HAMMERSLEY

. The Americans at Best were still drawing away the enemy from the path of the 43rd, but that respite was to be short-lived as other enemy units were shadowing the movement of the Battalion as they retreated in tune with the British advance. There was no doubt that the 43rd were due for a surprise at the Wilhelmina Canal!

On the evening of the 20th September, with the noise of shooting becoming more pronounced, many local inhabitants of De Kruisberg moved out of their houses to look for safe shelter from the advancing dangers of war. The Dankers family with their ten year old son Martin, left their house in a hurry as a group of five wounded Germans were deposited on the floor on stretchers, accompanied by some German soldiers including medics. One of the medics went searching for assistance and found the local baker, Wilhelm Van der Loo. He was asked for urgent help with the wounded and it was suggested he contact the advancing British troops as the only ones likely to have adequate medical facilities for the task. Van der Loo, by the nature of his job, was well known in the area but he was not a member of the Dutch Resistance and was not aware of the difficulties that might arise in such a venture. He worked with his father and brother at the family bakehouse at nearby Middlebeers and saw this as an opportunity to be one of the first in the area to make direct contact with the British advance. There was no doubt that he could provide helpful information if required regarding the deployment of what was left of German troops in the area. Unfortunately the British were not in a position to identify him. Unknown to this brave young Dutchman, he was about to embark on a perilous venture. Within the next three days he was to be mistrusted by the British, and having escaped from that dilemma, find his mother and sister killed in the cross-fire as the British liberated the area.

As Van der Loo moved off into the darkness to meet the expected forward elements of the 43rd Light Infantry, events at the Dankers farmhouse had taken a turn for the worse. The German soldiers, a group of ruthless Waffen SS, were about to set a trap for the British party. Unknown to the wounded, the German soldiers, who appeared to be waiting patiently for their prey to arrive. Of this, Van der Loo was not aware.

“D” Company continued in the lead towards De Kruisberg with Private John Ellis in 16 Platoon taking over from his section-commander at the front. He considered this position worth the risk, in order to be free of his turn at carrying the heavier weapons, such as the Bren-gun or the PIAT, at the back of the section. Ellis moved along what appeared to be a single line small gauge railway track. Just before midnight he suddenly heard the approach of footsteps in the dark, and gave the `Go to ground’ signal to those following. He challenged the approaching form silhouetted against a somewhat lighter sky. The tired looking Dutchman who spoke broken English was Van der Loo. He asked to see the officer in charge and was accompanied by Ellis back along the halted line of infantrymen to the mobile Company HQ where he was introduced to Major Ivor Jenkins.

The halted infantrymen looked out apprehensively into the hostile darkness whilst section and platoon commanders and sergeants took the opportunity of re-arranging the position of some of their men and arms in the sections and Ellis ended up carrying two cases of 2″ mortar bombs stuck on the back of a bike.

Meanwhile the Dutchman explained to Major Jenkins that he had been sent by a group of German soldiers who wished to surrender so that their comrades could have proper medical treatment. He gave directions as to their whereabouts in a house about two hundred yards ahead but was hesitant when asked to accompany the British detachment to secure the wounded prisoners. Jenkins had no way of checking his name in such a short space of time and became suspicious, leaving the Dutchman under observation whilst he went off to brief Lieutenant Geoffrey Fuller, the commander of 17 Platoon. He instructed Fuller to take two sections from his platoon and, with the Dutchman as guide, seek out the Germans and provide as much medical assistance as was possible under the circumstances and take prisoners, if the opportunity occurred. If a trap was suspected, there was no doubt that Van der Loo was to be held prisoner or shot if he attempted to escape.

It was before midnight when Fuller and his two sections came within sight of their objective at the hamlet of De Kruisberg to the right of the road, accompanied by the Dutchman under escort. Voices could be heard in the darkness coming from the outline of a large house just ahead, but no movement was visible. One section with Fuller and his section-commander, Corporal Douglas Woodward, entered by a door at one end of the building and commenced to search their way through a corridor interconnecting rooms on the ground floor. The Dutchman was now in a hostage situation under the eye of Lance Corporal Percy Brown who followed close behind his platoon commander. If things went badly wrong for the British detachment, there was no doubt that the unfortunate individual would be first to be killed. If the Germans didn’t get him, the British would. Partially surrounding the building was the other section with Platoon Sergeant Gordon Hay and Corporal Jim Wilsdon ready to give covering fire with the remainder of “D” Company moving up along the path adjacent to the building. Behind them followed the remainder of the Battalion.

As Fuller and his men entered the first room at one end of the dimly lit building he came upon two seriously wounded German soldiers lying on the floor in a semi-conscious state and found two more situated in the next room. Fuller doubtful whether such limited medication could save their lives. In the third room along, they came across another British party. Fuller suddenly realised that the sense of urgency and fear in the man’s voice was some kind of warning and he feared a trap. He immediately shouted orders to evacuate the building as quickly as possible. His shout of warning alerted the Germans waiting in ambush at the other end of the building and all hell broke loose. Just as the first man hastily emerged into the darkness, there was a thunderous roar and a white flash from the other end of the building as phosphorous covering the whole of the ground floor ignited. The heat, brightness and noise increased with intensity as it raced through the the building at lightning speed, engulfing the building in a mixture of bright white flame and dense black smoke that threatened incinerate the British soldiers and the Dutchman as they rushed back the way they had come, falling over each other in haste. In the confusion, Van der Loo, suddenly realising the seriousness of his situation, detached himself from Percy Brown and hid behind a table before dashing outside to freedom. Percy was more than grateful to find himself in one piece and thoughts of the Dutchman were not foremost in his mind at that particular moment! The victims of the trap were the German wounded, sacrificed by their own side, in an incredible attempt to entrap the British party. At the other end of the building the perpetrators of this vile deed fired at the escaping infantrymen, their task made easier by the fact that the escapees retained much of the phosphorous on the soles of their boots, thus pin-pointing their running forms by the reflective qualities of the chemical. But for the quick intervention of the covering section, casualties could well have been high.

By now, 16 Platoon had deployed themselves in single file towards the back of the house where Private John Ellis and Private Albert Burroughs came under heavy enemy fire from a Spandau position nearby. Ellis dropped the bike in a hurry and dived with Burroughs for cover.

“We both hit the ground with a complete mix-up of platoons and sections, all seeking safe ground to avoid the spray of bullets now striking the wall of the cottage, just twelve inches or so above ground. We crawled to the end of the cottage for cover, but after a short pause, the Spandau started up again and we were nearly caught out by its movement to an alternative position, or it might even have been a second Spandau for all we knew. Moments later tracer shots ignited a hay-stack about one hundred yards away and everyone became silhouetted against the cottage. Lance Corporal “Dicky” Bird from Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, the “D” Company office clerk at Faversham, dived towards an outside toilet for cover and slammed the door behind him, only to be killed as the Spandau found its mark. Another 16 Platoon infantryman to be killed in the early hours was Pte Dennis Hammersley of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, whilst, several others were wounded before we all recovered our balance to retaliate.”

Still under heavy fire, Ellis and Burroughs found themselves in a gully next to Captain Ashcroft (Formerly 8th Irish Bn, The Kings Regiment) who suggested to those within earshot, that everyone should fend for themselves. Although not a textbook approach as prescribed by the infantry manual, it found favour with the two infantrymen next to him and they didn’t require any further encouragement to beat a hasty retreat, although at one point they had regrets as a burst from a Spandau nearly caught up with them. They both ran in the direction from where they came, zig-zagging and

dropping to the ground every few yards to avoid the bullets, eventually reaching a ditch where Major Jenkins and CSM ‘Trotter‘ Mitchell, somewhat surprised by the hold-up, were about to turn their thoughts to a response in the form of mortars and Brens. Due to enemy action, orders were received to make camp and await dawn before initiating another attack on the enemy position just beyond De Kruisberg.