257874 Cpl. Ernest Wylie British Army Durham Light Infantry My father Ernest Wylie was called out at 3am on the 3rd of September 1939. After a short time his Battalion joined the BEF in France.
I believe the DLI and the rest of the Northumbrian Division was part of the rearguard as the Army struggled back to Dunkirk. On the way my dad was severely wounded by a mortar splinter which damaged the flesh of his leg and smashed his ankle. Friends carried him to Dunkirk and left him on the beach. Fortunately, two sailors found him and carried him back to their ship a destroyer. As far as we were concerned, we thought he was gone but amazingly, we received a letter from him from Shotley Bridge Hospital.
I still remember it was packed with little room between the beds. After some time it was determined that his wounds rendered him unfit for service. Nevertheless, he joined the Home Guard and was a fire watcher for our area. They were hard times.
As I grew older, I got he sense that, because of his experiences, he always believed he was living on borrowed time. My mother said his service altered his character totally.
Lest we forget.
I was immensely proud of him.
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