War diary notes from wilf shaw's Ww2 memoirs

Memoirs of Wilf Shaw - A World War 2 soldier's story

Private Shaw W

4753850

Called up on 13 June 1940

6th Battalion, Green Howards

Click pics to enlarge

WW2 soldier Wilf Shaw, of Oldham, has been in touch and provided a bucketful of war photos and memories. He was at Alamein, Tobruk, Wadi Akarit, Sicily, Normandy, Holland and more. He was wounded twice and still returned to battle. He is 95 years of age in 2015 and 'still trespassing' as he puts it himself!

STOP PRESS - Wilf awarded the Legion d'Honneur insignia

In 2015, Wilf was awarded this beautiful medal by the French people for his part in the D-Day landings in June 1944.

The Government of France wished to recognise the selfless acts of heroism and determination displayed by all surviving veterans of the Normandy landings, and of the wider campaigns to liberate France in 1944, by awarding them with the Legion d’Honneur.

Congratulations Wllf, well done and thank you for the many parts you played for six full years in the war, and which people can read about below ...

Wilf Shaw's Legion d'Honneur D-Day medal.

Awarded 2015

It is with great sadness that I announce the peaceful passing of Wilf Shaw in hospital on 21 March 2018.

Wilf had a very full war and fought as a signaller with 6th Battalion the Green Howards, 50th infantry division, in the British Army. He fought in many campaigns including fighting for Monty’s 8th army in Alamein, Wadi Akarit in Tunisia, Sicily and of course Normandy. He was wounded twice and still returned to battle! In recent years Wilf was awarded the Legion D'honneur by the people of France for his services in Normandy in 1944.

I bless the day I met Wilf and am thankful that I could chat with him as much as I did, for talking to Wilf was the next best thing to speaking to my own late Dad, also of the 6 Green Howards, and who fought in most of the same battles as Wilf. Thanks to the inspiration I received from Dad and Wilf, I've been privileged to receive several other war memoirs which I've been able to cover in my podcast, including the letters of Fred Zilken, a best pal of Wilf's.

Meanwhile, I can think of no better tribute to pay to Wilf than to cite the words of Fred Zilken in one of his letters to Wilf, in which he said, "You were never in a panic, Wilf. I remember when you came over to the Mortars you were composed and didn’t give a damn about enemy shells or mortars! You were always a rebel, Wilf, and it was those types of blokes who won this bloody war for us - if it had been for me, the war would still have been going on now!"

Goodbye, my old chum and, in your own words, "keep trespassing" wherever you may be. You'll be sadly missed.

Paul

X

RIP Private Shaw W

4753850

Called up on 13 June 1940

6th Battalion, Green Howards

Born 6 Feb 1920, Died 21 March 2018, Aged 98

1 Introduction to Wilf's war story and his WW2 memoirs - Click here

2 A variety of Wilf's WW2 photos including some great ones of Qassasin camp in Egypt - Click here

3 Wilf's own contributions to publications, with his own WW2 memoirs along with a little of his family military history - Click here

5 Wilf's war memoir of his El Alamein story with the 8th Army - Click here

4 The poignant war story of Wilf's gold ring, from his WW2 memoir - Click here

6 Wilf's personal war diary anecdotes - stories written over 20 years ago - Click here

7 Wilf's WW2 memoirs of Wadi Akarit Click here

8 Wilf's full list of names from his WW2 memoirs Click here