The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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234577 L/Cpl. Robert Howard "Smudge" Smith British Army 2nd Btn. Cheshire Regiment from:Daveyhulme My dad, Robert Smith, enlisted in the British Army on 29th December 1929 at Seaforth for seven years with the Colours and five years with the Reserve. He was born the 31st December 1911 in Ainsdale, Lancashire. He was two days short of his 19th birthday when he enlisted. Dad did his training at Chester, then was posted out with his Regiment to India where he spent seven years, returning home to the UK. As he then had completed his Colour Service, he went into civvy street and worked for Cheshire Lines Railways. Not long after, he was recalled for war service, going to France with his battalion the 2nd Cheshires. He was a machine gunner. Eventually, like many others, he was harried to Dunkirk. His first try at escaping from Dunkirk was thwarted by the ship he was on being bombed, but eventually he made the return back to Blighty in a small craft. Dad then served in North Africa, before being caught in the bag at the fall of Tobruk. He was shipped to Italy as a PoW to a place called Bars. When the Italians surrendered, he and others made a break for it, but later were given away by a young fascist lad. The Germans then imprisoned Dad and he was sent to POW Camp Stalag IVF located at Hartmannsdorf Chemnitz. Whilst Dad was there he was put on work details in the fields, and he also did some boot repair work. He and another lad had some Red Cross rations issued and decided to make a cake with some of the items. The German cook let them bake it in some of the hot ashes in the cook house but they couldn't wait so decided to eat the mixture as it was. Shortly afterwards they were both very sick, their stomach had shrunk so much they could not hold it down. My dad spoke of an old German sergeant who had lost four sons on the Russian Eastern Front, and who had only one son left who was serving in France. My dad got gangrene in his right hand. A German doctor saved it by scraping it out with scissors whilst dad was held down by two medical orderlies. The doctor poured pure iodine into the wound - it saved his hand, but he said he cursed that doctor while he worked on that wound. My dad made it back to Blighty after the Americans freed them. He was discharged from the Army as being B1 Ref fitness. My father weighed less than 5 stone when he got back home, he was only 5ft 3 inches in height. My mum had to buy him youth's clothes, he was so light. Dad passed away in September 1990. The doctor said Dad did not want to go and fought all the way until his heart stopped. Robert C Smith Add to this record.  Related Content: 2nd Battalion, Cheshire Regiment Stalag 4F Prisoner of War Camp Operation Dynamo - The Evacuation from Dunkirk and nearby Beaches Battle of France and The Low Countries 1940 Siege of Tobruk Stalag 4F Prisoner of War Camp 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.

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