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. Their task was to liberate Belgium, Holland and ultimately Germany. This is his story. On January 1st the Luftwaffe carried out its raids on airfields throughout Holland and Belgium. Some of the FW190's flew over the Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) signals troop area, very low and fast. I was standing next to a Humber scout car and suggested to the corporal standing next to me that we use the Bren Gun on top of the scout car to fire at the enemy aircraft. He said 'Don't be daft, we would have to clean it'. I heard after the war that these raids had destroyed hundreds of aircraft on the ground. The squadrons were using firing ranges at Lommel but communications were poor so a Corporal, a driver and I set off in the White scout car to find a position where we could relay messages between the crews who using the range and the regimental HQ. We set off in the early morning and by mid afternoon had found a suitable spot on the outskirts of a small village. There was a farmhouse on a smallholding owned by an elderly lady who was dressed all in black as befitted her widows' status. The farm was situated on slightly higher ground that we hoped would give us a better range for radio reception. The widow had two daughters, one about thirty whose husband had been enlisted by the Germans as slave labour, and a girl of sixteen. Madam kept a very close eye on both of the females. We had been issued with fairly generous rations so we were quite welcome. We pooled our resources because they were quite well off for vegetables. The old lady did all the cooking and we enjoyed the home cooking. Our reason for being there however did not turn out at all well. We never managed to contact either the squadron on the ranges, or the RHQ, despite using a sixteen-foot aerial and even trying Morse code, which has a longer range than speech. After a week trying we were summoned by despatch rider and returned to the regiment. I believe that atmospheric conditions and the short hours of daylight were the cause of our problem. The temperature had risen by the time we got back to RHQ, but this had brought it's own problems - mud. Tanks were forbidden to use the roads so when the squadrons wanted to travel to the training areas they travelled across country. A lot of time was spent in maintenance and tool checks. In the first week in February the Canadian army had started an offensive in the Reichswald (State Forest) area, between the rivers Mass and Rhine. If Operation Market Garden had captured the Arnhem Bridge this battle need never have been fought. The regiment was made operational and the move to the Tilburg area was planned. The drive was made on the 18th February. RHQ moved into empty houses in Tilburg. Three days later an enemy jet aircraft dropped anti-personnel bombs in the suburb where 'A' Echelon were stationed. Casualties were heavy, thirty men were killed or wounded and four vehicles were destroyed. I didn't witness any of this. Two days later, late in the evening to give the cover of darkness, the tanks moved off. We drove all night via Hertogenbosch, Grave and Nijmegan to a town called Groesbeek, arriving at first light. The day was spent in maintenance, the long night drive having caused a lot of wear on tracks and bogies. At 1900 hrs that evening the regiment moved again, this time to Cleve and at 1900 hrs crossed the frontier into Germany. The ride through the Reichswald was along a narrow ride, which had been marked out with hurricane lamps. One of the tanks in front of ours had run over a lamp, which had spilt its oil and was burning furiously. It had an eerie effect, causing long flickering shadows in the dark wood. After we cleared the forest the column drove onto a railway line and followed the line for some miles. This was a most uncomfortable ride. Every sleeper caused the tank to pitch up and down and if I had been prone to seasickness I am sure I would have suffered from it during this ride. Eventually we cleared the line and came to a halt. The tank was nice and warm and cosy after the long ride and we settled down to wait for dawn. Just before first light came the order to stand to. This is standard practice. The most likely time for an attack is at first light. When I climbed out of the tank I saw a sight I had never seen before or since. We were on a forward slope of a slight rise, and stretched out in front were hundreds of tanks, the whole of Forth Armoured Brigade. Ron Levett, 2001
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