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Wounded in Action (N.W. Europe 1944-45) -
1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment |
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Lieut. Freddie Henry (276393) |
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After the breakout in Normandy the 1st
Battalion took part in the various actions which resulted in the capture of
Mt. Pinçon. After its capture the 5th Battalion D.C.L.I. took Le Plessis
Grimoult in a classic action but the southern foothills of the 'mountain'
remained in German hands and heavily defended. It was necessary for this
area to be cleared to provide a start line for further Corps operations and
the 1st Battalion was given that task. |
Not unreasonable support for a Company of
about 86 men which was its strength at that time in spite of reinforcement
only the day before. This was all the Battalion Commander could spare. The
total fire power was given for a full half hour and the plan was that such
should be directed entirely at the objective and that the flanks should be
protected by the tanks. |
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The Company Commander had no alternative but
to direct that Freddie's Platoon should lead and when this was put to him
Freddie enquired if in fact there was not somebody else who might lead on
this occasion. This came as a great surprise to the Company Commander as
Freddie had been 'in the thick of it' throughout and had never given any
indication of the slightest reluctance to take on the most dangerous tasks.
Such surprise was expressed and Freddie was asked the reason he had said
what he had. His answer was interesting. He was then 20 years of age and he
indicated that his 21st Birthday was due within a very short time. If he
survived until the age of 21 his family line would inherit substantially
from a large family trust; if he did not so survive, the trust estate would
pass down the line of another member of the family with whom Freddie was not
too friendly (Freddie's actual birth date was 8th September). Such can be
the vagaries of the law in the hands of short-sighted or inadequately
advised settlers. The Company Commander could not help but be impressed and concerned and he suggested that the only alternative was that he should take Freddie's Platoon and that Freddie might command the Company. Freddie realised, as did everybody else, that what was asked of the Company was an unenviable task. The recollection is that Freddie was 'insulted' by this suggestion and when the time came he set off with his Platoon smoking a cigarette in an ivory cigarette holder and wearing a beret with the Regimental Star in it as opposed to his steel helmet. Apart from two or three stalwarts, he was the only member of his Platoon to reach the objective but he was hit no less than five times. |
In his own words which he wrote subsequently,
Freddie
recalls: “I was first hit on the inside of my right leg. I investigated
hastily to see if I had lost anything that mattered but all was well for the
bullet had only grazed the inside of my leg to pass on its way. A few yards
further on a chunk of wood flew off my rifle just in front of the carrying
hand. My depleted Platoon and myself reached the objective and a German
machine gun crew surrendered to me. I stepped forward to grab the machine
gun to use myself when I received a tremendous blow in my right side which
spun me round in the best Hollywood tradition. I took a couple of paces and
collapsed to the ground. I had been shot in the right shoulder but at the
same time I had received an explosive bullet in my right chest which
produced a massive wound and a fair size hole into my lung. Even then I
wasn't finished with all the excitement. As I was lying on my left side, a
bullet, obviously fired from miles away, came gently wafting down to earth
to hit me in my right elbow. It was so 'spent' that I was able to squeeze it
out like a thorn! All the men who were with me were killed. For a while I
thought I might 'kick the bucket' but then I thought of the relation, whom I
did not care for too much, who would inherit my money if I died. Then of all
strange places to think of at such a time, I thought of The Berkeley Hotel
and Buttery and of all the fun I had had there. I decided then and there
that I had no intention of dying and immediately started to do deep
breathing exercises!” Freddie was believed to be dead but he was in fact recovered by a Troop Commander of the 4/7 Royal Dragoon Guards who carried him on the back of his tank to safety. From a Field Hospital outside Bayeux he was flown back to England and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. The date was Wednesday 9th August 1944! For his gallantry in this action Freddie received special recognition with a mention in despatches (London Gazette 10th May 1945). Although he was awarded this award while serving with the Worcestershire Regiment it was listed in the London Gazette under the Royal Fusilier Regiment, the one he received his commission for. After recovering from his wounds Freddie returned back to the 1st Battalion in Germany at the beginning of 1946 as Pioneer Officer in Support Company. A year later, with the rank of Captain, Freddie returned to civvy life back in England. |
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Freddie Henry died on Tuesday the 10th August
1982 in sad circumstances. He entered hospital for a routine operation but
during the course of the treatment other conditions were found to be present
and he did not survive. It must be beyond a doubt that his death at the
relatively young age of 58 years was contributed to by wounds which he
suffered during the campaign in Normandy. |
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