Authors: Vivienne Dockerty
Another battle commenced which had a successful outcome and they were able to send their prisoners back behind the lines. They moved on to a village, where houses had been booby trapped, with small explosives being left in dressing table drawers. In the cottage that Eddie went in, a trap door lay in the floor. Two men could have hidden in the space revealed, but luckily no one was there. Shelves ran around the kitchen walls and were filled with jars of jam, bottled fruit, vegetables, pickles and bottles of homemade wine. It must have broken a housewife’s heart to have left it all behind. On this occasion it was left for her to come home to, as the soldiers were looking for snipers at the time.
A farmhouse stood a little outside the village; it had a blue grey slated roof upon it. Eddie looked up, interested as he was in all things to do with buildings, and noticed that some of the slates had been disturbed. He went up to the door of the farmhouse and it was opened almost immediately by a woman. She spoke in German, then went to close the door. Eddie put his foot in the door, determined to find out why the slates had been disturbed. As an infantryman he had been trained to look for possible sniper positions.
When he had succeeded in gaining admission to the house, he stood in the hall. A man came from the kitchen and the woman pointed to her wedding ring. He was a tall fair-haired man, who looked as if he was a military man, not a farmer, but he was dressed in farm clothes, so Eddie indicated that he wanted to search the house. He had his rifle in readiness in case he had to enforce his demand, but the couple stood back and let him pass to mount the stairs. The attic was empty except for a pile of straw. He turned and went down the stairs, then into the garden where he found, after searching around in an old shed, what he was looking for. It was a German uniform, a rifle and Luger pistol, buried under a pile of tools and rubbish there.
Eddie walked back, carrying his evidence to where they stood waiting; the man had no expression on his face, but the woman burst into tears. She offered him a gold cigarette case, but Eddie refused it with a gesture. He was not afraid of any trouble from the man, as he had already taken the magazine and bolt out of the rifle, and the pistol, empty of its bullets, resided in his army satchel.
Eddie turned and left, supposing that the man must have been a deserter who had made his way home. In the same circumstances he would have probably done the same and his orders were to look for snipers, not farmers.
“But for the grace of God go I,” Eddie muttered, as he set off down the lane.
Weeks later and many miles on, they were in Hamburg when peace was declared and there was no more fighting to be done. It was a wonderful day for war-weary men.
There were no celebrations in Hamburg: it was France, Belgium and Holland who celebrated their liberation, but the feeling was there just the same. War had ended, peace at last.
However, for Eddie and others, there were changes in the air. There was much work to be done by the Army of Occupation. Drivers were in demand and Eddie was sent on loan to the Dutch; he went to Emsdetten and began work on various duties there.
When he and the other drivers arrived at the camp they were taken to Holland to have a vehicle allotted to each man. There was a big field park there filled with lorries and other vehicles. They were all polished up and waiting. Eddie chose a Q.L. Bedford, finding it a joy to drive as it was so well maintained. It was very light on the steering, unlike others he had driven and which he had found very tiring.
When each man had been allotted to his vehicle, they started back on their long journey to Emsdetten. Eddie enjoyed this part of the detail most of all. It enabled him to see some of the villages and towns where he had either marched through or fought his way through during the campaign. It was a shame that he couldn’t stop and look at the scenery, but he was now in the company of the drivers who were making up a long convoy.
Back in Germany with his new vehicle to drive, the days were filled with many duties. Part of these were spent transporting displaced persons from the camps where they had been confined, to other camps where they were able to have a bath, a change of clothing, eat regular meals and have papers prepared so that they could travel back home. When they were ready to go, the lorries were detailed to take them to the nearest biggest railway station and Eddie looked forward to each day’s work.
It was nearer to his previous lifestyle before the war, as other duties included loading coal or delivering potatoes to the civilian population. As he drove along the road, he saw many displaced persons, a pitiful sight, trudging along with their feet wrapped in sacking as they had no shoes. All intent to get back home and to their loved ones, if they were still there of course.
One day he saw a young girl running along the side of the autobahn. It was raining in torrents and there was no shelter for miles. She raised her hand in the hope that Eddie may stop his lorry and give her a lift, but those were the days of non-fraternisation even if he had not been driving an army vehicle. As always he carried his gas cape, so he lifted it and threw it through the window to her. At least it would shield her from the rain until she could get a lift.
There was a small vegetable truck behind, which chose to swing out and try to overtake Eddie’s trundling lorry, whilst he was throwing out the cape to the girl. In doing so the army vehicle had swung out a little and the truck smashed into the rear of it. Water ran out from its ancient radiator in rusty rivulets and fruit and vegetables slid from their boxes and rolled about the road. Eddie stopped just long enough to make sure that the driver wasn’t hurt, then he drove as fast as he could to catch the rest of the convoy. He had been last in line and was already late for civilians waiting at the station.
A German shopkeeper and his daughter had been waiting at the station for the best part of an hour. When Eddie arrived, the daughter, who spoke fairly fluent English, made it very clear to this English soldier that she wasn’t very pleased. Eddie got the message, then proceeded to shovel potatoes onto his lorry from a train truck, whilst the other drivers waited in line. This did not suit the German girl, as she wanted to sort through the potatoes and put the best ones in some sacks.
The drivers got impatient and started to hoot their horns at Eddie, but the girl was impervious to their hooting and carried on. Eddie, with the lorry eventually loaded, pulled out of the station with an angry girl and a Papa who was obliged to ride in the back.
The girl was most displeased that there was only room for one passenger in the driver’s cab and spent the first part of the journey standing up and shouting through the window to her Papa. The wind blew up her skirt and Eddie, glancing sideways, pulled it down and made the remark that she was a big girl now. She shot him a furious look and sat down for the rest of the journey.
An army camp loomed up and without any explanation Eddie turned and drove the lorry inside. He pulled up outside the cookhouse and asked the cook if he could supply them with a meal. He had not eaten since breakfast and he thought that the civilians would be hungry too. The cook was very good and he gave them some food and cups of tea and Eddie filled up the father’s flask.
When the cook heard that the lorry was carrying potatoes, he asked the young fraulein if she would be willing to trade him some for a few cans of fish. A deal was struck and she brightened up considerably for the rest of the way.
Eddie’s day was not over when they got to the shop, as the customers were waiting there even though it was dusk. He had hoped that he could throw off his load at the rear of the shop and be on his way, but he was frustrated by the fräulein yet again. She wanted the shop scales brought out, the potatoes weighed and shared out equally. He dropped the backboard and she proceeded her weighing, but was horrified when he threw off some of the loose ones in effort to speed things up.
“People will run off with the potatoes and half of them won’t get their ration,” she wailed. Eddie explained that the convoy would be back at the camp now and would be tucking into a hot meal.
“Go into the house and have schnapps with Papa and Mama will cook a meal for you.” She went on with her weighing, seeing that everyone got their fair share. When all was finished, he jumped into the driver’s cab, waving his hand in a polite farewell and drove away as fast as he could.
It was late when he got back, but luckily the cook was willing to fix him a meal and he crawled into his bed totally exhausted, falling asleep immediately. When the order came to assist again, he made sure another driver was allocated to the fräulein’s errands; one day in her company had been enough.
He was awakened from his deep sleep a little later, as noisy soldiers coming in from a night out banged about. One of the soldiers, seeing that Eddie was awake, broke off his conversation with a mate and came over.
“Your brother was here today,” he said. “He’s left a message for you to go and see him.” Eddie had no idea that his brother Samuel was so near. As Samuel was the youngest of the four sons, Eddie had assumed he’d not been sent out of England, as he was only just of age to be ‘called up’.
However the war was over now, so he had probably been sent to help with the clearing up. Eddie asked for his brother’s whereabouts and was given a hastily scribbled note.
He realised he would need transport to make the visit, as his brother was stationed some miles away.
Eddie managed to get the loan of a jeep the next morning. It was a day when he had some free time so he could go to see his brother. From the address he had been given, he realised that two of his platoon were in the same building, as they had been sent there for deserting their posts.
He drew up outside the building and was hailed by an officer who knew him well.
“What are you doing here?” the man asked suspiciously, no doubt thinking that Eddie was there to visit the two deserters.
“I’ve come to see my brother, Samuel Dockerty.” Eddie was a little on the defensive, as they hadn’t got on very well when they had served together previously.
“Good God,” he exploded. “You mean to say there are two of you!” He still looked suspicious and accompanied Eddie whilst he looked for his brother.
Sam was in the Signals quarters and was now attached to Eddie’s regiment. The sergeant was speechless when he saw that Eddie actually did have a brother in the building and went away without another word. They sat for some time chatting and then Eddie said goodbye as he had to get back to the camp. On his way out, he asked a soldier where the prisoners had been put and was told they were in the guardroom until a decision had been made regarding their fate. He had brought his cigarette ration with him and he left them these.
He thought about them on his journey back; these soldiers had been first class fighting men through Holland, Belgium and France. At the very last their nerves had gone and both had deserted, leaving their posts. If they could have hung on a little longer, peace had been declared only days away.
Eddie and the others were detailed to transport the occupants of a Russian prisoner of war camp. The lorries had to be covered with lice powder before they were used. The people were in a terrible state before they got to their new camp and would be pleased to get bathed, receive new clothing and eat proper food before they went home.
The majority of the inmates were quiet, dejected folk, who appreciated the help that they were to be given, but one man was inclined to be aggressive and very drunk on some homemade spirit that he’d been drinking. In this camp things had been a little different and, when peace had been declared, they had been allowed to acquire a few things of their own.
First a woman with a pram was loaded on, then bags of personal possessions and a vat of spirit that the men of the group refused to leave behind. The man, who somehow had acquired a gun, celebrated his freedom by continually firing it into the air. His companions, also aboard, were very uneasy, but no one dared to try to take it from him. The officer in charge tried to take it away from him without success.
Eddie realised that they would never get away unless the man was quietened, so he went around and took the two pins out of the backboard, which let the chains drop. Then he got into the driving seat, turned the engine on and jerked it on the clutch. The drunken man fell off the lorry and dropped the gun. The officer saw his chance and pounced upon it. The poor little mother fell off too, still holding onto the pram and screaming something abusive in her own Russian language. Eddie helped her back on the lorry and lifted the pram beside her, noting that the frightened baby had somehow escaped an injury.
After a spell of duty in Germany, Eddie was granted leave to go home to England. It was a most unusual journey and it took some time to get there. He had to cross Holland and he stayed in an echelon camp on the way.
At Euston station, after a choppy ride across the English Channel, a lady was helped into the train compartment where Eddie was sitting by an officer and he asked Eddie where he was travelling to. Eddie replied that he was going to Liverpool and the officer asked would he look after his wife, as she was travelling to Liverpool as well and he was worrying about her getting there safely. Eddie promised that he would do his best and the relieved looking man, after saying goodbye to his wife, left. The wife on the other hand was very distressed and began to cry softly for a little while, then she pulled herself together and began to act normally.
In the beginning, after she had noticed his badge, she asked Eddie about his regiment, then she told him a little about herself and her husband. It was a relief that people were able to talk freely now in public, as before peace was declared, posters had displayed ‘Walls have ears’ and other grim reminders. The train sped off and the time flew by and they pulled into Lime Street station in record time.
As they got off the train and approached the barrier, an elderly man introduced himself and said he was there on voluntary service, and although he had no petrol to go any further than through the Mersey Tunnel, he would gladly take them over there. It was midnight then and, on the Birkenhead side, Eddie knew there wouldn’t be any transport, but on this occasion he was prepared to walk.