ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from Worcester Library on behalf of Sidney.C.Lewis and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Lewis fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment as a Private on 26th March 1939. After 6 months training I was sent over to France with a very rough crossing over the Channel. Going across France the old putties were replaced with battledress and we arrived at Rumegies in France. All through a very severe winter we lived in barns. In November we moved to Grindorf, which was 23 miles from the Maginot Line on the German side. We were the Battalion 'A' Company that patrolled Grindorf under constant fire. A fighting patrol went into the village and clashed with a German patrol. A fight ensued which left 1 German dead. The Germans were well equipped and made 'box barrages' which was where they surrounded an enemy camp with shells and went in through the front and killed everyone they found. They showed no mercy. Luckily I was on the outside of one of these barrages. We spent two weeks at the front line and two weeks in the second line and then two weeks at base. Then we returned to Rumagies.

On the 10th May 1940 we arrived at Waterloo to support the Belgium Army but after two days they were recalled to barracks which left our Regiment alone and stranded. We had to make a hasty retreat from Belgium with three or four Panzer divisions after us. We had a few close calls but managed to stay safe until we reached Hollain in Belgium. We were making to get back to Rumagies but got caught up in the Battle of Hollain. We lost many troops. Whilst we were at Hollain I went to a tap to get a drink. I turned on the tap and held my cup underneath to catch the water. A bullet went straight through the cup. My mate Nathan Pagett from Alvechurch said, "You can keep your water, I'm going home!"

Another thing that happened while we were there was that because everyone was retreating, we couldn't get any rations. Chalky White, our cook, had managed to scrounge some tea and sugar from somewhere. He made a saucepan full of lovely hot tea and went outside to call us in for it. Just as he called, "Come and get it!" a mortar bomb fell on the building and blew up our tea! You couldn't imagine our disappointment!

Eventually a Sussex regiment took over from us and relieved the pressure. We returned once again to Rumagies where I happened to find a chicken. I killed it and was cooking it on the fire when I fell asleep. My helmet fell off into the fire and all the inside was melted and burned. I had to put a yellow duster on my head to protect my head from the sharp helmet.

The order came to go to Wormhout in France. We marched into the village at six o'clock in the morning. We were twelve miles away from Dunkirk. At half past eleven an order was issued to go and buy whatever food we could find in the village. At twelve, six German JB87 Sooker bombers appeared over the village and started dropping bombs on us. There were about sixteen bombs in all; this obviously stopped our shopping spree.
That afternoon we left the village and were put into position to defend the road to Dunkirk so that the troops could get through. Our division was told not to leave under any circumstances. It was 'last man, last round'. Nothing happened on the 27th May but on the 28th the Germans approached Esquelbecq and captured it. There were three platoons, which were known as '7' '8' and '9' platoons. I was in '7' platoon. My sergeant, Tommy Shields could see we were being massacred so he ordered us to withdraw to company HQ about half a mile away. When we got there we found everyone had left for Dunkirk. The Sergeant told us we had better try and get ourselves to Dunkirk, as it was now everyman for himself. There was a regimental outpost at Rumagies and we found a 15-ton wagon. I helped get all the wounded into it and we went to Dunkirk. About half way there I came across a Regimental Aid Post (British Medical Hospital). We left the wounded with them. The BMH told us we shouldn't try and get any further with the wagon as it was sure to be blown up, so we had to walk the rest of the way to Dunkirk. I got so far up the road to Dunkirk but by then it had fallen to the Germans so I went into Belgium to a place called Bray Dunes.

I picked up with two other people, one was a nurse from the Queen Alexander and the other was a Signaller called Ben. He gave me some cigarettes. We were right on the coast and we were watching these little boats on the sea. Ben signalled to them asking if we could come aboard. They signalled back, 'We can't come to you, you have to come to us'. The shallow water wouldn't allow the boats in any nearer. It was about seven o'clock at night and getting quite dark. We waited until it started to get light at dawn. The three of us agreed to make for the boats. We walked into the cold North Sea. I walked until I was up to my neck. I had to take my big overcoat off because it was too heavy. I was in the water for five or six hours waiting to be picked up by a little rowing boat. It took me to the destroyer HMS Harvester that eventually took me back to Dover. The Royal Navy gave me a cup of coffee whilst I was on board and it was the best drink I've ever had. The Harvester went straight back across the Channel but on its return again full of troops it was torpedoed and nobody returned.

I have tried everything to find that nurse and signal man who entered the sea with me but unfortunately when we entered the sea that was the last I saw of them.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.