|
|
 |
Disaster in France
Seldom in the history of warfare can two sides have been so unequal
than in the case of the 2nd/5th Leicesters, and the German forces which faced them in France in May 1940. The 2nd/5th battalion,
which had only been in existence for just over a year, faced the crack divisions of the Wehrmacht, as the allied armies in
France crumbled under the weight of the German blitzkrieg.
Right: Pte Phil Haywood, with his clarinet, in the 2nd/5th
battalion band prior to the war. After he was taken prisoner in France he was sent to Stalag XXA in Poland
Left: Members of the 2nd/5th at the battalion's only
camp, Holyhead in 1939
The 2nd/5th battalion was formed in 1938 when the 5th battalion was split to
form a 1st/5th and a 2nd/5th, as the British government tried desperately to expand the Territorial Army following the Munich
crisis. The newer formation had no heavy equipment and was desperately short of even the most basic requirements like rifles.
The battalion was initially based in factories in Leicester, but then moved to the Filbert Street ground of Leicester City
Football Club.
|
|
When the battalion was sent to France to join the BEF in April 1940,
its intended roles were to be labouring duties and further training. On 10 May however the German blitzkrieg erupted against
France, with German aircraft and armour making lightening strikes against the disorganised and demoralised Anglo-French forces.
In spite of its lack of preparedness the battalion was sent into the
line on 25 May 1940 to try to stem the German advance. Strung out over more than a mile, with only demoralised French colonial
troops in support, this was a desperate move on the part of British High Command.
Hopelessly outgunned, the battalion was first divebombed and then
attacked by infantry. Most of its members were killed or captured. Only B Company and a few other stragglers escaped the debacle,
and began the journey toward the coast and the town of Dunkirk, where the remnants of the BEF were being evacuated. In
small numbers they made their way back to England.
|
|
Left: Pte Alf Nichols, of South Wigston. He reached the beach
at Dunkirk, and amongst the dunes, "I found a prayer book, which I read, and prayed..." Twenty four hours later he
was evacuated
Below: Medals awarded to Alf Nichols, including on the right
the Dunkirk Veterans medal
Left: Pte Joseph Gamble of Hinckley, killed in action on 25
May 1940
|
|
|
|
|
Left: Debris of a retreating army; wrecked British trucks on
the beach at Dunkirk.
Above: Pte Gordon Chaplin was captured with the 2nd/5th Leicesters
in France and spent five years s a POW. The piano accordion seen here was sent to him by his family and amazingly reached
him intact via Switzerland
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
