DDay+1, a German-Jewish refugee w/the Brits on Gold Beach from twitter
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Ken Ward’s wartime journey is a testament to heroism and courage against formidable evil.
If you found this thread compelling, rich with meaningful details, and inspiring in recounting Ken’s story, please consider following me
@DrHelenFry
Source-@DrHelenFry
Have you ever wondered what it was really like to land on Normandy’s beaches, on this day
Ken Ward, a German-Jewish refugee serving with the British forces, arrived with his squadron on Gold Beach on D-Day+1.
Here is his extraordinary first-hand account:
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The signal was raised for the launch of D-Day, and elements of the invasion force advanced in large, cumbersome convoys towards their embarkation ports.
The atmosphere buzzed with anticipation, excitement, and apprehension.
Women waved from windows, cheering the troops on their journey.
Ken Ward recalls that day:
"I realised that I might not be coming back and would not need the money I had in my pocket and threw it down to the children who whooped with joy when they saw the coins spilling on the pavement.
I called out to the other members of my crew, ‘Come on, throw your money to the kids, we won’t need it when we land over there.’ The boys on the other tanks realised what we were doing and joined us in throwing money to the waving crowd.
The harbour was black with landing craft right on the quay, with others waiting further out to berth with destroyers and different types of warships laying offshore, protecting the invasion fleet with hundreds of barrage balloons floating in the air.
There was a huge traffic jam which the harbour master and his officers were frantically trying to sort out.
The squadron kept very closely together and we followed our troop, which was finally directed onto an LST [Landing Ship Tank].
We drove up the ramp straight into the hold and were directed by a member of the ship’s crew to the other end, parking right against the closed ramp at the far end of the ship.
It was very dark, smelt of fumes, and there was a lot of clanging of chains as the crew secured the tanks to heavy metal rings let into the floor."
(continued)
The tank regiments disembarked in a relentless flow from D-Day onto the Normandy beaches in a vast operation.
The 1st RTR and A Squadron of the 8th Hussars arrived on D-Day+1 - that's today, in 1944.
While much of the intense bloodshed and combat had taken place the previous day, they still faced resistance and sniper fire.
C Squadron of the 8th Hussars landed several days later.
The most ferocious and perilous battles lay ahead around Villers-Bocage and during the push towards Caen, Lisieux, and eventually into Belgium and Holland.
The 8th Hussars and 1st RTR were at the forefront, leading the advance through Normandy into Holland and Germany.
Ken Ward, a German-Jewish veteran, was among those who fought.
(continued)
Ken Ward (Karl Robert Würzburger, born in Frankfurt-am-Main, 1922) served with A Squadron of the 1st RTR.
He arrived in England on one of the final Kindertransport trains on 25 August 1939.
Early in the war, he worked as an Eastman cutter, making army uniforms in a reserved occupation.
In May 1942, he successfully joined the Pioneer Corps, serving with 87 Company.
In September 1943, he transferred to the 55th Training Regiment RAC at Farnborough, and in January 1944, he joined the 1st RTR in Brandon near Thetford.
He landed with his squadron on Gold Beach on 7 June 1944, D-Day+1.
(continued)
Ken Ward personally recalls that event which occured 81 years ago:
"The sea was quite rough as we approached the beach. There was a lot of shelling from the shore batteries and the big battleships lying off the beach.
There were thousands of ships on the channel opposite the Normandy coast with each ship carrying barrage balloons so that the channel now looked like the defences of London.
Flights of bombers were continuously droning overhead towards the French coast, with Spitfires flying in and around the ships defending us from the Messerschmitts and the individual German Dornier bombers that were trying to have a go at the battleships.
We were all told to be ready to land after lunch. We strapped all our bedding and equipment on the back of the tank and rushed up to the canteen for a quick last lunch."
(continued)
"We were all quite tense but I tried not to show it as I was the only one in the crew who had not yet been in battle. As the LST slowly approached the beach we went into the hold and mounted our tank.
There was a smell of oil and fumes in the air and we could hear the shelling, with shells landing on the beach from inside the hull.… Suddenly there was a lot of clanging and chain rattling as the front of the LST opened up and the front ramp came down.
The ferry was already there, the plate appeared to clang on to it and as we were first in line, we drove on to the flat ferry which shuddered under our weight, and drove as far forward as we could to allow another tank to get on."
(continued)
"We then closed in on the beach and had to drive through about five feet of water before getting the tracks onto dry land.
As we moved up the beach the troop leader came up on the B set (which is short range only to speak to the troop commander) telling us to quickly move towards the right where there was a small lane leading off it and to drive up to the end until he had caught up.
The beach was littered with knocked out tanks and vehicles.
There was a first aid station at the side with medics moving the wounded on stretchers.
The houses on the cliffs above were already flying French flags."
(continued)
The regiment advanced towards Villers-Bocage, where German forces were entrenched and concealed in the hedgerows.
The battalion endured significant losses in a sudden ambush by German armour, and Ken lost his first comrade, Albala, in combat.
Here, the crew faced direct fire from the formidable 88mm guns of German Tiger tanks.
Forced to retreat, their tank’s gun barrel struck a tree, causing irreparable damage. They withdrew swiftly until they found cover behind a copse. Safely back with the regiment, they awaited a replacement tank.
On 17 July 1944, the regiment departed from the orchards around the small village of Jerusalem, heading towards their primary objective—the city of Caen. The heavily fortified city came under intense and prolonged bombardment from Allied warplanes.
Caen was left devastated and largely destroyed by the operation.
(continued)
Ken says:
"We moved on and ended up on a hillside overlooking Caen. We had a clear view of the town spreading out in front of us. There was a lot of shelling going on from both sides.
The Germans using their Nebelwerfer which fired a large number of shells, all hitting the ground practically at the same time.
We stayed well inside the tank, just occasionally jumping out to brew up a cup of tea behind the tank, making do with our hard dog biscuits, tinned butter and some tinned Spam, which we made up inside the tank.
We waited for the early hours of the morning when the air attack started. Hundreds of planes came over, flying in formation bombing the town. In practically no time Caen was flattened and I could not see how anybody could have possibly survived."
(continued)
Following a brief respite, the regiment mobilised again to rejoin the front line. They advanced through the Falaise Gap into Lisieux, where they faced scenes of extensive destruction—fallen soldiers and livestock littered the area.
They continued towards the Seine and entered Holland on 10 November 1944.
By Christmas, they were stationed in Sittard and by 18 March 1945, the regiment had pushed deep into Germany.
They reached the edge of a formidable forest, where three prior attempts to breach German defences had failed, incurring heavy casualties.
Ken’s troop received orders to make one final push through the forest alongside infantry units.
Dense undergrowth concealed German troops, who opened fire. The regiment responded with a fierce barrage of bullets.
The isolated pockets of German resistance were overwhelmed by the counter-attack.
"Statistically I should have been dead, so who had been watching over me? Why?" - Ken Ward.
(continued...ending)
Ken Ward’s wartime journey is a testament to heroism and courage against formidable evil.
If you found this thread compelling, rich with meaningful details, and inspiring in recounting Ken’s story, please consider following me
@DrHelenFry
for more WW2 history.
(end).
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