Before and Throughout WW1 and WW2 to the Peacetime of the Present Day

Elisa Wilkinson

• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781528994835
• Topic: Histoire
• Subtopic: Histoire du 20ème siècle

My book consists of true factual events that have occurred over the years, from WW1 and WW2 to the present day.
Many of the people's war-time experiences that I have written about are quite horrendous. However, for the sake of future generations, fully understanding how terrible war is and the atrocities that were carried out by every nation, they should be made aware that it could happen at any time to them.
Also, the brave men and women who fought in WW1 and WW2 should never be forgotten.
Whatever happens, we should always try to rise above whatever crisis comes our way, otherwise we are a lost cause and civilisation.
– Elisa Wilkinson

Bill Jaucqes’ 2^nd WW

These true accounts entail the remarkable courage of a remarkable man, my uncle, Mr Bill Jacques from Wakefield West Yorkshire, who was ordered to stay behind in a foreign country with his men and destroy whatever he could that would be beneficial to the enemy. This included weapons, fuel, food, that had been abandoned or dropped by the unfortunate soldiers who were gunned down by the enemy on the beaches at Dunkirk.

These men, who were left behind at Dunkirk, were forced to undergo a strenuous struggle for survival. Despite all of the odds being stacked against them, Bill did manage to return home some weeks after the war was declared over.

This is Bill’s Story

Bill’s life was disrupted in the 1940s by the outbreak of the 2^nd WW, where he saved a countless number of lives in Northern Europe. He survived being shot a number of times but managed to scramble to safety. He survived Dunkirk and was safely on-board ship with his best pal Jock where they were ordered to return to land and blow up ammunition dumps, set fire to the cornfields and destroy anything that could be of any value to the enemy.

When Bill’s family received the dreaded cold-hearted telegram stating that he was missing in action and presumed dead, Bill’s mother refused to believe it and said, “They can’t kill our Bill,” and she was right, they couldn’t.

But first, I will give you, the reader, an insight as to what Bill was truly like. At six feet tall and muscular, due to all the sports he played, Bill majored in all sports – cricket, swimming, tennis and rugby.

In the 1930s, he played rugby for Hull Kingston Rovers, but at the time his entire life’s ambition was to win trophies for the cricket club he played for, Paton and Baldwins Sports Club at Thornes Wakefield. Here he worked as a lorry driver for Paton and Baldwins, transporting wool to various depots around the country.

Paton and Baldwins Mill that stands on Denby Dale Road, Thornes, Wakefield, is still in use but not as a mill as we knew it. The Mill was closed down many years ago and now the whole area has been swamped with small commercial businesses.

Bill was also an avid motorcyclist and when the confines of work were over, he would get on his treasured second-hand BSA motorcycle and enjoy the sensation of freedom that he loved, when feeling the wind blow on his face as he sped along the winding country roads of West Yorkshire.

Another of his strong ambitions was to ride and own a Harley Davison motorcycle, which he believed would pull the girls.

It took many years, plus many harrowing experiences, before he would have the opportunity to achieve his heart’s desire, but when he did, it was short-lived.

Bill’s Cricketing Years

From a very early childhood, Bill was a cricket fanatic. His father enjoyed the sport and whenever possible he would take young Bill along to whatever match was being played.

There are two plaques at Lawfield Lane School, Wakefield, where Bill was the vice-captain of Cricket and Rugby at the school.

He also did a test period with The Yorkshire Cricket Club.

Bill’s favourite sport, however, was cricket and as he progressed throughout the prevailing years with the game, his skill with the bat and fast bowling was finally recognised by Paton and Baldwins Cricket club. Whereby the organisers asked him to join their team, where he proceeded to help them win many cups and trophies.

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Bill is the 4^th man to the left on the back row.

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A Poetic Tribute to Bill Jacques

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Bill is the 6^th person standing on the back row.

He played for Paton and Baldwins Cricket Club at Thornes sports ground. You can see the railway arches in the background connecting the mainline from Leeds to London.

THE WAR YEARS 1939–1945

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Bill is the 4^th person on the back row at an unknown country
manor, where the men were stationed and trained before
leaving the country.

During the 2^nd WW, all branches of the Armed Forces commandeered many country houses and large hotels to house the troops.

If anyone recognises any one of the soldiers in this photograph from the 171 Coy RASC Armed Brigade, I would be grateful if they would contact my publisher.

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Debriefing for soldiers by an unnamed man from the War
Ministry, before being sent to fight in North-West Europe.

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Bill is the man wearing helmet No. 81

Bill was a dispatch rider with the 171 Coy RASC Armed Brigade and a trained survival expert in life-threatening situations. He rode a BSA motorcycle carrying vital messages from the army headquarters to military units. As well as this, he travelled ahead of the convoy on the lookout for the enemy.

Bill, along with many others, was sent out to Northwest Europe to fight in the 2^nd World War, where many of the valiant men lost their lives, the main loss being at Dunkirk.

In his years in the army, Bill worked his way up the ranks and became a Lance Corporal where he commanded his own elite group of men.

There were numerous times, he said, that many soldiers were half-starved and froze to death where they stood when the stormy winters snow covered the ground and the harsh unrelenting winds cut through the clothing tightly wrapped around their icy cold bodies.

These weather conditions made it almost impossible to push forward and gain ground from the enemy. When at times, some of the artillery guns froze up and gave them no cover at all from enemy fire, leaving them defenceless as the ground was too hard for them to dig into.

France

Although reluctant to speak of the incidents during the war, I did manage to cajole him into telling me and my daughter Lesley of some of the horrendous events out there. These were confirmed by his daughter Linda, who lives in South Africa.

One incident Bill recalled was one winter’s evening when out on patrol with his closest friend, Jock, riding their BSA motorcycles, they had approached a road that narrowed considerably and had slanted slopes and thick foliage on either side. To Bill, this was the ideal spot for an ambush and he was right, there were two bodies lying in the middle of the road. Whereby without any hesitation their natural instincts took over. Both men slowed their bikes to a halt and rolled into a ditch at the side of the road, drew their guns and lay in wait, expecting at any moment to hear German voices approach, but none came.

Laying on their bellies, Bill and Jock kept their heads down for a while and waited before cautiously lifting them and peeped through the long grass. Where they saw up ahead in the fading daylight two American soldiers lying in the road, who appeared to be dead. He also saw two German soldiers sprawled halfway down an embankment. They were lying in such awkward positions there was no mistaking that they were also dead. It looked as if the Americans and Germans had shot one other. However, not wanting to take the risk of being shot, the two men instinctively stayed where they were and scanned the area expecting someone to have heard the sound of their bike engines, but everything remained silent.

After waiting for a considerable length of time, and with it becoming dark, Bill decided that the coast was clear and told Jock to stay where he was for the time being. Bill carefully made his way first to the Germans to check they were dead. He next checked on the two Americans and found they were also dead and signalled for Jock to join him.

Bill then turned his attention to the two Harley Davidson bikes lying on the road. Bill had always wanted to ride a Harley, it was his dream machine and he knew that if he didn’t chance it now, he would never get the opportunity to ride one again. Despite the grim events that had transpired, Bill went over to his own bike and pushed it into the hedge bottom. Then, after ensuring that it was well hidden, he went over to the two Harleys and picked one up, started it and rode away with Jock riding shotgun on his BSA.

Bill’s joy however, was short-lived when his commanding officer ordered him to return the Harley to its original owners, the Americans, he ended up riding another BSA.

“At least I had ridden a Harley,” he said later.

France

A disturbing incident occurred one dark stormy night when on patrol in France. Bill, along with three men, Jock, and two others, were met by a sobbing terrified child, who in broken English and part French managed to make them understand what the problem was. There were four Russian soldiers attacking the child’s mother and sister in the nearby farmhouse, a...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• About the Author
• Dedication
• Copyright Information ©
• Acknowledgement
• Preface
• Cyril Roe, 1st WW Veteran
• John Hellier, 1st WW
• William Lawson 1st and 2nd WW Veteran and the Angel of Montz
• Henry Behrens
• Herbert Farnsworth 1914–18 WW
• Bill Jaucqes’ 2nd WW
• Ken Wilkinson, RAF Peace Keeping Movement in Germany After 2nd WW
• Eric Wilkinson, Owner of Ltd Casings, Ken’s Younger Brother
• Harold Wilkinson, Eric And Ken’s Father