Driver Raymond Whitwell

Raymond Whitwell was born on the 17 March 1919.

He came from Malton, East Yorkshire, and was a ‘Seedman’ before enlisting. 

Ray was called up when he was 20 and went to Ramsgate on the Kent coast only to discover that his first night of army life meant sleeping on the floor, with a couple of blankets and your boots as a pillow.

Later that year between  26 May and 4 June the evacuation from Dunkirk took place and Ray headed to Dunkirk in his truck. Leaving his vehicle  just outside the town he headed to the beach to find thousands of British troops waiting to evacuate. Deciding that this wasn’t the place he wanted to be, he commandeered an Austin and drove to Lille. Once there he exchanged the petrol he was carrying for a train ride to Le Havre and from there jumped on board a Dutch fishing vessel heading for Southampton.

“I was conscripted into the Army in 1939 (December 1st). I served in France and Belgium in 1940 with No 3 Petrol Company, RASC. Our unit was bombed and we lost vehicles. I was left behind in France after the evacuation of Dunkirk. I was on the run for 16 days, and I came out of the port of Cherbourg on June 13th, 1940.” [1]

Driver Raymond Whitwell was posted to the newly formed 250 (31 Infantry Brigade Group) Company, RASC on the 29 July 1940, and served in the Headquarters Platoon.

“Our Company was made Airborne in 1941. I served in 250 Coy Airborne RASC in North Africa, with the 1st Army, Sicily and then Italy, as far as Foggia, on the East coast.” [2]

It is very probable that Raymond was one of the drivers that accompanied the small party that went to Sicily at the beginning of August 1943. He then went on to take part in Operation ‘Slapstick’, the naval landing at the port of Taranto in Southern Italy, in September 1943.

By 1944 he was serving in the Headquarters, RASC at 1st Airborne Division HQ, this move probably took place at the same time as Major Packe became the CRASC.

Dvr. Whitwell flew from RAF Fairford on Monday, 18 September 1944, as part of the Second Lift for Operation ‘Market-Garden’. The Horsa glider, chalk number 941, had a Jeep and trailer loaded with ammunition. “I flew on the Second Lift on Monday, as far as I can recall from Fairford at about 2 pm. We had a Jeep and trailer on board the Horsa. I don’t know what the trailer was loaded with. The only two people I can put a name to who were in the glider are Lt-Col Michael St John Packe, Andy Duckett, and possibly Driver Thomas, the other names have just disappeared over the years – I have a shocking memory for names – I can see their faces in my memory, but I just cannot put names to them.” [3]

“We flew over the North Sea and over land (Holland) we were shot at by anti-aircraft guns, but we were not hit. When we reached Renkum Heath, the glider cast off from the tug plane and we made a good landing. After unloading the Jeep and trailer, we set off for Arnhem, but we only got as far as Oosterbeek by late afternoon, then we ate our 24 hour rations. And that was the end of our food. We did not have anything to eat for the next seven days. Later we were strafed by a German fighter plane, but he missed and no one was hurt.” [4]

“As for the kit, I had a Mark VI Sten gun with a wooden butt, 2 x hand grenades, 2 x Phosphorous grenades, 2 x front pouches of loaded Sten gun magazines, small pack containing a change of underwear, spare socks, razor, soap, etc, and a twenty-four ration pack, which incidentally was the only food I had for the whole of the 9 day operation, apart from a tame rabbit taken from a hutch by a Cockney (his name has gone from my memory). The rabbit was killed, skinned and boiled in a tin of water on a fire of twigs and broken dead tree branches, of which there was an abundance in the woods of the perimeter. The rabbit was shared by five of us, which I think included Captain Cranmer-Byng [more likely to be Capt. J.D. Naylor, Adjutant, HQ, RASC]. I also carried a ground sheet, gas mask, small bayonet, steel helmet. Airborne smock, and red beret (in small pack).” [5]

“There were several supply drops, but each time all the supplies were dropped in German held territory. After each supply drop we were told to go by Jeep and recover some of the supplies, but we never got any, but it was very exciting! The role of the RASC was to supply the Division with all it needed, but with no supplies we could not do that. We were then used as infantry soldiers and given a position on the Oosterbeek perimeter to defend, and stop the enemy when they attacked.” [6]

“We fought our own little battle in the woods for nine days, defending the perimeter. We had no food in that time, but while we were drawing water from a well a sniper shot at us and his bullets made holes in the bucket. After that, getting water took a long time, and was very dangerous, we could have been shot dead at any moment”. [7]

“I got back across the river Rhine, and back to Nijmegen, where we had sleep and food.” [8]

After being discharged from the Army, Raymond went back to his job as a Seedman and worked for Longsters, York – the Seed Merchants – and later branched out on his own in Castlegate, Malton.

NOTES:
[1] & [2] Letter from Raymond Whitwell. 16 October 2015.
[3] & [5] Letter from Raymond Whitwell. 14 March 1998. 
T/175143. Dvr. D.A.W. Duckett. HQ, RASC. 
This is possibly T/247030. Dvr. R.J. Thomas, who was in HQ Platoon, 250 Company, and killed on 19/09/44.
[4], [6] & [8] Letter from Raymond Whitwell. 19 October 2015.
[7] Newspaper interview. 2011.