8

th
Worcestershire Regiment carrier Platoon retreat to Dunkirk
The following account of Carrier Platoon's withdrawal to Dunkirk is given by 2nd Lieutenant (later Captain) ! "! #! #erry$
%!C!

&wing to the a'ount of traffic on the road$ the Carrier Platoon soon beca'e separated fro' the
re'ainder of our colu'n$ but as we had our rende(vous ) *+,-. ) we proceeded
independently to that town! *fter searching the neighbourhood for the #attalion / learnt fro' the
Divisional -!0! in *+,-. that the 122 #rigade was so'ewhere in the region of T&34.*/$ and
so continued our 5ourney in that direction!
2nd Lieutenant 6ohn %oore passed us on the way and arranged a 4!7! at "8 7L7*/.$ south of
T&34.*/!
#y the ti'e we arrived in T&34.*/ we found the forces there withdrawing and the last bridges
blown!
* decision had to be 'ade then whether to continue or withdraw with the re'ainder as$ owing to
this unforeseen turn of events$ it would 'ean we should probably be between the ,er'an and
nglish forces!

2/Lieut. John Moore

/ visited the local #rigade -!0! and learnt that everyone was withdrawing towards &4C-/+ and as no one could give 'e any
infor'ation about our #rigade$ / decided to withdraw to &4C-/+ and then if the #attalion had not withdrawn as far$ return to
the' fro' there!

Carrier Platoon - 8th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment (Le Forest, France - Ma !"#$%
9ront row: Pte! ;;;;$ Pte! ;;;;$ Pte! Pickering$ Pte! ;;;;
2nd row (seated): +gt! ;;;;$ +gt! #ethell$ 2<Lieut! ! "! #! #erry$ +gt! +pragg$ +gt! ;;;;$ L<Cpl! ;;;;
=rd row: Cpl! +a'son$ Pte! 4eid$ Pte! "atson! Pte! ;;;;$ Cpl! Darby$ Pte! #entley$ Pte! ;;;;$ Cpl! ,willia'
#ack row: Pte! ;;;;$ Pte! Lowe$ Cpl! P! -u>ter$ Cpl! "! ,riffen$ Pte! ;;;;$ Pte! ;;;;$ Pte! ;;;;

&n our way to &4C-/+ the last 2 carriers 'istook the turning and we arrived there with ? 'achines! -ere we were told to
report at T%PL37$ but$ at that 'o'ent$ the ,!+!&!1 of the @%*C 9orce@ saw the platoon and being in need of so'e
carriers sent us to be attached to the Ath %anchesters at #4/LL&.$ the idea being that if the ,er'ans had broken through as
far south$ we were to help deal with any *!9!7's in our rear!
*fter two days with this #attalion during which ti'e we did a certain a'ount of patrolling$ / received orders to report to the
1=B #rigade at L* 7*C034/ 9*4%$ %&.+ . P7L! /t should be 'entioned here that besides the nor'al crew we had 11
&!4's belonging to various 4ifle Co'panies$ 1 e>tra #ren ,un and several additional *nti)Tank 4ifles which had been loaded
on at *+PL*4!
The 11 &!4's and the #ren ,un were left for protection for #rigade -!0! and the #rigadier told 'e to take one section to the
+herwood 9oresters at 7/. %*L%*/+&. and the other section to the Corks and Lance at &/,./+! This #rigade was
defending the canal against the ,er'an 9orce +outh of D&3*/!
#oth of these #attalions were very pleased to see us as$ apart fro' 4ifles$ the only ar's they had were 1B #ren ,uns and a
few *nti)Tank rifles$ per #attalion!
"e re'ained in this area for about two days when the Corks D Lancs together with the Carrier Platoon were ordered to
proceed to %47/LL! That day$ &/,./+ was heavily bo'bed by ene'y aircraft in raids lasting fro' about 1E a!'! to = p!'!
"e arrived in %47/LL that night and the ne>t 'orning we were ordered to proceed to C*++L! 3nfortunately$ the gear
lever on one carrier had broken and as we were told to e>pect action$ we had to leave it behind$ reducing the platoon to F
'achines!

&n the way to C*++L the last 'achine with Cpl! -u>ter in charge had engine trouble and was
unable to find us when the trouble had been overco'e$ this depleting the Platoon to A 'achines!
"hen we arrived at C*++L we found the 4!/!*!+!C! %uleteers 5ust 'oving out to D3.G403
and the Chateau grounds we took over fro' the' had been bo'bed or shelled and 1B horses
and 'ules killed! The nglish .!C!&! in charge also handed over a 'eal they had cooked of
chicken and bread and butter which was very acceptable as we had not had anything to eat$
e>cept a few biscuits$ for two days!
+oon after our arrival the 7illage was bo'bed$ but the platoon suffered no casualties! *fter that
we had a day and a half of co'parative peace until 12A #rigade arrived and the 2nd ,losters
decided they liked our Chateau ,rounds! Troops were rather thick on the grounds$ so / decided to
5oin #attalion -!0! in another Chateau about 1 'ile further down the road!

C&l. Perc 'u(ter
*bout lunch ti'e that day the #attalion was ordered to proceed towards "&4%-&3DT but although / had 'ade repeated
efforts to try to trace our #attalion it see'ed that definite steps 'ust be taken now! / received per'ission to report to ,!-!0!
The @%*C 9&4C@ which was in C*++L and eventually found out that the #rigade was in the area L* #*++ ) 9&34.+!
The infor'ation was rather vague but we left C*++L at 1 p!'! and proceeded through #*/L3L to *4%.T/4+! -ere /
enHuired of 1 Corps! -!0! and learned that we now belonged to = Corps! and told to report to their -!0! at PL&,,+T4T! =
Corps! told us that 122 #rigade were at *3#4+ but were thought to be 'oving that night!
"e arrived at *3#4+ about A!=E p!'! and found it e'pty! Luckily we noticed so'e officers in a house up an alleyway and
found the C!4!*! (#rigadier Lawson) and so'e of his staff who told us the the #rigade had left that 'orning for D3.G403!
This was rather a blow because when we ca'e to check up$ we found one 'achine had only I gallon of petrol left and the
re'ainder averaged about 2 gallons! The food Huestion did not worry us as by now each 'achine had collected a store$ no
'eals having been issued for = days!
*fter travelling about A 'iles$ we found a 9rench Petrol Colu'n and obtained about 2E galls off the'! The route we were
taking was *4%.T/4+ J CP4+ J 934.+ ) D3.G403!
*4%.T/4+ was heavily bo'bed that day and every town we went through we see'ed to have 5ust 'issed the raids!
This ti'e$ going through the city$ we had to 'ake a detour and got 'i>ed up with a large colu'n of buses taking #elgian
soldiers northward! These vehicles did not see' to be concerned about aerial activity as they were 'oving in solid for'ation!
/ signalled to the other carriers to drop back and let the colu'n get out of sight!
"e then found that we were heading for "*4.T&. and so cut across towards %++/.+ but eventually 5oined the colu'n of
buses again at +T! L&/! They halted in CP4+ and we proceeded towards 934.+!
Petrol was now beginning to run rather short and / atte'pted to get so'e fro' a #attalion in #4/L. but they were already
short and the petrol point was 1E 'iles away off 'y route! / decided to push on as we had sufficient for about =E 'iles!
ventually we found an 4*+C Troop Carrying Co'pany and they gave us B galls per 'achine! To reach the' we had to go up
a long track through orchards and apparently we Huite unwittingly created a @stir@ as they thought we were ,er'an *97's and
everyone had @gone to earth@!
Travelling was now naturally slower as it was a very dark night (about 1E p!'!) but to avoid any air attack during the day /
decided to get as far as possible under cover of darkness! To 'ake things 'ore difficult between 934.+ and D3.G403
there was a solid line of 9rench horse transport$ but there was an air raid over the town and the light reflected fro' the
searchlights helped considerably! &ur entry into D3.G403 was no so i'pressive as in 'ost towns$ in fact it was rather
difficult to get in at all ) the road was 5a''ed full with nglish and 9rench transport!
"e were unable to get any useful infor'ation so we parked the 'achines in a s'all side street and having arranged for a
sentry or look)out$ the crews slept in their 'achines! The ti'e was than about 2 a!'! and at about F a!'! we 'oved! / found
a park and the 'achines took cover under the trees whilst / went to 'ake enHuiries!
The Town %a5or was unable to help 'e nor were two subalterns$ / turned out of bed in a hotel$ (/ thought they belonged to
Divional +taff)! / finished by tracking down the *rea Co''andant and learnt fro' hi' the Divisional -!0! were at #4,3+!
/n the 'eanti'e$ the crews had found a C!%!C!*! %obile Canteen which was giving the' a cup of tea$ 2 bars of chocolate and
2E cigarettes free! This was all e>tre'ely welco'e as 'oney was non)e>istent with a lot (including the Platoon
Co''ander KK) and we had not had a cup of tea for several days!
"e proceeded to #4,3+ and learnt that the 122 #rigade were in the area of "&4%-&3DT! "e continued our 5ourney until
in -48L$ 2<Lt! %oore saw us and told us that @#@ chelon were in the village and we re5oined our #attalion at about 1E
a!'! after being posted as @%issing!@ The day before we had of course been within about 1E 'iles at C*++L!

With)ra*al route ta+en , the Carrier Platoon - 8th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment

&n the 2Lth %ay 1L2E the Bth #attalion had to fight a rear guard action at #a'becHue! &rders had been received to hold
#a'becHue until 21!EE hours that day! @#@ Co'pany took up a position north of the 4iver Cser covering the road fro' -er(ele
and @C@ co'pany were 5ust west of the village itself! #attalion -!0! was in the village! #y 11!=E hours that day @D@ co'pany
had successfully withdrawn half a 'ile to the east on to the road fro' #a'becHue to "est Cappel! The ,er'ans were now
co'ing in large nu'bers fro' "or'houdt in the south)west and #ergues in the north)west! #y 1?!EE hours an ene'y tank
attack had closed in on @D@ Co'pany -!0! and set it on fire! @*@ Co'pany were also near @D@ Co'pany! #oth these
co'panies were badly shot)up by the ,er'ans and could hold their positions no longer! The survivors 'ade their way back to
#attalion -!0!
#y 1?!=E hours the ,er'ans were closing in around #a'becHue and @#@ and @C@ Co'panies were heavily involved! Captain !
" #erry organised a working party and built a very strong road)block of far' carts and tractors on the #a'becHue road below
#attalion -!0! arlier Captain #erry was also involved in a shoot)out with ,er'ans in "or'houdt 'arket sHuare forcing the
,er'ans to retreat into the houses!
*t 1B!EE hours orders had been received fro' the #rigade for the #attalion to withdraw at 21!EE hours to #ray Dunes$ on the
coast north)east of Dunkirk! *s darkness fell the co'panies began to withdraw! The last detach'ents left at about 22!EE
hours under the co''and of Captain #erry! #ut @#@ and @C@ Co'panies had suffered grievous loss! /n fact @#@ Co'pany had
fought on until its a''unition was e>hausted and finally had no choice but to surrender to the ,er'ans!
Note: Captain Berry was awarded the Military Cross as a result of his heroism during the above actions.

*fter Dunkirk Captain #erry was posted to Collu'pton and then 9al'outh $ before training in Lincolnshire! -e ended the war
as a liaison officer in Crete and then ,reece! -e reached the rank of 'a5or and was awarded the Territotial Decoration (T!D!)!