Story of Peter William Simms

The interviewee has a story about his father whose name was Peter William Simms, a longer version of which, with additional research conducted by a volunteer, is attached. He was in the 1st. Battalion Oxf and Bucks, Light Infantry in WWII.

When war started his father was a schoolboy. He was living in Sussex, his parents worked there and lived in Cuckfield. As soon as he was allowed, he joined the ARP. A year later and as soon he was able, he joined the Home Guard local platoon, and then the Regular Army. He volunteered In May 1944 and was not conscripted.

Just before D-Day, the war was hotting up; the 1st. Battalion were in Kent. His initial training took him to Inverness. Training in Scotland lasted until Nov. 1944, then finishing in North Walsham in Norfolk. It took to 1945, for him to be finally told he was to go overseas as a reinforcement. Perhaps one thinks of soldiers going over in troop ships, but he was flown over from Wiltshire as a reinforcement. He had never been in aircraft before; he flew over and saw his house.

He was billeted at the French/ Belgian border after arrival. On disembarkation, he went to a reinforcement holding unit where he became acclimatised. He made sure he could go to the local town, where he was well-looked after; the locals were in "amazingly good spirits".

When in Belgium, he was shown around the battlefield of Waterloo. Simms went into the line just after Battle of the Reichswald (nearly up to the German border and the Rhine). Germans were continuing to fight until towns were reduced to rubble, even though it was obvious to him at 18 that the war was done. The next concern after crossing the Rhine, was being shot in error by Russians.

Things were 'bowling along okay' in B Company, who got to a place called Ochtrup by end of March 1945, where, in his own words, he had the misfortune to stand in front of a piece of shrapnel which nicked his left ear; another inch and it would have been the end of him. Other comrades had same experience and lost their lives. He was patched up, a letter was sent home, followed by a letter to his mum from him saying okay, then he went back into the Regiment.

They struck north until getting involved in 'desperate hand-to-hand fighting' in Hamburg. Because he was not a conscript, he stayed on in the Army and served on in Germany and Italy. He was taken to see Bergen Belsen concentration camp. He describes a smaller unnamed camp, 'even worse than "Belsen"'. He was not yet nineteen. He was made to see what life in camps was like, and also went to a cinema to see a film on camps. As well as with his comrades, he sat with the German population to watch it.

He was sent to Opladen and made second in command of the local prison. With the addition of civilian prisoners who were all criminals, there were now everybody from SS colonels to those caught trading potatoes on the black market. They became policemen in effect. Opladen is a town in the Rhineland which was the HQ of the British Military Government.

After serving as a prison governor, the Regiment went to Berlin. He worked in barracks at Spandau.

In August/September the Regiment went to Italy, to Trieste. After leave, they went to Pola, where he was billeted. The interviewee knew the exact building on the harbours because he took interest in everything, and made loads of sketches.

Back to Germany, he was promoted to corporal. He then went to Luneburg. Later on, he was involved in training the first National Service recruits, and witnessed Berlin airlift.

He went back to Hartz mountains, a ski resort. Here Simms got into bother. He was called to assistance of some member of Regiment that had gone pig hunting, strayed into the Russian sector, and came under fire, which caused casualties. He rushed up there; it was night when arrived. They came under fire but didn't return in case they hit their detained colleague. It was sorted diplomatically. but was an indication of tensions.

Simms left the Army in February 1949. After the war, he didn't stay in Territorials. He came back to Sussex, where made his home. When he came home, there were not many jobs around. He got a job ironically with "Bayer Pharmaceuticals". In Germany he had learned of Bayer's experimentation on people, and that they had purged all Jewish employees. It was an irony that Bayer was written on the van he drove around in. In the UK, Bayer was taken over by ICI.