Among the millions of personnel who served in the north-west European campaign of 1944-5 were hundreds of military chaplains. Almost uniquely, despite the fact that they often worked at or close to the front lines, they went to war entirely unarmed.
This book contains the expertly-edited wartime journal of Revd. Alexander Reynolds, Royal Army Chaplains’ Department.
Twenty British Army chaplains died in Normandy, and many others bore the psychological scars of their experiences for the rest of their life. This book contains the wartime journal of one of them, Revd. Alexander (‘Sandy’) Reynolds, Royal Army Chaplains’ Department. The book casts new light on the human experience of the Normandy campaign, the Allied advance towards the Reich, and postwar occupation duties in a defeated Germany. Reynolds’ journal is expertly edited by Dr. Simon Trew, Sandhurst historian and an acknowledged authority on the Normandy campaign.
Reynolds’s journal provides vivid insights into the everyday experience of British military chaplains in Normandy and throughout the north-west European campaign of 1944-5. During his first week in France, Reynolds personally helped bury around 200 British and German soldiers who died during the D-Day assault.
A humane, honest and thoughtful witness of some of the most dramatic events in 20th-Century history, in this book Reynolds tells the story of the campaign in his own words.
Acknowledgements & Dedication 04
Preface 06
A note on editing 10
Introduction 12
Chapter 1:
Preparing for the Great Crusade 30
Chapter 2:
First Days in France: Burying the Dead 52
Chapter 3:
Life in the Bridgehead 70
Chapter 4:
After the Breakout 88
Epilogue 110
Appendix 1:
The Copper Cross 120
Appendix 2:
Montgomery and his chaplains 123
Appendix 3:
120th LAA Regiment, list of officers,
6 June 1944 126
Appendix 4:
‘Beach Dressing Station, June 6/44’ 128
