Author ‘humbled’ after meeting war heroes
THE principal author of The Charnwood Centenary Book of Remembrance on display at Loughborough’s All Saints with Holy Trinity church, Bill Brookman, was honoured to exchange stories with two real heroes.
Bill, who has also been playing the role of a World War One soldier in his WW1 play Remembrance, said he was “humbled” when Nenagh Watson, activity coordinator at Loughborough’s Thorpe House Nursing Home, arranged for him to reminisce with residents Albert Evans, 98, and Ken Cotterill - aged a remarkable 101.
Bill and other residents listened spellbound as Albert and Ken told their World War Two soldiers’ tales.
Albert was a paratrooper who landed by glider behind enemy lines early, before the main invasion forces hit the Normandy beaches on D-Day 1944. He explained his role in the famous capture of Pegasus bridge and how he packed explosives below it ready, should the Germans try to use it for a counter-attack.
He was wounded that day and so missed the later attack on Arnhem but was rushed to plug the German Ardennes breakthrough and subsequently crossed the Rhine in the glider attack on Hamminkein when they were the easternmost allied troops on the western front.
Ken Cotterill was a nonconformist and did not want to kill, so he skilfully arranged to join the Territorials knowing that they would allow him to train in medicine. The night before D-Day he slept on the deck of a ship and went ashore just behind the first attacking troops.