VE DAY 80th ANNIVERSARY

VE Day 8th May 1945 marked the end of the second world war in Europe and was an occasion of great joy and celebration, for nearly six years normal life in Britain had been turned upside down with many of the country’s men and women being required to serve in the armed forces and being parted from their loved ones with many never to return.

The ranks of the police service were depleted due to men being enlisted but this was bolstered by the recruitment of large numbers of special constables, the recall of some retired officers and the appointment of men on a temporary basis as the Police War Reserve and not forgetting the Women’s Auxiliary Police Corps inaugurated by the Government in 1939 who were volunteers drafted into police forces to assist.

Amongst the many Cheshire officers who went into the armed forces the following story of one of those officers exemplifies the service given during the struggle.

PC Fred German

Police Constable 340 Frederick John German joined the Cheshire Constabulary on the 27th of March 1935 after 4 years’ service in the Welsh Guards which he had joined aged 22 years on 22nd January 1931, prior to enlisting he had been employed as a farm worker. Fred was born in 1908 at Nash near Newport, Monmouthshire. His service with the Guards was performed mainly in London on ceremonial duties. After 2 years’ service he was promoted to Corporal, his army record notes that ‘He is of smart appearance and takes a great interest in his work’.

On joining the force, he was posted to Oakmere which was then in the Eddisbury Division, in August 1937 he married Edith Waring at Chester and was transferred to the Northwich Division and moved into police rented accommodation in Hartford Road Davenham. On the outbreak of war in September 1939 men who had military reserve obligations were immediately recalled for service but for those reservists serving in police forces the recall was postponed until December.

On the 1st of December 1939 104 Cheshire officers who were reservists rejoined the Colours, earlier on 29th November the Chief Constable Major Jack Becke held a parade of those officers on the Castle forecourt at Chester where he inspected them before they were sent off to join their units, sadly twelve of these officers were to lose their lives during the war.

Fred re-joined the Welsh Guards with the rank of Sergeant and was posted to the recently formed 2nd Battalion who were stationed in London, on 1st February 1940 he was upgraded to Company Quarter Master Sergeant. Following the German invasion of Belgium and Northern France and with the enemy racing forward to seize the channel ports, the 2nd Battalion were hurriedly despatched to France on 22nd May with the mission to defend the port of Boulogne together with the Irish Guards, during this holding operation the battalion suffered heavy casualties, especially in prisoners before being evacuated on 24th May aboard HMS Windsor a Royal Navy Destroyer.

Guards Armoured Division

In September 1940 Fred’s battalion joined the 6th Guards Armoured Brigade and were converted from an infantry to an armoured battalion and became part of the Guards Armoured Division. In January 1943 the 2nd battalion became the Divisions armoured reconnaissance unit and by this time Fred had been promoted to Warrant Officer class 2 and was a Squadron Sergeant Major responsible for advising the Commanding Officer on matters relating to the NCOs in the unit and responsible for the overall effectiveness of the Squadron including welfare and discipline.
In the intervening period up to D Day the unit remained in the UK with most of the time being taking in training and equipping the unit. On 28th of June 1944 three weeks after the D Day landings Fred’s unit arrived in Normandy equipped with Cromwell tanks which mounted a 75 mm gun. Almost immediately, they were engaging enemy forces and played a significant role in break out of the Normandy beachhead. In July the unit took part in Operation Goodwood the largest tank battle in the Normandy campaign and part of the British offensive to capture the city of Caen, there followed further tank battles in which the unit took a part to drive the Germans out of Northern France. The Welsh Guards as part of the Guards Armoured Division advanced into Belgium on the morning of 3rd September and by that evening after a high-speed dash of 120 km and despite facing repeated attacks from the enemy on the way, they were the first British troops to enter and liberate Brussels. Later in September the battalion were to take part in Operation Market Garden the ill-fated operation linked with the Airborne landings at Arnhem to seize several bridges spanning rivers in the Netherlands which was intended to facilitate the advance into Germany. The unit later participated in the battles leading up to the crossing of the Rhine and the final stages of the war in Northwest Europe. In January 1945 Fred was the recipient of a Certificate for Good Service from the Commander-in-Chief Northwest Europe - Field Marshal Montgomery for services in the field.

Promoted to Senior Drill Sergeant

Following the capitulation of Germany Fred remained in Europe being appointed to the role of Senior Drill Sergeant, he returned to the UK in early October and was released from military service on 20th December 1945 and immediately returned to police duties in the Northwich Division. He qualified for promotion to sergeant in February 1946 and was soon posted to motor patrol duties. In February 1951 he was posted to the force Driving School at Crewe as an instructor and was promoted to sergeant in October 1951, Fred remained as an instructor at the driving school until 1958 when he was posted to Headquarters Road Traffic Department which was based on the top floor of the Convent at Crewe, his role was involved in promoting road safety issues, this later led to the force Road Safety Department being set up. He retired from the force on 21st October 1963, his conduct during his police service is recorded as exemplary.

Following retirement, he took a job with North West Farmers before returning to the Driving School in 1968 as a civilian driving instructor. Fred German sadly passed away on 20th June 1970 aged 62 years.

Article researched and compiled by Will Brown, Cheshire Police Museum Researcher who is indebted to Fred’s son Graham German, retired Cheshire Superintendent for providing information and photographs used in this article.