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Part II of the war memories of Mr H. G. Allpress, added to the website by Epping Forest District Museum.

After arriving in Folkstone from Dunkirk on the 2nd June 1940, Mr Allpress got a week's leave. He rejoined his regiment who were regrouping at Launceton in Devon. He continues his story:

I will not go into any great detail of the period that our regiment were part of the home defence force, except to say that because we were a mobile regiment we were switched to many positions that were considered vulnerable along the Devon and Cornwall coast. We helped the engineers put in the sea defenses along the coast of Dorset in the Pool Harbour area.

In 1941 a complete re-organisation of our regiment took place when we became the 3rd reconnaissance regiment. We all underwent a number of physical and mental tests and about a third of our complement were replaced. I personally was sent on a number of courses for gunnery, aircraft and tank recognition, and an intensive physical training course with the army school of physical training and became a sergeant unit physical training instructor. I also was now a troop sergeant of an armored car troop in charge of 5 armored cars. The regiment was made up of 3 armored car troops, 3 assault troops, 1 3" mortar troop and HQ. All the vehicles had wireless sets so we were in constant communication with each other and with HQ.

The car troops consisted of 2 scout cars and 3 heavy armored cars. The scout cars had a light machine gun mounted in the turret and the heavy cars had a heavy machine gun and 37 mm anti tank gun mounted in the turret plus a smoke discharger. Each car held a crew of 3, a driver, gunnner/wireless operator and car commander.

All the crews had to be trained in driving, wireless operating and gunnery as well as map reading. The assault troops were mounted in bren-gun cariers a tracked vehicle with 6 men with a machine gun and sub-machine guns and rifles. In theory the cars moved forward on roads or tracks to find the enemy, which usually meant, until you were fired on and the assault troops came forward and could be deployed across country to deal with the situation. In practice it seldom worked that way. We had intensive training exercises and gunnery practice. I was with 4 others, 3 sergeants and an an officer. We were posted to Rothsay on the Isle of Bute in Scotland to learn how to waterproof vehicles, should the landing be in to 3 or 4 feet of seawater. The regiment moved up to Inverness and we did combined exercises with the Navy in LCT, landing craft tanks in preperation for the Invasion. The assault troops in the regiment landed on D day with their back pack radios to form a vital radio link necessary for the speedy clearing of the beach.

The armored car troops landed on D+11 at Oiustram, part of SWORD beach. We moved about half a mile in to a field, camouflaged vehicles and shed the waterproofing materials. We had a dry landing on part of a Mulberry Harbour, the artificial harbour that had been constructed in sections and towed over to facilitate landings.

During the next week we moved forward several times but only a short distance and most of the time we were aware of the battle ahead of us. My first real action came as a night patrol on foot. The previous night a forward protection post covering our marshalling area had been captured and a strong patrol was sent out to ascertain the German's position. I was 1 of 12 men led by an officer. We left our marshalling area at 10pm and followed a footpath alongside a stream and about 200 yards beyond the position where the previous night our man had been captured. We saw a German walking along the edge of a field. As we saw him he saw us and ran across the field to a farm building. We could have shot him but that would have given away our own position. It was sufficient that we had found the German position. We were shortly mortar bombed and we withdrew. The infantry working with us put in an attack the next day.

Then followed several days of short moves forward. We were on a road leading up to Caen, one of the key objectives for D-Day that had failed. Not having a troop officer for the whole 11 months of the invasion it fell to me to take orders for the day at O group each evening.
At O group about 3 weeks on from landing, I was given orders for the following day and they were to take my troop forward and contact the infantry who were dug in and holding a position about 200 yards short of a cross road leading up to Villiers Bocage that was on the high ground some 10 miles from Caen, and on the information gleaned from them to go on and secure the crossroads. I would have a battery of 25 lb guns in support and if a target presented itself to give map references for the gunners. I contacted the infantry HQ housed in a farm some 400 yards short of the crossroads in question and was told they had taken a German Sergeant prisoner during the night who had been taking a party of Germans to reinforce their positions and that a party of Germans were without a guide in a small wood to the left of the crossroads which was my objective. They asked me to put in covering fire in order that they could get in close before attacking. My HQ agreed with their request. I moved my troop forward towards the crossroads but unfortunately the corporal in the point scout car accidentally got shot in his left hand and needed medical care. I put a field dressing on his hand and told him to walk back to the infantry HQ holding his hand above his head where he could get furher aid.

I moved the point car to the rear and ordered my other scout car forward to point position and we moved to the crossroads and took up position to give covering fire for the infantry attack. I put a burst of fire from my heave machine gun into the woods to see what effect it would have. Two Germans came out with their hands held high; I dispatched them with the light scout car to our rear to the infantry HQ for interrogation.
A bettery of German 88 mm guns to our left opened fire on to the crossroads demolishing the hedge that was giving me cover. And wounded four more of my troops. All this happened in a brief frew seconds. I gave my HQ the estimated map reference of the 88 mm's and said I was sending back the four wounded men. This left me with only 3 cars. To my great relief I was ordered to withdraw to our marshalling area. Caen was taken after heavy air bombardment and we moved forward at a much quicker pace. We covered the left flank of the advance, but saw no sign of Germans. Paris fell and I with 3 other sergeants spent 3 days there at the authorities invitation being shown round some of the places of interest. We moved quickly through Belgium into Holland and the labyrinth of canals caused some problems. The winter of 1944 saw a halt to the advance and we were stationed along the river Maas in the area of Venlo just a few miles from the German border. We manned observation posts and did nighttime listening patrols on foot to ascertain if the Germans were building up supply dumps for a counter attack. We did put a fighting patrol across the river Maas in a rubber boat with the object of blowing up a railway line and to take prisoners. My part in this was to deploy my troop on the riverbank to cover the patrol on their return. They did take 2 prisoners but never got as far as the railway.

We crossed the river Rhine at Wessel and formed an arm of a pincer movement towards Munster. At one point in an industrial area my car broke down and the column moved on. I reported my position by radio and was told to stay put for a recovery team. Then followed almost 24 hours of anxiety knowing we were alone surrrounded by Germans all be it in an industrial area.

A week later my last contact with the enemy occured. We were acting with Guards Armored Brigade and they were halted outside a village, which was covered by a battery of 88mm guns. It was late evening and I was ordered to investigate a track through a farm that led into the middle of the village. We moved slowly expecting the track may be mined and as it got too dark to see clearly ahead I decided to continue the recce on foot. I took my wireless operator and the 2 crew of one other car and we went forward 2 on each side of the track. It was now quite dark. About 100 yards from the edge of the village we could hear voices coming towards us. We got down to the ground and could see a party of Germans coming towards us. They were completely unprepared and we disarmed them and I found what I was quite sure was a map case and I sent them back to our HQ. Unbeknown to me at the time my last car in our patrol had taken prisoners of the party who my prisoners were going to relieve. Of course this left the track in to the village wide open. That night the Guards Armored Brigade in Churchill tanks smashed through the village knocking out the 88mm guns at some loss to themselves and took 900 prisoners. My troop had the job of escorting the prisoners to a POW compound the next day. We moved on and I had now no other contact with the enemy.

We reached Bremerhaven on the 4th May 1945 and on the afternoon of the next day I received a message delivered by a dispatch rider and it read 'Cease all offensive action'. It was 5th May 1945 and my war was over. A week after this I went back to England and married my girlfriend Thelma by a special license on May 16th 1945.

On my return to Germany I found posted in regimental orders that I had been awarded the Military Medal and mentioned in dispatches. My commanding officer recommended that I go back to the UK for officer training. It was tempting. I declined the offer knowing I would have to commit myself for at least 3 more year's service.

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