getting through. What a handful as you will hear.
We went on to the outskirts of St. Valery-en-Caux where the 154 Brigade went on, but our section was ordered 24 hours rest as we had hardly stopped since the middle of April. The next day we were promptly torn to ribbons by that handful of Germans. General Fortune told us that our job was done and we were to get to the sea and try to get home.

We managed to get to St. Valery where the only cover we had was a large sewer near the railway station. After a couple of bomb runs we thought we would prefer the bombs to the smell and made for the sea and found a dug out near the harbour. Gerry soon found us and opened up with mortars, missed us, but hit a French ammunition truck which went up too close for comfort.

This decided us to move again. There were 8 of us. The first 4 went on their motor cycles. Corporal Rosser and I took RSM Hall and Gendarme Leon Martin on the rear of our motor cycle and started off by the time Sgt. Izzard, Corporal Craig and Captain Burcher (later to become a General I believe) plus 1 were just round the corner from us. Just at that moment 6 JU87s dropped their bombs in the square. We were shielded from the blast by the house and ran on into the square where I got tied up with fallen telephone wires and debris and came up with Leon the Gendarme on top of me. We cut ourselves loose and ran back the way we had come and over the lock gates to the West side of the harbour. We thought the other four had had it. We got on to the beach and hid in a cave. We thought we might get a row boat later and get away.
Later that afternoon two boats got away with about 30 men. They were hailed from the top of the cliff which was about 200’ to come back, they gave the appropriate signs one would expect and the Gerry put a burst of machine gun fire through them and killed the lot.

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