 I cannot recall exactly where this event took place,it was 46 years ago. I was with the Inns of Court Regt. We were providing Guards for a Food Dump at,I think,Langermark,Germany. It was the site of a heavily bombed factory by a Railway Marshalling Yard.
Picture the site on a dark,wet,windy night. Plenty of wreckage and debris about,and ill lit into the bargain.It was a heavily manned guard,and it became accepted accepted practice for the Guard Commander to allow the personnel to opt for either maintaining full manning of each stag,or reduce the number on patrol,thereby allowing individuals to do one patrol and rest the remainder of the duty. On this occasion I was one of the brave souls that voted for the latter option. The site was frequently raided by German civilians desperate for food. It was a risky thing to do,given the fact that they had to cross a busy railway in the dark and then face an armed guard. On this occasion I was patrolling the site when I heard a disturbance nearby. I approached the area that the sound came from and issued the usual challenge twice,
without reply. I advanced and issued a final challenge ,cocking my Sten Gun. I was horrified to make out a figure crouching in what I assumed to be a threatening pose. As I thought I was about to be attacked I opened fire. I was amazed as the figure did not fall,mortally wounded,but I could hear his blood spurting out onto the wet ground. The Guard had turned out,alerted by the sound of gunfire. When they arrived at my position the Guard Commander shone his torch on the corpse,which turned out to be a Fire Hydrant dutifully riddled with a full magazine of Sten Gun bullets and spouting water in all directions. Needless to say I was not decorated for bravery,but it took a long time to live down my one and only killing of an enemy. |
