Private Walter George Howlett
Private Walter George Howlett (pictured opposite) was batman* to Captain Charles Long. He was usually known by his second Christian name "George."
Whilst not one of the soldiers killed in the massacre, Private Howlett lost his life in Le Paradis on 27th May - the day of the massacre. It is likely he was killed as part of the rearguard action against the advancing German forces.
His death had a profound affect on Captain Long who admitted "a great respect and liking" for Private Howlett.
In 1963 - 23 years after the massacre - Captain Long wrote to Private Howlett's sister Ivy Meadows. That letter is now in the possession of Private Howlett's nephew Tony who lives in Palgrave in Suffolk. An image of the front page of the letter is reproduced below with a full transcript below that.
Whilst not one of the soldiers killed in the massacre, Private Howlett lost his life in Le Paradis on 27th May - the day of the massacre. It is likely he was killed as part of the rearguard action against the advancing German forces.
His death had a profound affect on Captain Long who admitted "a great respect and liking" for Private Howlett.
In 1963 - 23 years after the massacre - Captain Long wrote to Private Howlett's sister Ivy Meadows. That letter is now in the possession of Private Howlett's nephew Tony who lives in Palgrave in Suffolk. An image of the front page of the letter is reproduced below with a full transcript below that.
From Major C.W.H. de Corday Long MC
Dear Mrs Meadows
Thank you for your letter received today. You will see I have now changed my address and your letter being forwarded on has resulted in a posts delay in my reply.
Your brother was my batman and a very good one - I had a great respect and liking for him and his death upset me very much.
He was killed at about 17.30 hrs on 27th May 1940, but I am sure it will be comfort to you to know that he was not amongst the prisoners who were massacred, but died gallantly like the good soldier he was weapon in his hand fighting in the last stand of the Battalion.
He must have been killed as the Germans broke into the rear of the courtyard of the farm we were holding because I found him there the next morning. The German officer who captured me outside the farm on the edge of the road was - unlike most SS officers - a gentleman in our military sense of the word. He allowed me to take a small party of our men initially unguarded to search for possible wounded. It was when I was searching the farmyard that I found your brother. He still held his rifle and must have fallen fighting to the last.
I could not find his identity disc and was under the impression it had already been taken by the MO. Your brother's name did not appear on the list of missing which was sent to me for clarification by the War Office and of course that made me believe that his disc had already been cleared through the Red Cross and that the War Office knew what had happened.
I know my wife wrote to Mrs Howlett and told her whatever was possible and I am deeply sorry that you have been in ignorance of the details all this time.
During the whole of the afternoon of 27 May your brother had been with me. I remember he calmly(??) knelt at a window and fired at the advancing enemy and then came in and boiled a kettle and made tea. I remember him remarking that as it was getting on for 4 o'clock it was time for tea in spite of the enemy. He did not appear to be at all worried about the situation and was amazingly cheerful. In point of fact he always was under all circumstances.
Some days before we had been fighting heavily near Tournai. I mentioned that I could not find my water bottle. Just at that moment the enemy made a vicious attack and we all ran outside to man the defence of the HQ. There was a tremendous amount of shelling and when we came inside again I could not find your brother. The CO gave me permission to search for him outside - a soldier (I have forgotten his name), a friend of your brother, asked if he could volunteer to come to look for as he said "Old George." He and I went out and looked everywhere, but we could not find him. I was very much afraid he had been hit by shell fire and fallen in the lake. However, about half an hour later, he appeared, carrying my water bottle and apologising for being so long! He had actually gone into the open through heavy fire to a position he and I had been in almost half a mile away to look for my water bottle because he thought I might have left it there, and I had. So you see his ideas of duty were very firm, and his gallantry great.
He was a very worthy member of a fine Battalion and I can assure you I never forget him. He always went with me on all patrols and so on and I had the greatest confidence in him at all times.
I do hope the information I have been able to give to you has been what you wanted.
Those days were long ago and I have been soldiering in all parts of the world since then. It is difficult to remember everything that happened, but if there are more things you want to know please write to me and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
Yours Sincerely
Charles de Corday Long
Dear Mrs Meadows
Thank you for your letter received today. You will see I have now changed my address and your letter being forwarded on has resulted in a posts delay in my reply.
Your brother was my batman and a very good one - I had a great respect and liking for him and his death upset me very much.
He was killed at about 17.30 hrs on 27th May 1940, but I am sure it will be comfort to you to know that he was not amongst the prisoners who were massacred, but died gallantly like the good soldier he was weapon in his hand fighting in the last stand of the Battalion.
He must have been killed as the Germans broke into the rear of the courtyard of the farm we were holding because I found him there the next morning. The German officer who captured me outside the farm on the edge of the road was - unlike most SS officers - a gentleman in our military sense of the word. He allowed me to take a small party of our men initially unguarded to search for possible wounded. It was when I was searching the farmyard that I found your brother. He still held his rifle and must have fallen fighting to the last.
I could not find his identity disc and was under the impression it had already been taken by the MO. Your brother's name did not appear on the list of missing which was sent to me for clarification by the War Office and of course that made me believe that his disc had already been cleared through the Red Cross and that the War Office knew what had happened.
I know my wife wrote to Mrs Howlett and told her whatever was possible and I am deeply sorry that you have been in ignorance of the details all this time.
During the whole of the afternoon of 27 May your brother had been with me. I remember he calmly(??) knelt at a window and fired at the advancing enemy and then came in and boiled a kettle and made tea. I remember him remarking that as it was getting on for 4 o'clock it was time for tea in spite of the enemy. He did not appear to be at all worried about the situation and was amazingly cheerful. In point of fact he always was under all circumstances.
Some days before we had been fighting heavily near Tournai. I mentioned that I could not find my water bottle. Just at that moment the enemy made a vicious attack and we all ran outside to man the defence of the HQ. There was a tremendous amount of shelling and when we came inside again I could not find your brother. The CO gave me permission to search for him outside - a soldier (I have forgotten his name), a friend of your brother, asked if he could volunteer to come to look for as he said "Old George." He and I went out and looked everywhere, but we could not find him. I was very much afraid he had been hit by shell fire and fallen in the lake. However, about half an hour later, he appeared, carrying my water bottle and apologising for being so long! He had actually gone into the open through heavy fire to a position he and I had been in almost half a mile away to look for my water bottle because he thought I might have left it there, and I had. So you see his ideas of duty were very firm, and his gallantry great.
He was a very worthy member of a fine Battalion and I can assure you I never forget him. He always went with me on all patrols and so on and I had the greatest confidence in him at all times.
I do hope the information I have been able to give to you has been what you wanted.
Those days were long ago and I have been soldiering in all parts of the world since then. It is difficult to remember everything that happened, but if there are more things you want to know please write to me and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
Yours Sincerely
Charles de Corday Long
George's nephew Tony told us that his "uncle" had been firing at the Germans through a window of the farmhouse and was alongside a Private Arthur Betts. George had a brother and sister. Ivy Howlett became Ivy Meadows and William Charles "Dick" Howlett became Tony Howlett's father. Tony says that his father "very rarely" talked about the war.
Tony and his wife have "adopted" one of the headstones in Le Paradis Churchyard as a symbol of George Howlett. It is one of the unnamed graves and Tony is pictured beside it above. The photographs below show Ivy and "Dick" during their school days. In the picture on the left, Ivy is in the middle row second from the right and in the picture on the right, "Dick" is in the centre of the group of three boys.
Tony and his wife have "adopted" one of the headstones in Le Paradis Churchyard as a symbol of George Howlett. It is one of the unnamed graves and Tony is pictured beside it above. The photographs below show Ivy and "Dick" during their school days. In the picture on the left, Ivy is in the middle row second from the right and in the picture on the right, "Dick" is in the centre of the group of three boys.
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* Batman - A soldier assigned to a commissioned officer as a personal servant.