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Game to the Last

9th July 1943, Page 20
9th July 1943
Page 20
Page 23
Page 20, 9th July 1943 — Game to the Last
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A Narrative of the Early Days of the War which Recounts the Experience of Two Much-worn MorrisCommercials which did Valiant Service with t he B.E.F. THEY were twins" The Heavenly Twins ' —breathed the major, and he sighed as he took delivery of them, wrongly anticipating trouble in the future.

Trucks, Bren guns for the use of, two," had been the requisition, and we expected something V-eightishavery fast and universally useful— but authority had decided that we should adopt, instead, two not-veryyoung Marris-Commercials of the 1-ton type. They were more than run-in. They were run-down to a degree which suggested that even their sturdiness of manufacture would not see them through another

100 miles.

, The major thought so, and so did the drivers we had brought with us to this vehicle replacement 'depot of the R.A.S.C. Our purpose—the collection of the final workshops and supply wagons before transference to France, as troop-carriers to the B.E.F., in September, 1939.

• Experience that Commands Respect

Bat George thought otherwise, and his opinion commanded respect, because as staff-sergeant to workshops—in civilian life a technical eXpert—with A.M.I.Mech.E. on his visiting card—his experience had an additional theoretical soundness.

' Wait a moment,sir," George suggested. His moment was half an hour, but at.the end of that time he was able to report with some emphasis that " The Heavenly Twins" were serviceable. To be " serviceable " to our staff-sergeant meant Complete structural and mechanical road-worthiness.

And roadworthy they proved to be, although the overhaul that they required haa to be postponed until our troop-carrying company had driven its vehicles down to Southampton, watched over them to Cherbourg,. then toured, in good time, through the North of France to its -headquarters close to Lens.

We were a mixed column of new and old vehicles, civilian impressed with the exception of workshops, and, of them all, "The Heavenly Twins " had seen most miles of hard driving in pre-war days. Before we reached Lens, certain mannerisms had led their driver's to christen them '' Leaping Lena" and the "Secret Weapon," the lope for the fierceness of its clutch, the other for the unusual looseness of its steering.

With our workshops sprawled 'across the " place " of a mining via • '..age on the Lille road from Lens, "The Twins" disappeared for a month, with George exercising the exaggerated secrecy in their overhaul of a racing-stable manager with an untried "model."

In their rebirth, they were transformed with steel-plated bodies—we were close to a loco. works, and George had a last-war soldier's facility for French and scrounging— and with half-shields around the swinging Bren gun tripods. Yet they were unmistakably the old "Commercials," with the same likeable peculiarities we had come to admire.

Our three sections of 25 wagons, so organized that each could carry one battalion of a brigade, were to be allotted one Been truck apiece for anti-aircraft protection. We had' two—we awaited the third. It came to us when " The Twins " had already done yeoman service in transport work—in the absence of danger from the air—and we were fortunate enough s never to be attacked until those bectic days in Belgium.

• -In the perfection of its neat camouffage, the evenness of its highrevving motor, the new truck delighted the major, but George shook his head. "Give me 'The Twins every time," he said.

" It ' was very smart, very sleek. To the staff, and us, it became the " limouswine," and, in the newness of its pride, it would Slide quietly past " The Twins," often with the major at the wheel, its work never so menial as the coaland foodcarrying of the, "Commercials," its silent speed in vivid contrast to their sturdy, noisy aersistence.

The Major Shows a Preference

Many times on manceuvres the major preferred it to his staff car. It had better " battle qualities,he maintained, and certainly, on those frequent night drives down through the Pas de Calais, across Vimy Ridge to Arras and beyond to St. Pol, it behaved well, as, indeed, should any new, strongly horse powered wagon. But the real test of those " battle qualities " did not come until early May, 1940.

Carrying the first British infantry to meet the German Panzer attack. in Belgium, we drove through refugee-crowded roads to the Albert Canal. From that day, until retreat was ordered, with the French flank turned at Sedan, our wagons ran a shuttle service from the border to the front line.

Once, the column moved without more than two hours' rest at a time, for six days and nights along roads now so horribly familiar in their bomb-scarred, corpse-sprinkled surfaces, that their outline is forever etched on our memories. Attack from the air was frequent, .so unpleasantly common an occurrence that we looked to the sky with one eye, whilst the other sought ahead for cover.

Andthen, one day, we carried troops back instead. of forward, and no longer 'over the familiar BrusS ds road, but across'new country -in the general direction of the coast and Dunkirk. With the Belgian Army neutralized, hopes ca a new line failed, withdrawal became quicker, more urgent, until anoth'er fateful day we realized we were going seawards out of the ravaged terrain for some considetuble time to come.

"The Twins" in the Line of Retreat

Although panic among fleeing civilians had reached the stage where road passage was difficult, our troop-carrying sections still drove ahead to carry as many troops as

possible as far as passible. And, with theni went " The Twins " and the "Limouswine,", their presence more than ever an . essentialprotection.

. All wagons were loaded to capacity; no consideration now for springs, engines, or transmission. Yet, transport demands could not be 'denied, and when the remnant: gathered of one battalion, which shall not be named, they numbered sadly to the strength of not more than one company. The three Bren trucks carried them.

The major drove ahead in a not so-smart nor so-easy-running " Limouswine," we came behind, urging those willing, staunch MorrisCommercials on their last, and most honourable of journeys.

It was in the streets of' bombstricken Louvain, town of tragic German atrocity in the last war, that a alesserschnnitt dived with such accurate cannon fire that we saw shells smackthrough the bonnet of " Leaping Lena.She shuddered but plugged onward. Ahead we heard cannon fire again, and around

the next corner we saw the smoking " Limouswine," its bonnet, too, smashed, but its cylinders a stricken mass of twisted metal. Beside the vehicle was our swearing major.

George, the staff-sergeant, grinned as the C 0. clambered in to crowd our cab, and the tired infantrymen, climbed aboard anywhere. "Strong material, sir, ' The Twins,' " he said "Those shells couldn't stop us," and he pointed to " Lena's " smashed bonnet.

" Humph, must have been a different angle of fire," snapped a disgruntled major, and promptly went to sleep.

" Lena " and her twin proved their " battle quality." in the long pull towards Dunkirk, and when they were finally abandoned, still in fighting trim, George himself dismantled their essentials, He removed, too, without the major's knowledge, certain steel shields, which had encased engine and fan complete---1-in. plates of which one was indented on the near side by cannon shell. . Truly, a "battle quality!" We said goodbye to those "Heavenly Twins ", with real regret. Many times since, in our desert workshops, we have cursed a long succession of decrepit English, French, American, .Italian and German vehicles, whilst we longed for the mechanical and structural staunchness of the sturdy " twins."


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