Lest We Forget

Thoughts on Remembrance Day…..

My Dad, John Christie McQueen, was born January 25, 1924, and served in the army initially as a boy soldier of 15 years of age in 1939.

He was enlisted in the Gordon Highlanders and posted to the 1st battalion. He proceeded to 2nd battalion in 1942 at age 18 and on into the tank brigade in 1943 at 19 years old.

He entered in to the 79th Armoured division in 1944, at 20 years old. In that capacity he went through World War 2 as part of the 2nd British Army, 30th Corps, led by general Dempsey.

He was registered in the 11th Armoured Division, in the 15th Scottish Division, in the 227th Highland Brigade, specifically in the 31st Tank Brigade.

His time in the 31st Tank Brigade was his involvement in what is known as D-Day specifically in the Operation Overlord, particularly in Operation Epsom, in June and July of 1944, in France. That operation was to battle for and to take the strategic Hill 112, near Caen, in France, fighting against Hitler Youth.

This battle for Hill 112 is listed as chapter 9 in a book called “Impossible Victories – 10 Unlikely Battlefield Successes”. Operation Epsom was one of these unlikely victories. My Dad survived it.

He served until he was discharged in 1949, at age 25, the year I was born in Scotland. He had suffered a war wound to the foot and would go through much mental anguish due to war trauma. He suffered shell shock and nightmares frequently through our childhood and into our adulthood. He died in January 1987 at age 63.

My paternal granddad, Robert Hood McQueen, joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15, in 1898. He was in the Navy throughout World War 1, serving a total of 20 years as Able Seaman and Leading Seaman. He died in 1927.

Others in my family, on my mother’s side, specifically her brothers, also served in the army (James Clarke, Infantry, and John Clarke, Artillery) and in the navy, (Thomas Clarke, Able Seaman)

I’m proud to say that my son continued the family history tradition of military service when he served in Afghanistan.

So there is a great deal of military service history in our family background. I have a fair bit of info on hand and this is just a fraction of it.

This is my family military history, inasmuch as I am able to tell it for now….

Ann ❤