Ron Levett's memories of his time in the British Liberation Army during World War II.

Ron Levett, born in Alfriston, East Sussex, enlisted in 1943 and joined the Royal Armoured Corps. After completing his training as a Driver Operator he was sent to Belgium to join the British Liberation Army, where he was posted to the Royal Scots Grays and then to the Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) signals troop. After the liberation of Germany he was based in Rotenburg. This is his story.

The regiment ran a truck to Hamburg every day and anyone who was free was allowed a day pass. The truck left after mid-day, taking about an hour to reach Hamburg.

At this time the Non-fraternisation Ban was in effect. We had to remain in pairs while out of camp and had to carry side arms. In the case of most tank crew this consisted of our .38 Revolvers that we had carried throughout the time in action.

Some of our crew were issued with Sten Guns and had to carry them. Infantrymen, of course were stuck with carrying their rifles. My first sight of Hamburg was a great shock. The city had been bombed almost to oblivion.

Whole streets were lines of ruins. The roads had been cleared but most buildings had suffered at least some damage. Canals were littered with half-submerged barges. Factories had no roofs and lines of rusting machine tools stood open to the elements.

Only the two lakes, the Binnen and Ausser Alster looked normal, apart from the Atlantic Hotel that still stands beside the lake today. This became the headquarters for the Control Commission Germany (C.C.G), which took over the administration of the country now that the war was over.

There was another large hotel, which was only slightly damaged. This was soon repaired and put into service as a very comfortable NAAFI. Here we could get a very good meal at a reasonable price. The average German was not so lucky.

Every meal needed food coupons extracted from their ration books. This had always been the case in Germany, as opposed to the situation at home where food in a restaurant had always been ration-free. At the end of our day off duty we had to meet our trucks at the Altona Bahnhof, not far from the NAAFI, and is a railway station for local trains.

Most of the young male inhabitants of Germany were at that time in POW camps, so there were a great many attractive women without partners. Unfortunately we were forbidden any contact. If you believe that you will believe anything!

On the day that the ban was removed, the men just walked across the road to the girl they had known for weeks. There were girls who had served on the anti-aircraft guns of the Luftwaffe who were now dressed in pretty summer dresses, lying on the grass talking to their ex-enemies.

Ron Levett, 2001