Recently, Brian Guy was gracious enough to respond to a lenghty series of questions I emailed him. He has also granted me permission to share his answers here with you all. Here is the interview, complete and unedited:
Otto: What were you doing just before you joined the armed forces? Were you a
student? Working? Married? Single? Children?
Brian Guy: I was a single man, and very young, I had left my home in the village to try to help my Country by working where it would help most. Engineering in Southampton, and while the ?Blitz? was on. Served with the ?Home Guard? long hours, and out at night in the bombing raids.
Otto: Under what circumstances did you enter the armed forces? Were you drafted or did you enlist? How old were you?
Brian Guy: I had tried to enlist, but was in a ?reserved occupation? making compressors for the Navy (I Think) eventually, I got my ?Calling up papers? was immediately called into the managing directors office. (Mr Spencer) He told me, and another fellow, George ****, that we were doing much more for our Country, here in the engineering Workshop.
George agreed to stay, I stuck it out and told him that I wanted to fight for my Country. He was very angry, but then lifted the phone and spoke to someone. George went straight back into the workshop, while I left to join the Army. I was eighteen.
Otto: Why did you join the armed forces?
Brian Guy: Quite simple, like many young men, we wanted to fight for our Country to keep it free from the horror of the Nazi Regime.
Otto: What branch of the service were you in? Why did you choose the branch that you did?
Brian Guy: I asked to join the Royal Engineers. Why? I thought that I had much to offer in that sphere. Besides that, I knew the R.E. were held in respect by all services.
Otto: What was the specific unit that you were assigned to?
Brian Guy: After training, I was assigned to 246 Field Company. Royal Engineers. Very proud to have served with this renowned company.
Otto: What kind of training did you receive? What was the most helpful part of
your training?
Brian Guy: Full, and comprehensive training, in all that the R,E, have to do. The most helpful? Mine clearing and anti-booby trap work. Bridging. Explosives, (My favourite) a wide range of training, including being dumped out on the moors, with nothing but our own resources. Assault course. Standard infantry training. (Fighting soldiers) every man in the army is trained to fight. Nothing prepared us for the real thing!
Otto: What was the mission of your unit?
Brian Guy: 246 Field Company?s R.E. tasks was just that of a field Company, they serve at the ?Sharp end? Anything that the army need from us, we tried to provide. Mostly assault work, we would often lead off by clearing the way for infantry and tanks, by laying mines out in front of the leading forces. Lifting enemy mine fields , (something we got very good at, and silently! so that the enemy never knew we were there) By removing stubborn enemy resistance, as in Lt Arthur heals French VC. Nothing was outside of our remit. Very seldom did the company get together, they were spread out all over the place, with the Infantry. The tanks, assault bridging , often in small groups. Very respected by all the service arms. We did not like our ?Flame throwers? They, believe it or not, are buried deep in an isolated wood in Belgium. Ten feet down!
Otto: What was your rank and your job?
Brian Guy: Just an ordinary Sapper. Nothing special, just an ordinary, every day, run of the mill soldier. I did finish up with the Bren machine gun, some one had to carry the blasted thing. We did anything that was required, to assist any branch at the ?Sharp end?
Otto: What are some of the things from your training that stand out in your memory?
Brian Guy: Explosive training. I could still blow anything, for the training was thorough. The assault course. Up one side of the River Ribble, and then down the other side. A long assault course, started in Gym gear, then added more of your equipment every time, until the last, when we tackled this very long assault course in FSMO. (Field Service marching order). That is everything you own, including your blankets. That assault course was special, for they used live explosives as you tackled each obstacle.
Cross the river twice, if you lost your rifle in the deep end, you had to get it out again, or be charged twice the cost. Once for the one you lost, another, to buy the new one!
Otto: Did your parents and family approve of you serving in the military?
Brian Guy: They never had any say in it. I was determined to join and serve. Ah! the keeness of youth!
Otto: How did you feel about leaving home?
Brian Guy: Did get a bit homesick. But we were fighting for our very existence as a Nation.
Otto: How did you communicate with loved ones on the home front?
Brian Guy: By the army Post Service. I always tried to let my family know where I was, by starting each sentence in the letter with a capital, spelling out the name of the town. As in Caen. Something like;
Can you send me.=Any news of.=Even if I could=No one knows.
Otto: What was different when you got back?
Brian Guy: A completely different World, the old World had departed and would never return. We were treated very badly indeed, no one wanted disabled war pensioners. Looking back,we were treated like dirt, I remember those time with disgust, and hatred for those that treated me in such a way.
The war pensions medical boards that I had to attend, were shocking. One snotty little clerk threw my papers back at me when I attended for a medical. Badly wounded or not, I bent over the desk and picked him up by his shirt front, he was about a foot off the ground, and told him ?pick up those papers and call me Sir, or I will pull your bloody head off, and stick it up your backside? He did!
Getting back into work was very difficult, to such a degree, it was better to keep you disability hidden. I remember ! Oh yes! I remember.
Otto: Describe your living conditions while on assignment.
Brian Guy: That of any serving soldier on active service. There was nothing special about me. The first thing you did was to dig in, above ground, you would not survive, foxholes are very comforting places to be. We lived in holes in the ground, and that became quite natural. In all weathers, and we were healthy. Every time we stopped, we dug in, for one was never sure when a rain of fire would descend upon you.
We lived on tin foods and biscuits, now and again, supplemented with a chicken or some horse meat bought from the Norman farmers.
Otto: Can you describe your feelings during a mission or battle?
Brian Guy: Oh Yes! Fear, mouth drying fear, the horrible moment when you have to leave your comfy foxhole and get on with whatever was in store for us. Like most service men I never lost my fear. I would love to tell you how brave I was, and how heroic I was. Sadly, it was never like that, I was always afraid. We became used to it to a degree, but never lost that fear. It can be quite terrifying to get out of ones hole when the mortars and shells are coming down. My officer reckons that we always had one eye on where we could dive out of trouble should the need arise!
Otto: How did you cope with the fear of missions or battles?
Brian Guy: I am not quite sure. We had to overcome our fear, or we would never have coped with active service at the Sharp end. I remember my fear, even today, you may laugh at that, and think, what, after all this time ? Oh yes, I remember all to blasted well, how scared I was. We were all scared. I suppose it was to our credit that we overcame the fear, and did not let it interfere with our duties. Fear is hard to suppress, everyone is scared, or there was something wrong with them!
Otto: What was your job during a mission?
Brian Guy: Just those of a normal active service Sapper. Mines, booby traps, bridging. Laying and picking up mine fields, anything. Blowing up things. Assault crossings, FBE Folding boat equipment. You have to read the pages on the forum site to appreciate the active service duties
Otto: What was your happiest, (funniest or saddest) memory of the war?
Brian Guy: My saddest time was laying on the road between Overloon and Venraij severely injured, with the knowledge that my ambition to become a county cricketer was over, and that I would never realise that ambition. My funniest moment? Being beaten by Monks wearing long white robes at football, when we stopped to refuel on the way to Arnhem
Otto: What was the single most fearsome weapon you faced in combat?
Brian Guy: The German 88 mm Gun, and their skill with mortars, the spandau, all their weapons were better than ours!
Otto: What do you think your biggest accomplishment was?
Brian Guy: I am proud of serving my Country well. Nothing spectacular. I served in the Home Guard and did a lot when the bombs dropped. I served well from Normandy to Holland, I also served my Country well in my chosen profession and became a highly skilled engineer. That I did enjoy, for I became sought after. And that is always nice! I was able to pass on my knowledge as a training officer in later years. Something I enjoyed and had a lot of success with.
Otto: What were you most proud of during your military service?
Brian Guy: Just to have served with a real band of Brothers. A wonderful company that did all that they were required to do, and at the same time, served in every battle till the end of the war, the only Division with that distinction.
Otto: What impact did your unit have on the outcome of the war?
Brian Guy: We were all little cogs in a damn great big machine, the fact that my company has a mention in the R E History, says a lot, for they did wonderful work on D Day, and from there on, till the end of the war in Bremen. Nearly all the war books have reference, somewhere or other, about my company and their deeds. That alone must say something about their worth in the war in North West Europe. I think they had a lot of impact. But there, I am prejudiced.
Otto: How did your experiences in WWII affect the rest of your life?
Brian Guy: Very much. The injuries I sustained would make life very difficult for me for the rest of my life. Many things that previously I had taken for granted, I could not now do. My whole future life would be governed by my injuries, there would be no sport. I had great trouble walking anywhere, I did try valiantly to disguise my injuries, for I hated being seen as disabled. (Girls don?t look at disabled men) I would not take off my trousers at the seaside, for people would stare at the leg injuries, and I was also lopsided where my hip joint had been removed, as well as having one leg shorter than the other. (They could not get enough bone to make up the difference) I also lost the top of my left knee, and that looked ugly. Still does! I had injuries to my lower back and that did not help.
The war injuries, in later years, gave me a great deal of pain. But I have lived with it all my life, and to me, it is ?Normal? In later years, I had several brushes with the ?Grim Reaper? all subsequent from my war injuries. I have to attend a clinic every six weeks to ensure my safety. All this sounds a bit grim, in some ways it is. But, do not get the impression that I am a miserable old soul, I most certainly am not, I enjoy life to the full. I try to do things where I am able. I have many interests, and a great sense of humour. I am classed as 100% war disabled and am looked after quite well.
Otto: What is your opinion of the average German soldier's fighting ability?
Brian Guy: The average? Very good. But not in comparison with other branches.
Otto: Did you ever face the Waffen SS?
Brian Guy: More than any other branch of the German army. We were faced with them all the time in Normandy, I have a list somewhere of the SS units, starting with No 1 SS Panzer Division Liebstandarten Adolph Hitler, The Second SS das Reich Panzer Division. They of the Oradror crimes?12 SS Panzer Division Hitler Youth. Nearly all the troops we came across at one time were SS. ?The bastards?
Otto: Were the SS any different from the regular German troops?
Brian Guy: Oh Yes, they fought like demons. Where we would send the ordinary soldier back on his own after capture. With the SS, you had to make sure they got back, and watch them carefully, for they would kill you, given the chance.
Otto: How were you trained for the invasion?
Brian Guy: Very well. Though I joined them late.
Otto: How did you get to the Normandy beaches?
Brian Guy: By landing ship with the little assault craft on davits, ready for the run in, they lost 29 out of the 38 they were carrying, that seems to put an end to the legend that Sword Beach was a ?easy landing? It never was, and was under fire to such an extent that they moved the unloading further down the coast.
For some reason some of that is completely erased. I cannot remember much of what happened. Not surprising really, I had several brushes with death due to my injuries, and had to learn to write my own name after one session.
Otto: What was your job on D-Day?
Brian Guy: To land and get a passage off the beach, then on to Hermanville and to Pegasus bridge. Here I must be honest, a lot of my recall is poor. From Hillman, I remember a lot. I know it was all successful.
Otto: What were your experiences in the first hours of the invasion?
Brian Guy: Fear. and then, more fear. ?The well laid plans of mice and men?! All went very well.
Otto: How did your unit achieve its objective?
Brian Guy: Far better than we had been led to believe, for there had been plans made to withdraw our company back to England, as we were expected to suffer tremendous losses. So bad, were the expected losses that for all purposes the company was to be disbanded. All though we lost the officer in charge we got in remarkably well.
Otto: What is your most vivid memory about the invasion?
Brian Guy: The noise, the overpowering noise and of the German paintings of the gun ranges all laid out in perfect detail.
Otto: How did you find out about the surrender of Germany?
Brian Guy: Over the radio, in Hospital
Otto: What did you do on V-E Day?
Brian Guy: I had a bone grafting operation carried out by a genius. A very famous man. Came back to the ward in the evening, with my bed tipped up at 45 degrees and blood soaked into everything.
Otto: What happened on the day you came home?
Brian Guy: Nothing, when I was eventually discharged, I had to make my own way home from Hospital. I was at Salisbury, and could not walk. Outside the hospital, on crutches and looking like a Belson victim. I don?t know how I got home, I know it took me many hours, trying to get transport, buses and trains. It took me a very long time to recover from my wounds.
Otto: What were the holidays like in 1945?
Brian Guy: Never had any. Could not afford holidays. They were far beyond our hopes and dreams.
Otto: What were you hopes for the future?
Brian Guy: A driving ambition to get back to work in Engineering, something I loved. They would not have me back. They told me I was danger to myself and to others.
Otto: What would you want people to know about this time in history?
Brian Guy: What little help there was for the war disable, and how badly we were treated.
Otto: Tell me about any friendships you made during the war.
Brian Guy: Several great friends. We shared everything in action, and I remember them with great satisfaction, though they are gone.
Otto: What would you have changed about your war experience if you could?
Brian Guy: Not a lot really, I know in my own mind that I gave as good as I could, and am quite happy in that knowledge, I do not regret going to war, for one can only imagine what it would have been like should Hitler have got here?
Otto: Did you ever doubt that the Allies would succeed in winning the war?
Brian Guy: Never. I always had faith that we should win in the end, I can honestly say that I never considered that we would lose, it is quite beyond my imagination that would ever happen.
Otto: What mistakes do you think the military made, if any, during the war?
Brian Guy: Lots! But what happens in the ?Fog of War? Every great event has mistakes, we are human, and I would venture to say there will be many more, in any new conflict
Otto: Do you think the war could have been prevented?
Brian Guy: No I do not. Hitler had already made up his mind, it was fight or surrender
Otto: What had changed when you got home from the war?
Brian Guy: Everything, the old World between the wars had disappeared for ever, and thank heavens for that. We expected more than the class war, where we were expected to work for a pittance, and, according to ones class. I have a very long memory for the living conditions of the pre-war years. When Britain ruled whole areas of the World, great fortunes were being made. Many of our people were starving on the streets and suffering rickets from hunger and deprivation.
Otto: Did anything happen during the war that affected you for the rest of your life?
Brian Guy: Yes, as stated previously, the wounds were to have a great effect on my future life. Life for me, would again never be the same. And, I know it is silly, but I do try to make the sacrifices of those that paid the ultimate penalty of war, made known to the young generation.
Otto: What do you think the biggest misconception about WWII is?
Brian Guy: From my point of view, the idea that Sword Beach was an easy landing. It just goes to show the importance of the media and propaganda. These legends grow from repetition, until they become accepted as part of fact, and real history. Like so many legends there is not a word of truth in it.
Otto: Do you think the war was worth the price?
Brian Guy: Oh Yes! Can you imagine for a moment what Britain would have been like under the Nazi jackboot? The torture, and the death camps. The treatment of our womenfolk? One only has to look at what occurred elsewhere in Europe, to see what was in store for us.
Otto: Do you think fighting in the war was the moral thing to do?
Brian Guy: Yes, over and over again, Yes. As a footnote to what has gone before here, I cannot understand why Hitler never invaded Britain, we had nothing to stop him. He would have had our industrial strength and could have worked the British to death. Just imagine, having to serve in the German army?
Brian Guy's Final note:
Otto. In what has been written here, I hope that I have not in any way sounded boastful, or sounded like the hero I never was. But I have tried to give honest answers to your questions. I must emphasise that I was just a very tiny cog in a very big machine. Just a very ordinary sapper. No different from many thousands of others. I was not particularly brave, nor did I win any medals for anything, the only thing that I did get, (Or in this case, did not get) was my Monties certificate. So anyone reading these stories. It is just the tale of a very ordinary man, though a patriotic one.
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Brian, thanks so much, we all appreciate you taking the time to share this with us all!
[ 04. December 2002, 03:18 PM: Message edited by: Otto ]
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