Narrative and Papers of Major R. J. Hastings attached to Second Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment 1940. Narrative from 10th April, 1940, to capture on 27th May, 1940

Preface

This narrative has not been written for publication either now or in the future. It contains little likely to be of interest in a purely military sense. It is written rather from an angle and is primarily intended for a civilian reader. This has necessitated the elaboration and explanation of some things that would not be necessary for a military reader.

The war diary, and all papers of the second Battalion the Royal Norfolk Regiment were destroyed on 27 May 1940. Although this narrative is not intended to be a substitute in any way for those documents, it may contain material which a future historian might find of use. Bearing this in mind the utmost trouble has been taken to ensure absolute accuracy and every sentence has been examined with great care so that it shall be as exact as it is possible for anything to be in the circumstances in which it has been written. Where doubt exists, matters have either been omitted, or if they are necessary for purposes of continuity, the fact that there is a doubt, is always stated.

Nevertheless the circumstances of writing have not been such as to preclude the possibility of error. No maps or documents of any kind have been available, but certain rather sketchy notes have been made after capture and now have been added to from time to time and now form the basis of this narrative. It was not desirable from considerations of security to write too much on paper in the early days of captivity, when recollections were not clear, for all papers of a prisoner of war are liable at any time to be read by the detaining power. But sufficient time has now lapsed for a fairly complete narrative to be written. The campaign itself as a matter of history and the German accounts of it have been published and the theatre of operations has moved to other places, in spite of this I am sensible that some things I could have written might still be inadvisable, and I have not written them.

Finally, I've tried very hard not to fall into either of two errors to which prisoners of war are, I think, particularly prone. The first is the error of overstatement, the second is more insidious and more difficult to be certain one is not guilty of. It is the error of coming to believe, in all honesty, that certain fictions that have built themselves up in one's mind are the truth. I have tried to make this narrative really true but I can guarantee practically nothing.

R. J. Hastings Capt.
Dousel
January 1942

​After I had completed the MS referred to above I placed it in the hands first of Captain A. L. Gordon and then of captain C. H. Long and invited them to make marginal notes of anything that in their view needed correction. This they have done and I am grateful to them for the trouble they have taken. Except in one or two cases where an obvious slip has been made I have not incorporated the corrections into the text of my narrative, as I felt that in a document such as this which was based so largely on memory the reader was entitled to any clue as to its accuracy or otherwise as a whole that he might like to draw from the extent and nature of the corrections that had to be made with regard to details.

The corrections made by these officers are achieved in the form of footnotes just as they were written. Capt Gordon's comments bear the initials A. L. G. and those of Capt. Long the letters C. H. W. L. Where possible I have added to these footnotes a word or two of my own which I distinguish by the initials R. J. H. I thought it desirable to add such comments because, although in all cases the corrections made by these officers have the effect of refreshing my memory it did not happen in every case that I found myself in agreement with their point of view. I felt that to draw attention to the existence of a difference of recollection might serve to draw attention to those points on which further evidence might well be searched for

R. J. H. 
Eichstatt, Germany

May 1943

April 1944. I have deleted about one page number 89/90. This page contains some comments and general impression of my own upon matters which I now after four years have elapsed, are not written remembering. Captain Long agrees with this memo I expressed in these comments.

Personal recollections of the Blitz Krieg

The 10 April 1940 found me commanding a company of a second line territorial battalion in England. On this date my CO. Told me he had sent in my name for a short attachment to the B E F It was not known when, or if, I could be selected to go, but a day or two later I got orders to report to the E.S.O at Southampton on the 15th. Thus I had barely time to square up my company office, disentangle myself from duties on a Board of Survey and an Audit Board and get home for a few hours before embarking. But I had no time whatever to make any of the usual preparations. Further, I couldn't get a revolver, couldn't get any field glasses, I didn't have the usual inoculations against typhoid, and tetanus and smallpox and so on to mention only a few of the things I ought to have had and didn't. But I was fortunate with my compass. I got a new oil bearing compass which had arrived opportunely in the Q M stores and was intended for someone else.

I arrived in France via Southampton and Le Havre and two days travelling on French railways through Rouen, Arras, and Amiens brought me, very dirty to Douai, and here I was met by an 8 cwt truck which had been sent to meet me by the unit to which I was to be attached. At Douai station I met Lt. Col. Bertram Long of our 5th Battalion. I had previously noticed him on the train and I now found he was on his way to be attached to the same units as I was. We travelled together in the 8 cwt truck with our baggage and finally arrived at Orchies, a market town near the Belgian frontier. We presented ourselves at the Battalion Headquarters of our new unit - 2nd Battalion the Royal Norfolk Regiment. Col. De Wilton, the commanding officer received us. He was charming and told us they had expected only one subaltern, not a Lt. Col. and a captain had he known, he said, he would have made better arrangements for our reception and transport from Douai.

Actually I had been perfectly satisfied and so, I think had Col. Long, but I mention this because it was the first of many similar acts of consideration and kindness that made our connection with the Norfolks extremely pleasant. For me it was also very instructive, for I saw the working of a perfectly trained regular army unit at its very best. Adam Gordon found us billets and Lt. Col. Long was attached to H.Q. mess. As this was already overcrowded I went to 'D' company mess and this arrangement continued all the time we were in Orchies.

Since the winter, the troops around Orchies had been engaged in large-scale digging operations. A defensive line had been constructed along the frontier and this was now being improved, embellished and dug in greater depth. The atmosphere was one of “peace-yet-war”. The troops were on a war scale of clothing and equipment. They had their one suit of battledress and if they got wet they had to go to bed till it got dry. Some other units had already begun to make fairly extensive additions to these minimum scales, in the form of band instruments, extra clothing, sports equipment and so on and even in some cases, mess plates. Such things had to be jettisoned when the order came to move. The officers at Orchies wore their battledress during the day and changed into service dress in the evening, as often or not getting in a bath was at the time they changed. There was a bar in the town reserved for officers only, the Café de la Tour, and in the early evening before mass time there was always a friendly crowd of British officers there. It was a convenient meeting place for officers of different companies and different units. Officers dined in a fairly civilised way in their own small company messes. There was not much dining out. It was a happy almost carefree life, and it would have been quite carefree were it not for certain ever present dark contingencies in the background, which, in the prevailing slang of the time, were called 'flaps.'
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When a big flap was on all leave was stopped. When the flap died down leave started again. The official name of the big flap that concerns us was Plan D. At all times the greatest secrecy was observed. 'Even walls have ears' said one poster everywhere displayed. Another reminded us that 'careless talk may cost lives.' Whatever the faults of the British Army at that time it could never have been said that they were not security minded. They had a security complex in conversation at any rate. The security of important documents was another story.

Quite another story; and I heard some very unpleasant things in this respect which may, or may not have been true, but anyway they have no place in this narrative. It was difficult to find out anything. We spoke in undertones of the most trifling things and were properly reticent about all else, and avoided asking questions that might create embarrassment. Eventually however, in due course of time I was enlightened about Plan D. I learnt that if the Germans invaded Belgium the BEF would in certain circumstances immediately move to a defensive line along the River Dyle. Plan D contained orders for this operation in detail. Our role was that we were to form part of the advanced guard to the British second division and the area to be occupied was the wooded slopes behind the river near Wavre, a town some 25 km south-east of Brussels.  Simultaneously the 1st division, which contained the guards, was to come up on our left and we were to have the French on our right. The movement into these positions was to take place entirely by road and it was, of course, for obvious reasons, impossible to make any reconnaissance beforehand. So much for Plan D as we knew it in April and early May 1940. It was indeed ever present in the background of our existence, but each individual was entitled to his own private opinion as to the probability of its ever coming into operation as a fact. I confess that I myself thought it was unlikely, and my opinion was evidently shared by no less a personage than the British Prime Minister, who in a broadcast speech about this time, informed us that Germany had "missed the bus".
        
There is little more to be said about the general atmosphere around Orchies at this time. Except for rare visits to Lille or Douai which afforded a fairly harmless safety valve for those who needed it, the hectic atmosphere one has read of in books about the last war was about. Cafés throughout France were out of bounds to all ranks between certain hours during the day and were out of bounds for good at 10pm. This was pretty strictly kept. Our own battalion was as fit and hard as any body of men can possibly be. Daily outdoor exercise in the shape of digging, plenty of good food, though not too much, good quarters, regular correspondence to and from home; all these things went to make up a good, well ordered, well disciplined life. Minor offences were rare indeed more serious crime unknown. Spring had come. Morale was at its very highest, as the daily censorship of the men's letters by their company officers clearly showed. Not a great deal was done in the way of training. Companies aimed at doing one exercise a week in between the digging and this, inspired by Plan D often had something to do with fighting in the woods. It generally took place in the Foret de Marchienne.

The weather at the beginning of May was wonderfully fine. I well remember one afternoon going out in the P.U. and traveling a good many miles. Never had I seen bluebells in the woods so thick. I passed farmhouses with tulips in full bloom in the farmyards and all over the countryside women, young and old were sowing, rolling, or harrowing in the fields. Cows were being brought in from the fields for milking by women. They were tied together by the horns in groups of three or four by the slenderest looking string and led along the road. Everything was peaceful and rustic and beautiful except our convoy of  W. D. vehicles and men in steel helmets and khaki. There was little else in the French roads besides British W. D. vehicles.

About 6th or 7th May facilities became available for practicing the mechanised movement of troops by road. Troop carrying vehicles are provided by the RASC. There was nothing much new in this for me as I had done the same exercises at Aldershot, but I was very much amused at the consternation of some Sergeant Majors and PSMs who were called upon to ride. I sympathized with their predicament. I was offered a seat on a motorcycle myself but declined the offer.

'D' Company's turn to do a night driving exercise came on 9th May. This was disappointing to us as it was Richardson's (the Company Commander) last day with his company. He was due to leave the next morning on an indefinite attachment to the Lancashire Fusiliers, a territorial battalion which had recently been brought into the Brigade - the 2nd Borders under a scheme designed to mix up regulars and territorials. We had intended to give Richardson something of a farewell party, and we hoped the exercise would finish in time. There was an exceptional amount of searchlight activity that evening and we remarked about it. Also one or two German aircraft had been seen overhead during the day and been fired at by A.A. some distance away. We were just too late to get into "La Tours" when we got back to Orchies  and we decided to go to a place run by a woman called Marie Louise where drinks could be got after hours, it being argued the present occasion for breaking the rules was as legitimate as most reasons for breaking rules usually are. So we went to
this place which is in a backstreet and rather unpleasant and rather dirty. Inside we found a handful of slightly drunken officers and we drank champagne and told stories to the early hours of the morning. Lille Aerodrome was raided continuously that night and all the A.A in the neighbourhood loosed off, and nearly
everyone else was awake with the noise but I slept heavily.

Next morning twixt sleeping and waking I heard excited conversation between Flynn, my servant, and the young mistress of my billet as the former cleaned my boots in the courtyard below my bedroom window. He in pidgeon French, she, gabbling in French or pidgeon English and the upshot of it all was that Germany
appeared to have marched across the Belgian frontier. Flynn came up with the tea and gave me the whole story which was vague and I still thought it was quite possibly untrue. It certainly did not occur to me as I got up and dressed that I had worn pyjamas for the last time for five months, the shirt I then put on would have
to do duty night and day for that period and that I should not be properly undressed again for nearly 4 weeks.
My way to 'D' company mess lay across the Market Square. It was market day and I saw that the market stalls were being closed down and the market dispersed. The military policeman directing traffic at the corner saluted me with his usual smartness and looked unperturbed. It was said that in civil life in England many of them were AA and RAC road patrolmen. In France they did their duty most efficiently and smartly and they were always impeccably turned out. In the mess, when I got there, were Richardson, Jones and Buchanan. There was an atmosphere of subdued excitement and I learnt then the news was indeed true and Plan D was to come into operation at once.

After breakfast I went to the company office and found it literally full of maps. The route into Belgium covered about 10 sheets of map and each company officer and certain N.C.O.s were to have a complete set each. In addition there were two or three supplementary large scale Belgian maps and these were being sorted and made up into sets. It was a job that needed space. My own position with the battalion was not clear. I understood now that I ought to have been sent home but this was not done and I should have been very sorry if it had. I went to battalion headquarters but there were no instructions for me there and the Colonel was out. I hung about for some time but everyone was busy and I felt I was rather in the way and left.

Later I met the Colonel in the street. He was in his car and stopped and called me over. He said he had been
to Brigade and had got permission for me to stay with his battalion. He asked if that would suit me and I replied that it would. We went back to battalion headquarters and he appointed me second in command of 'D' Company.

I went back to my billet. Flynn had been busy and everything was packed into my valise which now only needed strapping up. Whilst I was there, Col. Long came rushing up the stairs. He told me he was going back to England. He had heard I was staying on and had just looked in to say goodbye. During my attachment I'd
made a number of notes well knowing that I would be called upon to give lectures when I got back to England and I now gave these to Col. Long in a bundle just as they were and asked him to give them to my CO when he got back. He stuffed them in his pocket, we shook hands and he wished me Bon Chance and rushed off.

There was not much left of 'D' company when I got to their billets. The commencement of Plan D was to get Orchies cleared of troops in case of an air raid. This had been effected under company arrangements without any loss of time and before lunchtime all that was left in Orchies was battalion headquarters, one or two company offices and the Quartermasters and their stores. Richardson had told me that there would not be space in his PU for me or for any more baggage and the platoon trucks had already gone with the platoons, but I was fortunate enough to find room for myself, Flynn, and my baggage in Major Charlton's PU. He said he would not be ready to start before 2:30 pm and I filled in the time by going back to my own billet and taking with me an armful of English books and magazines from our mess, which I gave to the two young ladies on whom I had been billeted. One of them spoke a little English and they had made me most comfortable in the spare room over their little draper's shop, 4 Rue de Tournai just by the church. I left with Maj. Charlton about 2.30 as arranged. The Orchies' siren had been wailing out air raid warnings and all clears incessantly all morning and was still doing so as I left.

​I was sitting in the back of the PU and scarcely had we got a quarter of a mile out of the town when there were a number of very loud explosions. I looked up and saw three enemy bombers rising upwards only about
100 feet above the railway station. There had been a Bren gunner with a "motley" mounting in the marketplace. He ought to have got in some good shooting. Major Charlton got off at Beuvry Nord where a temporary battalion headquarters had been established. I was warned that I would probably have some difficulty in finding 'D' company as the Lancashire Fusiliers had arrived first and squatted in the area that had been allotted to us. The PO took me on as far as the edge of the Foret de Marchienne and here I got down and left Flynn to sit on my valise while I got off on foot to find 'D' company. This took a great deal longer than I expected. Though everyone else was armed to the teeth with maps I had not yet been able to draw mine and I had no map of the Foret de Marchienne, but I kept some check on my movements by compass. The Foret de Marchienne is intersected by more or less geometrically arranged sides but each side looks exactly like the others and although the whole of the 4th Infantry Brigade had been evacuated here there was not a soldier to be seen. They were most effectively concealed and dispersed among the trees. At length I found 'C' company because I happened to see the back of their truck heavily camouflaged with branches of trees at the edge of one of the sides. 'C' company only knew where 'A' company was, and 'A' company, when I found them, did not know where 'D' company was. But they were kind enough to lend me one of their loaded platoon trucks to help in the search. This, the driver very stupidly got bogged down and another truck had to be fetched and much digging done to get it out.

I became desperate and was thoroughly tired out with walking when I did eventually find 'D' company at 7 pm Richardson had gone to a conference at battalion headquarters. There was a hot supper meal for the troops at 8 pm. Richardson returned and issued his orders just before it became dark. There were some amendments to the original route and we marked our maps accordingly. Richardson and the sergeant major then left to travel with the reconnaissance group, which went on ahead and I was left in charge.

There was considerable air activity overhead and Bren gunners on all sides loosed off at aircraft at impossible heights. If they had had tracer ammunition the mistakes would have been apparent to them. There was a Vickers Bofors somewhere near which got in some close shooting but scored no hits that I could see.
As usual when there is no real news rumours began to circulate. A passing DR said "Orchies was in flames" and from the edge of the wood we can see that there were indeed fires raging there. I heard also that the first bombs dropped on Orchies were from the three aeroplanes I had seen, had hit the railway station and demolished the signal box killing the signalman. There were frequent subsequent raids during the afternoon and one bomb had dropped just outside the church. I was particularly anxious to find out where this fell, as I think it must have been immediately opposite my old billet. I wondered if the two young ladies were safe.

At 11.30 I got the company on parade and we marched off. We only had about 3 miles to march and the column was due to start at 1:30 am. I allowed plenty of time, I think, because at the back of my mind there was vague fear of losing the way. We had not gone far before there was a complaint about this step, so I got
Buchanan up with me to get a pace that the men were used to and I adopted a similar plan, on the few subsequent occasions, when I found myself marching in front of a body of Norfolks. There was a great deal of searchlight activity but no more aircraft. There was a red flare from Orchies on our left and a curious light
on the ground a long way away flashing on and off. Something to do with our own aircraft I think. We passed some houses. The inmates were standing at the gates silently watching us go by.
 
Once on the Valenciennes Road there was no more danger of losing the way, and I had time for a short halt. There were many other troops on the road, all going the same way and their gaunt figures passed us in the semi darkness. For the most part in silence, for they marched, as we did, on the soft ground at the sides of the road, one rank on one side and two on the other, which was much more comfortable for the feet than the hard pave of the Valenciennes Road.
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A mile also further on we found our troop carrying vehicles. They were spaced out on the right hand side of the road about 25 yards apart in blocks of six with a greater space in between blocks to fit in Company Echelon A transport. Our own Echelon A transport (platoon trucks etc) had already been fitted in, and it was
only necessary for me to march along the column until I saw it and get embussed in the six vehicles immediately in front. This accomplished and the fact reported to the Battalion's second-in-command who was at the head of the column, we sat back and waited for the start. Just before we moved off there was a bit of a hitch about lights. Plan D said no lights in front for driving but taillights at the rear of vehicles to be masked and turned inwards so they showed a white light on the back axle which had been painted white so that it could be seen by the vehicle immediately behind but not show any light that could be seen by aircraft. Unfortunately these RASC vehicles were so wired that the taillight couldn't be put on without having the front lights on as well and if the front bulbs were taken out these would be nothing but a powerful headlight to turn on in an emergency. I forget exactly how the difficulty was solved. I think some bulbs were taken out and some that couldn't come out had to be smashed. Anyway we drove without any lights at all in front. Now at least all was ready. The minutes before starting time vanished into nothing and at 1:30 am punctually we were off. A magnificent battalion we were and every man knew it and was prepared to put up a good show. The battalion had been one of the first to take over a sector in the Saar, it had suffered the first
officer killed of the war, it had the first MC of the war. Later, Sgt Major Gristock was to win for it one of the first VCs but that we did not know then.

Neither could anybody know as in less than three weeks only an exhausted remnant of this battalion were left to be taken prisoner and of the 26 officers that set out that night, eight were to be killed, eleven sick or wounded and of the rest only three were to get back to England. At 1:30 am punctually the truck in front of us commenced to move and we followed it. "Peace yet war" or this phony war as the Americans called it, was
over, and things had begun in earnest. The Germans, as I was to hear later were saying "Vom Sitzkreig zum Blitzkreig" The movement of a big force en bloc for a considerable distance presents difficulties of a serious character. In a final message to the 2nd Division, Maj. Gen. Lloyd had said that this move would not go according to plan. In practice, however, in all its essentials, it did go according to plan, and this was chiefly due to the excellence of the preliminary staff work which had been really thoroughly done.

Our route lay through the Belgian towns of Ath, Enghein, and Halle. There was no need to bother with maps at first, one just followed the truck in front at visibility distances. There were patrols at all points where mistake could possibly be made and tiny lamps were placed at the edge of the roads where ever they curved. These little lamps showed no light upwards. They were actually very low power electric torches and my driver said they would last for 200 odd hours continuously burning. There were also traffic control points at intervals where the convoy was checked by blocks as it passed.

Halts of 15 minutes duration were ordered to take place every two hours, commencing 15 minutes before the even hours. This did not work out in practice and was only observed in the very front of the column. My driver, however, did get short intervals of rest as the convoy expanded and contracted and then stopped. He drove very well indeed, which is interesting to note as he said he had had no sleep for two days. He told me where he had been and what he had done and I think his story must've been very nearly true. All the RASC drivers had been heavily overworked, but in spite of this, and the fact that they had no lights in front there were hardly any driving accidents.

We began to see daylight about 3:30 am and at this time the covers were taken off the vehicles and Bren guns set up on their AA mountings. The men complained about the cold. The convoy was now supposed to spread out to ten vehicles to the mile as we expected to have to take some stiff attacks from the air: but there were low clouds overhead during most of the morning and this possibly saved us from it. For a long time the only aircraft seen was a British Lysander which flew up and down the convoy presumably for traffic control.
At all places we were greeted with scenes of wild enthusiasm by the Belgians. They have a curious greeting sign which consists of a sort of "thumbs up", done with one or both hands together. They all did this -men, women, tiny children and even parish priests in their cassocks of whom we saw several. As it got later there were more people about. In towns and villages they lined our route and little children ran along with the trucks throwing flowers to the troops; in the Foret de Soignes, near Brussels, people in motorcars drove up and down the convoy distributing cigarettes and chocolate and whenever we stopped the women came out of houses with hot coffee which the troops don't like much and will only drink if they are very thirsty. No expressions of a nation's goodwill could have been more enthusiastic or complete and it was sad to see only a few days later how utterly this high admiration had turned to sullenness and angry disappointment.

We got through Ath and Enghein and reached Halle and then I thought I had better begin to take a detailed interest in the maps, which I had not done up to the present owing to the difficulty of manipulating the sheets of a big scale map in the confined space next to the driver's seat. One inch of these maps only represented 0.7 miles of road and some of the sheets could be run through in quite a few minutes driving. When I did begin to study these maps, however, I was considerably puzzled by the numerous inconsistencies. I couldn't place our
position on the road with exactness and was inclined at first to attribute this to my own weakness in map reading; but after a time it became evident that the maps themselves, though produced by the British ordinance, were very corrupt indeed.

This didn't matter so long as we were in the convoy on main roads; but as we got nearer our rendezvous the big convoy began to split up and we found ourselves on second class roads which twisted and curved so much that we could not keep in touch with the vehicle in front without closing up more than the distance laid down. There were no motorcycle patrols now and there were no military police at difficult turnings or crossroads. At one confusing place I was reduced to getting out and setting my map at the roadside with a compass. A small convoy passed us coming the other way, I hoped I wasn't getting lost, but wasn't quite as sure about the matter as I should like to be. I was most relieved eventually to come up behind a convoy parked at the side of the road somewhere near where the debussing point ought to have been. It was not clear whether we were in a traffic jam or someone else's debussing point. There was no sign of any guides. I drove up behind the last truck and tried to get some information from the driver whom I saw standing about. He did not seem to know much and I decided we had not yet arrived at the battalion rendezvous and was about to move on further when, very suddenly, a rather bad thing occurred. A single German bomber appeared from nowhere and let loose several bombs two of which landed about a 150 yards away to the right. The orders regarding bombing on the line of march had been very definite and were known to everybody.

They were that in the event of an air attack there was to be no debussing and trucks were to continue to move; but on looking down the road now I was horrified to see that a large number of men were getting out of the trucks and scattering to both sides of the road. I yelled at them to get back, but our convoy occupied a long stretch of road and many were out of earshot. It was obvious there would be considerable delay before I got moving unless men were to be left behind. Another salvo of bombs from more aircraft hovering about settled the matter. I ordered everyone into cover at the side of the road and meagre cover it was. I remained on the road myself with Sgt Sellick who had been in my truck.

He had opened fire with his Bren gun as soon as the first aircraft was sighted and very coolly continued to loose off magazine after magazine. Sgt Sellick is rather a character and his magnificent example of coolness, when everywhere else there was confusion, was of the utmost value in restoring order, which however was immediately effected once the initial surprise had warn off. For most of the men it was a baptism of fire and I never saw, at any time, such incidents again. On later occasions the same men behaved with the very greatest bravery and gallantry and though this incident properly belongs to this narrative I include it with no little sorrow lest it should be misunderstood. Very few of those who took part in it are now alive. D company had very heavy casualties.

Actually part of the trouble was caused by two boys who lost their heads and then others followed like sheep. I found these two cowering under some bushes without their rifles. They looked abject and ashamed of themselves. My civilian self might have said "poor devils" but that was not what I said to them. Writing on the entry of the BEF. into Belgium in the German weekly newspaper "Das Reich", two years later, Frans Otto Wesemann quotes the following from Lord Gort's report "It was an unhampered, rapid pleasant March - the last phase experience of the BEF". To this Wesemann adds to his own very pointed comment "that the BEF had gone exactly where the German high command wanted to have them neither Lord Gort nor his staff knew" I got the convoy moving as soon I could and then, at the end of the stationary vehicles, I saw Maj. Charlton who wanted to know why I was double banking.

Then I knew we had indeed been at the debussing point all the time. We debussed amidst much more activity. It was now bright sunshine and the attacking aircraft kept up pretty high, well out of the range of small arms fire. There were no guides to take us to the company rendezvous. We had arrived sooner than was expected. There was a mile or two of marching across country. As a measure of dispersion I sent No.18 platoon off immediately they were debussed. Buchanan was in command, a most reliable officer who could be depended on not to lose the way. I sent Jones off similarly with his platoon (No. 16) and put PSM Hodgron's platoon in some farm building for the time being. I had to send a cyclist patrol after Jones as he went off in the wrong direction. My mistake probably owing to a confusion between Claybeck and Tombeek. In due course I started off myself with company headquarters and the two platoons. The enemy aircraft had everything their own way and were very active. We all wondered what happened to the RAF and I for one was intensely  disappointed to see no British or Allied aircraft.

I had marched about half a mile down a valley heavily wooded on both sides, when an officer on a motor cycle came bumping up the path towards me. We saw that it was Maj. Marshall, the adjutant. "There is a change of plan" he said as he came up. "Don't go any further at present there is absolutely no cover further down and all the battalion is trying to use the same path. It's most unhealthy at the moment and I'm going to try to thin
it out". He turned round his motorcycle and bumped off. "See you in half an hour" he called.

I put the company in a wood and discussed bombing with Jones and some NCOs. So far we had had no casualties, but as yet we didn't know how much damage these bombs could do. Jones had seen a bomb crater in a field full of cows. I asked if any of the cows were lying dead or seemed to have been wounded and he thought not. An NCO had spoken to someone who saw a bomb fall five yards from a truck on the road. The truck was blown gently into a ditch but no one had been hurt. When Marshall returned he told me about the change of plan he said "The Colonel wants you on the right flank and A company on the left in the same
positions you fought in the Saar. He intended this all along and only just realised that it went out in orders the other way round". Marshall said he would see 18 platoon himself and gave me the new positions on the map. The bottleneck was now clear of congestion and we could start. There was still plenty of air activity
but it was not now quite so close. Our journey concluded with a long march over open ploughed land and we were continuously exposed to view. Map reading was a bother. The ordinance type of map was untrustworthy and the big scale Belgian maps were confusing owing to the wealth of details superimposed one over the other and the use of conventional signs which were different from anything I'd had to deal with before.

We arrived at the right place and found Richardson at the edge of a wood. We marched into the wood and rested. My batman, Flynn and Richardson's batman,Tough, produced a meal for the officers which I felt rather ashamed to eat as there was no meal for the men. The Colonel had banned the movement of B Echelon transport till it became dark. The men were extremely hungry not having had anything to eat for 24 hours. There was a village about half a mile away and I gave CSM Dack all the odd French money I had in my pocket and suggested that some bread or biscuits or something might be bought from a shop in the village. I reported our final position to the signal officer who said he wouldn't be running a line to it as it was only temporary. After we had eaten, all the officers went on a reconnaissance of the positions with Richardson. These positions consisted of trenches and dugouts etc. which had been prepared by the Belgians. They were sited at the foot of steep wooded slopes that ran down to the River Dyle. The Dyle made quite a good tank obstacle and behind it was barbed wire in considerable depth, put up in the French style. There were also pill boxes at intervals. The Belgians had made quite a good job of those defences.

There was no contact with the enemy yet. Roughly, the situation was that the Belgian army, presumably still intact, was holding up the German advance. Behind the Belgians and some miles out in front of us was our own protective force of light tanks consisting of detachments of 12th Lancers and the 4th Dragoon Guards. The scheme was that if, and when, the Germans broke through the Belgians, the light tanks were to make the first contact with them and withdraw through our line when contact had been made. Our own role was that of
part of the advance guard of the 2nd Division. The 4th Infantry Brigade of which we were part was to occupy the whole divisional front until the remainder of the division arrived to relieve them. Thus at the time battalions were occupying brigade fronts and companies roughly speaking were doing battalion fronts. As
we walked round our positions reconnaissance groups of the relieving units were beginning to arrive. We manned the line that night. We stood to at 21:00 hours and stood-down at 22:00 hours and stood to again in the morning from 04:30 hours to 05:30 hours. Food arrived after it was dark and platoons sent up their
meal carriers to get it.
​
Richardson and I spent that night in the open though we did actually have a roof over our heads in the form of a sort of circular wooden erection with no sides like a bandstand. It was right on the side of the hill overlooking the valley. It commanded a really magnificent view but I thought it would be drafty and it
was. That night I used my new Lilo and new Kapok sleeping bag, but we only removed our boots collars and ties. We were awakened early by the sounds of heavy continuous gunfire. We concluded, quite rightly, that the Belgian line had been broken.

I got up. It was one of the finest and most glorious mornings I can ever remember. The sun was blazing through the remnants of a light morning mist and the hills opposite looked superb. Birds warbled in the trees as if nothing was amiss. It was Whitsunday. Everything looked most peaceful and, except for the rumble of artillery in the distance, it was difficult to believe we were at war. How I hated that rumble of artillery! All of the civilian in my nature was stirred deeply. I saw a long silver hair glistening in the sun on my sleeping bag and remembered how my wife had laughingly insisted in trying herself in it when it arrived new from the shop. I twisted the hair round a small photograph of its owner I had in my wallet and had a struggle with myself to get back to the idea of being a soldier.

There was plenty to do after breakfast. Seconds in command of Companies were wanted by the CO for a conference at 10 o'clock at a place some distance away. I took Flynn with me and Westgate was the driver. The best, but not the most direct way, was to go south into Wavre and back again northwards along the Brussels road. By the time the PU was packed we had none too much time and had to drive fast. In Wavre and all along the Brussels road I saw thousands of Belgian troops, some in transport, some on foot. There were carriers, light tanks, artillery and all kinds of other equipment. All the soldiers looked unkempt and were unshaved and the eyes of many were shining and staring as if they had been through a frightening experience. These scenes continued all day along the Brussels road to our rendezvous. Where there were trees at the side of the road, there underneath were Belgian soldiers. I saw Yallop talking to one of them. They were all asking "where is the British Air Force". One of the Belgians, an officer, told Yallop that his company commander had been killed, the second in command had then turned and run, and he and the rest of the company had
followed. We may not have got the story quite right owing to language difficulties but I think the general drift of it was right.

We met the CO and he pointed out to us our new positions on the ground and we went off to reconnoitre them and wait the arrival of our Companies which were handing over last night's positions to the relieving troops which were due to arrive during the morning. The CO looked very tired and worried. The new area for 'D' company was the Bois de Beaumont and when I got there I found a company of Royal Scots in occupation. They had done some useful digging during the night and improved the position generally. They were not
pleased at having to leave. The company commander took me round the wood and showed me his fire plan. It was well thought out and provisionally I decided to adopt it en bloc and so take advantage of the digging that had been started. I also went round the wood with Flynn and made a rough plan of it. There were concrete blockhouses all round the edge at about 300 yard intervals with embrasures cited to cover a well wired marshy ditch. At least one of these blockhouses was painted up to represent a villa with front door, windows,
curtains and so on, just like a piece of theatrical scenery. The wood itself began by a steep slope rising sharply upwards from the ditch. It was not a bad position at all for defence. Col. Money, commanding the Royal Scots, came round during the morning. He said he liked the Bois de Beaumont much better than the area he had got.

Richardson arrived in the afternoon, hot and tired, with 'D' company. They had marched across country much dispersed on account of air activity. No casualties. Almost simultaneously with Richardson's arrival the Brigadier appeared with Col Murray (editor's note - likely to be Colonel Money). Seeing Richardson they called him over. The Brigadier had agreed to let the Royal Scots keep the Bois de Beaumont area and Richardson left with the Brigadier for our own battalion headquarters to make new arrangements and once again I sat down to wait. Richardson came back in due course with particulars of the new area and then went off to reconnoitre it. It was the park of the beautiful Château de Beaumont. I marched the company to it across country again and got some practice in using the Belgian map. I hid the Company under some trees just off the drive to the Château and waited for Richardson. Our own Colonel arrived looking even more ill than he had done in the morning. He had inspected every Company position in detail on foot. He told me he was very tired and said he didn't think he'd be able to go on much longer "if only they'd give me a house", he said "I could manage it". But he went off determined to walk round our positions. Richardson returned when he had made his reconnaissance and took platoon commanders off to give them their positions on the ground. It was important to get the platoons out as soon as possible as there was digging and wiring to be done and as much use as possible had to be made of the remaining daylight. I got busy making a company headquarters in the Château. I made an office and found billets for the personnel of Company Headquarters in the servants' wing and arranged with a concierge who, with his family, was in charge of the Château, to have a Company Officer's mess and billets in the Château itself. The Château was in some disorder when I explored it and bore evidence of hasty evacuation. A partly consumed meal was on the dining room table and the contents of drawers and bureaus had been littered about in disorder.

Digging and wiring went on throughout the night. Signalers got a line working from us to the HQ. We listened to the British news from a wireless set in the Château library and heard that the Germans had crossed the Albert Canal. Richardson divided the night up into three two hour periods during which he, CSM Dark, and I were to take turns to be on duty in the company office. Situation reports were rendered every two hours. My duty was from midnight to 2am It was daylight at 4am and I went out with Richardson then to see the platoon positions and see how the digging had progressed.

Richardson was a man who, one imagined had always liked to do himself well. He was slightly fat, a bachelor, quick thinking and very intolerant of views that were opposed to his own, but he appeared to me unusually knowledgeable and efficient in the military sphere. This morning he was in a very bad temper and the
unfortunate Platoon Commanders who had been working all night came in for a bad time. The fire positions were eventually sited and every possible line of approach was covered.
                           
We returned and had breakfast at 8am. The company continued to improve their positions throughout the day and dug additional tasks. Wire arrived, more ammunition came up and also road mines. Richardson was out most of the day. Situation reports were rendered every two hours. There was a fair amount of air activity. No RAF. Our protecting force of light tanks had made contact with the enemy who are now about 10 miles away. By the evening they were said to be only 3 miles away. Our sappers had arrived in Wavre and were preparing the bridges for demolition.

We divided up the night as before. My turn was to have been from midnight to 2am but actually it worked out that I was on from midnight onwards. I can't quite remember why but I employed the time going through all the papers and notes I had accumulated and destroying a number of text books I had acquired, often with much difficulty, marked "not to be taken forward of divisional headquarters". I had to get some sleep after breakfast but I had to get up after only a few minutes as the Colonel came round and Richardson had gone off without saying he was going. The Colonel made one or two suggestions which I passed on to Richardson when he returned. One of them was that holes should be knocked in the walls of the Château, for fire positions, and another suggestion was that a certain concrete block house about a quarter of a mile away ought to be used as
a company headquarters rather than the Château itself which was a prominent landmark visible for miles. Richardson turned the suggestions down but we kept the windows of the Château heavily shuttered so that the place should appear unoccupied and we were extremely careful to keep all transport concealed. A company of the Manchester's (machine gunners) had been allotted to our battalion and they also made their headquarters in the château. They had fitted themselves unobtrusively into the stables and outhouses but they were extremely careless with their vehicles which they left lying about in the most conspicuous places. I sought out the officer in charge and he at once gave the necessary orders and I invited him back into the Château for a drink. Richardson was there and was very offhand and inclined to be rude. When the Manchester's officer had gone he told me he didn't want to encourage the Manchesters to come into
Château itself which was our mess. If they once started coming in, he said, they would be in and out all day long. This and other incidents caused me to be rather worried on Richardson's account. Lack of sleep, the rather harassing time he had had, together with the sudden disturbance from his normal habit, were making
him very difficult to deal with. Only that morning I had seen one bad result of a too hasty temper. The driver of the ration lorry was manoeuvring in a very narrow archway and one of his front wings looked like grazing the wall. Richardson rounded on him most viciously and as a result the driver lost his head and drove backwards demolishing all but one of the platoon water cans.

This was the cause of a lot of inconvenience later as they could not be replaced. It was a bad thing in other ways as I gathered from a comment the Sgt.Major made to their Colour Sergeant who was standing by and which I was not supposed to hear. We were visited at the Château by several officers from other companies who were curious to see what it was like. Richardson was always pleased to show them round and we exhausted the meagre supply of beer we had brought from Orchies.

At lunchtime Jones was the last to arrive. As he came in he drew our attention to something going on outside and we all went to the door to look. At intervals of a couple of minutes or so there was a subdued whistle overhead and then a puff of smoke appeared in the air about 800 yards away and there was a black mark on
the ground underneath. The next puff was a little nearer and the one after that nearer still. Soon there was a line of black marks to be seen on the open ploughed land, the culminating black mark being only about 200 yards from the Château itself. A German battery somewhere on the other side of the river was evidently ranging on the Château.

In the afternoon I took a couple of men with sledgehammers and crowbars and broke open the blockhouse the CO had spoken about. The space inside was about 25 x 10 feet and the concrete was about three feet thick. It was ideal in every way for company headquarters, also it was nearer to the platoon positions. A curious thing about the blockhouse was that there were no embrasures. It was a shelter and nothing more. Probably it had been put up by the owner of the Château. It had three stout iron doors one behind the other and the most
ingenious alternative exit one could imagine. This consisted of a recess in the wall from the inside which was fitted in with solid iron bars kept in position by slots at the side. There was a key bar at the top which could be taken out and when this was done the other bars could be lifted out from the slots one at a time.

The concrete behind was very thin and could presumably be broken by a hammer blow. A hammer for the purpose was conveniently strapped on the wall overhead. Richardson eventually agreed to have the Company office moved to the blockhouse. I got the signalers to come and alter the line. We decided to continue to eat in the Château and Richardson said he intended to sleep there. In order to give him more rest I offered to do his two hours during the night which he accepted. I got some straw taken down to the blockhouse after dark and
made the Sgt. Major get some sleep. He also was deadly tired and then, as there was practically nothing to do, I arranged with the signaler to wake me up if anything occurred and in time to do the situation reports. I fell into an uneasy doze myself, which however was not of long duration for the CO rang up. I took the call but he wanted Richardson personally so he had to be sent for. He spent the rest of the night with us in the blockhouse.

It would be tedious to try to record chronologically every little incident of our time on the Dyle. We had very few casualties and none so far as I can remember were caused by air activity extensive though this was. One or two casualties were caused by shells striking the branches of trees and exploding downwards into the weapon pits below, most of our section posts being in woods to get concealment from the air. The Château eventually became uninhabitable. The light failed when the Germans got into Wavre and that was the end also of wireless news.

Worse still the water supply stopped and sanitation broke down and the place began to smell, so we just left it. I knocked down a party wall between the cellars of two cottages on the estate near the blockhouse and reinforced the roof to make accommodation for the stretcher bearers and odd personnel of Company
Headquarters for which there was no room in the blockhouse. Our own artillery were up in position behind us and ranged on the slopes on the opposite side of the river and later shelled them. A Lysander aeroplane was
observing for them and flew over Wavre repeatedly. Each time he flew over a number of black spots appeared in the sky which looked, for a few seconds, just like the appearance of a lot more aeroplanes. This was what the German AA fire looked like to us. This Lysander made his trip time after time and never got hit although the blackspots often seemed pretty near and were always all right as to height.
​
We were given the SOS signal for artillery support which I think was two reds over green fired by Very Light. It is unimportant now what the actual order of the colours was, the point is that we couldn't have got our artillery support by signal if we had needed it as we only had cartridges of one of the colours for our Very
Light pistol.

There was a parachute scare and we had to provide some troops for Brigade Headquarters. No17 Platoon was sent off under Hodgson, weren't wanted and returned. They were in time to go out after a parachutist nearer home. This fellow actually may have been a 5th columnist, for nobody has seen him come down. He was hiding in a wood and sniping from a long-range at people coming to and from company headquarters. Nobody got hit but it was a nuisance having him there and No17 Platoon went out to clear the wood. They failed to find him. One or two cases reported of low flying aircraft machine gunning troops on the ground and I was nearly caught by such a pest myself but I was within a few yards of the blockhouse when I saw him appearing out of the dusk. I was able to hop inside in time and some of his bullets hit the concrete top. From inside they sounded like hailstones beating against a plate glass window.

We withdrew from the Dyle on the night of 16/17 May. As I mentioned earlier the French were on our right, and the division immediately next us consisted of coloured Moroccan and Algerian troops. We heard they were doing very well at first, especially as the spearhead of the German attack appeared to come at the point of junction between the British and the French. Later these French colonial troops must have lost their morale. Perhaps they would have done better if their positions had been better prepared beforehand. I don't know. So far as I was able to find out they just bolted from their positions without letting anyone know what
they intended to do and this of course left us with an exposed right flank. This took place early in the morning of the 16th May and if the Germans had followed on that day we couldn't have done much about it. For me, the 16th May was a day of rumours. Richardson was away at conferences most of the time and he didn't pass much information down. A withdrawal was obviously imminent and so as much stuff as possible was got back to Echelon B by the ration lorry. I sent my valise off in this way and that was the last I ever saw of it.

I can only write of the artillery activity that afternoon in terms of superlatives and even then clichés such as "hell let loose", and so on, seem commonplace and inadequate to describe the mighty volume of fire sent over by our batteries during that last afternoon and evening. All the reserves of shells the gunners had had brought up to them were shot off in a few hours and German batteries on the other side of the Dyle were shooting back. We, who were midway between the batteries and their objective, had it all swimming over our heads like trickling water and exploding again as it hit the ground. Frightening, awful, magnificent, according to your point of view, but deafeningly impressive. Old soldiers who had been in the 1914 war remarked that they had never heard anything like it before.

I have already said that Hodson had been sent out with No.17 platoon to find a parachutist and his search had not been successful. The sniping has started up again so Hodson had gone out once more to do the patrol again more thoroughly. He had been out several hours and not returned when orders came for the withdrawal. Runners went out at once to get Hodson in but came back without having found him. It was now quite night. Richardson was extremely worried and it looked as if No17 Platoon might have to be left behind.
The withdrawal was to be carried out under a timed programme, covering fire being provided by the 4/7 DGs. For the benefit of a non-military reader I will explain briefly how such a withdrawal is done. The infantry in the forward posts keep up a steady trickle of small arms fire in the direction of the enemy right up to the time they are scheduled to withdraw. Just before this time they are joined by armoured carriers or light tanks which gently commence to break in with fire power on the same scale, during which the infantry slip quietly away. The armoured troops continue to occupy the enemy's attention for a definite period of time which is fixed so that the infantry will be able to get to defended positions in the rear before the enemy is able to advance. At the expiration of the given time the tanks disengage themselves and by reason of their mobility are able to get clear.

This operation was successfully effected on the Dyle soon after it became dark. We were in a reserve position and the forward troops withdrew through us. We were the last to evacuate and were timed to leave at 1:30am. Hodson's platoon was still missing and Richardson was making desperate efforts to get in touch with it. My job was to go independently to the new area and make a reconnaissance for the platoon positions. I left in the PU about 1:45. A good deal of stores had to be left behind and the PU was loaded to its utmost capacity. The cargo included several anti-tank road mines which I confess made me feel slightly uncomfortable as I didn't know how easily, or not, any unexpected happening might cause them to go off. Actually I have since been told that antitank road mines are a comparatively safe load. It is detonators, gelignite and other "fireworks" that are really dangerous. Yet curiously enough the RASC themselves always prefer driving these to petrol. If a load of "fireworks" gets hit it's obviously goodbye-they don't know they've been hit. But with petrol! That's a different matter.

I got onto the main Brussels road and soon caught up with the general stream of traffic. We drove without lights, of course, and passed several units of infantry marching in the darkness. It was a straightforward run for 2 or 3 miles when the road led over a river or canal running parallel to the Dyle and led into a town whose name I forget. Once more I was in difficulties with the map. There was a new concrete road which was not marked and it was difficult to identify the smaller roads in the darkness. There was tremendous confusion and the traffic had jammed badly. Safety precautions were being frequently neglected in attempts to read maps with electric torches and I have reason to suspect that some of the supposedly military police who were controlling traffic were really fifth columnists. I had already circled round the eastern edge of the town very
much delayed by long traffic halts and had arrived back where I started without having found the road I wanted. At one point I had stopped to try and read a signpost and a man purporting to be a sergeant of the CMP had asked me where I wanted to go. He had a most peculiar accent and I didn't like it. It may have
been all right. I don't know. I saw some troops marching in single file at the edge of a road and found they were Norfolks but I couldn't reach the officer as I was involved with traffic. Then quite by accident I met Yallop, the second-in-command of 'B' company. He was looking for the same road as I was and was equally
bewildered. It began to get dawn we found the road. It was a most unobtrusive turning and looked just like the entrance to a farm. It was shown on the map as a second-class road. It looked so unpromising that we decided to reconnoitre it on foot before taking the vehicles down it. It was well that we did take this precaution, for it proved to be little more than a bridle track and impassible to our form of transport. As it got lighter we found a much better road which was not marked on the map. We had got some way along it when we met 'D' company headed by Richardson coming the other way. They also were lost and were at
that moment marching in exactly the opposite direction to that they intended. It was light enough now to read maps by daylight and we set one by compass at the side of the road and the company was turned round and we all went to the rendezvous together.

The last couple of miles consisted of a weary march along a dusty road which was practically on the skyline of a long ridge. There were no trees and we were in full view of the territory we had just evacuated. There was a
welcome delay when we got to our area - probably due to a change of plan. Richardson had the matter in hand and I went to sleep under some farm machinery. Often bombs from a single aircraft woke us up but did no other damage that I ever heard of.

The platoons went into positions on the forward slopes of the ridge and lost no time in getting themselves dug in. Loads of wire were brought up. There were no regular rations. Fortunately there was a butcher in the company and he killed three sheep and cut them up and they were cooked on stoves found in houses in the village. It was found that one sheep was enough to do one Platoon really well. Company Headquarters was in a farmhouse. The farm animals were pretty miserable. The cows wanted milking and were mooing piteously and the pigs and other animals needed food. War is a bad thing for animals. A cheery red-faced doctor visited us. He was the second-in-command of a field ambulance to which I had paid an instructional visit in the peace-yet-war days of Orchies. I remembered him particularly because he had involved me in a very embarrassing situation. The CO of the field ambulance had himself shown me over the ramifications of his field ambulance and had devoted his whole morning to doing so. He was a kind and delightful man and took a great deal of trouble answering all my questions. I had lunch in the RAMC mess afterwards. It was a good, very sober meal and I noticed that the CO drank water and most of the doctors were doing the same and even the rather bibulous looking second-in-command. I followed suit.

In the course of conversation the CO made a few general remarks about alcohol and from these it presently emerged that he held some pretty strict views - if they were not indeed fanatical. I was not quite quick enough to realise this and, before I could prevent it, some comments I had made committed me to a more or less full scale endorsement of the cause of temperance. The CO couldn't have been better pleased. I tried to correct this impression but found I couldn't without making it a major issue and gave up the attempt. But I felt in a very false position. After lunch though more things to be seen and eventually the CO said goodbye to me in the office of his second-in-command, with whom I remained in conversation whilst waiting for the driver of my truck to appear. Hardly had the CO closed the door behind him than the second-in-command whipped out a bottle of whiskey and some glasses from a place underneath the table and began to dispense some very generous portions. We got cracking on these with great satisfaction when the door opened again and the CO reappeared with some after-thought. I for one felt very awkward indeed about the whole thing. I have now met the same second-in-command in a rather different setting. I wanted to know if the water in the farmyard well was suitable to drink, as it was the only water we could get. He said he would send me some chlorinating
tablets. I offered to send a man to get them but he said "no", he was going back straightaway and would send them immediately he got back. He never did. The water was drank without being chlorinated and I don't think there were any ill effects.

There was a lot of air activity that day and we were most cheered to see something of the RAF. Whenever there was a Spitfire in the sky there was scarcely ever anything else. We watched several air fights. I think saw seven or eight German machines shot down. Also there was a battery of our AA guns nearby. The shells from these guns produced a white puff of smoke in the sky, where as the German AA shells at Wavre had looked black. We got information that the Germans were flying a British Lysander machine and were told not to fire
at it unless it acted offensively towards us. The message concluded by saying that the RAF had means of knowing whether this machine was being flown by a British or German pilot. I mention this because the AA battery shot down a Lysander that rashly flew over its position and I hoped it was the one we had heard about. One other air fight nearly demolished our company headquarters. A Belgian aeroplane, flying almost at ground level, approached us with a most deafening roar. It was pursued by a Messerschmidt which delivered its burst of fire immediately above the farm roof, in fact the whole thing happened so close to the roof that it seemed a miracle they avoided hitting it. The Belgian crashed about 200 yards away and one or two men ran to see if anything could be done but the pilot was quite dead. The Germans advanced through our old positions they did not come on far enough to make any contact with us, which was just as well as our new positions, what I saw of them, had been dictated by necessity rather than choice and were not very good. That night after dark, we withdrew again and once more a lot of stores, wire etc. that had been brought up during the day, had to be left behind.
                             
My recollections of the next day or two are rather muddled. One of two events stand out but I can't remember the sequence in which they happened. All the time it was the same story, withdrawing at night, digging during the day, withdrawing again at night. Life was practically continuous and there was no sleep for anybody. We did not know what day of the week it was, but I always knew the date through having to write it constantly on signal messages.

The Germans were constantly on our heels and one day we supposed we should stand and fight. We were always bothered by aircraft and we saw a number shot down by Spitfires; but for the most part the Germans had it their own way, for there were incredibly long periods during which the were no Spitfires. We had surprisingly few casualties from aircraft. This was partly due to the very thorough concealment we practised and partly due to the fact that, always excluding the possibility of a direct hit, men in slit trenches are quite safe from aerial bombing. We always tried to keep in woods or under trees by day and did our moving at night but it got light so early that these movements always ended up well after dawn.

I remember one morning spent in a wood in which the were many hundreds of vehicles of all sorts belonging to several different units. They were parked nose to tail along the sides of the avenues under the trees and in among the trees themselves only a few feet apart. There was a long Serpentine lake in the middle of the wood with a footbridge across it which nobody was allowed to use although the journey round took about half-an-hour and journeys frequently had to be made as some of the companies were on that side of the lake opposite to Battalion Headquarters. I think concealment from the air here must have been as nearly perfect as possible, for there was extensive activity on all sides and this particular road was not touched, which was extremely fortunate, for it was the densest concentration of vehicles I ever saw. (Since writing this paragraph I have read Capt Long's notes and I now think the events I describe took place at Froidment. If this is so my chronology is wrong and the place of this paragraph in my narrative would be a few days later).

As maybe imagined, everyone was intensely fatigued and, had it not been that danger and desperation are most powerful natural stimulants, it is possible that many would have dropped out. A crisis in my own mental and physical organisation took place the night we marched through the Foret de Soignes, near Brussels. We had withdrawn from our positions under cover of darkness and had had a long march. On this occasion the whole battalion was marching together. Richardson was at the head of 'D' company which was in the rear and I was marching at the rear of 'D' company. German tanks were said to be not far behind and I frequently turned my head to listen; the sound of any tracked vehicle in that direction could have been very unwelcome. In the semi darkness of the night we passed anti-tank guns pointing backwards and in places the roads had been mined - very obvious I thought - and whenever we passed over a bridge there was usually a demolition party standing by with all the apparatus in position ready to be turned on when the last of the troops were across. We were not safe from pursuit however until we had crossed the Belgian "iron line" which ran somewhere through the Foret de Soigne. The column made an involuntary detour owing to bad maps, but at length we got to the Foret de Soigne. It was much darker underneath the trees and perhaps the air may have been in some way soporific; but I gradually found myself going to sleep as I walked. The shapes of the trees took the form of eccentric animals which floated towards me and caused me intense anguish as I fought, and made every effort I could to regain a proper grip of my faculties. I did not faint and gradually the feeling wore off and I was still marching on the road. After that I seemed to get a new lease of energy. I mention this incident because I have found since that it occurred to someone else at practically the same time and nearly the same place. (Last line page 37 missing)...and at the head was Pat Lutyens. There was practically no interval between the two units and at one time Pat was walking so much ahead of his unit as to be practically side-by-side with me. We did not know one another then and did not speak, but we have since met as prisoners of war and finally both had the same queer experience.

In due course we got through the Iron Line and at dawn found some troop carrying vehicles waiting for us, or we thought they were waiting for us and embussed in them. Some other unit seemed to think we had appropriated their vehicles and I remember some sort of argument about it. Possession, however, is a powerful factor in such circumstances and the unit not embussed were wasting their breath.

​There was one other incident in the Foret de Soigne that is worthy of mention. It happened during the darkness where the trees and thicket were particularly dense. Someone fired some shots at our column. Possibly it was done by a 5th columnist or it may have been the work of a Belgian, driven out of his mind by
misfortune and disappointment, for it was noticeable that the high admiration and enthusiasm of the Belgians, which had marked our entrance into the country, had, since our repeated withdrawals, changed completely. Their attitude at this time was one of sullenness or thinly veiled hostility. During the last few days we had made extensive use not only of farms, but also of private houses and the areas we had passed through had been evacuated by the civil population. As a necessary precaution the troops were reminded on different occasions that looting was a serious offence. These deserted houses usually smelt faintly unpleasant for they had been evacuated hurriedly and food or milk had been left about which was generally putrid or rotting by the time we got there. We seldom lit fires or cooked in such houses less the smoke from the chimney should betray our presence to aircraft and the houses we used were generally those which could be entered easily, perhaps by the breaking of a window and pushing back a catch. Farms usually left their doors open. Since a time just prior to the Dyle evacuation the troops had had no blankets and they made use of what they found in these houses. We also appropriated any tools or utensils we were in need of and took food from the farms. Such is legitimate and there was no looting except on a very small-scale which is a thing almost impossible to control, for unfortunately the British soldiers had a very unpleasant habit of turning an evacuated house into a shambles in a very short space of time once he has got inside it. Draws and cupboards are turned out and their contents strewn over the floor in confusion. I suppose this is done partly out of curiosity and I can also suppose that there was a certain amount of looting of small objects that can be put into pockets. Troops of all units I saw were as bad as one another in this respect. Important as the rights of property are when you talk about them in times of peace seated in your comfortable arm chair, they do not figure so importantly in times of war when you are fighting for your life and when the lives of others depend on you. These remarks do not belong to any special period of the narrative. Off and on, we were using private houses and making use of private property as and where we needed it the whole time.

We duly left the Foret de Soigne in our troop carriers. Our destination was in the Grammont area, where, I believe it was intended to give us some much needed rest. We had not gone far on our journey when a major hitch occurred. The convoy stopped and the vehicles were diverted into fields, farm buildings, under hedges, under trees, just wherever they could be fitted in. The Brigadier himself was doing traffic police duty at the crossroads round which all this centered. 'D' company found itself in a large orchard first of all, but all the cover here was occupied. The trees in this orchard were small and regularly spaced. They cast well defined shadows in the brilliant sunshine and in each of the shadows one vehicle was parked. A better field was found for 'D' company and we moved.

There was a high hedge which cast a big shadow and the men laid down in this and mostly went to sleep. The vehicles were got into cover under trees and in the shadow of a house. We were here for some hours and there was an issue of tea - a good show indeed by the quartermaster. Considerable air activity was taking place. There was a detachment of Territorials with Vickers Bofors guns in lorries and the road was kept clear for them. They got in some remarkably good shooting and some aircraft were hit. I can't remember details.
Twice, orders came through changing the route to Grammont and there was utter confusion when the time came to start. I think another convoy was on the road which complicated matters, but in any case it would have been difficult enough to marshal all the vehicles of the brigade back into their original positions in the convoy, as the chief consideration when they had been parked had been dispersion and concealment from the air.

I had got 'D' company Echelon A vehicles lined up, one behind the other, in a field facing the gate which led out onto the main road and gave orders to drivers that engines were to be running so that when our chance came to start every vehicle we would be able to get off the mark without delay. We waited half-an-hour. The
traffic stream was continuous. At last there was a break and a motorcyclist patrol beckoned me to come on. The truck behind me followed, but the driver of the truck behind that must have been slow getting started for the gap closed up again and he must have been shut out. This was annoying but the consequences were not likely to be serious for every driver on this occasion had a map and had been told the route. I was sitting as a passenger in a truck which Buchanan was driving himself as he always liked to do when he got the chance. We followed with the main convoy.

At one stage of the journey we were held up in a narrow road cutting. We were very close to the vehicle in front which had happened because the roads were extremely winding and as you came round a bend you could find yourself on the tail of the vehicle in front which had been halted just out of sight. It so happened
that all the vehicles had got jammed very close in this particular cutting and had been halted there for some minutes, when we heard the sound of enemy aircraft overhead. Even amid the throb of motor engines ticking over we knew by the sound that the aircraft were not British. Two or three bombs fell and looking up we saw three German planes flying very low and felt an unpleasant sensation of being caught in a trap, for we could neither move forward or backwards. I jumped out and told those behind to find cover at the side of the cutting, which I tried to do myself, but alas behind the bushes that covered the side of the cutting there was nothing but a smooth slope. You were covered from view but not covered in any other way whatever. One felt as foolish as an ostrich that buries its head in the sand. Then I heard Buchanan shouting. The truck in front had moved on slightly and we followed it. The road widened out into a village street edging a small market square. The truck in front had stopped again. It was a troop carrying vehicle of some other unit and Buchanan rightly guessed they would have a Bren gun on board. He rushed forward with a great deal of cursing and made them get it out and then, with more cursing get the tripod out, but the first low-flying attack came before the tripod could be set up and Buchanan fired the best part of a magazine from the Bren at the shoulder. The village street received a broadside of machine gun bullets from the aeroplane which all went high. I myself got in one shot with a rifle I snatched from a soldier in one of the houses who didn't seem inclined to use it himself and I could have gotten more shots if the rifle had been clean. As it was, it was so dirty that the bolt jammed in the extraction. The aeroplane circled round and made another attack. Buchanan's tripod could not be got up in time and he fired again from the shoulder. I got in two very good
shots from behind the cover of a door front and Flynn had also had a shot. The aeroplane was flying very slowly, no higher than the church spire and not more than 50 yards away. Its bullets made havoc with the tiles above my head which was near enough to be unpleasant, but Buchanan had been right out in the open
without any cover at all. He had a very close shave for a lamp bracket just above his head was smashed. The aeroplane did not return although we got the tripod up and were ready if he had done so. We got moving after that as soon as we could.

We eventually got to Grammont, and from there went to Ribstraat which was our rendezvous. I arrived with Hallett and Echelon B whose convoy I had come up behind on the road. Charles Long did the billeting for the Battalion in Ribstraat and 'D' company arrived with Richardson about half-an-hour after I did. There were a number of other incidents of convoys being machine-gunned by aircraft during the journey, particulars of which I forget.

Ribstraat had not been evacuated by its civilians before we arrived and the wireless set in the house I selected for company headquarters was still working. We all hoped to get some British news for, although we were actually taking part in events that were being followed by the British public, we ourselves had absolutely no knowledge of the general picture and neither was our knowledge to be enlarged on this occasion for the electricity was cut-off before the news came in. I had a fair amount to do one way and another, but I got a few hours sleep on a bed. The inhabitants of the house were very kind. They spoke Flemish amongst themselves and only spoke French with difficulty. I will not bore the reader with much description of Ribstraat. We were only there about 24 hours.

*** Battalion headquarters was in a nunnery. I had occasion to go to Echelon B vehicle park about two miles away and whilst I was there I tried to get news of my valise. It was last seen on the mortar truck but wasn't there now, so I wrote it off for good and never bothered about it again. The Germans got to Grammont before we left but didn't cross the river, the bridges of course were blown up. The Battalion dug themselves into positions but there was no actual contact with the enemy that I can remember. We withdrew the next night under cover of darkness. Lt. Col. De Wilton was evacuated sick and Maj.Charlton assumed command of the battalion.

***See note made in 1944.

There is a small hiatus here which I cannot explain. I never read this narrative through as a whole after I had once written it and it is possible that one or two pages have been lost. Equally possible and, perhaps more likely, is the fact that I may never have written them. I see the following notes on my original draft which
covers this period. Buckingham wounded and three parachutists caught. 5th columnist caught and shot at Brigade as we started to march from Ribstraat in the dark-still marching at dawn! I have given these notes verbatim as they don't stimulate my memory in anyway with regard to filling in details.

Our troop carriers didn't turn up at the appointed time and we waited an hour or two in a wood. It was very cold and a battery of 25 pounders were in action nearby so we didn't get much rest. As we waited it got lighter also warmer. Then the sun began to shine and it became evident we were in for another brilliant day. This we did not like owing to increased danger of air attacks. In fact we didn't like any movement of troops that ended up in daylight and grumbled at higher command and wondered why they had to be. We moved off about 8 o'clock in single file taking advantage of the shadows at the side of the road. Other movements of troops were taking place and the roads began to be crowded with refugees. These were present in tens of thousands. You would see whole families moving together, sometimes it was in a big farm wagon drawn by a team of magnificent Flemish horses, all the family belongings stacked high on the cart and a baby or two or aged person on top as well; sometimes a young husband in his best clothes was hastening with his wife behind the perambulator that contained all their portable property; sometimes it was an old lady being wheeled
along in a wheel barrow.

The roads were absolutely chock-a-block with this sort of thing. Then traffic jams began to be serious. We marched to Renaix and turned down the road for Tournai. Roads now were wanted for military traffic. Refugees were herded together into encampments off the road where they were ruthlessly bombed. I saw again one particularly fine pair of Flemish horses that had passed us. I had remarked about it especially
because one was a stallion. The entrails of these horses were scattered on the road. The cart was upset and smashed almost beyond recognition and the fate of the human cargo I know not the sufferings of these refugees was the most terrible it is possible to conceive. It surpassed in horror anything else I ever saw.
There was more weary marching. We became hungry and thirsty. We did not observe any regulation halts, but we frequently had short pauses as the traffic "concentrated". The vehicular traffic was subject to the same troubles, the same vehicles passed and re-passed as many times. We, on foot, were making just about the same progress as they were. About midday the traffic thinned out slightly and we halted.

As we were resting at the side of the road some empty troop carrying vehicles were noticed in the convoy. It was decided to appropriate them. There were just about enough to take the whole battalion. 'D' company was at the rear of our column and I got into the very last vehicle. It was at this time that we first began to be seriously troubled from the air. I looked up as I was climbing into my vehicle and saw a flight of some 12 German planes in perfect formation immediately overhead. A very pretty sight they looked, the silver and black gleaming in the sunshine.

A civilian was being chased across the field on the left. He was caught. A number of officers had rushed up on the scene and he was now being questioned. Somebody said he was 5th columnist and had been signalling to the aircraft. I  moved on before the argument was settled. The German bombers did not immediately attack. There was no need for them to hurry anyhow. The roads were solid with traffic for miles and as so often is the
case there was no sign of the RAF. Bombs however eventually came down at different places along the road. I believe the refugees suffered frightfully. The traffic appeared to be thinning out and we were able to move more quickly. There were some loud bangs very near to us and the driver of our truck told me he was going to stop. We were on a down gradient and further on a largish copse straddled the road. I told him to keep going if he could and stop under the trees. The vehicle in front stopped there too. We dismounted amidst loud bangs on all sides and took cover under the trees.

There was a convenient fold in the ground, rather wet but otherwise apparently satisfactory, and we waited in this until the worst of the raid appeared to be over. I then went back towards the road. I had not reached the road when the copse began to be bombed systematically. One plane only I think was doing it. A salvo of three (or it may have been five) bombs fell in the far corner. The bombs whined their way through the air. There was more whining and the other corner was bombed. Then, after a pause the whining was renewed and three salvos came down right across the centre of the wood. One fell near to where we were. I myself was flat on my stomach on a footpath. I happened to be looking to my front as one bomb exploded about 12 or 15 yards away. I saw a wide sheet of red flame about four or five feet wide and about three feet high fanning outwards from the ground. Its explosion made a very loud bang otherwise I experienced no unpleasantness. It is a common saying that if you hear the wine or whistle of a shell that it will not hit you. The one that hits you makes no sound at all. I cannot remember if this particular bomb made any noise coming down but I don't think it did. I think seeing the explosion was a complete surprise in this case. The other bombs however had simply screamed their way down. I asked if anyone was hurt and was surprised to find there were three casualties. One was wounded in the leg and the other, a corporal, through the breast. He appeared to die as I was putting a field dressing on him. Another man also was wounded and his friends bandaged him. I went back to the road. Our truck had been badly scarred and its petrol had leaked in a pool on the road. I think this is what stopped us in the first place. The traffic now had thinned considerably and the road was almost deserted. A military policeman came up and an RASC officer in a car followed by an empty troop carrying vehicle. We got our casualties on board including the dead man, who was very heavy. The military policeman helped us to carry him. The RASC officer remarked that he thought it was safer to be on the road than off it, and looking back now, having heard the experiences of others, I think he was right. I think it must have been part of the German policy to keep all roads intact for the use later of their own troops. All the bombing that took place that day or nearly all of it appeared to be directed at targets just off the roads and of these the refugees encampments suffered the most.

When we were ready to start, the military policeman on his motorcycle went in front and when we caught up with other traffic, as we had wounded on board, he enabled us to pass. In a field on the left I noticed a 15 cwt truck in flames was right in the centre of the field. I heard afterwards that the driver had gone mad, driven off the road and finally got bogged. The truck was set on fire by the British so that it should not fall into the hands of the enemy. This was a C company truck. The driver was shell shocked and before he collapsed set fire to the truck which I understand was not particularly damaged and might have been driven away.

I wanted to get the casualties to a dressing station but it appeared that these had all gone with the general withdrawal. I was in a difficulty as I had no map. The driver likewise was without one. The only information I had was that our destination was a place called Froidment which was beyond Tournai. The vehicles in front were turning off in different directions and all signposts had been removed. This part of Belgium was not evacuated and the inhabitants were standing about apprehensively. Our military policeman now had to leave. He also had no map neither had another military policeman I met at a crossroads. I guessed the general direction and followed the most likely looking road. There was a war office staff car at the crossroads of the village we arrived at and I got put on the map. The officer I spoke to, a full colonel, advised me to go through Courtrai as this road was better in view of the fact we had wounded. We got to Courtrai and again experienced difficulty. Without a map and without signposts it was not easy to get out of such a town by the road one wants. I tried the civil population and got stories of German tanks in the neighbourhood. Eventually after consulting a number of inhabitants I think I managed to leave Courtrai in the right direction. Later on I got behind a convoy of British transport vehicles and decided to follow them wherever they went. I arrived at a place somewhere near Tournai and was able to leave the casualties with the 2nd Borderers, whom I knew as they had been in our Brigade until a week or two before. There were no maps at the RAP (Regimental Aid Post) but they were able to tell me the way to Tournai, which I had to go through to get to Froidment. There were two explosions in the Tournai direction which they told me incorrectly where bridges being blown. These were repeated just as I was leaving and soon Tournai became visible in the distance. It was being raided from the air by a large number of planes. The air raid seemed to be continuous, so I decided to see if I could work around the side of the town without actually going through it. I tried first the left side which didn't look promising. The road got narrower and narrower and appeared to lead to nowhere important and then I went back on my tracks and tried the right-hand side. The raid still continued. I was lucky to get over a bridge before it was blown. The demolition squad was standing by. An hour or so later I arrived at Froidment. About 30 men only of our battalion were there. These, in charge of a NCO, were at the side of the road and the driver of the RASC truck was also asleep. I grumbled at the NCO for not having seen that someone stayed awake and found that he knew no more than I did about the whereabouts of the rest of the Battalion. I went to all the buildings in Froidment that could be used for billeting but saw no trace of them though there were other troops in Froidment. Either I had arrived first or there had been a change of plan under which the Battalion had been directed to a different rendezvous. This was not likely, then it was not likely either that I should be the first to arrive having lost so much time. I think the truth was that the Battalion arrived more or less piecemeal, some parts of it having gone an incredible distance out of their way. I also heard that it was very fortunate I had not attempted to get through Tournai whilst the air raid was on. The were fearful jams and much damage had been done, not only to the town, but to convoys. At one time in an attempt to get traffic through, someone had ordered vehicles to drive four abreast. I also heard that a Divisional General had personally been doing traffic police duty.

I explored the countryside near Froidment trying to get news of my Battalion. There were troops everywhere for miles and I was also glad to see AA batteries in position, but these were not needed where they were, for Tournai was still getting all the bombing that there was. I forget precisely where or how I eventually met 'D' company but met them I did, just as Richardson was off to a conference at Battalion HQ which had now been established in Froidment. ******

On his return from the conference Richardson said with the utmost disgust "we've got the bloodiest job any soldier can ever have to do. We've got to shoot up a lot of civilians". So far as I can remember this was due to some trouble that was being stirred up in the village a few miles away by fifth columnist agitation. My information about this is very sketchy but the trouble must've been pretty serious. Richardson and the platoon commanders sent off a reconnaissance and I was left to bring the company to a rendezvous which I got on the map. I did this and arrived just as it was getting dark. A temporary battalion HQ had also been established in a farmhouse at the same place.

*****Since writing these notes I have read Capt Long's narrative and I am aware that the two accounts do not agree. It is possible that I have missed out a period of time, but my memory is too vague for me to attempt any corrections. Allowances must therefore be made for a possible error here. RJH 14/3/42.

There was a dull red glare in the sky in the direction of Tournai. This increased in intensity as it got darker and eventually filled half the horizon. A battery of 25 pounders came into action behind some trees a few hundred yards away. Richardson returned from his reconnaissance. He had been chased by a bull which had upset him intensely. Normally we should all have been rather amused but I can't remember that we were. Fortunately we didn't have to deal with the civilians after all. I think the job was given to the gunners.
There was now another long wait for me. A reconnaissance group, of which Richardson was one, went to look over our new positions. I sat on a manure dump watching the fierce red sky which showed no sign of lessening and the company was lying under a hedge. I imagine most of them were asleep. There was a very brilliant moon and to make quite sure of concealment from the air I had parked our five company transport vehicles under individual trees in an orchard. Absurdly over precautious, I expect, but it did no harm and would be useful if we had not started to move when it was dawn. As it happened we did not get moving before the dawn, which in the circumstances, was essential, for the last stage of our journey involved our marching across a short stretch of road only a few hundred yards in front of the German positions which was completely unscreened. We managed this satisfactorily. No talking was allowed, but you can't keep motor vehicles very quiet and you always think they make more noise just when you don't want them to. The last few hundred yards of the march was in a built-up area and the paved streets were covered with broken glass, which scrunched underfoot, but by this time there was a considerable racket from the German side and hundreds of small calibre shells were coming over like fireworks. Except that more glass was getting shattered I don't think any harm was done.

Richardson had chosen a very large private house for 'D' company headquarters and I got the transport hidden under the trees in the garden amidst the very lively popping of small calibre guns. One shell fell in the garden in the shrubbery and I intended to look at the crater it made the next day but I never did. The platoons
were got into position and signalers got busy and the line was soon working to Battalion headquarters. I fixed up a company mess in a cellar of the house which incidentally was an extensive and very well-stocked wine cellar. Blankets and bedding were brought down from the upper rooms, Flynn and Tough got food going and eventually, Richardson and I and the sergeant major were able to start turns are getting some much needed rest.

Our new Company Headquarters was excellently sited. It was practically in dead ground yet at the same time it was well forward and near to platoon positions. When I explored the house in daylight I found it to be the residence of a rich Tournai business man. The furniture and appointments were of the very best there was. Of course, there was not a windowpane in the whole house that had not been smashed and where ever one walked one trod in broken glass. The general contents of the house, however, were not damaged as much as one might have expected. The children's toys I noticed especially. They were extensive and costly. Looking at them stirred faint emotions that were hardly appropriate. Until a week ago this house had been the scene of a happy, well ordered, family life, with everything that money could buy - and now? Well, I suppose the broken glass was as symbolical of that as anything could be. All this however does not concern the march of events and neither did it concern me for more than a moment.

The approximate situation of this house I cannot describe more exactly than by saying that it was somewhere in the western outskirts of Tournai and that its gardens ran down almost to the River Escaut. 'D' company platoons had positions along the banks of this river, which here was little wider than an average canal and its banks were built up. There were widely spaced houses and buildings or wharves on both sides which gave good cover and on the extreme left there was the wreck of an iron railway bridge. It was quite possible for single persons to cross the river over parts of the iron framework that protruded from the water and we sent for the sappers to see if the demolition could be more complete. The sappers said it couldn't and that the demolition of structures with an iron framework could seldom be done much better than this. We also wanted a wall blown down which interfered with the field of fire of No.18 platoon and this was arranged. There was one small incident which was memorable for me personally. It was here that I actually saw my first enemy soldier. Such an event occurs once in a single campaign for each individual, but I imagine it to be one of the
moments that each individual will always remember.

The River Escaut was to form the site of the first scale encounter with the Germans that the battalion had, so I will interpose a short description of the situation generally. The Germans had followed our withdrawal very quickly and were now in Tournai. Their advance during the day had reached the northern banks of the Escaut and was temporarily held up owing to the demolition of the bridges. Any further advance on the part of the Germans was now to be resisted and our Battalion and others, had gone into defensive positions on the south
bank of the river for that purpose. 'D' company were on the left in the suburbs of Trondemont, as I have described, and the Battalion front extended for about a mile along the river banks. 'C' company were in position on the right. 'A' and 'B' companies were both up in intermediate positions and the Lancashire Fusiliers had a similar front to the right of our Battalion and on the right of them were the Royal Scots. These three Battalions comprised the 4th Infantry Brigade and it will be noticed that there is no Battalion in reserve. It will also be noticed that all our companies are in forward positions and there is thus no reserve within the
Battalion. This is very bad from a military point of view, which always emphasises the vital necessity of organising in-depth; but these are exceptionally wide fronts for all the units concerned and it can't be helped.
Against such positions it is not to be expected that the enemy will attack evenly along the whole line. Such would be very bad tactics. The attacker will rather try to select one point, which will be convenient to himself, where he thinks he will find a weakness in the defence and concentrate the main weight of his attack on
this point. In the last war, junctions between units were always found to be a possible source of weakness and this had been proved again on the Dyle in the present war when the Germans attacked successfully between the British and the French. In the present case the spearhead of the German attack appeared to be concentrated on the junction between ourselves and the Lancashire Fusiliers. Companies on the right of our front, 'B' and 'C', had a very bad time indeed and reinforcements had to be asked for. Owing to the difficulty of getting any reinforcements at all these were at first refused, but later they were reluctantly supplied and a force of Cameroons or Welsh (editor's note - Welch) Fusiliers were put into counter attack. Had this not been done the line could not have been held intact. C company and the left flank of the Lancashire Fusiliers also suffered from a tragic mistake made by our own artillery at this time. An SOS was put up for artillery support and support was given, but owing it was said to the difficulty of reconciling the ground with the maps and by resulting confusion between two churches, the shells fell 400 yards short. By the time urgent telephone messages succeeded in getting the concentration lifted, a number of British lives had been lost. At least three men were killed in 'C' company, the Lancashire Fusiliers lost many more. I think I was told. The battle on the Escaut lasted three days, from 20 to 22 May. Of our companies, B and C had the heaviest casualties; but casualties were heavy all round and by the time we withdrew the battalion was little more than half its original strength. In officers, we lost the commanding officer, the adjutant and two company commanders; viz-acting Lt.Col. Charlton, Maj. Marshall, Capts. Allen and Barclay. All were wounded and evacuated to England. Also second lieutenants Potter and Buckingham, both evacuated to UK.

Captain Charles W A Long's notes: As a result of these casualties a large reshuffle had to be made within the Battalion. Ryder took over command and Long, who had formerly been second in command of 'B' company, became Adjutant, and Lieuts. Yallop and Edgeworth commanded 'A' and 'B' companies respectively. Actually Ryder had been second in command of the battalion since Grammant. Long had been Officer in Comman of HQ Company for same period. 

I was taken away from 'D' company to perform the work that Ryder himself had been doing previously, viz OC. Headquarters company and second in command of the Battalion. This rather unusual step was apparently made because neither Richardson or Elwes, who were both senior to me wanted to leave their companies as they felt that their men would be likely to fight better under their own officers who knew them than under an officer who was strange to the Battalion, as I was. This arrangement proved eventually to be a very fortunate one for me, as all the four officers who commanded companies at this time were killed during the next few days.

When I left 'D' Company I did not take my Batman, Flynn, with me. Flynn had proved himself to be a real treasure and was a particular asset in the company mess. Richardson's Batman was Trough and he and Flynn co-operated magnificently. Never were any company mess or officers better served. They had got the management of the paraffin buttys and petrol cooker to a fine art. They seemed to know without being told how you wanted things arranged, when you wanted to eat, and what; when you wanted a brew of tea, not to be cleaning the burners of the lamps so that you couldn't get a light when you wanted it and a thousand other little things whereby you got the maximum comfort that was to be had under the circumstances and never had to give a thought as to how it was done. This meant quite a lot to Richardson and I didn't like to ask him if I could take Flynn away. Actually Flynn had been very useful in other ways, the duties at various times had taken me about alone, except for Flynn who used to come along carrying his rifle and I had found him observant, reliable and above the average in intelligence and he was quite without fear. I was sorry we had to part and I think he was too, for we had got used to each other's ways. Finally, before this narrative takes me away from 'D' company scenes, I must introduce the reader to Sergeant Major Dack and CQMS Slaughter. This pair set the tone of the whole company. They carried their authority easily and it was obvious that they were liked and respected by the men. The officers too had unlimited confidence in them. As a second in command of the company, I had always felt I would never be allowed to put a foot wrong whilst Dack was about and this made my job pretty simple where it might well have been difficult for a Territorial Officer suddenly pitchforked into a regular Battalion in active service.

D company was a well ordered machine which never even looked like breaking down in even the most exacting conditions. It took some hard knocks towards the end; but even at the last, when it was reduced to an officer and seven men it ***** went on working to the bitter end. Richardson was the creator and guiding star of all this and if I had mentioned in the course of these pages a few of the eccentricities, it must never be forgotten that these only became obvious at the time of exceptional physical and mental strain, when responsibility and worry set heavily on his shoulders and when other peculiarities of conduct were becoming manifest in the behaviour of us all. It can hardly have been very satisfactory to him to have had a half trained territorial such as myself wished on him as his second-in-command, though for me it will always remain a matter of pride that I have belonged, though in an unimportant way, and for only a short time to this
excellent company. In my opinion, there can have been none ever better, and for if any, quite as good.

*****This is the number that Buchanan reported under his command on the afternoon 27/5. There are actually more survivors of D company. At the time of writing I have no information about what had happened.

Battalion headquarters to which I now repaired was situated in a rather peculiar building. From the front it appeared as an ordinary, large, rather old-fashioned  house overlooking spacious lawns and shrubberies. At the back the ground level was considerably lower and there you could see that it had been built on the top of another building very much older. This old building was of stone with very thick walls. The ceilings were vaulted and, below the ground, was an extensive system of tunnels and there were more tunnels below those. My duties kept me pretty busy at first. There were a lot of threads to be picked up: I did not know everybody's name and I had to work hard to get the hang of things. Fortunately, I did not have to bother about headquarters' company. Although eventually I was to take it over. For the present, Adam Gordon and the signal officer, had enough time to do what was necessary as all his signal lines for this position were laid and his general arrangements were well under control.

I am afraid my memory about all the events on the Escaut is very bad and my narrative for these three days cannot be deemed as reliable. If what I have written is found to conflict with someone else's account, I shall probably be prepared to admit that their story is right and mine is wrong. I remember on this day getting out a scheme for the all-round defence of Battalion headquarters, which I worked out with RSM Cockaday. I also remember Elwes coming to see the Colonel. He was exhausted and practically collapsed. He wanted to go back to his company but was led to a bed, protesting, by order of the Colonel where he fell asleep instantly and was in the same attitude exactly when I noticed him some hours later. He returned to his company as soon as he woke up. The next day we got news that a company of the Manchesters (machine gun Battalion) had been allotted to us and in the afternoon the CO sent me out to make contact with them and arrange some details, probably to do with administration. We had been given a map reference where they were supposed
to be and armed with this I set off. I took a runner with me to act as guide part of the way, for the neighbourhood of Battalion Headquarters came under fire from several directions and these were by now fairly well known and it was possible to take cover to a certain extent. We left Battalion headquarters by the
back way and went down the street, under a railway bridge and joined the main road. This was a broad, well surfaced highway, lined with shops. In peacetime it would be busy with market carts and motor traffic. Now it was deserted except for stray government vehicles racing at maximum speeds to avoid bullets. The shops began to thin out and the road became bordered by green fields. Odd snipers bullets were flying about and though we couldn't tell where they came from I think we were out of range of accurate shooting and it would have been sheer bad luck to get hit. Further along, the runner told me to take cover, which we did, and crawled for 200 yards or so in a dry ditch which bordered the road.

We were in front of a known enemy post here and there had been casualties before at this point. We went on for another quarter of a mile and came to a fairly important side road which was not marked on the map. I decided to turn down it as it appeared to lead in the right direction. I had great difficulty in fitting the
surrounding country to the map. My destination was a small wood or plantation. There were two or three of these in actual fact, yet only one appeared on the map, and the other that was shown on the map did not correspond in size or position to anything I could see on the ground. As I was near to 'C' company area I decided to consult Elwes.

Elwes was very pleased see me and quite refreshed now by his sleep. He insisted on splitting a bottle of wine with me and we sat on the edge of his capital HQ which was a slit trench enlarged and embellished into a dugout. We discussed current events. He confirmed my opinion of the map. It was hopeless. But he was able to tell me something about the probable position of the Manchesters and directed me to a party of gunners who, for some reason which I can't remember, he thought would be likely to know.

Accordingly I went back part of the way I had come as far as the major road. This journey back was not so healthy. The snipers to our right were much more active and we heard the "sing" of bullets which came unpleasantly near. Two mortar shells fell in the field about 50 yards to our left so we kept to the road. There were some troops in slit trenches at the side of the road hidden by bushes. I had not noticed them on the way out. They were unable to help me in my search for the Manchesters. We got back to the main road and found the party of gunners. That party consisted of an officer and a group of men. They were all looking very sorry. They were looking at their two trucks which just been badly smashed about by one mortar shell.

They did however know where the Manchesters were and pointed out a square wood about 1/2 mile away, absolutely isolated, and surrounded by open ploughed land - a magnificent target for aircraft I thought! So we tramped over the ploughed land and eventually arrived. Not only were the Manchesters in this wood but also a company of Lancashire Fusiliers! They were all in slit trenches, but very concentrated and it was lucky no aircraft gave this plantation its attention.

I saw the officer in charge of the Manchesters. He showed me the most recent message he had received. There was to be a general withdrawal commencing at 22.30 hours. This was news to me we returned to Battalion HQ. The sniping appeared to be coming from certain high towers in the built-up area. It was difficult to know which side of the river these towers were on. Also it was suspected that some Germans had already got over to our side of the river. I reported to the CO. He was sorry I had had the wrong destination. The correct one had come through after I had left. He confirmed that we were going to move that evening. My job as second-in-command was to march the Battalion away from its present positions and we went through the details. The general plan of withdrawal I think was similar to one we had done before. The carriers were to provide a rearguard and maintain fire after the infantry had gone. I think companies were to be out of position and ready to move off as a battalion at 0100 hours. The CO himself was to go forward and do the reconnaissance for the new positions. I was told to get some food and have a rest. The former I did, but before I got any rest there was a change of plan. Situation reports from the companies made it seem as if the withdrawal might prove to be very difficult and the CO therefore decided to do the withdrawal himself and send me off on the reconnaissance.

I went off almost at once in the PU and took Adock with me. Adock was the French Adjutant de Liaison, an English speaking warrant officer of the French army who was attached to us for purposes of liaison, interpreting etc. One such adjutant was attached to each unit of the BEF.

Our destination was a place called Wannchain (editor's note - Wannahein) which we reached before dawn. It was not really many miles, but the journey took an intolerable time owing to traffic difficulties and night driving without lights etc. In the final stage of the journey we passed through the formidable anti-tank obstacle of the Gort line. This consisted of pieces of railway line of various lengths embedded vertically in the ground a few feet apart from each other. There was a belt of these several yards wide extending across the country in both directions as far as one could see. We crossed this obstacle through a gap which had been left open where the road was, but there were French engineers standing by with derricks and other apparatus, ready to close the gap at any time. It was not yet properly light but I could see the black outline of the Bois de Wannchain in the distance. The CO had particularly emphasised that he wanted battalion headquarters to be in a house with a cellar and, as it was not light enough yet to do much else, I set out to look for this first of all.

The whole area had of course been evacuated. I found a house at the edge of a wood suitably situated, but was surprised to see through a crack in the shutters that it contained a light. I knocked at the door and the light at once went out. I got Brash out of the PU with his rifle and Adock and I had our revolvers and we battered on the door and shutters again. A figure in shirtsleeves came out at the back and appeared at the side. He told us he was a military policeman. Adock and I went in, we saw another man who was asleep. A suspicion crossed my mind that they were not genuine but they spoke with a good accent and there were articles of kit hanging up. I gave them no information and got no information of any value from them. They professed to know nothing. However I checked my position on the map with them, which I was pleased to do, for lack of confidence in maps was beginning to be an obsession with me. This house had no cellar and we set off in search of one that had.

Adock and I explored on foot in the vicinity, mostly woods, Sash Lanes passed through. At daybreak I went back to the PU and made the reconnaissance I had been sent to do. This presented no difficulty as the terrain for once happened to correspond exactly to the picture I had formed of it from the map, except that the woods had been drastically thinned out and only young trees remained and I was doubtful if these would afford perfect concealment from the air. However, all the woods in the neighbourhood had been dealt with in this way so it couldn't be helped. Some objects caught my attention behind some bushes. They proved to be articles of sports kit of British make- football boots, jerseys etc. I was surprised to see them there abandoned.

We now went to look at the village. On the way, Brash, the driver, fell asleep at the wheel and there was nearly a disaster. I snatched at the steering wheel just as we were about to swerve into a deep ditch. The village was utterly deserted. There was something unpleasant about it. Cattle lay dead in the fields around the farms. One, I could see had been shot and I suppose the others had been killed in the same manner. Their bodies were swollen by internal gas and their legs stiff and straight pointed up to the sky. There was no sign of any life whatever, not even a stray chicken in the farmyards, not a dog or a cat or a bird of any description. The whole place smelt slightly- literally and metaphorically. I prospected for cellars. The first house I tried showed signs of recent habitation. In the cellar was a bed, and made, and a clock still ticking. Articles of a British officer's kit were littered about and spoke of a hasty evacuation. In another farm I found a considerable dump of British stores and some company mess baskets. We appropriated some things we thought would be useful. Further on I found some petrol and British rifles, the latter were damaged. I then met Hallet, the transport officer. He had arrived on a motorcycle and was looking for a place for Echelon B transport. He had a 15 cwt truck and a few men.

Neither of us was quite happy about the village but it was Hobson's choice. Adock had spoken to French soldiers we had passed on the way and they had reported that there were German outposts in the neighbourhood. This information had been rather vague. Hallet decided to go off on his motorcycle and make a reconnaissance. I went back to the point at which I was to meet the Battalion. I left Adock and a few men at the farm and told them to make some tea and get a meal ready.

I waited a couple of hours in the woods for the Battalion. Then I thought I would go back along the road on which I knew they had to come. As it was broad daylight I did not think it wise to go beyond the edge of the woods, for the country was absolutely open. At the edge of the woods there was a toll bar and a little box for the toll keeper. In this I found a Fullerphone abandoned. I appropriated it for future use. Hallet came up and he had discovered nothing and now intended to explore in another direction. (I can't describe the locality now having no map).

We were worried at the non-arrival of the battalion. Hallet disappeared over the crest of the hill for a further reconnaissance. Further time elapsed. Then a DR passed on a motorcycle. I stopped him and learnt that the Battalion had been delayed and, owing to the demolition of certain bridges, had had to follow a different route from their intended. Hallet reappeared and we went back to the village together. As we arrived, another DR appeared. He had come from Battalion HQ with a message telling me where the Battalion were. It was a village about two miles away. I was to go there immediately and a bridge, about to be demolished, was to be kept open for me for half-an-hour. It was therefore necessary to hurry. Breakfast had been made and it looked and smelt good; but I had to leave it. I did manage to swallow half a mug of hot tea and hastily loaded my truck with the most useful of the stores lying about. I got a few water cans for my old friends of 'D' company whose water cans had been run over by a truck and not replaced. We started off. I vaguely remember passing enormous blockhouses with concrete roofs several feet thick- magnificent structures- and went to sleep. The DR led the way.

Too soon we were in the village where the battalion was. The CO had made a temporary HQ in the first house he had seen and now wanted a house with a cellar. Off I went on foot right through the village. It was a largish village. It appeared that none of the houses in this village had cellars. There was a big Château just outside in a park. I found 'C' company installed here but, curiously enough, even this Château had no cellars. The places that served as cellars were on a level with the ground and the habitable part commenced on what was really
the first floor which was reached by imposing steps in front. ******

****** the house occupied by the battalion HQ referred to by Hastings had a cellar but it was half full of water. I think the area was naturally waterlogged and that was probably the reason why there were no real cellars to be found. Charles Long's notes.

There were also some factories or warehouses adjoining the village which I looked at, these were already occupied by Z.......? (editor's note - believe this to be a French Regiment of Zouavres) who appeared also to be billeted in the village. My search was fruitless and must have occupied quite two hours. The CO was in the middle of a conference when I got back. Charles Long hurriedly told me that nobody had had any food as the mess truck was missing, but he thought it might have arrived by now and asked me to do something. I couldn't get any information about the mess truck and there was no food anywhere except some tinned herrings and meatloaf. There also appeared to be no water. Something had gone wrong with the wells and the pumps only produced very muddy water. The conference ended and we sat down to a meal of tinned herrings and meatloaf without any bread or biscuits or water or anything else to drink. Afterwards we washed and shaved in the muddy water and the Colonel laid down on a bed and went to sleep. I find it necessary to mention this because it was one of the rare occasions he ever was able to sleep. There were a few routine things for me to do, I forget what they were, and the afternoon was well on when I also went to get sleep. It is well to say at this point that I only had the sketchiest knowledge of the 'operations' side of our activities in this village. Briefly, as I understand it, we were there to hold certain positions in the Gort Line until relieved by the French. Then we were to go to rest. We went into the positions allotted to us and then, contrary to expectations, instead of being late or not arriving at all as we half feared the French turned up several hours before the scheduled time and the relief was satisfactorily accomplished. About teatime I was wakened up. The Colonel was and had been busy. The French were in the course of taking over. A message had come from Brigade and at last we were really going into rest. I was to go to Brigade at once and do the billeting in the rest area which was to be in La Bassee. I took the five Company Sergeant Majors and Adock and set off.

We were delayed a little because a village we had to pass through was having an air raid and we waited about a quarter of a mile outside until it was over. In another small town an air raid started up whilst we were in it and we took shelter in a basement. As we arrived at Brigade, another air raid started to take place and the Brigade staff were going into their slit trenches. I exchanged a few words with Swainson and learnt that Staff Capt. Allen had already left. I saw the Brigadier who told me to meet Allen in front of the church in the centre of La Bassee, at a certain time, I think it was 9 pm.

It was necessary to make haste. There were very serious traffic jams on all the main roads. Then we tried side roads. Air activity was stupendous*****. I think it will be found correct to say that every village in this area was visited by German bombers this evening. Sometimes we saw villages being bombed as we approached them; sometimes the people in the back of our truck saw a village we had just come through being bombed; and at least one village got bombed whilst we were in it. We got back onto a main road and whilst waiting in one of the inevitable traffic jams I had the great good fortune to meet Allen, the Staff Captain. He was returning from the direction I was going. A bridge had been bombed somewhere ahead and it was necessary to make a detour, we kept together and arrived at La Bassee.

*****It must be remembered that I wrote this account in 1941. Had I written it some few years later after witnessing some of the operations of the RAF and American Air Force over Germany I should scarcely have been justified in using the word "stupendous".

The most cursory glance at La Bassee revealed the fact that there would be no billeting of troops in this town for some time to come. Several fires were raging. Broken glass was everywhere. Shopfronts blown out. Many ruined buildings and all the usual aftermath of a very, very, bad air raid. To make matters seem more
dreadful, there was a gas alarm and everyone was wearing gas masks. It was of course a false alarm, arising probably from the acrid smell of German high explosives. It was a mistake I had known to have been made before.

Allen went to get fresh instructions. We waited. It got dark. Allen returned with new orders. These were that the Brigade were to hold a defensive line on a sector of the road Bethune - La Bassee. We started off for this area. Progress was slow as we had to travel without lights but the night was not a dark one. We stopped at a big crossroads. Allen wanted to check up something. On the corner was a place called "Café de la Bombe". It was badly smashed up. There was a notice still intact saying that the premises stood on the site of a café that
had been destroyed by a bomb in 1915. Now ironically history had apparently repeated itself. Hallet was about some minutes and I stood on the grass at the edge of the road whilst waiting for him. In the ditch at my feet was a dapper little French civilian, quite dead, face downwards in his best clothes, striped trousers. His legs were straight and his feet were exactly together. I kept trying not to look at him.

Allen suggested we should leave one Sergeant Major at these crossroads to watch for the Battalion if they came that way and I did this. We got to our area which was not very far away and Allen laid down the boundaries. The country was dead flat. There were big farm buildings a quarter of a mile or so apart from
each other and a few houses along the main road.

It was the turn of our battalion to be in reserve as soon and as I got my area I made a reconnaissance. The night was quite light enough to do something and I got out a provisional plan and showed the Sergeant Major where to lead their companies should the Battalion arrive. The civilian population was standing about the road in groups and were starting to evacuate. An excited group handed over a 5th column suspect and Adock
examined him and thought he ought to be kept. This was a nuisance. The chief thing against the man appeared to be that he was of military age, spoke French with a peculiar accident and had no papers.
Allen again appeared. He was now going to find a building for Brigade Headquarters. I had still to find a Battalion HQ so we decided to go together in his car and I left the Sergeant Majors and the prisoner and the truck. I should mention that in one house I had already looked at with a view to making it Battalion HQ I encountered an enormous man very tough, very abusive. I had to threaten to shoot him before he would let me look over the house. It turned out to be a sort of brothel, incredibly filthy and unpleasant. Allen ditched his car in the course of our search for Headquarters. We were a mile or so from help. I sent my sergeant back on foot for my truck, but we got some other help before he returned. Allen and I parted company. I selected a
building for Battalion Headquarters not quite what I wanted and returned to wait for the Battalion.

I found nobody could be trusted to keep awake. The prisoner didn't try to escape although I more than suspect he had had an opportunity of doing so. This was a point in his favour. His story was that his grandmother was in Bethune and he had to go there. He said he was a Belgian. I discussed his case again with Adock who now didn't seem to be so definitely against him. I told him he could go if he would go towards La Bassee, but that he could not go to Bethune which was already occupied by Germans. He refused. We were all very cold. Eventually the prisoner complained of cold and accepted my offer and went towards La Bassee.
I told him he would be shot if he was caught going the other way. We were glad to get rid of him. The peculiar atmosphere engendered by these events must have had some effect on me. It seems shocking to me now that I should actually have thought of shooting this wretched man, against whom I was only half convinced that there was any case at all. But I remember I certainly did have some such sort of thoughts at the time. I regard this as rather a serious confession. I don't think I should have actually done it, but even to think of such a thing indicates a peculiar state of mind - doubtless a reaction to peculiar circumstances and as such it is not without interest.

It was hard to keep awake. About 7 o'clock German reconnaissance planes flew over very low. There was no sign of the Battalion. More waiting. We were of course on ground that had been much fought over in the 1914 war. In the field opposite were trench systems still intact. They were of course waterlogged. I inspected them with interest. Allen reappeared. All previous orders were now countermanded. The Brigade area was changed. I got the new boundaries on the map and moved once more. The new area was not far off and I arrived there a few minutes after CO's party. The Colonel had a piece of chalk and was marking A. B. C. D. etc on the doors of the first houses he saw. The battalion came up in troop carriers almost at once.

Company Commanders were far from satisfied with the quarters allotted to them which were of course inadequate and for which I was afraid they might be thanking me though nothing was said. 'D' company rejected theirs entirely and went off on their own which gave me a great deal of trouble as they went into the
area of another battalion who complained to Brigade. Then there was the question of where exactly the boundary was and, that being settled, getting another place for 'D' company. It then transpired that somebody else was in our area. Before these problems were solved, Allen again came back with a fresh order "standby to move this evening. Never mind about the billeting". I reported this to the CO. It was news to him. It was confirmed later.

In the afternoon the CO, Adjutant, Company Commanders, SO and myself went out together on a reconnaissance. Hallet was left in command of the battalion. We had to go together as there was only one map. We travelled in two cars and I took notes of the way we went. It was well, as it turned out later, that I did so. We crossed the La Bassee Canal and then ran into trouble. The CO's car was in front. I was following with John Elwes and someone else. At a crossroads the CO's car passed, at short range, a German MG Post which opened fire too late to score any hits. The CO's car was across. Elwes was driving the car I was in. He stopped short of the crossroads behind the cover of a house. The CO was also behind cover on his side. We could signal to each other, but the distance was too great to shout. Willeson got into the CO's car and turned it round and drove it over the crossroads towards us at speed. We turned round and followed him. He went several hundred yards before he stopped and then we had some cover afforded by a turn of the road. I didn't think we had been fired at though both Willeson and Elwes thought we had. Anyway Willeson's message was that the Colonel wanted us to go back to the Battalion HQ. He and his party were coming back on foot. This we did and my sketch map proved useful on more than one turn of the road when some doubt arose as to which way we had come. The building used for our headquarters looked rather different when we returned to it. There had been an air raid in our absence and several windows were broken and it was generally a bit scarred. No casualties I think.

I think it was about midnight and the Colonel and his party returned. It was certainly after dark and they had had unpleasant experiences and were very tired. The Colonel at once called a conference of Company Commanders and gave his orders. This is a scene I shall never forget. The room is lit by candles. The CO is so tired that his head keeps nodding as he talks and he falls asleep. Charles Long is standing by his shoulder. We let him sleep for a minute. Then Charles taps the bottom of the candle on the table- gently – louder – louder still. The CO wakes up and gets out a few more sentences and goes off again. The same process is gone through again. It is repeated several times until the orders are complete. There is only one map. The heads of all Company Commanders are crowded around it. They are making what notes they can. Soon they leave.
I am thankful that I'm not a Company Commander for I know that I could not move at night across a couple of miles of un-reconnoitred country without a map and be sure of being in the right position at daybreak. Yet this is what they are going to try to do.

We leave soon after. We intend to make our headquarters at a place called Le Paradis. We drive without lights and arrive eventually at what we think is Le Paradis, though it doesn't in some respects correspond with the map. We have, however, seen so many cartographical errors in the past that we don't attach a great deal of importance to minor inconsistencies. We trace back over the road we have come by and eventually conclude that this village is Le Paradis.*****

****Note 1948. I now understand that this village must have been Le Cornet Malo. I have found a building for a headquarters and we occupy it. Hallet now arrives. He maintains we are not at Le Paradis. Discussion follows. The village is of course evacuated and we can't get any clue from any building or signpost. Eventually the Colonel becomes convinced that it is not Le Paradis and we move again. Just before dawn we settle in a farm and make it our headquarters. It turns out to be badly situated for a battalion headquarters. It is practically on the line with our forward companies, but it is too late to change now, the CO decides. An attempt was made to establish communication with companies but only A and C are in position. B and D are later found to be manning positions on the canal at right angles and to the left rear of our correct line. We hear they have exchanged shots with a French formation. We get a message that Richardson is killed. He is reported to have been under fire and to have been seen to roll over twice. Buchanan takes over command of 'D' company. The Colonel goes out himself to get things straight. Hours elapsed. Messages, situation reports, come in. The CO does not return. We get worried. 'C' company has its headquarters practically next-door and Elwes is constantly in and out of our headquarters. Long and I take turns to get sleep which we very badly need.

The intelligence people make copies of the map. There are no coloured prints and the results are not very satisfactory. The CO does not return and we cannot get any news of him. About teatime Elwes rings up Brigade. The Colonel has been at Brigade but left some hours ago. Elwes takes over command. He wants to move Battalion HQ and sends me back to make a reconnaissance and to find Le Paradis. There is not much more daylight. As soon as it is dark, 'B' and 'D' companies move over into the positions which they should have originally occupied. Through sheer carelessness my driver gets my car in a ditch whilst turning round. I leave him and return on foot. I get a truck and start out again.

The daylight has now almost gone we have to pass a convoy coming towards us. We are passing one very large truck. It needs careful driving for the road is narrow. A shell bursts near to us, the driver gives a sort of nervous shudder which I can feel in his arm (I am sitting practically touching him), the steering wheel response to the sudden jerk, and once again we are ditched. The big lorry gets us out eventually but the last of the daylight has gone. I do not find Le Paradis but move Battalion HQ to the village we first stopped at the previous night, and we make use of the same house we had been going to use then. ****

We are in wireless communication with Brigade but with Companies it is now by runners. 'C' Company Headquarters move into the old Battalion headquarters. We are in touch with Brigade through the wireless truck. The difficulties in laying signal lines is considerable.

****There was a good deal be seen at night in the way of lights. Very lights were being used from the ground and were being dropped from aeroplanes. The Germans used a good deal of tracer ammunition and this often was seen raining down at different places and then there were the enormous fires started by the Germans as a guide for their own aircraft by which the forward units were supplied with food and ammunition.

During the night Colonel Ryder returns. He does not explain where he has been. He seems very very weary. Elwes goes back to 'C' company. The CO wants the new battalion headquarters organised for all-round defence. As soon as it is daylight I get busy with the RSM who is very good at this sort of thing. We don't want to attract attention from the air which digging could be certain to do. We made a …..? of trusses of hay stacked in depth. In another place a Bren gunner takes cover behind a big farm roller.

About this time Colonel Money commanding First Battalion Royal Scots pays a visit. Ryder and he discover that they are cousins. The date is 26 May 1940.

Move commenced at about 23:30 hours. Most of our vehicles had gone, but Colonel Ryder returned to HQ before I moved to the new site-approximately 12 midnight - he stated he had been organising an attack by our right company. He then gave information that Yallop had been killed and that Elson was probably dead.

At this stage it is necessary to interpose a few general remarks about the question of sleep, of which we were now all very badly in need. Even as long ago as the time we were on the Dyle when nights first began to be turned into extra days, there had been vague talk of rest. We talked about units in the frontline being relieved after a certain fixed period and people told us what had been done in the last war. When we marched through the Foret de Saigne and though the Iron Line - the worst period as far as I was concerned for feeling fatigue - we did so believing that our next destination was to be a Brigade rest area.

Although this was certainly intended, the Germans were in Grammont, a mile away, within a few hours of our arrival and we were hurried off to the Escaut where we stood and fought, still without rest. When we withdrew from the Escaut rest was again promised in more definite terms - only one more job to be done, to occupy the Gort line until relieved by the French and then rest at last. Le Bassee was to be the next area. I have related how our rest came to nothing there and how further jobs were given to us to do. Incredible as it must seem, we were still going strongly as a Battalion and, though sadly reduced in numbers, we were still a very effective fighting force.

These promises of rest, always present before us at not too distant a date, enabled us cheerfully to draw on our reserves of energy. When the first promise failed, we drew out further reserves, that even we ourselves, and I'm sure few civilians, could scarcely have suspected possible. And even after that, when the second promise of rest had failed, and there was nothing immediate to look forward to, it seemed that the urgency and desperation of the situation was making still further supplies of energy and endurance available. It was like ringing water from a wet garment. Each additional squeeze brings forth fresh drops, but there is a limit to the amount of water the garment contains; and though the drops at first seem inexhaustible, later on they are smaller and more difficult to obtain. So it is with human endurance. Vital necessities enable nature to squeeze
out the last drops of our energy; but before the last drop actually falls there is a period of reduced efficiency.
 
This period had, I think, arrived for most of us by the 26th May, though it is impossible to generalise, for different duties had imposed different strains and afforded different opportunities for rest. But in any case I think it will be obvious that it will be dangerous from now on to attempt to pass any judgments on the basis of individual wisdom or stupidity, greatness or ineffectiveness, bravery or otherwise. Perhaps it is hardly necessary to say that there was a universal almost desperate desire on the part of everyone to give of their very best and this I know was done. It lay in the power of some individuals, perhaps, to give more than others, but the important key to the assessment of the merit of individual deeds at this time is, in my opinion, an inside knowledge of their sleep situation and this I do not pretend to possess.

For these reasons, therefore, I ask the critical reader from now on, to think in the general terms of the Battalion, rather than of the individuals in it. I ask him to be sparing in his criticism of individuals and further I advise him to be cautious in their praise, lest he be unfair to the memory of those who, through wounds and death were no longer fighting with us, and those who in the earlier days, had used themselves more unsparingly and who were now no longer in any condition mentally or physically to do spectacular things.

I will now try to give an outline of our general situation on and just prior to, the 26th May, but it will be rather a sketchy one as I have no notes or maps beside me as I write and the one copy of the map this Battalion had of this area was so constantly in use that it only came into my possession for a short period and, in consequence, never became very firmly impressed on my memory. To state it roughly then, the enemy were beginning to arrive in force from the Bethune direction. Between them and us was La Bassee Canal, a very narrow waterway just wide enough to allow two barges side-by-side.

There were wooden bridges over the canal which had been destroyed, but there were also a number of barges tied to the banks which, if turned crossways, would be long enough to be used as a bridge. There had been a demolition party on one of these bridges when I had crossed it on the 24th, but whether they had been able to deal with the barges as well I don't know. To bridge this canal for motor vehicles and tanks would be the work of only a few minutes to the German engineers who were astonishingly quick and efficient at this sort of thing, provided they're able to do their work undisturbed by our fire.

Our four companies were in positions covering the canal for the definite object of preventing it being crossed. From right to left our companies were in the order A. B. C. D. I can't remember the extent of the Battalion front in miles but it was an incredibly wide one for the size of our formation and in consequence was only thinly held. Our role, when we first went into our positions was described to us as "an outpost position with a defensive right flank". From time to time we received the encouraging news of an impending counter attack by the French and of support from a tank battalion. None of this support ever came and, in actual fact our position subtly changed its character and became in effect a rearguard to cover the embarkation about to take place at Dunkirk. We did not have this, for no information even reached us of the general situation. In fact, so great was our ignorance at this time, that if the name of Dunkirk had been mentioned to us, which it was not, we would have assumed as a matter of course that further British reinforcements were being landed at that port.

By the morning of the 26th the position was that the Germans had got tanks and other troops across La Bassee Canal and had come up against our right hand companies. A company in the extreme right had been knocked out of position and we did not know now exactly where it was, so Colonel Ryder sent me out to get in touch with it.

I took the PU, Brack was the driver, and went towards the crossroads at Carnet Malo (editor's note Le Cornet Malo), which is at the rear corner of a large wood named, I think something like the Bois de Paqueaut period we came under fire on the journey and our front tyre was punctured by a bullet. At the crossroads, I was surprised to see Slater, who was now commanding 'A' company and a group of six or seven men standing helplessly around him. At the best of times, crossroads are supposed not to be too healthy and this particular crossroads did not appear to have been any exception to that rule. The walls of the buildings were all scarred with shrapnel and of course all the windows were smashed and there was broken glass everywhere.

Slater told me his position up by the canal had been overrun by tanks and the company had been "minced up". All that remained, he said, were the few men standing about outside and some others who were wounded that he had got inside a building on the very corner of the crossroads. I went inside this building and looked at the wounded. I forgot how many there were. As I came out another car was arriving and Colonel Money, commanding the Royal Scots got out. He was anxious to hear Slater's story which Slater retold, again using the expression "minced up". "Minced up!" Shouted Colonel Money, "how dare you say you have been minced up"! Why, I've had 10 (?) officer casualties. Do I say I've been "minced up?. I'm far from being minced up............ " and so on. Colonel Money continued strongly in this strain for some time, and if anything could have stirred new life into these tired men I think his conversation might have done so. But at the end of it all Slater and his men seemed more helpless than ever and I formed the opinion that they couldn't make any further effort and that absolutely nothing further of any use could be had from them until they had had some rest. Having formed this opinion (which may have been wrong and I won't argue about it now) I acted on my own initiative and told Slater to bring his seven men into Battalion Headquarters.

Before I left, Edgeworth, commanding 'B' company came running up. He had seen me in the distance and showed me his positions which were not far away. His company, too, was much reduced in numbers and he had only 19 men. He had a position along the line of a hedge 200 or 300 yards in front of the crossroads. There were no tanks about at the moment, but he thought there were Germans in a village just beyond his position. I took two of the wounded men with me in the car, having warned them that it will be a bumpy journey on account of the flat tyre and started back to report to the Colonel. We came under fire again but were not hit. As bad luck would have it a herd of pigs had strayed onto the road. It would have been madness to stop and so with regret I told Brash to drive through them, which he did, and I can hear the screams now as some got run over.

We stopped as soon as we got behind the cover of a house and Brash shot one that still hobbled about wounded in the road. The others had scattered but were still kicking up a din as pigs do. I reported what I had seen and done to the Colonel, but he did not agree to Slater's recall and was angry that I had done it. "Go back", he said "put the two companies together and command them yourself". The crossroads, he told me, were to be held at all costs - to the last man and the last round. He concluded his orders by saying "keep them back with your own pistol if necessary".

I saluted and left, feeling rather dispirited and incompetent. I took Brash again to drive and used the Colonel's own car. On the way I tried to form a plan, but I couldn't gather my thoughts and realised with a shock that I wasn't going to be very much use and this worried me intensely. On looking back now I find that my own sleep position was pretty bad, I had been very short of sleep before the Escaut, had not had too much there and since the Escaut the only sleep I had had was an hour or so at the Gort line position and perhaps three or four hours the previous day in the barn where Battalion headquarters had been.

In all during the past 15 days I don't think all the sleep I had had added together would amount to much more than three full nights rest - quite possibly two nights would be a more accurate estimate. For the information of those who have not been in this condition, the symptoms are, that you have got quite used to doing without sleep and have ceased to desire it with any very intense feeling. Your mind is sluggish and you don't like to trouble it to do more than you think is essential. You have no curiosity about anything and with an effort you're able to do the job in hand which you are apt to think you are managing pretty well, whereas in reality you are not doing anything of the sort, for your vision has narrowed to the limits to such an extent that you take no account of things that should be very obvious. I am sorry to trouble the reader with so much talk of sleep, but at this stage it was of vital importance and affected everything.

At the crossroads I succeeded in intercepting Slater before he had got started and at the same time I was fortunate enough to get some unexpected reinforcements. As this happened in rather a peculiar and backhanded way, I will relate the incident in full. I have already mentioned that the rear corner of the Bois de Paqueaut came within a short distance of the crossroads. So I happened to glance in that direction I was considerably astonished to observe a large number of khaki clad figures emerging from the trees in considerable haste. Those in front were running and the others were not in any recognisable formation except that they were all coming in the same direction and this seemed to be bringing them straight towards me. In all, there seemed to be about 50 or 60 men and I recognised them as Royal Scots, for this battalion used to scrub their web equipment and make it almost white, whereas all the other units employed either khaki blanco or equipment cleaner which left it much nearer its original colour.

I stood firmly in the middle of the road and grasped my revolver in my hand. When the leading man reached me I shouted to them to stop, which they did. As the others caught up I enquired who was in charge. A Sergeant Major came forward and I asked him what the devil he thought he was doing and where he was going.

"Had orders to withdraw, Sir", he said.
"Orders from whom?" I asked.
"Orders from Capt. Busher, Sir".
“Where is Capt. Busher?”
“Wounded Sir - in the wood. He told us to withdraw".
"Where are you going now?"
"Back to Battalion headquarters".

Some of Colonel Money's remarks to Slater were still in my mind and also Colonel Ryder's remarks to me on the same matter and yet here was the best part of a company of Colonel Money's own troops running out of their positions in no sort of order at all. I told the Royal Scots Sergeant Major, who proved to be a very good fellow, that the crossroads had to be held at all costs and that there was to be no withdrawal by anybody beyond that point and that I should need his men to reinforce their position I was about to make. He made no demure. I think actually he was very pleased to have found an officer to tell him what to do.

While this was happening Edgeworth again came on the scene and about the same time Charles Long arrived from Battalion Headquarters bringing with him some spare men and also a number of stragglers from different units we had been gradually collecting at Battalion Headquarters. Willeson also appeared. I don't know where he came from, or how he came, but he was rather like that and would always be found at any place, and at any time, where he was likely to be useful. As a Battalion intelligence officer he was superb. He had one little affectation and that was that he would always pretend to be thoroughly scared by things that were happening about him. So he took more real risks than anybody else and continued to take them. This little affectation rather amused us. Willeson was a Canadian and had, I believe, at one time served in the mounted police. Edgeworth, Willeson, Long and I, now held a hasty conference. I decided thus the first, and most urgent thing to be done, was to get the men undercover and that the sooner this was done the better and the upshot of our discussion was that there was no alternative other than to put them all into Edgeworth's existing line for the time being.

This line extended along the foot of a long hedge and ditch which ran parallel to the road about 200 to 300 yards in front of it. The hedge was high and thick and had the advantage that it afforded an approach that was completely screened from view, though not from bullets. When the hedge was thinned out at the base it was possible to get a fair field of fire to the front, not by any means as good as one would have liked, and also, to some extent, to cover a stretch of the road to the right. On the whole it was an unsatisfactory position, but it was the best there was in the emergency period. The ditch was not really deep enough to give much protection as a trench, and although the little mound of earth round the roots of the hedge afforded a meagre cover from the front, there was no protection from the rear, which is almost as important in the case of mortar fire, as these shells have a very high trajectory and fall to the ground practically vertically and explode their shrapnel pretty evenly in all directions, so that if one falls behind you it is likely you will get it in your back if you have no protection.

The men set to work to improve these positions and scratched at the earth with their bayonets and scooped it out with her hands. Charles Long went back to Battalion headquarters to try to get some digging tools, and Willeson appeared actually having found some. He had broken into a farmhouse and acquired some spades and shovels. An excellent spirit prevailed. 'A' company and 'B' company, Royal Scots and the stragglers were all mixed together and appeared to be getting on well together. While this was going on, Capt Busher of the Royal Scots, whose company I had purloined, arrived on the scene. He had a field dressing on his leg and he hobbled very painfully, he ought to have been at the RAP, but instead, he insisted on lying down in the line so that his presence could give encouragement to his men. He was not able to do anything else. It was …............ I thought.

Having got everything underway I went to the left edge of the line and crept forward some way to reconnoitre and could see no sign of enemy activity anywhere near on that side. The village was on the opposite side and I could see no sign of the enemy there, but was really too far away for proper observation. I could not get any nearer without actually crossing our field of fire and it would be necessary to make that reconnaissance from the other side. I crept back the way I had come and once more got into the line. There was practically no activity except occasional mortar shells and I could not tell exactly where they were coming from. No shells fell near enough to cause any casualties; but every time the whistle of a mortar shell was heard, the soldiers who happened to be nearest to me would invariably say, "It's all right Sir, when you hear them whistle.
You don't hear any whistle from the one that gets you". I was always intrigued by this little saying which I seem to have heard was current in the 1914 war. I wondered what living man could be the authority for it. As I made my way along the line a sergeant asked me to be careful when I crossed a short gap that there was. When I had passed this for I have been too lazy to crawl on my stomach and had just crouched down and hurried across. He thought that this had attracted some mortar fire they had had soon after and possibly he was right. It had been rather a stupid thing to do and I realised this and did not do it again.

Further along the line I met Hallet, the transport officer. He told me the CO had sent him to take over from me and I was to go back to Battalion Headquarters. He had already seen Busher who had told him all there was to know. I was momentarily sorry that I had to leave as I had just begun to be intensely interested in the job I was doing, but subsequent reflection has convinced me that the Colonel's decision to put Hallet there and take me away was a very good one; and I am convinced now that I should probably have made a bad mess of things if I had stayed on. Hallet is a much younger man, a very fine fighting type of regular soldier, as several things had indicated in my brief contact with him before; and also, perhaps more important still, he was fresh, having had opportunities for proper sleep at Echelon B which most others including myself had not been able to get.

This was the last I saw of Hallet for 18 months when we met again in a prison camp in Germany. He had taken his mixed force forward a considerable distance, mopped up the sundry small parties of Germans and was finally wounded himself and so fell into enemy hands. None of us knew anything about this at the time.

I leave Hallet now and return to Battalion Headquarters on foot. I do not believe in taking risks that are not necessary and try to walk along the bottom of a ditch at the side of the exposed stretch of road, and in consequence get my feet and ankles very wet. I find a British rifle in the ditch which I pick up. I get tired of the ditch after a bit and decide to take my chance on the road again. No bullets come near enough to worry about. When I get to the isolated homes, where we had shot the pig, I hear a voice say, "there's an officer carrying a rifle". A subaltern emerged from the house and I find that the machine gun Battalion of the Argyll's (the seventh Battalion, I think) have got a post in the house. The subaltern and I exchange information on the situation and I drop a hint that the house he has chosen is within mortar and shelling range and that it is a landmark visible from a long distance across the flat country. I don't think he took up my hint and I think he was indeed shelled out later on.

When I got back to HQ and saw the CO I found that this detachment of Argyll's had been put under his command. Later, I vaguely remember, when he wanted them to do a job, it was found they had disappeared. He never knew what had happened to them. Certainly they never got any orders to withdraw from Colonel Ryder under whose command they had been put. I was surprised to see Richardson at Battalion Headquarters safe and well. The report that he had been killed was false as so many such reports turned out afterwards to be. He had not even been wounded, though I can't remember now the slightest detail of what he told us had happened to him.

About this time, or it may possibly have been the day before, it was reported to us that Clem Elson, the carrier officer, was missing, believed killed. We had not seen much of Elson, or his carriers during our operations, as most of the time they had been taken away for Brigade or Divisional jobs. This had always been a disappointment, as there had been many tasks of our own where carriers would have been most useful. However, the previous day or two, the carriers had at last been given back to us and had been operating in our own right flank in front of 'A' and 'B' companies. Here they had come into the range of anti-tank weapons and it was in this area that Elson had been knocked out. Actually I have discovered since that he was wounded in his carrier which was smashed up and later picked up by the Germans. I met him again at the POW camp at Titmoning, Bavaria, ten months later on his discharge from the German hospital. He was then still far from fit.

We had a wireless truck at Battalion Headquarters which gave us radio telephony with Brigade. Communications with companies was now done mostly, if not entirely, by runner, so wide and scattered were their positions. In any case I don't think there was much wire now. The different positions we had recently had had involved laying long lines of wire and in most cases the subsequent withdrawals had been too hurried for it to be taken in. Adam Gordon, the signal officer, was now at headquarters and since I have had no opportunity yet to introduce him to the reader, I will now do so, though I don't expect he will thank me for this if he should ever read these notes, which I'm afraid he will have to do sooner or later. Adam seemed to rather like to be in the background and I have never seen him show the slightest interest in getting any credit for the work he did. In consequence there was a tendency rather to take him for granted, which in his
case is unjust.

Colonel B. Long (of my regiment, who it will be remembered had been attached to the Norfolk's with me at Orchies) had told me he thought Adam Gordon had intelligence which put him in a class by himself and had recommended me to go to Adam for information about various things I wanted from time to time and this I had done on some occasions always with satisfactory results. Adam's own work, I noticed, always went smoothly and without effort. He was rather like the tap from which you draw water; you never give a thought to how it works or where the water comes from, unless it breaks down. Adam did not break down, if he had done, or if he had not been there at all, I know that the Battalion machinery would have been less effective and less smooth, for the work Adam did was considerable.

In the evening and also before dusk I went to all the neighbouring farms and made notes of what stocks of food they contained - very little except potatoes and roots. The Colonel thought it likely that our Echelon B transport which brought up our rations might not be able to get through to us. In addition, the Colonel wanted to have an alternative building to take Battalion Headquarters to in case of need. Earlier in the day we had suspected that enemy artillery had been ranging on our Headquarters. Two shells had come over and the second one had landed only a short distance away. Now, this evening, a fair concentration of artillery fire was coming over and all seemed to be aimed round about the place where the second shell had fallen earlier on. It was fortunate for us that a row of trees, and a line of houses, prevented the enemy from observing the results of his fire, which as it was, all fell on open ground and did no damage at all. I took RSM Cockaday with me and he examined all the farms and buildings for half a mile along the road. One building, we noticed was full of refugees, in hiding. They were terror struck. Another building appeared to me from the outside a particularly promising one for a Headquarters but I found, on closer inspection that it was already being used as such by another unit. I hardly thought that I should return again to the same building within 24-hours and that I should find it still in use as the Headquarters of a unit, yet I did return within that time, as a prisoner of war, and the building was then used as the HQ of the German SS unit to which we had been obliged to surrender. And now, since my personal account during the next 24-hours will deal entirely with events at Battalion Headquarters, it will be convenient if I give a brief summary of the general events of that period first.

Put very roughly, the Germans broke through with tanks and brought up strong reinforcements, of which, we discovered later, they had an almost inexhaustible reserve They penetrated between our company positions and Battalion Headquarters. We could do nothing about it. Since of the bravest fighting ever known in British history took place, but the numerical superiority of the enemy was overwhelming and it had the further advantages of modern weapons and total air superiority. We lost touch with companies. 'A' and 'B' companies, as I have related, were now under Hallet doing good work somewhere on the right. 'C' company carried on to the morning of the 28th, Maj. Elwes being killed at the last moment, Simpson and the remaining men, about 30 I think, surrendered. 'D' company was last heard of reduced to seven men. Buchanan was commanding them and was determined to carry on which he did. I have heard nothing since of Buchanan or any of his men. As a fighting soldier Buchanan was without fear anywhere.

Battalion headquarters, now being isolated, fought strongly on its own defence. A great many holes had been made in the walls surrounding it and from behind these it was possible to deliver a very heavy volume of fire. These holes were unobtrusive and, as the strictest concealment was practised wherever possible, a good many of the enemy made the mistake at first of thinking the building was unoccupied and they paid dearly for their mistake. Earlier attacks were repulsed and the enemy must've found them very expensive. Later, motorised SS troops were employed. We discovered this later. They attacked systematically from armoured troop carriers and with special incendiary weapons which set the whole place on fire. By this time ammunition was practically exhausted and, at 5:30 pm in the afternoon, we could hold out no longer. And so, having dealt briefly with the general situation, I will now take the narrative back to Battalion Headquarters where I was personally and give the reader all the information I have available of events as they appeared from that angle.

​May 27 was the last day the Battalion was to function as a fighting unit in France. This day had no particular beginning any more than the days preceding it had had beginnings or endings. We were living continuously for 24-hours a day and the only landmarks of time were the periods of increased movement which took place at night when they could not be observed from the air. Echelon B transport arrived with a cooked meal in containers, petrol and ammunition soon after midnight. Company runners were present to act as guides to their several company positions. I was in the road outside the farmhouse dealing with these matters when a message came out from the CO ordering an immediate stand-to. Information had been received from Brigade of further breaking through by the enemy and a general attack at dawn was expected. I went to the various positions around the farm house and saw this order carried out.

It seems to me now that at this time I was deadly tired. I don't know how long it was since I had had even a few minutes sleep. The men were also exhausted, having had a good deal of physical work and few opportunities for sleep. I reported to the CO, his state of fatigue was worse than that of anybody else. As there were still a couple of hours or so before daylight I asked if the order to stand-to might be modified a little and he agreed to an arrangement which in its final form amounted roughly to having doubled sentries at each point of the compass. The CO then ordered me to get some rest myself which I was most reluctant to take but I wished he would rest too. However, I was given no choice and went to an adjoining room and laid down on some straw which had been spread on the floor. Adam Gordon and Charles Long were already asleep there.
They too, I imagined, had also been sent there by the CO. We did not sleep long. Our Bren gunners opened fire almost as soon as it was daylight and movements of enemy infantry could be plainly seen around the flat country on two sides. The range was rather long for accurate shooting, the situation was obviously bad and we were in danger of being surrounded. We could do nothing ourselves to prevent it. We were somewhat cheered by news that came from Brigade that the counter attack by the French was expected and that a British tank Battalion was also on its way. We were also informed that the enemy were present only in very small numbers; and that only a few isolated tanks had broken through and that these forces were by now short of supplies and would soon be mopped up.

I spent most of the morning improving our position for all-round defence. This was time well spent as became apparent later and an amateur knowledge of building construction gained in England and some skill as a handyman served me in very good stead. With improvised tools we made holes at short intervals all round the brickwork and in the side of the barn which was of corrugated iron.

This I effected by inserting a crowbar between the sheets where they joined and so making a vertical slit through which a rifle could be fired. We bolstered these up with bales of straw and hoped that sufficient depth of this might give some protection against bullets. These holes are hardly noticeable outside. I also made holes in the roof for observation purposes on two sides where there were no windows. I took a great deal of interest in this work and, ironically enough, it proved to be one of the most valuable things I ever did.

Long was Acting Adjutant and he spent a good deal of time among the men. He set a fine example by his disregard of personal danger and constantly did more than any other officer to keep morale at a high level. He had a breezy manner, was always cheerful and full of unbounded optimism and all this he managed to convey to the troops.

During the morning a company of Royal Scots was observed in some disorder away from the general line of the enemy positions. Ryder sent Adam Gordon to take charge of them and they were eventually put back into the battle and did useful work before they were eventually mopped up in the evening. In order to supplement my own recollections, which are perhaps rather disjointed now, I propose now to interpose a few pages from the diary of Capt Charles Long which was written almost immediately after we became prisoners while the
events were still fresh in his mind.

I have decided to omit the next two pages of my original narration, they contained only some personal impressions which I now realise are without much value as I cannot claim that my judgement in any matter at this time is worth while upholding if anyone else disagrees with it. Capt Long did not agree with the remarks which I delete and, though I am far from admitting that his recollections are in general more reliable than mine, he did nevertheless in this instance draw my attention to one possibility that is quite conceivable I could have overlooked. I must, however, find some place in this narrative to pay a tribute to Colonel Ryder. Without this no record of the work of the second Battalion the Royal Norfolk Regiment in France is complete.

Ryder's personal courage and selflessness, devotion to duty and his absolute love of the Battalion he commanded cannot, I think, ever have been exceeded by anyone. We all knew this. It showed itself practically in everything he said and did. It was a fine example and one which, I admit, on many occasions made me personally feel that my own military pretensions were very feeble indeed.

From the diary of Capt C. H. Long.

27 May 1940. The morning of the 27th was heralded by heavy enemy attacks by infantry and tanks and was accompanied by intense artillery fire. All this noise woke me from one of the most refreshing sleeps I had ever known. It was 4.30 in the morning of the most desperate day of my life.

The situation was soon to become very serious. Nothing could be done but hold on. Major Richardson made a round of the companies. Most of his way was in a carrier. It was impossible to move about the country unarmoured at this stage. However, we were apparently holding the enemy.

Then reports came in from everywhere of tanks massing. Vainly we asked for artillery support. The answer was always "no ammunition". About 10:00 hours we noticed a mass of khaki clad people moving away from the battle on our right. They were presumably Royal Scots. The CO sent Gordon hurriedly over to rally them. We saw him no more during that day. A section of gunners who were on our left now appeared carrying their breach blocks. Their story was that their officer had told them to abandon guns. On being questioned they said they still had 37 rounds.

Ryder sent them back again to carry on, but after a while they reappeared again with a similar story. The breach blocks were then dumped in a pond. The remainder of the morning consisted of being as cheerful as one could. Over the phone we were cheered by a message from Brigade saying that a counter attack by French troops and a tank Battalion were expected and that we should shortly be relieved, in consequence we did all but cheer. The French were expected to send an officer who would arrive at any moment to reconnoitre our position. A message was sent round to all companies and everyone was very braced by the news.

The seriousness of the present situation was thoroughly realised by everyone. All day long the German observation aircraft flew over and German shells always landed where they would do most damage. And still we had no aircraft and no guns!

We had now no mortar or HE either. What fool sent us with 2 inch mortars and only smoke shells! The day wore on and still no news of the counter attack. Instead the Germans attacked strongly and managed to push forward between the Lancashire Fusiliers 'C' company and between 'B' company and the Royal Scots. Troops now came up on the right, left and front of Battalion Headquarters. We engaged the enemy furiously. They were moving forward slowly and at one point setting up a mortar. Suddenly the enemy on the right stopped advancing and after running about in helpless circles ran back towards the wood. We had one moment of exaltation. We felt the counter attack had been successful somewhere and that the German line was falling back. But our exaltation in one moment turned to consternation.

A sudden flurry of noise and rattle of shots was heard in front of the Battalion Headquarters (i.e. The opposite side - RJH). A section of German motor cyclists had rushed up the road to Battalion Headquarters. They were dealt with effectively and fell back on the RAP buildings leaving two dead in the road. From the RAP they filled the air with shots and it seemed impossible to get at them. Even the CO seemed nonplussed. It was a very awkward moment which was saved by RSM Cockaday. He seized a Bren and rushed forward into the open. Taking up a position he opened fire with the gun. In the course of this he was wounded by the enemy. And another man joined him. The Colonel told me to ring Brigade and tell them what had happened. This I did and the Colonel went out with them. When I arrived on the scene of the operations the CO, RSM, and CSM Whitten and a man or so were investigating bloodstains which led from a loft. The man had apparently made off. We now moved forward and established a forward (I think rear is intended -RJH) location near a hedgerow. RSM Cockaday was wounded again. The CO gave me instructions to organise the post and then he went back. At this time RSM Cockaday was wounded again, this time so seriously that he was forced to crawl into the house behind. I placed our rifleman in a kind of line and then for the first time in the whole battle our artillery gave us support, and what support! They shelled our new position. I therefore ran back to the HQ to telephone up to stop the shelling. I also picked up six men there and returned across a piece of open country that was whipped with fire. The route was the only one possible and I'm damned if I liked it. This was the only time I felt frightened. However we got there and lost no men.

It then became obvious we could not hold the place we were in as the was no cover, so we got back into the house behind. I was forced to leave a wounded man, not of my regiment, in the hedge. We couldn't move him under fire without hurting him terribly. He asked me to leave him and I promised to collect him later if possible. We then organised the defence of the new house. Edwards, a runner, took the gun and used it to very good effect. Ammunition began to run low and I went back for more. When I came back the defence had dropped back to yet another house. We made the fort very strong by piling up sacks of grain as breast works and positioning rifleman in odd corners. Here I received a bullet between two fingers and another missed my ear by a fraction. All seemed to be set in this house and I dodged across the road to organise the defence of another house. We did the same there and I established my HQ in a ditch between the two buildings. I was then hailed by Edwards from the first house who asked me to come back because the men seemed to lose heart without anyone to command them. So once more I dodged back again and got the men position and cheered up. After that I crossed once more and found an NCO took command of the first house and another one took command of the second house. I then felt that all was set as well as possible for the time being and returned to the Battalion Headquarters. Willeson was there. Richardson had returned from organising the defence of another house.

The low cellars, two of them were full of wounded men. Dead lay around outside. Just outside HQ a shell roared down on me and went through the wall of the petrol store. Luckily without exploding. It was within 2 feet of my head. Another fell hissing into the ground at my feet again without exploding. Shells were falling rapidly in the vicinity now. Again I was called to the phone. A message came through telling me we might withdraw after dark, if we could, to a small village to the NE called La Neuville France. It was manifestly impossible that we could get away. The enemy were all round with tanks and guns. Four tanks and four light guns heading to Cornet Malo.

The CO called a conference of all available officers and we discussed the matter. It was decided that should there be any left alive at dusk they should attempt the escape. We had very little hope. I remember sitting on a chair for a minute or two thinking about my wife and feeling very queer about it. She would be a widow and we had only been married since September. Then I realised it wouldn't do so I stood up. A soldier rushed into the room. "The whole roof is alight sir" he shouted. The CO then called all men to come down and he commenced to give the order to abandon the house and fight it out outside. Then the house seemed to fall on me.
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Such is the narrative of Charles Long. If I criticised it I might be tempted to think he has made things seem more dreadful than they really were - but then I am not sure. The scene is no longer so vivid for me after 18 months as it was for him at the time he wrote and I am certainly unable to write a better account, or one nearly as good, for Long's account does give, by and large a picture of what was happening and this I am unable to give myself in any coherent or ordered way.

My mind now contains little else than a series of pictures of unconnected and often trivial events. Trivial, that is to say, compared with the seriousness of everything...... A range-taker being wounded in the stomach, another man being wounded in the feet. At one moment I am watching the movements of the enemy through glasses through a hole in the roof. Another moment I am firing a rifle. Now I am firing a Bren gun which stops. Now bits of events which Long describes are taking place. A party of Germans try to get past at short range, everyone that could get a rifle gets some shooting. Richardson has a German Tommy gun with 75 rounds taken from the dead motorcyclist in the road. He claims seven hits. Now the outlook is good. Now again it is bad. The RSM is wounded, Willeson is wounded in the hand. He is off again to a Company position.

Now I am putting the Battalion papers and war diary in a sack and weighting it with stones and tying it up ready to sink it in the farm pond. Now I am looking down from an upper window on the dead German motorcyclist who still lies in the road with his arm outstretched. A stream of blood has run from his head to the gutter. As I look I see a soldier steal out at the peril of his life and remove the wrist watch from the dead man's hand. He slips back as quickly and quietly as he slipped out. Now Tough is trying to get our paraffin stove to work with petrol. Now Draffin the MO is rushing across the bullet swept road from one RAP to the other. He is rushing back now. He can't do this too often. Draffin is quite without fear. He is very good with the wounded. Charles Long is a great success with the men. He is telling awful lies but he talks as if he himself believes what he says. Nobody does more to encourage the men and keep up their morale than he does. The men love him.

Something that looks like a tank approaches. Where is the anti-tank rifle? It is lying out in the road. I go to get it. A private soldier comes after me "let me get it sir" he says. I don't let him but I am touched at his offering. It has a hole in the side of the barrel but it can still be fired. The tank stops behind a hillock, the top can just be seen. It wasn't a tank. It's an armoured troop carrier. The first we have seen. The CO is ringing up Brigade. He says "I shall not ring you up again. We are doing very well." This great soldier has had no sleep for days. I think he is about crack. He says to me "when I think of the magnificent battalion I took over only a few days ago....." He is unable to go on. I wonder why he does not abandon our position. I think we could still get some men away safely. We both know now there is no hope of holding on much longer. He says others are depending on us. I think he knows more than I do. I glance at the Battalion papers in the sack. He nods his head and I pitched the sack into the farm pond. It doesn't sink. I throw a bicycle on top of it. Now it sinks. Now I'm going round counting up rounds of ammunition. I see Richardson. He is quiet and very grim.

He is watching the development of the enemy's attack from the side of the troop carrier. I am getting ammunition collected from the rifles and pouches of the wounded. Bren gun magazines must be broken up and the rounds distributed. We are very, very short of ammunition but everyone has a few rounds. I am back in the farmhouse. Tough must get some tea. I'm very worried about the Colonel.

The Colonel calls a conference of officers. We were all there. A shell detonates on the windowsill of the room. Charles Long is knocked over. I see blood on the back of my hand but I am not wounded, it is only some grit from the brickwork. Johnny Woodward (editor's note this could be Lt Woodwark) is standing next to me. He holds out a field dressing and is asking me to put it on his neck. We pass to the adjoining room. Something else happens in the room we have left. I think part of the building is tumbling down. We will be better out of the house. The window is open and we drop out of it. We are immediately under fire. There is a low wall with railings in front of us. We will crouch below that. We can't. We find we can't remain here at all as the first storey of the house is a mass of flame and the heat is too intense. We rush out into the open.

Tommy gun bullets in large numbers hiss past us and spatter in the dust. Now we are in a ditch at the side of the road and under cover. I tie up Johnny Woodward's neck. The enemy fire increases it passes over our heads. It would be suicide to put one's head up for an instant. We work our way along the ditch towards the Germans. We are just underneath the wooden shed used as a petrol store and don't want to be too near that if it goes up. We are quite separated from the others or so we think. It is only a matter of time before the Germans will advance along the road. We think we will pretend to be dead, lie very still as they pass, and escape on a compass direction at night. I don't hold out much hope of getting away with that, however, for we have probably been seen getting into the ditch.

The idea of becoming a prisoner hasn't occurred to me yet. It is 100 to 1 that the first German who passes will take a prod at me with his bayonet. A good many thoughts race through the mind when there is nothing to do but wait for a thing like this to happen and I shall not record them on paper.

Everyone else, however, was by now forced out of the farm buildings and were able to get to this ditch by a different way. Charles Long with his head bandaged appeared in a bush and was dragged down. He was unconscious and for a time I thought he was dead. Then Draffin appeared in the road shouting and holding up his Red X bag. Someone else produced a white towel it was said by the Colonel's order, though I doubt this. It was, however, unquestionably the right course so I took the towel myself and stood up in the road holding it above my head. The firing ceased. The Germans appeared in the open. We were covered by Tommy guns and walked towards each other. The troops had fallen in behind me.

The first German took away my revolver and then took off my field glasses. Another searched in my equipment. I do not look any of them in the face. The feelings of an officer who becomes a prisoner unwounded are not nice. Even though I know I did the right thing I don't care to think about it too much even now.

These events may be summarised by the following appreciated notes I made on a sheet of paper within 48 hours of being captured.

26/5/40
Battalion headquarters at Le Paradis organised for all round defence.

27/5/40
0330 hours Stand to - meal comes up from QM

0900 hours Enemy begins to attack. Not in great strength at first, but is reinforced. Attack is held but continues intermittently.

1400 hours Enemy withdraws. Hurriedly. As they come into the open we are able to inflict very heavy casualties.

1500 hours Enemy commences to attack again. We see them getting into positions on two sides of us beyond effective range of small arms fire.

1530 hours Enemy activity is now visible on all sides. We open fire as small parties get within range and inflict casualties.

1630 hours Ammunition now getting short. We have had many casualties. Enemy mortars get range of our HQ, but their artillery shells all fall wide. Evidently this fire is unobserved. We have to order that Bren guns do not fire unless they get targets that cannot be missed.

1700 hours Enemy closing in on all sides. Ammunition now very short. Rounds taken from Bren guns and given to Rifleman. All spare ammunition has been collected from dead and wounded. A tank appears and is shot at with anti tank rifle (Boyes). It stops about 500 yards away. (Did Boyes rifle stop it?). War diary and all Battalion papers destroyed. Shells from some small calibre gun now score hits on the farm buildings and start fires.

1730 hours Enemy now 200 yards away. Rifleman fire their remaining rounds. Direct hit from a shell scatters a conference of officers on ground floor of the farmhouse. Ryder and Richardson believed to have been killed by this. Long and Woodward wounded. Tough (a Batman) killed. I am unwounded except that my hand is bleeding without apparent cause. Woodward and I get to a ditch and are later joined by others. As the senior officer present I take the responsibility for surrendering. Thirty six men and three officers become POWs.

We are captured by Danzig Heimwehr motorised SS. Treated with courtesy, but later handed to backline troops. Slept in a ditch in the open. Heavy rain. No food.

Here ends the first part of the narrative.
To read Part Two click here.