I Turned a Corner' - one soldier's story

The following is an account of an event that took place in northern France in June 1944. I commenced writing it on Sunday 8th November 2020 which was Armistice Sunday in the year of Covid-19, the virus that ravaged the world. I was touched and prompted to write this account by the emotions and the tributes described whilst watching the ceremony on the television.

The story concerns Lance Corporal Roland Edward Wheway 7936652, Royal Hussars, Royal Armoured Corps. I never met Roland who was described to me in glowing terms by my dad at a very early age as 'your uncle Roland'. He quite obviously looked up to him and spoke very highly about him to me on many occasions. I felt that it was important and an honour for me to describe the details and to write it as an example and a small tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives.

The 23rd Hussars were a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised during World War II that was in existence from 1940 to 1946, it fought in Sherman & Churchill tanks from Normandy through the Low Countries and Ardennes to Germany.

The 23rd Hussars were assigned to 29th Armoured Brigade of 11th Armoured Division. The 11th Armoured Division landed in France in June 1944, taking heavy casualties in the Battle of Normandy. It spearheaded Operation Epsom, reaching the Odon River between Mouen and Mondrainville. It was embroiled in Operation Goodwood, where its assault on Bourguébus Ridge on the first day was brought to a halt. After Goodwood, the losses of armour within the division were so high that the 24th Lancers were disbanded, and its remnants absorbed by the 23rd Hussars. The Regiment then took part in Operation Bluecoat, intended to secure the key road junction of Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon, which would allow the American exploitation of their breakout on the western flank of the Normandy beachhead. The 11th Armoured Division was subsequently attached to XXX Corps, which captured Flers, Putanges and Argentan in the battle of the Falaise pocket.

Roland was killed instantly on Tuesday 27th June 1944 (21 days after D Day) and during the advance whilst driving a tank. My dad's sister Alice was married to Roland during the war. He was the son of William Edward and Emily Wheway from Manchester. He became a tank driver in the 23rd Hussars and was among the British armoured units which landed in Normandy within 10 days of D-Day. From the newspaper cuttings of the time which I now have, it is understood that they had the distinction of forming a bridgehead over the river 'Odon' and took part in the great attack on 18th June while capturing 'Beny Bocage'.

He was killed in action on Tuesday the 27th of June 1944, following the D Day invasion of France at a place called Caen. I recently read a letter from one of his war pals to Alice and he described to her the tank battle against German Panzer tanks, in which Roland's tank took a direct hit, killing him instantly.

Roland like millions of other soldiers is remembered with honour at the Bayeux War Cemetery. His Grave/Memorial reference is XXV11. F. 9.

I was so touched by Roland's story that I composed the following poem about him titled 'I Turned A Corner' (A Soldiers Tale). Maybe I could turn it into a song one day. It would be a great honour to do so:

I turned a corner
Turned a corner
In a flash of light, you were gone
Travelled for weeks in this steel box of ours
Dreaming of you and me as one

Looking down at you from above
Always thinking of you and our time
How would we have spent it together?
If everything would have turned out fine

I'm just a stone now, in some far away field.
Nobody visits to see
Will you one day come to it
To read the words on there about me

I turned a corner
Turned a corner
In a flash of light you were gone
Travelled for weeks in this steel box of ours
Dreaming of you and me as one

Years from now remember the corner
An unfortunate state of affairs
Unavoidable, regrettable I lay for so long
A village called Bretteville
Sounds just like a song

Please keep turning that corner
For many years from now
Look up to the sky and remember
Each time you visit I'll see you
Not just on one Sunday in November

I turned a corner
Turned a corner
In a flash of light you were gone
Travelled for weeks in this steel box of ours
Dreaming of you and me as one

I turned a corner
Turned a corner
In the blink of an eye you were gone,
Vanished from my sight
While dreaming of you and me as one