Church of the Ascension Primary School



Grace MobberleyInterview with WW2 soldier James Vivian Rollason R.E.M.E born 05.02.1917 on his experience in the World War II. I live next door to Mr Rollason’s daughter Judy.Question 1 – Where were you when the war ended?I was in Germany when the Instrument of Surrender was signed on 8th May 1945. My unit had taken over a German factory just outside Berlin. The signing took place at the top of a hill and we were at the bottom. We knew that something important was happening. There were no celebrations. We were all still quite wary and scared as German soldiers were all around. We were only allowed out in 3’s.Question 2 – How was it in the war?It was hard work, tough. We were determined to work as hard as we could because we didn’t want to let our unit down. We made sure that the tanks were looked after carefully. We didn’t get much sleep as for a lot of the time were outdoors and the Germans were all around us. Gunfire lit up the sky all night. At times it was very frightening. I was a very good marksman so I was always sent ahead of the unit, along with five others, to hunt out the enemy to avoid ambush.Question 3 – How old were you?I was 28 years on V E Day. I joined the army at the end of 1939.Question 4 – What did the battle field look like?We were not involved in face to face fighting in battlefields. Our job was to move the tanks forward to clear the way for us and the units following. We would go on foot to search for enemy soldiers and the tanks would move forward to detonate any land mines. I remember dragging army vehicles if the tanks had missed parts. As we advance, we forced the Germans back.Question 5 – Where did it end?The act of surrender was signed on May 7th, 1945 in Reims, France. The German Instrument of Surrender was signed the day after in Berlin. We didn’t return home then, though as the war continued for a few months (V.J. Day was in August that year – Victory in Japan). Those months were horrible for us, the German soldiers were having a terrible time. Many of them had volunteered to fight for Germany, although they came from other countries. It meant that they had nowhere to go – no country wanted them or would protect them. I remember hearing them screaming at night – there were many suicides.I travelled home months later. We crossed the channel by boat and then travelled by train to the North of England. It was dark when we got there. We handed in our army uniform and were given civilian clothes and enough money for the train home.My thoughts are that I feel very thankful of what Mr Rollason and his comrades did to protect us, so that we can live a life of freedom that we do now. World War II veteran James Vivian Rollason (R.E.M.E) ................
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