On February 15th, at the truly grand old age of 88, Captain Philip Gardner VC died.

Serving as a Captain with 4th Royal Tank Regiment in 32nd Tank Brigade, he won his VC on November 23rd 1941 commanding a Matilda tank near Tobruk. Despite being wounded twice by ebemy fire, he left his tank and carried Lt Beame of the Dragoon Guards from his wrecked armoured car. Beame's legs had been shattered and Gardner had to half carry, half drag the badly wounded man back to his tank, and then to lift him onto th rear decking.

When Tobruk fell in mid-1942, Gardner was captured and spent the remainder of the war in various prisoner-of-war camps.

There are now only fifteen surviving VC recipients.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

May the Captain Rest In Peace.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

This is very sad news indeed. I agree with you C. Evans, may the brave captain Rest in Peace.
Its just so sad that all of these brave men who fought in the second world war are now slowly passing away from us. We must always remember them and the sacrifices that they made for us.

Jet

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And when he gets to heaven
To Saint Peter he will tell
One more soldier reporting sir
I have served my time in hell

Thanks for letting us know about this, Martin.

Another timely reminder that we need to be speaking to these WW2 veterans now .

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Paul Reed
Webmaster - Battlefields of WW2- http://www.ww2battlefields.info
D Day Ancestors: The British Army in Normandy - http://www.ddayancestors.com

Very sad news indeed Martin,they are becoming so few.

Visited with Dick Annand VC a couple of weeks ago and can report he is stiil fit and well.

Paul

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Nikto ne Zabyt . Nichto ne Zabyto.

Let no one forget . Let nothing be forgotten.

Thats a relief to hear Paul--and thanks I wanted to send them something for Valentines Day but had forgotton thanks to my finally being ready to relocate to a new flat.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Carl,

Can't remember whether i mentioned it in my last mail but Dick and Shirley send their thanks for your Christmas Card and pass on their best regards to you.

Paul [img]smile.gif[/img]

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Nikto ne Zabyt . Nichto ne Zabyto.

Let no one forget . Let nothing be forgotten.

Sorry to hear the news, thanks for keeping us up to date Martin. He's probably up there having a cold one with his buddies.

Greg

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"There are times when a Corps Commander's life does not count"
-General Winfield Scott Hancock at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863

Paul,

Do you know if Dick Annand VC reply's to letters asking for his autograph as I live in the UK so I would love to get a VC winners autograph. Do you know where I would be able to find his address.

Regards
Phil. [img]smile.gif[/img]


Email: Philcarpenter19@yahoo.co.uk

Thank you Paul--you did mention it and im glad they are doing very well. After I mail you--im going to send them something I hope they like.

Phil--he does sign but you might ask Paul as he is in better contact with them and he can let you know for sure. [img]smile.gif[/img]

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Phil,

Dick Annand does still sign for people,send me a mail re his address,

Paul [img]smile.gif[/img]

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Nikto ne Zabyt . Nichto ne Zabyto.

Let no one forget . Let nothing be forgotten.

Paul--ill Finally have some stuff for you in the mail within 2 weeks. By then ill finally have all my stuff together under one roof. Just thought I would let you know

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Thanks mate,will look forward to it,

Paul [img]smile.gif[/img]

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Nikto ne Zabyt . Nichto ne Zabyto.

Let no one forget . Let nothing be forgotten.

Quite welcome and thank GOD--you guys across the pond have a great patience. [img]smile.gif[/img] Ill be finished moving by this Sat if it stops raining and ill dig the stuff out then--as im watching Band of Brothers on a DVD player.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Hi Paul,

I sent you an email re Dick Annand,

Regards
Phil [img]smile.gif[/img]

I am very sorry to hear of the death of such a great man, which unfortunately I had never heard about him before...

May this great hero rest in peace.

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun