Graham Stevenson – El Alamein – Normandy – Sherwood Rangers
Graham Stevenson joined when he was 16 and served in Africa, including El Alamein, from ages 17 – 19. On their return to England, his unit was trained in the Sherman DD swimming tanks. He came in on Gold Beach and was wounded in hedgerow fighting on his first day in Normandy.
Dates of Interview: April 12, 2012; June 7, 2012; ongoing.
Transcribed: Mostly
Interviewer: Heather Steele
Format: Mix of Standard and High Definition Video
Length: 200+ minutes
Charley Koenig – 21st Panzer Division – Africa Corps
Charley Koenig and Paratrooper Thomas Blakey at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans
Karl Friedrich Koenig was 19 when he entered combat as an officer candidate in 1943. After arriving in Africa, he fought against both the British and the Americans as a part of the 21st Panzer Division, Regiment 5. Six weeks after he arrived, the Germans surrendered. Karl Friedrich was taken as a POW by the Americans, and transported to the United States. Actively working to improve his English skills and pick up Americanisms, he became a translator and soon went by the name Charley.
After spending over two years in camps in Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, Charley and many POW’s were sent back to Europe in 1946. Expecting to return home, they were instead diverted to POW camps in Belgium, and then on to England. Finally, in 1947, Charley returned to Germany where he had a successful career in business, raising four children.
He has been an invaluable partner, sharing his wisdom in regards to peace, healing and reconciliation, as well as gaining the trust of German veterans we have interviewed.
Guenter Halm – 21st Panzer Division – Knight’s Cross
Guenter Halm served in the 21st Panzer Division as an anti-tank gunner. While preventing a British tank breakthrough, Field Marshall Rommel drove by to get an idea of the situation himself. Seeing Guenter’s performance and persistence, Rommel recommended him for Germany’s highest honor for bravery, the Knight’s Cross. He personally awarded it to Guenter, who, at 19, was the youngest recipient at the time. Guenter went on to fight in Normandy, and was captured in the Falaise pocket.
Guenter and Charley represented the 21st Panzer Division during remembrance ceremonies every year, and were very close friends. Guenter also believed in reconciliation and took the opportunity to connect with his former enemies whenever the opportunity arose.
Article about meeting with Victor Gregg in England in 2016.
To our great sorrow, Guenter passed away in late 2017.
This interview is ready for transcription, please contact us if you would like to volunteer to transcribe this interview: info (at) ww2historyproject.org
Dates of Interview: Various between 2010 and 2012
Language: German
Interviewers: Heather Steele and George Cone
Format: Standard Definition Video and Audio
Length: 329+ minutes
Captain David Render – Normandy – Sherwood Rangers
David Render served in the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry Tank Regiment during the European campaign.
This interview is currently being transcribed.
Dates of Interview: April 29, 2012; May 3, 2012.
Interviewer: Heather Steele
Format: Standard Definition Video
Length: 148 minutes
Major John Semken- El Alamein – Normandy – Sherwood Rangers
John Semken was a tank commander in the Sherwood Rangers Tank Regiment and served in the African and European campaigns. He came in on Gold Beach on D-Day, and earned Britain’s Military Cross.
This interview has been transcribed.
Date of Interview: May 2, 2012.
Interviewer: Heather Steele
Format: Standard Definition Video
Length: 114 minutes
Stan Cox – Normandy – Sherwood Rangers
by Zoe Hume
Stan Cox served with the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, landing with his squadron on Gold Beach, one of five beaches the Allies stormed during the Normandy landings of June 6th, 1944.
After joining the Army in 1943, Stan trained on Cromwell tanks before receiving instruction on the M4 Sherman tank, which had just started to pour into Europe from America. The Shermans had more speed and a faster rate of fire than German tanks, but the Panzers had better accuracy, range, and armoring. Particularly distressing, the Shermans had a tendency to catch on fire easily, earning them the nickname “Ronson lighters.” Still, the Sherman tanks were reliable, and, with well-trained crews manning them, they could hold their own in a fight. Following six weeks of training on the Sherman, Stan joined A Squadron of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry.
Stan found life with the Sherwood Rangers to be almost the polar opposite of his previous experience with Army life. Everyone, even the Sergeant Major, went by their first name, and the Regiment seemed like one big happy family. Just returned from Africa where they had left their equipment, the Sherwood Rangers had no tanks to work with initially, so Stan and the rest of his new mates spent a lot of time playing different sports and sleeping in.
Once the tanks arrived from America activity ratcheted up quickly, and the Regiment was kept busy with unpacking weapons and tools while the tanks were readied for service. The moment the tanks were ready, the Sherwood Rangers conducted training exercises in them until their orders came through. Stan’s A Squadron was sent to the village of Sway to waterproof their tanks and practice beach landings.
At the beginning of June 1944, A Squadron was moved to Southampton where they boarded their Landing Craft Tanks (LCT), which carried their three tanks and two supply trucks. On June 4th, they anchored off the off coast of the Isle of Wight ready to head to France, but due to bad weather the landings were cancelled. The men were forced to wait aboard their LCTs for the weather to clear.
They set sail late June 5th. As Stan and the others sailed through the night in the open LCT, they sought shelter wherever they could, some in the tanks themselves and others on the bow of the LCT, but the harsh rain and constant rocking was exhausting. The deck became covered in water and vomit as soldiers succumbed to seasickness. Sleep was virtually impossible.
When the dawn broke, they found themselves surrounded by dozens of ships of every kind imaginable, and the sky was filled with Allied aircraft. As they neared the coast, the Sherwood Rangers prepared to land. Stan could see the fighting on the beach and knew he would soon be in the thick of it.
To get the tanks onto the beach, they had to lay out coconut matting in front of the LCT so the tanks could gain traction on the sand. Stan was chosen to help roll out the matting, but a strong tide and heavy sea pulled the matting and the attached LCT back out to sea. Stan landed in the rough water and was forced to swim towards shore along with the others who had been trying to get the matting straight. While the LCT made a second attempt at landing, Stan and his mates crawled up Gold Beach under fire and quickly sought the cover of the seawall.
The LCT’s second attempt was successful, and as soon as his tank was firmly on the beach Stan ran to join the rest of his crew. Their tank was taken over by their officer, and they then began pressing inland toward Bayeux in the lead. Instead of capturing the city during the night, the Sherwood Rangers lost their infantry support and were forced to pull back to an apple orchard for the night.
After taking the town the next morning, they moved out towards Tilly-sur-Seulles. A few days later while near Tilly, Stan’s tank was hit by German artillery and caught fire. As the gunner, Stan worked the Sherman’s cannon around so that all the other crew members could bail out of their hatches. Once they had, he was the last out of the flaming tank. Just outside, by the tracks, Stan had a narrow miss with another round and was sprayed with shrapnel, throwing him to the ground. As Stan lay next to the tank and watched it moving at an angle, giving the impression of wanting to roll over on him. Luckily, it stopped, and Stan was carried to shelter by other crew members. The abandoned tank soon was consumed by the flames.
Stan was sent back to hospital in England, where he spent nine months recovering from his injuries. In March of 1945, Stan was discharged with paralyzed left arm and a brace on one of his legs. Eventually, he recovered fully but carried the heavy scars as reminders of his short, but eventful, time in combat.
Date of Interview: April 29, 2012
Interviewer: Heather Steele
Format: Standard Definition Video
Length: 54 minutes
Bert Jenkins – Swimming DD Tanks Gold Beach – Sherwood Rangers
Bert came in to Gold Beach on a Sherman swimming DD tank that didn’t swim very well.
This interview is ready for transcription, please contact us if you would like to volunteer to transcribe this interview: info (at) ww2historyproject.org
Date of Interview: May 6, 2012
Interviewer: Heather Steele
Format: Standard Definition Video
Length: 174 minutes
Brigadier General Wilhelm Woermann – 16th Panzer Division
Wilhelm Woermann served as a lieutenant in the 16th Panzer Division during the war. After the war, he joined the West German army and worked mainly in training and education of Bundeswehr and NATO troops, especially for armor, until his retirement with the rank of brigadier general.
This interview is ready for transcription, please contact us if you would like to volunteer to transcribe this interview: info (at) ww2historyproject.org
Date of Interview: June 17, 2012
Language: German
Interviewer: Heather Steele
Format: Standard Definition Video
Length: 56 minutes
Christian von Lucke – 16th Panzer Division – Stalingrad – Salerno
Christian von Lucke served in the 2nd Regiment of the 16th Panzer Division, which was wiped out in Stalingrad while he was on leave. His brother did not make it out of the encirclement alive. He went on to fight at Salerno, and had to bail out of 11 tanks during his career.
This interview is ready for transcription, please contact us if you would like to volunteer to transcribe this interview: info (at) ww2historyproject.org
Date of Interview: May 5, 2011
Interviewer: Heather Steele
Language: German
Format: Standard Definition Video
Length: 107 minutes
Heinrich Timpe – SPG’s – Sturmgeschuetze – Knight’s Cross
Heinrich Timpe served in Self-Propelled Guns (SPG’s) in the 1. Kompanie, Heeres-Sturmbeschuetz-Brigade 300. He was wounded 11 times in combat, and won the German Cross in Gold. A recommendation for the highest order of bravery, the Knight’s Cross, was submitted and approved, however, due to the chaotic situation at the end of the war in Germany, Heinrich did not receive his Knight’s Cross.
After the war he joined the West Germany army – the Bundeswehr – where he was involved in the instruction of German and NATO troops. He retired with the rank of colonel, became a military journalist in his retirement, and wrote his memoirs shortly before his death in 2015.
You can buy his book here.
This interview is ready for transcription, please contact us if you would like to volunteer to transcribe this interview: info (at) ww2historyproject.org
Date of Interview: November 18, 2011
Language: German
Interviewers: Heather Steele
Format: Standard Definition Video
Length: 115 minutes
