The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.     Site Home     WW2 Home     Add Stories     WW2 Search     Library     Help & FAQs  WW2 Features     Airfields     Allied Army     Allied Air Forces     Allied Navy     Axis Forces     Home Front     Battles     Prisoners of War     Allied Ships     Women at War     Those Who Served     Day-by-Day     Library     The Great War  Submissions     Add Stories     Time Capsule     TWMP on Facebook     Childrens Bookshop  FAQ's     Help & FAQs     Glossary     Volunteering     Contact us     News     Bookshop     About Advertisements World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

205804 Captain (Chaplain) Robert Watt British Army 1st Dorsets from:Helensburgh, Scotland My father, Rev Robert Watt was the Chaplain on D day to the 1st Dorsets landing on Gold Beach. He was born in Helensburgh on 5th Jan 1917. He was a member of the Helenburgh Amateur Swimming Club which stood him in good stead when his landing craft was hit as it approached the beaches. When asked later if there were any atheists aboard his landing craft he said certainly not on that day! The funniest story Dad told me was when he went out to do a burial and he slipped and fell into the grave. His sergeant laughed and told him that he better get out and don't lose the Union flag! Dad told me of another time when he "captured" some Germans. He was out on a burial patrol when he was suddenly surrounded by 40-50 Germans. Dad thought, "oh no that is me captured" He went up to the German officer but before he could surrender the German surrended his soldiers to Dad! The padre then marched them back to base! Dad went on to be part of the team who liberated Brussels. He ended up in Luneburg. After Germany he served in India and in the early 50's in Malaya with the Cameronians. In 1952 he left the Army and was a Church of Scotland Parish Minister in Fife, then Perthshire and finally in Aberdeen. Dad died in Bannockburn Hospital on Boxing Day 2008. As his son I am proud of him and all his fellow soldiers who helped liberate Europe on 6th June 1944. I was in the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service in the Cold War Years and I proudly wear my medal with those that Dad and others so gallantly earned all these years ago. Tom Watt Add to this record.  Related Content: 1st Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

The free section of the Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers. We have been helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. The website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running. Hosted by: The Wartime Memories Project Website is archived for preservation by the British Library Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV - All Rights Reserved We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.