SIDNEY BATES V.C.
Corporal, The Royal
Norfolk Regiment, British Army
Corporal Sidney 'Basher' Bates VC ….
"A true Camberwell Boy"
|
Campaign |
Second World War |
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Age |
23 |
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Nationality |
English |
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Deed |
On 6 August 1944 near Sourdeval, France, when the enemy had penetrated deeply in the area occupied by his section, Corporal Bates seized a light machine-gun and charged, moving forward through a hail of bullets. Although wounded twice he was undaunted and continued firing until the enemy started to withdraw before him. At this moment he was wounded for a third time mortally. He still went on firing, however, until his strength failed him, but by this time the enemy had withdrawn and the situation had been restored. He died two days later. |
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Killed |
In the above action. |
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VC Publicly Displayed |
The Royal Norfolk Regiment Museum (Norwich, England) |
In Memory of
SIDNEY BATES VC
Corporal
5779898
1st Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment
who died on
Tuesday, 8th August 1944. Age 23.
|
Citation: |
The citation in the London Gazette of 2nd November, 1944, gives the following details :- In North-West Europe on 6th August, 1944, the position held by a battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment near Sourdeval was heavily attacked. Corporal Bates was commanding a forward section of the left forward company which suffered some casualties, so he decided to move the remnants of his section to an alternative position from which he could better counter the enemy thrust. As the threat to this position became desperate, Corporal Bates seized a light machine-gun and charged, firing from the hip. He was almost immediately wounded and fell, but he got up and advanced again, though mortar bombs were falling all round him. He was hit a second time and more seriously wounded, but he went forward undaunted, firing constantly till the enemy started to fall back before him. Hit for the third time, he fell, but continued firing until his strength failed him. By then the enemy had withdrawn and Corporal Bates, by his supreme gallantry and self-sacrifice, had personally saved a critical situation. He died shortly afterwards of the wounds he had received. |
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Additional Information: |
Son of Frederick and Gladys May Bates, of Camberwell, London. |
Commemorative Information
|
Cemetery: |
BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY, Calvados, France |
|
Grave Reference/ |
XX. E. 19. |
|
Location: |
The town of Bayeux, in Normandy, lies 24 kilometres north-west of Caen. Bayeux War Cemetery is situated in the south-western outskirts of the town on the by-pass, which is named Rue de Sir Fabian Ware. On the opposite side of the road stands the Bayeux Memorial. |
|
Historical Information: |
Bayeux was the first French town of importance to be liberated from the Germans in June 1944. The are now over 4,100, 1939-45 Commonwealth war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, 338 are unidentified casualties. Also commemorated here are 7 non-world war and more than 500 Foreign National war casualties. |
In
Memory of
Corporal
SIDNEY BATES VC
1st
Bn., Royal Norfolk Regiment
who died aged 23 on Tuesday, 8th August 1944.
Corporal BATES was the son of Frederick and Gladys May Bates, of Camberwell,
London.
Remembered with honour
BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY, Calvados, France.
In the perpetual care of
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The following is from the Regimental Museum in Norwich
Corporal Sidney Bates VC
In north-west Europe on 6th
August 1944, the position held by a battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment
near Sourdeal was attacked in strength by the 10th SS Panzer
Division. The attack started with a heavy and accurate artillery and mortar
programme on the position which the enemy had, at this point, pinpointed.
Half an hour later the main attack developed
and heavy machine-gun and mortar fire was concentrated on the point of junction
of the two forward companies.
Corporal Bates was commanding the right
forward section of the left forward company, which suffered some casualties, so
he decided to move the remnants of his section to an alternative position
whence he appreciated he could better counter the enemy thrust. The enemy wedge
grew still deeper, until they were about fifty to sixty Germans, supported by
machine-guns and mortars in the area occupied by the section.
Seeing the situation was getting desperate
Corporal Bates then seized a light machine-gun and charged the enemy, moving
forward through a hail of bullets and splinters and firing the gun from the
hip. He was almost immediately wounded by machine-gun, but recovered himself
quickly, got up and continued advancing towards the enemy, spraying bullets
from his gun as he went. His action was by now having an effect on the enemy
riflemen and machine-gunners but mortar bombs continued to fall around him.
He was then hit for the second time and much
more seriously and painfully wounded. Undaunted he staggered once more to his
feet and continued towards the enemy, who were now seemingly nonplussed by
their inability to check him. At this point he was hit for the third time by
mortar bomb splinters – a wound that was to prove mortal. He fell to the ground
but continued to fire his weapon until his strength failed him. This was not
until the enemy had withdrawn and the situation in this locality had been
restored.
Corporal Bated died shortly afterwards of
the wound he had received, but by his supreme gallantry and self-sacrifice he
had personally restored what had been a critical situation.
Corporal
Bates was serving in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment
when he won the Victoria Cross.
THE GRAVE OF SIDNEY BATES AT THE BAYEUX
WAR CEMETERY
The Queen and Prince Phillip visits the Bayeux Cemetry in May 1995
to mark the 50th Anniversary of V.E. Day
Other articles on Sidney:
http://www.john.weedon.btinternet.co.uk/sid-bates.htm
http://www.norfolkbc.fsnet.co.uk/bc_issues/bc_91_dec_98/91_dec_98.htm#70th_bn_bates_family
70th BN AND THE
BATES FAMILY
B&C
89 Dec 97 reported that Peter Hewison, of Devon, had
written on behalf of Tom Bates of Berkeley, California. He wished
for as much information as possible about the life of the late Sydney Bates
VC, from when he enlisted up to D-Day. Tom Bates also asked about 70th Bns.
Maj Ernest Ridger, of Hereford, responded to the query.
Ernest served for 2 years in 70th Royal Norfolk Bn from the autumn of 1941
until their disbandment in Autumn 1943, the last 18 months of this service as
Adjutant. As stated in B&C 89 Dec 97, these Bns catered for youngsters
wishing to join the army. Initially, the officers and NCOs were elderly and
from the reserve. After a while the War Office decided it would be far better
if these were younger and more fully able to participate with younger soldiers.
A number were posted to the 70th Bn, including a future Colonel of the
Regiment, Maj Gen JB Dye CBE MC and myself.
In its early days the role of the Bn was aerodrome
defence so
infantry and specialist skills were taught. After the threat of invasion had
receded, in the summer of 1942 the Bn left the aerodromes and became a Training
and Drafting Bn. On disbandment in the autumn of 1943 a wide cross-section of
ranks went to 1 and 2 Royal Norfolk and to 1 Suffolk.
In October 1944, the 2IC of the 1st Bn, Lt Col H Wilson and myself
were staying at the 3 DIV Officers’ Club in Brussels on a 48 hour leave pass.
We had heard there was to be an announcement affecting the Regiment on BBC News
at 2100 hrs. We heard of the awards of the VC to Cpl Bates and to
Maj David Jamieson of the 7th Bn. We were both thrilled as Lt Col
Wilson had taken part in the same action as Cpl Bates and I in the same action
as Maj Jamieson. Col Bellamy, CO of the 1st Bn at the time wrote: We are
very proud to feel such an honour has been given to a member of this Bn.
Unfortunately, Cpl Bates died soon afterwards of wounds received in the battle
fought against 10 SS Panzer Division. It was a wonderful act of heroism and
rather typical of the Bn on that day.
During the 50th Anniversary celebrations of D-Day, the television showed HM The
Queen walking through and inspecting the cemetery at Bayeux and the headstone
of Cpl Bates was clearly shown.
At home in Blackheath convalescing after being wounded I visited Cpl Bates’
parents in nearby Camberwell. These are the notes I made at the time:
I took the opportunity the other afternoon to go to Camberwell see how the
parents of the late Cpl Bates VC were faring. They were both very well and
deeply appreciative of the kindness of everyone in the Bn and of everything
that had bee done for them.
Mr Bates had been given a horse and cart and no longer needed to hire one. Mrs Bates told me the house had been
badly damaged by a V1 but no one had been to repair it. However, the day after
the announcement of the award of the VC to her son, 12 men arrived to carry out
repairs! "It just shows what a little publicity can do," she
remarked.
I saw the VC given to Mr and Mrs Bates by the King at a recent investiture.
Over 150 awards were given that day and they were very proud to be called to
take the first award.
The whole impression I took away from that afternoon visit was that Mr and Mrs
Bates really had appreciated everyone’s kindness and they asked me to thank
everyone for them.
http://www.norfolkbc.fsnet.co.uk/bc_issues/bc_98_jun_02/birthdays_98_jun_02.htm
In 2002
85: Col Bob Knight MBE
18 Apr; Sidney Tuck 6 Jun, 2nd Bn; Len Batty, 26 Nov, 2nd Bn; Lt
Col Eric Cooper-Key MBE 8 Dec, 1st Bn. (The Britannia Autumn 1939, Issue 26, quoted in B&C 84 Jun 95: 1st Battalion
news revealed that on 19 March 1939 2Lt Cooper-Key joined the Bn. As a
26-year-old Major, commanding 'B' Coy, 1 Royal Norfolk in 1944 near Sourdeval,
France, he had submitted the recommendation that Cpl Sidney Bates
of 11 Pl receive a posthumous award of the Victoria Cross. Though at first his
recommendation was turned down, Maj Cooper-Key, determined that the courage and
self-sacrifice of his section corporal should be recognised, persisted in his
efforts and was eventually successful in having the award made.)
From the Norfolk regimental Website
http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/Content/DerekJames/Street_Names/StreetNamesB.asp
The stories behind our street names
BATES GREEN (Gentry Place)
When Sidney Bates left his blitzed London home for the last time he told his
mum: “Don’t think I’m brave. I’m scared.” This cockney sparrow with a
reputation as a joker joined the Royal Norfolks aged 19 in the summer of 1940.
One day, he had arrived to do a spot of training in the boxing ring, when his
mate Tim Parker said: “Here comes Basher Bates.” The name stuck.
Sidney's bravery in the face of death
Bates Green (Gentry Place)
IT was stretcher-bearer
Ernie Seaman who first came across a soldier from the Royal Norfolks lying
unconscious in a small field on a bloody battlefield in France. Corporal Sidney
“Basher” Bates, the man he’d brought in from the killing fields of Perrier
Ridge in August 1944.
Two months after
the Allied Armies splashed across at Normandy, they were still entangled in the
orchards and hedgerows of France fighting fierce battles.
The 1st Norfolks
had been on the march along a road when they came under heavy fire and pitched
battles began. Sgt George Smith recalls how a bullet had struck a bren gunner —
a close friend of Bates — killing him outright. Basher seized the gun beside
his dead friend and advanced towards the Germans, firing as he went.
“They poured a
hail of machine gun fire on him as he ran towards them,” George said later.
For a few
moments, it seemed he had a charmed life, but his luck could not last. The fire
of over 50 Germans was being directed at this lone figure as he ran towards
them.
Eventually he was
hit. But then he managed to get to his feet again and staggered on as mortar
bombs burst beside him.
Again he was hit,
this time by a fragment from a mortar bomb. This time, Basher did not rise,
but, curling himself around his machine gun, he went on firing.
Finally, he
collapsed, and as his gun stayed silent, the Germans were retreating. Many of
his comrades said later that his astonishing charge had been the turning point
of the battle.
It was during a
lull in the fighting that Ernie Seaman answered the call to get Basher. “He
couldn’t talk. All I could do was stop the bleeding, bandage his wounds and get
him back.”
Basher, the son
of a rag and bone man from Camberwell, died soon afterwards.
Three months
later. The London Gazette announced the posthumous award of the VC to Cpl
Sidney Bates aged 23, for his gallantry and self sacrifice.
The medal — the
highest honour there is — was presented to his rag and bone man father by King
George VI at Buckingham Palace.
The medal went
missing for a number of years, but in the 1980s it was bought for £20,000 by
the trustees of the Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum in Norwich. And that is how
the name of Bates Green came about.
He had been
wounded in the leg and shot in the throat but he was still alive. Out in front
of him were 50 or more dead Germans.
Ernie, a young
Norfolk farmworker, thought little of it. He had seen a lot of dead and wounded
men. It was only later that he learned the full story.
From The Norwich Evening Telegragh
THE ROYAL NORFOLK REGIMENT
Battalion
History 1939 -1945
The 1st Battalion was stationed in Delhi at
the outbreak of war and did not return to England until mid 1940 when it
commenced preparations for the return to Europe. Moving through several units
the Battalion became part of 185 Brigade, 3rd Division in April 1943. For the
next year the Battalion trained intensively for D-Day in Scotland and later in
Essex. From its embarkation port, the Battalion was shipped to Normandy in
three groups and by mid-morning, D-Day 6th June had landed upon Sword beach.
185 Brigade, 3rd Division had been expected to capture Caen within a few hours,
but the battle for Caen over the next few weeks saw some of the most intensive
fighting of the war, and the Royal Norfolks were in the thick of it. During
this time the Battalion suffered its first heavy casualties and took part in
several gallant actions. Most notably at a place known forever after as
'Norfolk house' on the Caen canal.
By 8th July, Lebisey had been captured and the Battalion had suffered virtually
continuously under enemy shelling on its advance through Ranville, Heronville
and Manneville wood and the ruined streets of Caen, following the 1000 bomber
raids and days of artillery bombardment. By 3rd August The British advance east
was progressing well and the Battalion had passed through Le Reculay, La
Bistiere and Sourdevalle. The battle for Sourdevalle was costly for the Royal
Norfolk's, 160 casualties out of 550, including Corporal Sidney Bates who
won the V.C. posthumously for his gallantry.
Later in August the 1st Battalion, re-inforced by members of the disbanded
7th Battalion made steady progress and by 3rd September had reached the Seine
river about 20 miles north of Rouen. The Allied army now pushed quickly and
relatively easily through the rest of France and Belgium before finding itself
on the outskirts of the Reichswald forest and the heart of nazi Germany, where
the Allied advance slowed down as the German resistance became stronger. After
numerous moves the Royal Norfolk's settled at Overloon by the Overloon -
Venraij road and suffered 212 men killed, wounded and missing in just 4 days.
After weeks of local patrolling and small attacks the Battalion had captured
Ousterham and Wanssum and by Christmas they had found themselves at Haps
occupying a length of the Maas river. By January, after a period in reserve,
the Battalion was again on the advance and entered Goch on February 25th. From
here an attack was made on Kervenheim where it had to fight its way over a
rectangular sward 1000 by 800 yards, which lay between it and the objective.
After a severe battle the 1st Battalion had incurred 165 casualties but the
enemy was beaten.
The Royal Norfolk's pushed on through the Siegfried line towards the Rhine, and
on the 23rd of March the Allies crossed the Rhine , the Royal Norfolk's
themselves crossing on the 29th and halting at Rees. They then moved back into
the Netherlands, via Lichtenvoorde and Enschende, for an attack on Lingen, a
small German Town on the east bank of the Ems canal. The Royal Norfolk's
crossed an intact bridge and following fierce house to house combat took the
town. From Lingen and a after a stiff fight for Brinkum, the Battalion headed
for Bremen. On 25th April the Royal Norfolk's were due to cross the flooded
plain to the city, but at the last minute were diverted through Arsten and
given the order to attack Habenhausen. The offensive was a success and on the
26th they entered Bremen. There was no more serious fighting and by 5th May all
offensive operations had been cancelled. After VE Day on May 8th the Battalion
moved to Minden where it ended its campaign as part of the Army of Occupation.
Neil R. Storey
The cover illustration shows Corporal Sidney Bates in the action on
6
August, 1944, for which he received the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross.
It is reproduced, with kind permission, from the painting by Lt. Colonel Gerald
Hare. The colours of the border, red, gold and black, are the colours of
Corporal Bates's unit, the Royal Norfolk Regiment.
NORMANDY: THE SEARCH FOR SIDNEY
ORIGIN
In 1983, the author, Tom Bates, (no relation
to Sidney Bates, VC), formerly an officer in the British Royal Corps of
Signals, now an American citizen living in Berkeley, California, had no sooner
started writing about his namesake than he realized he would have to go to the
actual battlefield in Normandy in order to understand exactly why the smart
young soldier – Sidney was twenty-three years old at the time and had been
promoted to lance-corporal, several times – had acted as he did. And thus
started the Search for Sidney. Eventually, it turned out to be a search
not only for the battlefield and for the personality of Sidney himself, but
also for ways to correct certain misunderstandings, even slanders, both on the
military and civilian sides, that have crept into the D-Day literature.
Bates started the search in London where he
found the retired Lieutenant Colonel Eric Cooper-Key. As the
twenty-six-year-old Major Cooper-Key commanding 'B' Company, the 1st Battalion
The Royal Norfolk Regiment, he had submitted the recommendation that Corporal
Sidney Bates of 11 Platoon receive a posthumous award of the Victoria Cross.
Though at first his recommendation was turned down, Major Cooper-Key,
determined that the courage and self-sacrifice of his section corporal should
be recognized, persisted in his efforts and was eventually successful in having
the award made.
Eric Cooper-Key and Tom Bates went to
Normandy together in August 1983, thirty-nine years after the battle, to visit
the field in which Corporal Bates had made his last stand. It proved
surprisingly difficult to find the exact place because in the bocage all
the small, hedge-enclosed fields look alike. However, eventually Colonel
Cooper-Key found the place and gave Bates a detailed description of how he and
his Company had fought their part of the battle.
It was only after Bates returned to
California and continued his research that he began to suspect that perhaps
Colonel Cooper-Key had not taken him to the right field! Correspondence with
Jean Brisset of Flers, Normandy, who had written about the battle in his
French-language book, La Charge du Taureau, seemed to indicate that the
action had taken place, not at Sourdevalle, as the official record states, but
at the nearby village of Pavée. There was nothing for it but for Bates to go
back to Normandy once again to continue The Search for Sidney.
Because Colonel Cooper-Key could not
accompany Bates on his second visit to Normandy, the author persuaded two
former soldiers of the 1st Battalion The Royal Norfolk Regiment, who had both
been in the battle, to go to Normandy with him instead. The ex-soldiers were
Private ‘Bill’ Holden who had been a Bren-gun-carrier driver towing a 6-pounder
anti-tank gun, and Corporal Ernie Seaman who had been one of the two
stretcher-bearers who risked their lives to bring the mortally wounded Sidney
Bates in from the battlefield.
With the help of Jean Brisset and other
French people living in the area, the three old soldiers – les trois anciens
soldats – found the Sidney Bates battlefield at Pavée. In addition, they
also visited the other battlefields in Normandy on which their battalion had
fought, and paid tribute to fallen comrades in the various cemeteries in which
they are buried.
At this time, looking for a way to express
their appreciation to Jean Brisset for all his help, the suggestion was made
that Bates should translate Jean’s French-language book, La Charge du
Taureau, into the English-language, The Charge of the Bull, and that
Bill Holden, who owned a printing business in Norwich, Norfolk, should print
and publish it. Firmly nudged by Major General ‘Pip’ Roberts who had commanded
the famous 11th British Armoured Division in Normandy, the Charging Bull of
that story, and who, at the time of the battle, had the 1 Royal Norfolk under
his command, Tom Bates postponed the writing of the Sidney Bates story and got
on with the translation of Jean Brisset’s book. It was launched at a memorable
Reunion of 11th Armoured Division held in Tinchebray, Normandy, on Sunday, June
11, 1989, at which nearly a thousand people, veterans of the division and their
French friends who had suffered through the battles of 1944, were present.
Once that was over, Bates went back to
writing The Search for Sidney. Again and again he drew on the knowledge
and assistance of Jean Brisset to clear up local points of detail in the story.
It was in this way that he met Madame Suzanne Lenauld of Colleville-Montgomery,
a small village about a mile or so inland from Sword beach, the most
crucial of all the D-Day invasion beaches. Although it turned out that Madame
could not help Tom Bates specifically with the Sidney Bates story, once he had
heard what she had gone through on D-Day, he offered to try to help her resolve
the two matters that have preyed on her mind since then.
It was through Madame Lenauld that Tom Bates
met the retired Lieutenant Colonel Eric Lummis, formerly of the 1 Suffolk
Regiment. Some years before, Bates had interviewed the late Canon Lummis,
Colonel Lummis’s father, in connection with Sidney Bates’s VC because Canon
Lummis was recognized as an authority on the Victoria Cross. Now the connection
between the former infantry colonel and the former signals subaltern was
rewoven through their common interest in HILLMAN, the enormous Maginot-like
German fortress that barred the direct route to Caen from Sword beach.
Part of HILLMAN had been built on land that Madame later inherited from her
father-in-law. In accordance with his wishes, in 1989 she gifted it to the
Suffolk Regiment who have turned it into a monument to those who fell in its
capture on D-Day.
After Tom Bates had finished writing the
book, as a courtesy he sent a computer printout of it to Jean Brisset who
reads, writes and speaks English well. Jean wrote back to say that the book had
brought tears to his eyes! Bates apologized for the distress he had caused his
friend but Jean assured him they were tears of emotion, not tears of pain! He
then said he wanted to translate the book into French. He felt it told a story
that should be disseminated in Normandy, if not in all France. Initially
dismayed at having to publish two books, Bates got the happy idea of combining
the two languages in one book and sharing the maps and illustrations in common.
SYNOPSIS
John Matheson, one of Canada's prominent
citizens, wrote the Introduction to the book. Coming from one who is
himself a much-wounded and gallant World War II soldier, his comments are very
generous.And coming from one who is a fervent patriot for Canada, the last
paragraph of his Introduction, commenting on the balanced, bilingual
format of the book, makes a specially haunting plea for the unity of his
troubled, bi-lingual country.
The next chapter, In Memoriam, was
written in grief at the news of the sudden death of Ernie Seaman, MM, the
Corporal stretcher-bearer who is really the unsung hero of the book.
The chapter that follows it, A Note of
Explanation, was inserted just before the book went to the printer in order
to answer the different queries made by many friends about various aspects of
the book. In particular, it explains why Sidney Bates himself is such a
'shadowy figure'.
The book proper is in three sections. The
first, major section of 108 pages is the story of the search for the place
where Sidney fought and fell. It is written in the form of a diary of the five days
the three old soldiers, Seaman, Holden and Bates, spent together looking for
Sidney's battlefield and the other battlefields on which the 1st Battalion The
Royal Norfolk Regiment fought. It ends with the successful, positive
identification of the field on which Corporal Bates earned the Victoria Cross.
An Epilogue that describes the battlefield monument raised to commemorate
Sidney and his comrades closes out the story.
The second section, of 49 pages, is titled The
Madame Lenauld Story. It is divided into two parts. The first, The Vow,
tells the poignant story of Madame Lenauld's search, unsuccessful up to now,
for the grave of the young British soldier who died in her arms on the morning
of D-Day. The second part, Impossible!, examines the slander about the
behaviour of Alphonse Lenauld, her father-in-law, on D-Day and clears his good
name. The Epilogue that closes out The Madame Lenauld Story
describes how, on the initiave of Suzanne Lenauld, Jean Brisset and Tom Bates,
a statue was raised to honour Field Marshal Montgomery, Monty, in the
village of Colleville-Montgomery that hyphenated its name with his.
The third section, of 42 pages, is titled 1
Suffolk and D-Day. It lays to rest for all time the unwarranted slander
that the 1 Suffolk dragged their feet in the capture of HILLMAN on D-Day. The
Epilogue that closes out this last section describes how part of the remains of
HILLMAN have been dedicated and developed by the Suffolk Regiment and its
Friends in Colleville-Montgomery as a permanent monument to the soldiers who
fell in its capture.
http://www.batesbooks.com/index.html
Links: