Veteran Stories

Frank Risbridger

Normandy

Written by Peter Cook

WHEN Frank Risbridger joined the 9th Royal Tank Regiment he thought it might be a relatively safe option. After all, in a Churchill you had four inches of steel around you.

Operation Epsom changed his mind. His tank, "Impertinent", was hit by an 88 mm German shell.

"The crew jumped out into a cornfield but I couldn't move," he said. "The lanyard attached to my revolver holster had snagged.

"Petrol in the tank had caught fire and my trousers were alight.

"Eventually I freed myself and jumped out. Six seconds later the tank blew up. It was a lucky escape."

Two close friends had not been so lucky. David Gotobed and Roy Painter both had their legs shot away. Frank visits their graves regularly.

This action took place near the Normandy village of Cheux. "We went in with 1000 Gordon Highlanders," said Frank. "And we came out with just 125 of them."

The 9th Royal Tank Regiment became attached to the 43rd Wessex Division fighting hard to take Hill 112 in Operation Jupiter.

"I went up and down that Hill 29 times," said Frank. "On one day 400 tanks were knocked out, both British and German."

Once the notorious Hill 112 had been taken, the 9th pressed on through the Falaise Gap towards L'Havre. Near the town they encountered a V1 "doodle bug" on its launch ramp.

Frank's tank brought its gun to bear on the deadly missile, fired, and there was a massive explosion. "I felt good about that one," said Frank. "It meant people at home weren't going to be killed by it."

Through Belgium and Holland the newly liberated populations gave the tanks a warm welcome.

After the debacle of Arnhem they kept the Panzers busy so that Allied troops could get away.

Crossing the Rhine at Rees on a pontoon bridge constructed by Royal Engineers the tanks later fought their way through the Reichwald Forest. "We were in the tank for six days never once getting out," said Frank.

In answer to the obvious question relating to personal comfort, he said: "You used a shell case and chucked it out."

In the build up to D-Day the 9th Royal Tank Regiment was based at Eastling, near Faversham, and trained in the grounds of Eastwell Manor.

Frank couldn't face going back to Normandy until the 50th anniversary celebrations in 1994. Now he is chairman of the Canterbury Normandy Veterans Association and goes back every year. He is also well known for presenting the prizes at the War and Peace Show.

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