225936 Pte. Ronald Richardson British Army 4th Battalion Green Howards from:Skelton-in-Cleveland My father Ronald Richardson was obliged to join the Territorial Army in March 1939 (Leslie Hoare-Belisha the then Minister of War introduced conscription after the fall of Czechoslovakia). He joined the local infantry regiment, the 4th Battalion, Green Howards in his home village of Skelton-in-Cleveland.
The Battalion was mobilized on 1st September 1939 as part of the 150th Brigade of the 50th (Tyne-Tees) Division in Middlesbrough. Shortly afterwards they moved to the Cotswolds, where the Division trained before moving to France in January 1940. Before entraining, they were inspected by the King, George VI, who had promised to see off every unit leaving for France.
In France, the Battalion prepared to face the coming German onslaught, and when the expected attack started on 10th May, the Battalion was sent forward into Belgium. Here, the poorly equipped Battalion was pushed aside by the German armoured units and started the long retreat to the Dunkirk area, taking part in the failed counter-attack at Arras.
After this, my father, as a lorry-driver, was detached to drive ambulances from the casualty clearing station at La Panne, near Dunkirk, to the beaches for embarkation. This was an unpleasant duty, the wounded in the ambulance were crying out in pain and the beaches were continually being strafed by German dive-bombers. Eventually, on the 2nd June, the ambulance drivers were allowed to get onto the ships leaving for England.
After a short period of leave, the Battalion re-concentrated in south Lancashire and the 50th Division took up defensive positions in south-west England to await the expected German invasion. The 4th Battalion was sent to Weston-Super-Mare. From here my father drove water tankers to Bristol, as after heavy air raids the city had no water supplies for several days.
In May 1941 the 50th Division was sent to the Middle East. While on embarkation leave my father rode his beloved motor-cycle once more and had an accident and broke his leg, so that he did not go abroad with the Division, instead joined the Green Howards' holding unit, the 30th Battalion, near Doncaster. This unit, made up of medically-downgraded men was employed guarding important sites in south Yorkshire.
In early 1943 the 30th Battalion was sent to North Africa, where it was used to guard important positions in Tunisia. The Battalion then moved via Sicily to Taranto in Italy, and then to Bari, where it remained until the end of the war. In early 1946 my father was discharged and returned home.
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