00:00:17 Emrys is assigned to the 4th Battalion Welsh Regiment, largely recruited from Llanelli. The battalion rugby team play the Llanelli home team – they win and are gifted a saucepan from the Mayor of Llanelli which Emrys claims “became the famous “sosban fach”
00:02:17 Shortly after Emrys arrives, a German E-boat drifts into Herne Bay, chaos ensues
00:05:09 Emrys describes training exercises
00:06:12 Remembering Major Arthur “Zonk” Lewis and his training exercises
00:08:07 After leaving Newhaven, East Sussex, Emrys lands on “Gold Beach”, Normandy, as part of the extended D-Day landings on 26 June 1944
00:08:50 Prior training in the UK with live ammunition and real danger enabled Emrys to view his part in the invasion with excitement rather than fear
00:09:49 Issued with bicycles, Emrys’ company makes their way to Caen, where the German forces had fallen back
00:11:37 Emrys arrives at the frontline where their Battalion takes over from the Cameronians, attached to the Cameronians was Ivor Davies from Williamstown
00:13:58 In the dark, Ivor gives them information and advice before leaving, shortly before German shelling begins
00:15:55 Emrys describes the enemy and his first combat engagement
00:18:27 On 5 August 1944 the Battalion moves through the village of Maizet. Years later, Emrys returns to Maizet and receives a warm welcome. The “Sosban” is tracked down
00:20:50 Emrys takes part in the battle known as the “The Falaise pocket” then moves to Calais to stop the launching of V1 rockets
00:21:54 Emrys re-treads his father’s footsteps in the First World War then goes to the Albert Canal, Belgium on the way to Antwerp; he takes part on the Battle of Arnhem and then that of Ardennes (a.k.a. the Battle of the Bulge)
00:24:20 A brief respite from the front line is cut short when the German forces attempt to retake Antwerp; Christmas day spent in a trench, in a snowstorm, helping the American 101 Division at Bastogne, Belgium
00:26:14 Ten days going through the Seigfried Line, German defences
00:27:32 After fighting in Goch, Germany, Emrys goes home for three weeks before returning to Germany to fight at Soltau, near the Belsen concentration camp before the war comes to an end as Emrys prepares to fight to take Hamburg
00:30:09 Outro