PONTEFRACT IN 1945

2nd February 1945
SAVED THEIR PLATOON MATES ON 
THE WESTERN FRONT

The following appeared in the ‘Yorkshire Evening News’ on Wednesday; How Private F. Crossley, of Pontefract, a former Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry cadet, and Lance Corporal W. Hawkins of Reigate, both of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, saved their platoon mates in recent fighting on the Western Front, is told in a letter to Crossley’s father, Mr. Horace Crossley, a miner, of Hope Villas, Pontefract. The platoon, says the platoon commander, were surrounded by a strong force of Germans and were in danger of being wiped out. To have lost the strong position they were holding would have had serious consequences for the battalion, and in the interests of the greater number it was decided to risk the two men’s lives. "The main force of the enemy was in and around a house only a short distance away, and a Spandau set up in the doorway had us completely pinned down," says the platoon commander.

"Hawkins and Crossley were told to attempt to get into the orchard near to the house and try to put the Spandau out of action with their mortar, It must be confessed that we were afraid that they might never be seen again. The two men crawled inch by inch using every bit of cover available. They quickly set up their mortar and fired. Their aim was good and the first bomb scored a hit on the building. The German gun was silenced and the gunner killed and once the main body was broken up there was little trouble clearing up the rest of the immediate area."

Private Crossley was 19 last August. He joined the Army when seventeen and a half years old and landed in France four days after D-Day. He was formerly employed at Grandidges, pawnbrokers, Pontefract.

All correspondence should be addressed to:
Michael Norfolk, The Digest, 21 Bassett Close, Selby, North Yorkshire, YO8 9XG. Tel: 01757 706845