Latest news with #DouglasCracknell
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'I woke up in a bath two days after VE Day'
A veteran said he drank so much when celebrating the end of World War Two that he woke up two days later in a bath in Belgium. Douglas Cracknell from Cransford in Suffolk, was 19 years old on VE Day on 8 May 1945, which marked the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in Europe. He served with the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a rifleman and was in Bruges when the end of the war in Europe was announced. He said people went "berserk". Mr Cracknell, now aged 99, was recently awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government in a ceremony at Framlingham College near his home, which he said he was "amazed" by. "I was on a guard duty and everybody went berserk. That was a really wonderful time," Mr Cracknell said of Victory in Europe Day, 80 years ago. "To think the way people acted at that time was fantastic... [they were] drinking and singing and dancing with each other in the street; it was marvellous. "We had several drinks and I think I probably lost about two days of my life because I was sat in the bath when I came to." Mr Cracknell was enlisted in the Army when he was 18 [Contributed] Mr Cracknell said as a younger teenager he did not expect to be enlisted to fight and said his father told him that he expected it to be over before he reached fighting age. However, he joined the Army and took part in landings at Arromanches in Normandy on 22 June 1944, shortly after the first D-Day landings, and fought across north-west Europe. They faced bloody battles including taking part in Operation Jupiter with the capture of Hill 112, a key strategic point in Normandy that cost the lives of 10,000 men. Mr Cracknell was also injured during several points of the war including shrapnel wounds to his face and a temporary loss of hearing. Mr Cracknell was awarded the Legion d'Honneur this year by the French government for his efforts in the war [Contributed] Mr Cracknell was keen to share his story to ensure people today knew what veterans went through. "There's only a few of us left from that era," he continued. "I haven't had an easy time, but I haven't had a hard time either. "I've been able to bear it all, but some of them broke down. I was fortunate I think that I got through it. "Some nights I sit here on my own and think about my mates and what that would have been like if they were all here. I think it would have been lovely. "I think people should really know what others went through to save them." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'I woke up in a bath two days after VE Day'
'I woke up in a bath two days after VE Day' Douglas Cracknell, 99, from Suffolk remembered the celebrations that took place on VE Day in 1945 [Sarah Lilley/BBC] A veteran said he drank so much when celebrating the end of World War Two that he woke up two days later in a bath in Belgium. Douglas Cracknell from Cransford in Suffolk, was 19 years old on VE Day on 8 May 1945, which marked the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in Europe. He served with the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a rifleman and was in Bruges when the end of the war in Europe was announced. He said people went "berserk". Mr Cracknell, now aged 99, was recently awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government in a ceremony at Framlingham College near his home, which he said he was "amazed" by. "I was on a guard duty and everybody went berserk. That was a really wonderful time," Mr Cracknell said of Victory in Europe Day, 80 years ago. "To think the way people acted at that time was fantastic... [they were] drinking and singing and dancing with each other in the street; it was marvellous. "We had several drinks and I think I probably lost about two days of my life because I was sat in the bath when I came to." Mr Cracknell was enlisted in the Army when he was 18 [Contributed] Mr Cracknell said as a younger teenager he did not expect to be enlisted to fight and said his father told him that he expected it to be over before he reached fighting age. However, he joined the Army and took part in landings at Arromanches in Normandy on 22 June 1944, shortly after the first D-Day landings, and fought across north-west Europe. They faced bloody battles including taking part in Operation Jupiter with the capture of Hill 112, a key strategic point in Normandy that cost the lives of 10,000 men. Mr Cracknell was also injured during several points of the war including shrapnel wounds to his face and a temporary loss of hearing. Mr Cracknell was awarded the Legion d'Honneur this year by the French government for his efforts in the war [Contributed] Mr Cracknell was keen to share his story to ensure people today knew what veterans went through. "There's only a few of us left from that era," he continued. "I haven't had an easy time, but I haven't had a hard time either. "I've been able to bear it all, but some of them broke down. I was fortunate I think that I got through it. "Some nights I sit here on my own and think about my mates and what that would have been like if they were all here. I think it would have been lovely. "I think people should really know what others went through to save them." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story
BBC News
08-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Suffolk war veteran woke up in bath after VE Day celebrations
'I woke up in a bath two days after VE Day' Just now Share Save Alice Cunningham & Sarah Lilley BBC News, Suffolk Share Save Sarah Lilley/BBC Douglas Cracknell, 99, from Suffolk remembered the celebrations that took place on VE Day in 1945 A veteran said he drank so much when celebrating the end of World War Two that he woke up two days later in a bath in Belgium. Douglas Cracknell from Cransford in Suffolk, was 19 years old on VE Day on 8 May 1945, which marked the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in Europe. He served with the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a rifleman and was in Bruges when the end of the war in Europe was announced. He said people went "berserk". Mr Cracknell, now aged 99, was recently awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government in a ceremony at Framlingham College near his home, which he said he was "amazed" by. "I was on a guard duty and everybody went berserk. That was a really wonderful time," Mr Cracknell said of Victory in Europe Day, 80 years ago. "To think the way people acted at that time was fantastic... [they were] drinking and singing and dancing with each other in the street; it was marvellous. "We had several drinks and I think I probably lost about two days of my life because I was sat in the bath when I came to." Contributed Mr Cracknell was enlisted in the Army when he was 18 Mr Cracknell said as a younger teenager he did not expect to be enlisted to fight and said his father told him that he expected it to be over before he reached fighting age. However, he joined the Army and took part in landings at Arromanches in Normandy on 22 June 1944, shortly after the first D-Day landings, and fought across north-west Europe. VE Day: What is it and why do we remember? Holocaust survivor Frank Bright dies in Suffolk, aged 94 BBC History: World War Two They faced bloody battles including taking part in Operation Jupiter with the capture of Hill 112, a key strategic point in Normandy that cost the lives of 10,000 men. Mr Cracknell was also injured during several points of the war including shrapnel wounds to his face and a temporary loss of hearing. Contributed Mr Cracknell was awarded the Legion d'Honneur this year by the French government for his efforts in the war Mr Cracknell was keen to share his story to ensure people today knew what veterans went through. "There's only a few of us left from that era," he continued. "I haven't had an easy time, but I haven't had a hard time either. "I've been able to bear it all, but some of them broke down. I was fortunate I think that I got through it. "Some nights I sit here on my own and think about my mates and what that would have been like if they were all here. I think it would have been lovely. "I think people should really know what others went through to save them." 5:53 Douglas Cracknell: Suffolk WW2 veteran remembers Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
05-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Queen tells veteran how father survived being shot in face
The Queen has described how her father had a lucky escape after being shot in the face during the Second World War. Her Majesty invited Douglas Cracknell, a 99-year-old war veteran, to Clarence House to hear his stories, telling him that future generations 'wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you'. She spoke of her father, Major Bruce Shand, and his wartime experiences, reading an extract from his diary in which he described the thrill of receiving letters from friends and family back home. Major Shand served with the 12th Royal Lancers during the Second World War and was awarded the Military Cross in 1940, during the retreat to Dunkirk, and again in 1942 for his efforts in North Africa. He was later wounded and taken prisoner that same year while fighting in the same region. He died in June 2006, aged 89, and the Queen told Mr Cracknell that he had a narrow escape at El Alamein in Egypt in 1942. 'My father, who was captured at El Alamein, he was shot at and the bullet went through one side of the face, came out the other,' she said. 'He was so lucky because it didn't hit his teeth or his tongue.' As the Queen welcomed Mr Cracknell to Clarence House, she told him: 'You look very young – you belie your 99 years. 'I'm always fascinated to talk to any of the survivors of the war. Do you go back and think about it?' Mr Cracknell replied: 'I do. We went over to France and went onto Hill 112 [in Normandy], and that was where we lost a lot of men. I lost all my mates. 'I got hit with a machine gun, and I held my Sten gun like that [across his face] as I went down and a bullet hit the Sten gun. My face was just all bits of shrapnel. I always done what my father told me to do – keep your head down.' The Queen smiled and said: 'All I can say is that it must have been very sensible advice, because here you are today to tell the tale.' The pair chuckled as Mr Cracknell admitted that he had woken up in a bath in Bruges two days after VE Day in 1945 with no memory of the celebrations. 'They read it out that the war was over, and it was chaos,' he recalled. 'They were flocking around you, and I woke up two days later in the bar. Two days of my life I lost.' The Queen told him: 'Well, they were probably lost for a very good reason. At least you were celebrating.' 'Linchpins of our existence' Last week, The Queen sat down with veteran Douglas Cracknell at Clarence House ahead of #VEDay80 commemorations. Douglas was awarded the Legion d'Honneur for his service during the Second World War, when he served as a rifleman in the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.… — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 5, 2025 Mr Cracknell was part of the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a rifleman and landed in Arromanches, Normandy, on June 22 1944. He was wounded twice, first in the Netherlands when a bullet hit the weapon he was operating and wounded his face, and again in Hamburg when a shell blast caused shrapnel wounds and a temporary loss of hearing. He had previously described feeling 'scared stiff' to be fighting in France, saying: 'To think that we were in a foreign country and didn't know where we were and you didn't know who your enemy was,' he said. The Queen described how her father had written a diary during the war, reading out an extract about how letters were 'the linchpins of our existence', their regular arrival always causing excitement. Describing the thrill he felt when he was told he had a dozen letters waiting for him at the camp, Major Shand wrote: 'To later generations its hard to understand the emphasis, particularly in wartime, that was put on the amenity of correspondence, not to mention the art of precis writing imposed by the limits of letter cards and the sheets of prescribed lengths. 'People in England were incredibly considerate and consistent about all this and I remain eternally grateful to my many correspondents, family and otherwise, and especially to Ursula Wyndham, whose letters I wish I could have preserved, as they were models of wit, interest and style.' Mr Cracknell agreed that soldiers had 'really looked forward' to the letters and admitted that, like Major Shand, he had rarely spoken about the war after returning home. 'I think really, it should be talked about,' he said. 'Let the younger ones know what we went through.' The Queen told him: 'We need it for future generations. I think that's so important, very important. Because they wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for all of you. So thank you.' Last year, the Queen was named Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Lancers and has paid tribute to her late father's service.
