These extracts, from the book "The Faithful
Sixth" written by Harry Moses and published by Durham County
Books, are included on our web site by kind permission of the
publishers:
In 1940 - 1941, the officers and men of the Battalion
were sent back to England, and eventually arrived at Bridport
on 22nd June, 1940. Their headquarters moved to Litton Cheney
and 'D Company was stationed at Burton Bradstock. Their job
was to protect our beaches from invasion.
According to the book, they were poorly equipped
without adequate weapons and support.
Pill Boxes were erected every five hundred yards
with dummy boxes every one hundred yards. They laid minefields
and in one case ..."A bull escaped into a field which was
full of a minefield. The mines were laid close to each other
and when the bull trod on one, the whole field went off with
sympathetic detonation! The beef was very good! Two or three
soldiers were injured in the incident - one with a broken leg
and a damaged eye."
On 14th July, "General Montgomery, the Corps
Commander, inspected the Divisional Front from Lyme Regis to
Abbotsbury. This was the first contact between the Division
and the General who was to command it in the Middle East and
North West Europe."
Because of the lack of equipment, they had to
be innovative! "On 24th July, Major Bill Watson wrote in
his diary:
'Today the gun was fired. This gun has given a
great deal of amusement to us. A naval 4in. from one of the
old ships and one of a pair, was within two weeks mounted on
a large diesel oil motor and chassis, armoured around the driver
and completely fitted out and handed over to the 65th A/T with
fifty gallons of petrol and given stretchers and and fire extinguishers.
A wonderful performance...The site (for the gun) on the front
was chosen by the General, i.e. the garage of an old woman...So
without delay the garage was dismantled and rebuilt around the
gun...(The old lady) was so upset and rightly so as she was
convinced her house would be blown to bits to which one and
all concurred. But a Gen's word is law. Today, therefore, two
half-charged rounds were fired. The result: Round 1: Two slates
dislodged off main roof, an ominous crack in the wall. Coal
house almost blown off and doors blown in. Round 2: Twenty slates
dislodged off main roof. Crack made very much larger. Coal house
demolished, doors blown to bits and plaster off ceilings of
five rooms!' Evidently, on her return, the old lady was pleased
to see her house was still in one piece."
"Air raid warnings were sounded most nights
as German aircraft flew overhead on their way westward to Plymouth
and other targets. On the 26th. July, two bombs fell near Burton
Bradstock. As a result, two rabbits were killed, one of which
was edible, a few panes of glass were damaged, twenty yards
of fencing was down and a crater blown in a meadow. The latter
was filled in by members of 'HQ' Company the following day under
the gaze of several curious civilians."
"On 21st November, the Battalion left Maiden
Newton and moved to the Uffculme area of Devon."
Captain Ronnie Cummins (see also letter by
his wife, Brenda Cummins below) - Sixth Battalion, Durham
Light Infantry - wins a Military Cross:
The Sixth Battalion, DLI was in action in France
early in the war. In May Captain Cummins and his troops were
forced to retreat from a heavy attack by German tanks and troops.
The book describes how he won a medal:
"....A number of 4th RTR tanks appeared at
the crossroads and engaged the German tanks and, for a period
of time, both sides hammered away at each other as the infantry
sought shelter in between. The noise was terrific and it was
now quite obvious that if a disaster was to be avoided the remnants
of C and D Companies would have to get away as best they could.
Some men scattered and individually or in small groups made
their way back to Achicourt, over the ground they had marched
that morning, and back to Petit Vimy. Officers searched for
men and led them back. Captain Ronnie Cummins crawled up a ditch
and took with him as many men as he could find. He was awarded
the Military Cross for his gallant leadership of 'D Company
throughout the day. Major Jeffreys recalled his journey:
'...in the darkness, and this fight, it was a
pretty disorganised scene. So I started to walk back across
the country towards Achicourt and there were men scattered about.
Some of them kept shooting towards the German tanks and that
sort of thing. I kept shouting out saying, "Hey! Hey! Any
6th DLI about?" After a bit I got hold of a few chaps who
laid down and could not do anymore, were so exhausted. Rest
we did, two or three hours, I suppose and then I got them up
and we started marching back up the road through Achicourt.
We got through Achicourt, to the other side of it. I said, "Well
we'd better march on back up towards Vimy", hoping to find
some of the British Army. By extraordinary luck I found a 15cwt
which had been abandoned and, miracles, the damned thing started.
I put every man I could think of in it and the rest I told to
start marching and I would dump the first load and go back and
get some more, and so on. Eventually later that day (22nd May),
I got a good many chaps back to Vimy Ridge.'"
Fascinating wartime
letter written from Brenda Cummins of Grove House in 1942
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