- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
Sergeant Edwin Glynn
Tank man decorated for his heroism at Dunkirk and for his coolness under fire in Belgium in 1944
WHEN the German onslaught into the Low Countries was unleashed on May 10, 1940, the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was the armoured regiment of the 3rd Division, commanded by Major-General Bernard Montgomery, who had orders to move north to the river Dyle to help to halt the German drive through Belgium. As the enemy advance increased in speed and intensity, the â Å“Skinsâ ? and the 15th/19th King's Royal Hussars were grouped together as the divisional rearguard. By the end of the month, all three tank squadrons of the regiment were dispersed to three divisions, under whose orders they were told to embark at Dunkirk.
The scene on the beaches which met the eyes of trooper Ted Glynn was one just short of chaos, as a few determined individuals took over from the embarkation staff killed in the bombing â †and the men waiting to embark were being shelled and dive-bombed. After one bombardment, he left his squadron to help a man wounded by shell splinters and took him to an embarkation point.
Although under almost constant shellfire, for the whole of that night and until noon next day he continued to guide wounded men to the boats. His courage and total lack of self-concern saved many lives, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
When the regiment returned to the Continent in 1944, Glynn was a sergeant with B Squadron. On the night of September 4, while his troops were supporting 1/6th Battalion The Queen's Regiment near Malines, their combined infantry/tank position was subjected to a determined German attack, of which the focal point was Glynn's tank. It became the target for anti-armour rockets and grenades from a small house nearby. Glynn could easily have destroyed the house with one shell from his main tank gun, but he knew that this would inevitably lead to the deaths of the Belgian family inside. So he engaged the enemy with machine-gun fire until they were driven out.
Glynn received the Military Medal for his determination and gallantry on the night of September 4-5. His coolness in refusing to use his main tank armament to avoid killing civilians stood out as an example of care and humanity, excelling even what he had shown on the beaches of Dunkirk.
On leaving the Army in 1946, he became a market trader in Northamptonshire until establishing a security business with his brother-in-law when they were both aged 60. Ten years later, the two partners were set upon by two youths but, with Glynn making free use of his walking stick, they put their assailants to flight, despite suffering some injuries. During that night, the police called to arrest him for causing one of the youths actual bodily harm and he spent the night in a police cell. The following morning common sense prevailed and he was released without charge.
He is survived by his wife Vera, whom he married in 1941, and one daughter.
Sergeant Edwin Glynn, DCM, MM, was born on November 18, 1915. He died on March 16, 2004, aged 88.
Tank man decorated for his heroism at Dunkirk and for his coolness under fire in Belgium in 1944
WHEN the German onslaught into the Low Countries was unleashed on May 10, 1940, the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was the armoured regiment of the 3rd Division, commanded by Major-General Bernard Montgomery, who had orders to move north to the river Dyle to help to halt the German drive through Belgium. As the enemy advance increased in speed and intensity, the â Å“Skinsâ ? and the 15th/19th King's Royal Hussars were grouped together as the divisional rearguard. By the end of the month, all three tank squadrons of the regiment were dispersed to three divisions, under whose orders they were told to embark at Dunkirk.
The scene on the beaches which met the eyes of trooper Ted Glynn was one just short of chaos, as a few determined individuals took over from the embarkation staff killed in the bombing â †and the men waiting to embark were being shelled and dive-bombed. After one bombardment, he left his squadron to help a man wounded by shell splinters and took him to an embarkation point.
Although under almost constant shellfire, for the whole of that night and until noon next day he continued to guide wounded men to the boats. His courage and total lack of self-concern saved many lives, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
When the regiment returned to the Continent in 1944, Glynn was a sergeant with B Squadron. On the night of September 4, while his troops were supporting 1/6th Battalion The Queen's Regiment near Malines, their combined infantry/tank position was subjected to a determined German attack, of which the focal point was Glynn's tank. It became the target for anti-armour rockets and grenades from a small house nearby. Glynn could easily have destroyed the house with one shell from his main tank gun, but he knew that this would inevitably lead to the deaths of the Belgian family inside. So he engaged the enemy with machine-gun fire until they were driven out.
Glynn received the Military Medal for his determination and gallantry on the night of September 4-5. His coolness in refusing to use his main tank armament to avoid killing civilians stood out as an example of care and humanity, excelling even what he had shown on the beaches of Dunkirk.
On leaving the Army in 1946, he became a market trader in Northamptonshire until establishing a security business with his brother-in-law when they were both aged 60. Ten years later, the two partners were set upon by two youths but, with Glynn making free use of his walking stick, they put their assailants to flight, despite suffering some injuries. During that night, the police called to arrest him for causing one of the youths actual bodily harm and he spent the night in a police cell. The following morning common sense prevailed and he was released without charge.
He is survived by his wife Vera, whom he married in 1941, and one daughter.
Sergeant Edwin Glynn, DCM, MM, was born on November 18, 1915. He died on March 16, 2004, aged 88.
