13th September
“On the following morning I was detached with a small party and ordered to contact the neighbouring troops on the left who were believed to be occupying a small hamlet in the woods between Heppen and Oostham. Orders were vague, but we set off in good heart. After some two miles of woodland tracks, we had encountered no one and had not quite reached the hamlet in question. On arrival there we found the unit which we had hoped to find. As I met the Company Commander, I found that my arrival had coincided with that of the Second in Command of the Battalion and also the representative from the Belgian unit mopping up Immer. The former greeted me cordially and thanked me for the information that the route by which I had come was clear of enemy. The latter told us of the deplorable state of affairs in Immer. The enemy, a Hitler Youth Unit, had evidently demanded food of the civilians there. On being refused they had ordered them into the street. Many of the civilians took to their cellars but were blasted out by grenades. On their eventual arrival in the street they were all shot.
Having arranged liaison with the Unit, we returned to Heppen.
The isolated Calvaries which were liberally scattered over the fields of France had disappeared, for in Belgium they were invariably replaced by a pane of glass often built into the wall of a house, behind which was a small crucifix surrounded by statuettes of the saints. Behind the house we occupied at Heppen was a very modern version of this idea. It consisted of an asymmetrical concrete block with the usual window, painted in blue and white. My attention was drawn towards this, for it looked so bright and gaudy in so rural a setting. Beside it were the new graves of the Guardsmen who had been killed during the capture of the village. Amongst them a plain white cross bore the name of Lord Hartington.”
Narrative: William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington had been JFK’s brother-in-law and heir to the Duchy of Devonshire. He had been killed by a sniper the previous week whilst leading his company of Coldstream Guards in an attack on the town.