In Memoriam for a tankie
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:45 am
A friend of mine in the village, Bill Elliott, went to the Green Fields Beyond yesterday. I think he was 93, but had been ill for a long time. He went peacefully in his sleep, as we'd all wish to.
He served in the Guards Armoured Division, landing post D-Day and serving throughout Northen France and Germany. He wouldn't talk about it much, but he told me a couple of anecdotes. Guards Armoured was really a vanity project - if others had tanks, why couldn't the Guards ? But, on the day after VE Day, a fleet of tank transporters turned up and took all their tanks away. They'd had their fun, and were now Infantry again.
He was commissioned after the War into the Royal Artillery, and served in India. That's about all he ever told me.
A few years ago I took him to Bovington. He loved seeing Tiger 131 up close and personal, and immediately recognised the Sherman Firefly (so I guess that's what he was in), although he referred to the "all-seeing eye" rather than the "Chinese eye".
Rest easy, Soldier. Fear Nought.
He served in the Guards Armoured Division, landing post D-Day and serving throughout Northen France and Germany. He wouldn't talk about it much, but he told me a couple of anecdotes. Guards Armoured was really a vanity project - if others had tanks, why couldn't the Guards ? But, on the day after VE Day, a fleet of tank transporters turned up and took all their tanks away. They'd had their fun, and were now Infantry again.
He was commissioned after the War into the Royal Artillery, and served in India. That's about all he ever told me.
A few years ago I took him to Bovington. He loved seeing Tiger 131 up close and personal, and immediately recognised the Sherman Firefly (so I guess that's what he was in), although he referred to the "all-seeing eye" rather than the "Chinese eye".
Rest easy, Soldier. Fear Nought.