Len Fox's guest appearances

Len Fox

WW2 Nation Podcast

Tom Jones

Mike Peters

John Orloff

Antony Beevor

Peter Davies

Stuart Watson

Glyn Dewis

Peter Caddick-Adams

James Holland

Alan King

Frederick Taylor

Paul Reed

Ken Tout

Adam Berry

Danny Mason

OwlTail

To mark the 75th Anniversary Commemorations of VE Day, we spoke with a few of the veterans we know about their experiences on 8th May 1945 and hear their advice for future generations. Len landed on Gold Beach late on D-Day. As a despatch rider, his job was to carry messages between units and to escort columns of vehicles to get them to their destination. In mid-July, he was leading a column of lorries containing ammunition to the front line. As he reached the crossroads behind him in the photograph, he stopped to get his bearings. Beside the road, a sign read ‘Dust Kills’, a warning to take care not to kick up any dust whilst driving because if it were to be spotted by the Germans it would make you an immediate target. But it was a very dry time of year and trying to move a column of lorries around without creating any kind of telltale sign was a near impossibility. Unbeknownst to Len, the Germans had the crossroads marked as a target for their artillery and they were watching them. Suddenly, a shell landed just yards away from them. Len knew it was a ranging shell and the next one wouldn’t miss. They had to move at once. He got the convoy moving away from the crossroads as quickly as he could but it was too late. Another shell came over and this time hit one of the trucks, causing all the ammunition it was carrying to go off. The resulting explosion was enormous. Len was badly wounded. He has no idea how long it was until someone got to him or what happened in the aftermath, as he didn’t regain consciousness until he was in a casualty clearing station about ten kilometres back from the crossroads. When he eventually came round, he saw a woman all in white and thought he was facing an angel. The nurse he had seen offered him a cigarette, and he realised then he wasn’t dead ‘because I knew you couldn’t smoke in heaven!’ Len awoke to find he was temporarily deafened by the blast and he had to have shrapnel removed from his spine. However, after just six weeks recovery time he rejoined his unit to take part in the liberation of Brussels. *Please note this episode may contain some explicit language / content, parental guidance advised.*

To mark the 75th Anniversary Commemorations of VE Day, we spoke with a few of the veterans we know about their experiences on 8th May 1945 and hear their advice for future generations. Len landed on Gold Beach late on D-Day. As a despatch rider, his job was to carry messages between units and to escort columns of vehicles to get them to their destination. In mid-July, he was leading a column of lorries containing ammunition to the front line. As he reached the crossroads behind him in the photograph, he stopped to get his bearings. Beside the road, a sign read ‘Dust Kills’, a warning to take care not to kick up any dust whilst driving because if it were to be spotted by the Germans it would make you an immediate target. But it was a very dry time of year and trying to move a column of lorries around without creating any kind of telltale sign was a near impossibility. Unbeknownst to Len, the Germans had the crossroads marked as a target for their artillery and they were watching them. Suddenly, a shell landed just yards away from them. Len knew it was a ranging shell and the next one wouldn’t miss. They had to move at once. He got the convoy moving away from the crossroads as quickly as he could but it was too late. Another shell came over and this time hit one of the trucks, causing all the ammunition it was carrying to go off. The resulting explosion was enormous. Len was badly wounded. He has no idea how long it was until someone got to him or what happened in the aftermath, as he didn’t regain consciousness until he was in a casualty clearing station about ten kilometres back from the crossroads. When he eventually came round, he saw a woman all in white and thought he was facing an angel. The nurse he had seen offered him a cigarette, and he realised then he wasn’t dead ‘because I knew you couldn’t smoke in heaven!’ Len awoke to find he was temporarily deafened by the blast and he had to have shrapnel removed from his spine. However, after just six weeks recovery time he rejoined his unit to take part in the liberation of Brussels. *Please note this episode may contain some explicit language / content, parental guidance advised.*

Voices of VE Day 75 - Len Fox 