Reference
Z1420/2
Title
Six-page manuscript account of his war service with the 72nd Company, Royal Engineers, written by Alfred Thomas Rowe. The text below is a transcript, but some of the spelling and punctuation has been corrected:
Date free text
1944-1945
Production date
From: 1944 To: 1945
Scope and Content
May 1st [1944]
We arrive at Camp C8 Eastleigh we have nothing to do then we are put on works for a few days and we were very pleased as it broke the monotony as we are confined to Camp. The ban gets lifted and we get a day pass everybody dashing about to get home, then we are confined again owing to a scheme. Our Platoon didn’t go on this scheme which was an invasion trial.
The ban is lifted again we are allowed a pass this time restricted to 15 miles radius. I think everybody tried to get home I managed it myself and think most of the others succeeded, as we were sure it would be the last one for a long time.
It is the 30th and we are on the move again don’t know where; we arrive at another camp, C2 this time, it is about the same as the last one. We move again on the 1st June everybody fed up as we are carrying 135lbs each. We arrive at Southampton docks get a cup of tea then go aboard Boat which was the [illegible]. We pull out of Dock and drop anchor off the Isle of Wight and stay there a few days. We get briefed by the O.C.[Officer Commanding] on the night of the 5th. We know that it is the real thing then. Reveille will be 4a.m. nobody will undress. The Boat moves off at midnight we wake at 4a.m. and go on Deck to have a look around. There are large fires burning and the gunfire is terrific.
Assault troops have just left the Boat and are making their way towards the beach. The L.A.C.returns and we are ordered on deck ready to board craft the sea [whole line eligible] to wait for J.L.C. the craft arrives and we start loading. We are nearly all on when there is some excitement as someone’s equipment is smoking. We dive on to the floor as we have a lot of explosives on board waiting for the explosion which thank God never came.
We are fully loaded and are on the move everyone looking downhearted some are very sea-sick.
Page 2 feeling OK myself. We are getting towards the Beach now getting ready to get out. Down goes the front and we jump into the water expecting to be met by gun fire but it was fairly quiet. Just now some get in deep water and had to swim for it. I was lucky as I touched bottom after a couple of yards. We struggled ashore then took off our equipment and started to clear the beach of mines; what a job as there were thousands of them. There are a lot of dead lying about and the burial party are very busy. Gerry Bombers are coming in now and we get flat bombs whizzing all over the place nearest one dropped 30 yds away not very comfortable now. Our fighters are here now and they soon clear the skies and we carry on with our job. It’s getting dark and the tide is coming in very fast but we manage to get the beach clear and so the boats can come in where they like. We have a snack from our 24lb pack and then we dig in for the night. Our fighters have returned to England and Gerry planes are over head diving about; its like ‘Hell’ for a time never been so scared in my life and we prayed for daylight to come as the fighters came in with the Dawn and they soon cleared the skies. We get up have another snack from our pack and move up to a place called St Aubin Sur. We get a field card and send it home, and we found out where we landed it was Arromanches. We start clearing more mine fields working day and night for 3 days [so] that the Tanks could get up to the Battle area behind ‘Caen’.
We have a rough time being dive bombed and machine gunned at nights. We are asleep on our feet so they decide to give us a rest in the day so as to get some sleep.
We get our first casualty here a chap named Blaber getting killed [Commonwealth War Graves Commission website reveals him as 2013392 Sapper Edmund Walter Blaber, 72 Field Company Royal Engineers, killed 12 June 1944] and several injured. Cattle lay dead all over the place.
Page 3 We move to St Martins-des-Entrees on June 16th. We build [a] Bridge over railway, then we work on the Bayeux By Pass which gives us a break from mines. We move up to Audrie nr Tilly still on road work, working in a big quarry in (Deaths Valley). Shells are going over in thousands here; we get a few returned which make us dive for cover.
We move up to Villers Bocage still on road work. I get detailed to go with Cpl. Braithewaite to clear [a] booby trapped house where some of our soldiers had been killed. It was about the worst job I’ve had as they had been lying there a month and the sight and smell was terrible. We found several mines and made them safe, then the Padre buried them.
The next day I was sent to another house but didn’t find anything. We move again up to Vassey, then on to Egsiche & Argentan then on to Vernon where we bridged the River Seine. We was under Mortar fire on this job several getting killed and one bridge was smashed. We get [the] bridge finished in 12 hrs and the tanks go over in thousands, our C.O. gets the D.S.O. for this job.
We start moving again everything is moving so fast now we arrive at Hearefler’s St. M, then on to Francastle passing Vimy Ridge-Amiens, and Arras and Lille, arriving at Toura [Tournai?] in Belgium on the 3rd Sept. We had a great welcome all the way up, then we move to Elperingham just outside Brussels. Then we go to Antwerp on the 7th then on to Westmeer-Beck, then to Berringham Nr. Diest where we build Bridge over the Albert Canal. We move to Burgh Leopold; here we wait orders to move. We see the Glider Army come over; what a sight. Start moving up to get through to Arnhem passing through Eindhoven and stopping at Lom[?]
Page 4 to bridge the Wilhelmina Canal. We got our supply cut and so failed to get though to Arnhem. We go back to base for a rest and then back to Hasselt to build another Bridge. We move to Meckilin A. Mass, then on to Rekham where we bridge the river Orne.
We move up to Holland again to Eindhoven then on to Geldrop then on to Stein. I meet J [?] Kingham here we are working on roads round Gelun and [letter missing]illard district. We move into Belgium again to Lanklaar; this was a Russian prison camp. We go back to Holland again to a place called Wanrooy Nr. The Maas River, working on roads up to the river; not too healthy.
I get leave to U.K. from here travelling to Burgh Leopold by truck then on to Calais by train and by boat to Dover, travelling on the ‘Princess Maud’.
Page 5 Continuation of previous diary. Please put this with other lot I left. I arrive back at Wanrooy from U.K. Leave. I am just in time to start Bridging the Maas at a place called Huik Nr Boxmeer; this is the operation of clearing Gerry from the Maas back over the Rhine. We get another Bridge to build at Gennep on the Maas; this was the longest Bridge on record for operational task being 4’008ft long; as we had to Bridge over two Fields and the River owing to the floods; we finished the task in record time and were under very heavy shell fire all the time, besides visits from the Luftwaffe. We move on to Venraiy to build another bridge; this also was a very sticky job and we were only able to work on it at night being under observation from the enemy. Then we go on to Venlo to build the heaviest Bridge on record; this was a snip as everything was quiet.
Then comes the great task of ‘Old Man Rhine’, we put a bridge across at Xanten. This was fairly quietly after the first few hours and still we where beating records having completed task two days ahead of time so being the first Coy. to Bridge Rhine. We get a small one to build at Bockhalt and another one at Recke doing these in our so called rest period. We get another small one at Lingen this being near the Belsen Harrow Camp. We move now for the River Elbe we put Bridge over at Lauenburg this proved our worst obstacle of all the bridging jobs we had done as we were under continuous shell and mortar fire and the Luftwaffe made repeated attacks and scored some very near misses. He blowed our Billets of the night before which was a cowshed sky high.
Page 6 Johnny my old mate and several more get injured, a few of them were fatal, but despite these handicap[s] we broke yet another record. In the congratulations from the General he stated it was through the speed of our Bridging that enabled the Armour to get across so quick and which he was certain shortened the War by months. So we think our hard work was worth while. In the meantime we had moved up to Lubeck in readiness to Bridge the Kiel Canal but owing to the surrender we didn’t need to do. We get a day or twos rest then we move to Neumunster where we are building a Camp for the S.S. War Criminals one part being for the women S.S.
Level of description
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