Captain Jack Churchill on the 27th of May 1940 whilst in command of a mixed force holding the village of L'Epinette near Bethune (twinned with Hastings by co-incidence), became the first Englishman for centuries to kill an enemy with the longbow.
He spotted five Germans from a loft in a granery, called two more infantrymen to him but told them not to fire until he had loosed his arrow. The German he had killed was hit by the arrow in the left side of the chest. He tried to retrieve his arrow but as it was barbed it broke of in the body of the German. They then came under fire from an enemy machine gun so took cover.
Sheet 21 of the War Diary of the 4th Infantry Brigade dated 30th May 1940.."One of the most reassuring sights of the embarkation was the sight of Captain Jack Churchill passing down the beach with his bow and arrows!.
His actions in the Saar with his arrows are known to many and his disappointment at not having had the chance to keep in practice had tried him sorely. His high example and his great work with machine guns were a great help to the 4th Infantry Brigade."
Five years before the first atomic bomb exploded and nearly 600 years after the battle of Crecy an English archer had briefly returned to the ancient battlefields of France.
Fantastic
The battle for Brac
The British had landed their No. 40 Royal Marine Commando unit on Vis, giving the British 2,000 personal on Vis. The Partisans now numbered more than 6,000, so that over 8,000 troops were now camped on Vis.
On June 1, 1944, the Partisan Army from Vis along with British forces now attempted to liberate the Island of Brac from the Germans. They did a night landing with the ragtag fleet, with air support at dawn. They landed a combined force of 4,500 men, plus 16 cannons, 20 vehicles and large supplies of stores and ammunition.
This was another long bloody battle, with heavy losses. The British 43rd and 40th Commandos were led by "mad" Jack Churchill, playing his bagpipes.!!
The Partisan charged their objectives singing their own fight songs. There was one full company of female Partisans that charged their German objective and were mowed down like bowling pins.
The Allied forces were able to occupy the town of Selca, but only for a short time. After three days of fighting, the Germans were able to re-group and eventually drive the Allied forces from the island of Brac.
The Allies had killed or captured 570 Germans before retiring, on June 4, 1944. A real blow to the British was that their beloved "Mad Jack" Churchill was captured by the Germans and rushed off the island to a German Prisoner of War camp.
What a guy
