Ben Wallsworth
Jan 12, 2013 20:33:47 GMT
Post by shred on Jan 12, 2013 20:33:47 GMT
WAR can make heroes of us all - as Salford's Mayor, Cllr Ben Wallsworth can testify.
Because some 62 years ago the young Ben suddenly found himself spending his 20th birthday on the beaches of Dunkirk. And he won a prestigious Military Medal after experiencing some of the bloodiest action of the Second World War.
Recently Cllr Wallsworth took time out as Salford's First Citizen to recall some of those war memories.
Cllr Wallsworth was only 19 and working as an engineer in Trafford Park when he joined the Territorial Army. Then, knowing war was coming, he decided to forestall conscription and decide which regiment to join.
He chose the 42nd Division 502 Company of the Royal Army Service Corps and combined work with regular army exercises at Lancashire Cricket Club grounds at Old Trafford. "I was an engineer and wanted to go into a regiment where that expertise could be used to its best advantage," he recalled.
He was at the cricket club ground when war was declared and was ordered along with all the other recruits to report with full kit the following day.
His regiment was moved first to near Newcastle and then to Salisbury Plain for full training where they were inspected by the King, George VI.
His regiment was shipped to France where they fought towards Belgium and back through France to the beaches of Dunkirk.
Cllr Wallsworth had a Lewis gun which, he admits, he should have abandoned on the instructions of his commanding officer. "The roads were littered with brand new trucks and weapons which had been disabled so they couldn't be used by the enemy," he said. "But I was determined to keep hold of my gun and carried it with me all the way to Dunkirk."
That gun was used to devastating effect on a party of Germans strafing the retreating forces an action which caused him to be mentioned in dispatches - one of three such mentions.
Once on the beach, he dug in with a comrade and used the gun again to bring down two German planes.
They were trapped on the beach for three days and nights, during which he celebrated his 20th birthday. Eventually, he spotted a lifeboat and alerted the remaining soldiers but still refused to leave his Lewis gun behind.
All the men were taken on board HMS Codringham, and were amongst the last rescued. The gun was used by the ship's company against German planes overhead.
For his actions Cllr Wallsworth won the Military Medal but didn't receive home leave for another two years. Ironically, the day after he came home for Christmas in 1942 Manchester was bombed by the Germans.
Sixty-two years on he still remembers those days on the beaches of Dunkirk but admits he was not frightened. "How could I be," he asked. "I had nothing to compare it with. It was only afterwards I realised what danger I had been in."
Although proud of his Military Medal, Cllr Wallsworth is prouder of helping create green spaces and parks in Salford. "That is the legacy I want to leave behind - it's what I am most proud of," he told The Advertiser.
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Because some 62 years ago the young Ben suddenly found himself spending his 20th birthday on the beaches of Dunkirk. And he won a prestigious Military Medal after experiencing some of the bloodiest action of the Second World War.
Recently Cllr Wallsworth took time out as Salford's First Citizen to recall some of those war memories.
Cllr Wallsworth was only 19 and working as an engineer in Trafford Park when he joined the Territorial Army. Then, knowing war was coming, he decided to forestall conscription and decide which regiment to join.
He chose the 42nd Division 502 Company of the Royal Army Service Corps and combined work with regular army exercises at Lancashire Cricket Club grounds at Old Trafford. "I was an engineer and wanted to go into a regiment where that expertise could be used to its best advantage," he recalled.
He was at the cricket club ground when war was declared and was ordered along with all the other recruits to report with full kit the following day.
His regiment was moved first to near Newcastle and then to Salisbury Plain for full training where they were inspected by the King, George VI.
His regiment was shipped to France where they fought towards Belgium and back through France to the beaches of Dunkirk.
Cllr Wallsworth had a Lewis gun which, he admits, he should have abandoned on the instructions of his commanding officer. "The roads were littered with brand new trucks and weapons which had been disabled so they couldn't be used by the enemy," he said. "But I was determined to keep hold of my gun and carried it with me all the way to Dunkirk."
That gun was used to devastating effect on a party of Germans strafing the retreating forces an action which caused him to be mentioned in dispatches - one of three such mentions.
Once on the beach, he dug in with a comrade and used the gun again to bring down two German planes.
They were trapped on the beach for three days and nights, during which he celebrated his 20th birthday. Eventually, he spotted a lifeboat and alerted the remaining soldiers but still refused to leave his Lewis gun behind.
All the men were taken on board HMS Codringham, and were amongst the last rescued. The gun was used by the ship's company against German planes overhead.
For his actions Cllr Wallsworth won the Military Medal but didn't receive home leave for another two years. Ironically, the day after he came home for Christmas in 1942 Manchester was bombed by the Germans.
Sixty-two years on he still remembers those days on the beaches of Dunkirk but admits he was not frightened. "How could I be," he asked. "I had nothing to compare it with. It was only afterwards I realised what danger I had been in."
Although proud of his Military Medal, Cllr Wallsworth is prouder of helping create green spaces and parks in Salford. "That is the legacy I want to leave behind - it's what I am most proud of," he told The Advertiser.
Link